On Friday, I will begin my 10th year at the Saratoga Sun. This has been the most rewarding job I have ever had, not to mention the most stressful.
Most of the time, it is a good stress. The most stressful days are, without a doubt, Mondays and Tuesdays.
It doesn’t matter how prepared we think we are coming into the week, Monday is a long day. Last minute advertisements are coming in, news stories that came in over the weekend need phone calls made and we have sports stories to write during the school year.
I have seen a lot of changes over the years. The biggest one was the most recent when we changed to a new size of paper.
We are getting mixed reviews – some people love the new format, some people hate it – there seems to be no in between. I always appreciate the input – especially when people clarify “I love the stories, hate the new format.”
The new format has caused headaches for us as well. Like trying to figure out how many pages we need for the fair scrapbook for instance. We didn’t plan for enough room for all the awards our Valley kids won and will continue them in next week’s edition.
This year, our kids did exceptionally well at fair and I wanted to write stories about them. When I say our kids, I mean your kids. I have a tendency to call them my kids, as I have watched them grow up over the last nine years.
During fair week, I interviewed several of the competitors who won championships. Then they went on to state fair and did well there too. So, I interviewed them after returning from state fair, in between trying to get a back-to-school section and fall sports section ready for print.
Another change we made this year is we didn’t hire a “sports” reporter. One person trying to cover six sporting events in one season is a bit much. Football, volleyball (times two teams), cross country, golf and rodeo are the sports for this time of year.
This past weekend we had the Saratoga Volleyball Invite at the Saratoga High School. Competitors from around the state came to play and our two volleyball teams did well.
I admit, I was exhausted after covering games all day on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was nap day for this tired girl.
I have always taken photos from the audience side of the net. This year, because the gym was divided, I took photos from the players’ side. I learned a lot as I listened to the players interact and the coaches coach.
After watching more than 20 games over the weekend, I started to notice things I hadn’t noticed before. Covering volleyball has always been a fill-in position for me. I would fill in when the sports reporter had a scheduling conflict.
I am learning the hand signals the referees make and slowly learning the lingo.
I found myself smiling a lot Friday and Saturday as I watched the girls from the Saratoga and Encampment teams celebrate their triumphs.
I am looking forward to seeing where the season takes our Valley teams. Even though I have not written about volleyball on a regular basis over the years, I have watched these girls grow over the years, many of them I have watched since they were in middle school.
As they grow taller, stronger and develop their skills on the volleyball court they have become more fun to watch.
Running a newspaper, like sports, takes skill, talent and work. I learn something every day. As we work to improve your newspaper we appreciate the pats on the back, the constructive criticism and your patience as we develop the new format.
Thanks for reading the Saratoga Sun.
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