Take It Or Leave It

People take a lot of little things for granted, like a website for instance.

Bank accounts, movie listings, news and other information is readily available on the Internet today, so when we look for something on-line and it is not there we get a little frustrated.

You know the feeling, like when you go to Lolita's and order your food then remember you can't use a debit card so you have to use their ATM, pull out money, get charged a fee from both the restaurant and your bank and then get back in line.

It's like that.

In journalism, especially sports journalism, you have to be at one with the web. It is a crucial part of the stories we write. That is why we as sports writers and you the fans of Jaguar athletics are so lucky to have Shannon von Guenthner and Heather MacNintsh in charge of the Southwestern College athletics website.

Professionals in sports media today have it made. From getting the coach's quotes or tracking player milestones, to recording the simple things like team scores and records, much of it is done for them by the teams they are reporting on.

The only thing they have to do is write the story.

It's a little different at the community college level. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to get the stories you see in the SWC Sun.

There is no press box at Devore Stadium, nor is there a media guide on the players or coaches. The website, however, offers many other features that can be just as useful.

The Jaguars baseball website is the best I have seen from any college or university in the county. There is more information than you know what to do with.

You want to know the most double plays turned in one game by the Jaguars or how many homeruns they have hit in a single game?

Look it up, it's on the website.

You can find athletes stats, scores, schedules, pictures of individual athletes and games, latest news and athletes achievements amongst other things.

There are nine schools in the Pacific Coast Conference, none of which has a better website than SWC. If you were to look at any other school's website in the conference you would see what I mean.

The PCC's website is no different. You would think its website would tie together any loose ends left by the rest of the school websites, but no. Frankly it's a joke. On the directory page it lists the names of the commissioner and president of the PCC. The problem is they stepped down from their positions last August. Good luck trying to find any useful information on that site.

It is rare for a community college to care so much about the appearance of a website, so hats off to all the people in the athletics department at SWC for all your hard work.

The fans, community and sports writers are lucky to have you. It's just one more reason SWC is a step above the rest.