Coaches Raise Questions About Too Much Access : Coverage: Reporters’ proximity to athletic participants often triggers resentment and irritation.

While building Canyon High into a regional football power, Harry Welch developed a reputation as one of the most media-friendly coaches in the area. Welch typically makes time for reporters, returns phone calls promptly and provides opinions on a wide range of topics.

Sometimes, Welch even talks to reporters during games.

Welch’s willingness to work with the media, however, has changed somewhat because of a critical column in a Santa Clarita Valley newspaper after the Cowboys’ 36-0 loss to archrival Hart in the final regular-season game last fall.

The column attributed negative remarks about the Cowboys to an unidentified Canyon assistant coach. The writer claimed he overheard the coach say the words in anger while standing on the Cowboys’ sideline.

Welch banned reporters from standing with his team in the playoffs and has vowed to continue the policy next season. Although Southern Section rules permit reporters to roam sidelines during games, Welch is within his rights to tell reporters to keep out of his team’s area between the 30-yard lines.

“I feel a trust was violated in that (column),” Welch said. “I tell my coaches to answer tough questions honestly, but I can’t have reporters writing down everything that they overhear a coach or player say in the heat of battle.

“I’m not going to allow anyone to be next to (us) on the sideline until I feel that trust is there again.”

Compared to reporters who cover the college and professional ranks, those at the high school level enjoy virtually unlimited access to coaches and players. But that access creates problems between reporters and the subjects they cover.

Reporters covering major-college and professional sports usually are forbidden from being on the sidelines, in dugouts or near team benches during play. Press boxes or tables away from team areas are the sportswriter’s domain. At the conclusion of events, reporters conduct interviews in spacious locker rooms or other rooms designated for interviewing.

High schools provide few such press amenities because of funding limitations, and the California Interscholastic Federation established its rules regarding media with that in mind.

To encourage media to provide coverage of games, schools are required to allow the press access near the action. In turn, reporters are expected to keep out of the way.

While high school teams do not face the same media deluge that college and pro teams do, coaches say having reporters close to teams during competition can cause problems. But they do not advocate changes in the CIF’s media rules.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with the media, and I think they do a great job covering the kids, but there has to be some area where what’s said is between the players and coaches only,” Welch said. “The sideline is one of those places at every other level.”

Hart football Coach Mike Herrington shares that view.

“When you’re out there trying to win games, you’re going to say certain things (on the sideline) that you don’t want in the papers,” Herrington said. “You try to talk to reporters in confidence when they interview you to explain why you do certain things during games.

“But they might still burn you and print something. That’s when it becomes difficult and coaches become gun-shy.”

Interviews often are a source of angst for coaches and players. Interviews with college and pro teams are coordinated by school or team members assigned to assist the media. Whether the sessions are conducted in the locker room or another area, coaches and players are given time to relax and gain their composure before meeting the media.

Such is not the case at the high school level. With the exception of some championship games, coaches and players rarely are interviewed in areas other than on courts and fields immediately after events.

“I think some coaches lose confidence when they’re losing, so talking with the media might not be something they want to do,” San Fernando baseball Coach Steve Marden said. “If you have a successful program and you’re winning, you want to read about your team.

“The bottom line is that each coach and player reacts differently to the media. You’re dealing with individual personalities.”

Longtime Santa Clara basketball Coach Lou Cvijanovich for years has been at odds with the media over interviewing. Cvijanovich, in his 35th season as the Saints’ coach, did not allow his players to speak with the media until three years ago.

“Kids make some pretty damn stupid statements--especially when you don’t give them time to think about what they’re going to say,” Cvijanovich said. “I can appreciate that you guys have stories to write, but most kids just can’t handle it when, two, three, four reporters talk to them at once.”

Coaches worry that players will anger opponents by boasting in newspapers. They also fear incurring the wrath of administrators and parents because of an inappropriate comment by a young person who is not skilled in dealing with the media.

