As the newest member of the sports team here at the Times-Union, I have noticed numerous things in my approximately three weeks of full-time work.

First, one of the most hated words among the three of us is "support." As our focus is on local high school sports, we have been both thanked and criticized for our support of some of the local teams. I am not speaking for my fellow sports writers here, but I believe that they back me on this. My job is to cover the local sports, not support it. We are not paid by the local schools (although it is an interesting idea) to write about their sporting events.

Don't get me wrong. In the office, we do root for the local teams to succeed. I would much rather watch a team that is 20-2 than a team that is 2-20. We often debate about what teams are the best in the area or what teams have improved the most or whatever else we can think of to argue about. We enjoy covering the local sports and sitting in the stands listening to the fans' perspective on what we do.

However, when we head out to the baseball field, the gymnasium or the tennis courts, we have a responsibility to be neutral, and that is what we try to do.

We are not always successful (though we make that a focus), and to some, we may seem to be on the harsh side. But that brings me to my next point.

Just as we have a responsibility to report what a team does correctly, we should also have a responsibility to report what a team does poorly. If a team plays terrible, we should be able to say that. However, we often try to find something positive to write about to keep from becoming controversial.

There have been times since I began working here part-time many months ago, that I have watched teams that have done nothing right. Sometimes, they just have a bad day or sometimes, they are just that bad. However, I have found myself searching for a long time to find a positive spin, no matter how insignificant.

There is a line though. I do not try to single out individuals who perform poorly. These are high school students doing their best. They put in endless hours of practice and preparation and should be commended for that. Every one of them is a better athlete than myself, and I have no reason to criticize someone on an individual level. I realize that can be quite hurtful to high schoolers. I would much sooner not mention a mistake by a player than single someone out as making a crucial mistake in the closing minutes of a game that cost his or her team the game.

However, as a team, I feel a responsibility to the readers who want to know what happened to tell those readers when a team does a bad job on the field of battle.

Finally, we have been accused, and this is something that has just in the last few days come under scrutiny, of controlling the psyche of the local athletes. As much as I would like to pretend that my job is that important, I can not believe that because someone does not see their name in the paper that they will compete with any less skill the next time out.

At the boys track regional on Friday evening, I forgot to name all the members of the Warsaw relay teams that advanced to the state meet. Admittedly, as a reporter, I should have done that. Maybe, as a small retribution to the members of the teams, I can make it up to them.

The 3200 relay team of P.J. Wiley, Gregg Seiss, Justin Rice and David Hoffert and the 1600 relay team of Wiley, Hoffert, Jose Esquivel and Jon Hill advanced to the state meet. Personally, I believe that both teams have a great chance of doing well at the state meet and will be rooting them on from the softball regional in Mishawaka.

However, back to my original point. I do not believe we, as sportswriters, control the psychological state of an athlete as he or she is at the starting line, on the free throw line or in the pocket attempting a pass. Someone stated to us that after an event, athletes run out to get the newspaper and return disappointed to find their name omitted. I can understand that, but I do not understand how that can affect the athlete's preparation or skill in competition.

We make every effort to rotate athletes in pictures so that many different people can get in the paper and we try, as much as possible, to give seniors priority. We do realize that it can make an athletes day to see their picture on the front page of the sports section, and we enjoy doing that.

However, if what we print in the newspaper affects an athletes ability to compete, then he or she is not focusing on the team and has purely individual and selfish motives.

Just as a reminder, if we are at a sporting event and you recognize us, feel free to criticize us or thank us for our "coverage" of a local team. We enjoy the input. We truly want to produce the best sports section possible. However, do not criticize us or thank us for our "support" of a local team. It may only seem like semantics to you, but it makes us feel better. [[In-content Ad]]