But coaches acknowledge that talking with the media can be an educational experience for athletes. Some coaches even tell their players how to respond to questions in interview situations, whether fielding inquiries about the team or for a personality profile on an individual.

“Today, (coaches) tell the kids what to say about the team concept--and what not to say about opponents, although it doesn’t always work,” Buena football Coach Rick Scott said. “We talk to them in team meetings, which is something we never used to do 20 years ago.

“I definitely think kids should be quoted, though, because it’s part of the learning process.”

Said Rio Mesa football Coach John Reardon: “Kids learn by their mistakes. I leave the kids alone when they talk to the reporters because that helps them learn how to be adults.

“Sure, they might say some things they regret later, but that will teach them to be more careful.”

Cvijanovich will not go quite that far.

He does agree that athletes should learn from their encounters with journalists. He favors setting up interview rooms such as those at other levels, but he is not optimistic it can be done.

“It’s time-consuming when all of the newspapers try to talk to the kids individually,” he said. “Getting it all done in one place would make things go a lot faster, and you would get better consistency in what appears in the papers.

“But it probably won’t happen because there’s no money for something like that.”

Star tailback Fahali Campbell of Camarillo believes giving athletes time to compose themselves is a good idea. He did not appreciate the numerous reporters and photographers who surrounded him moments after the Scorpions lost to Bell Gardens in the semifinals of the Division III playoffs.

“I really think the coverage is great most of the time, but I just wanted to be left alone for a while after the game,” Campbell said. “Losing was hard, and then all those photographers made it tougher. But I guess you have to take the good with the bad.”

Deadline constraints make it nearly impossible for reporters covering high schools to speak with athletes and coaches after they come to terms with difficult moments, or finish reveling in exciting ones.

Deriek Charles has experienced both.

Charles, a standout tailback at Hart, helped his team go undefeated through 11 games. But the Indians’ hopes for a championship were dashed when they were upset in the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs.

“You never mind answering questions when you win because you’re up, it’s only difficult when you’re down,” he said. “You never want to talk about why or how you lost, but you guys are just trying to do your jobs.”

School districts help facilitate access by outlining how they want their coaches to respond to media in coaching “handbooks.” Some handbooks deal with everything from reporting results of events to newspapers to what coaches should say to reporters.

“It’s a good general outline of what (schools) expect from their coaches,” Saugus Athletic Director Randy Parker said. “They cover the responsibility of the coaches and how to work with the press.

“I think the press does a great job spotlighting the kids, and we try to do our best to work with them.”

In addition to handbooks, the William S. Hart Union High School District conducts a mandatory course to teach coaches how to deal with the media. In staff meetings, Parker encourages coaches to maintain positive media relations throughout the year.

“Positive self-esteem is one of the biggest problems with young people today, and the coverage provides an opportunity for kids to develop that self-esteem,” Parker said. “Maybe a kid might not be doing that well in the classroom, so if the papers highlight something positive he or she is doing in athletics, that can go a long way to helping them overall.

“That’s why we try to help how we can.”

While coaches also appreciate coverage, they sometimes resent the time demands the media place on them. Unlike major college coaches, high school coaches must juggle school-day duties with responsibilities to teams and families.

“I usually have six or seven messages in my mailbox each week from reporters,” Herrington said. “I’m in the classroom all day and then we practice. So, during the football season, I don’t have too much time for myself.”

Said Antelope Valley football Coach Brent Newcomb: “As a high school teacher and coach, you’re pressed for time, and after spending a long day at school teaching and coaching, you sometimes don’t want to deal with talking to reporters when you get home. I’ve had reporters call me at 10, 11 at night.

“I realize that if you’re doing well, people want to write about you, but calling a person’s home that late at night is just ridiculous. It can be upsetting.”

Some of the conflict between journalists and coaches could be avoided if high schools assigned staff to assist media members, thus reducing the time reporters required of coaches. But, funding limitations make that unlikely.

“Yes, it would help,” Scott said. “But, trust me, that’s not going to happen.”