FROM THE PRESS BOX: VALLEY SPORTS REPORT MARKS 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF LAUNCH (2021-08-10)
Today is a birthday, of sorts - the 12th anniversary of the launch of Valley Sports Report.
It was July of 2009 - roughly three years after I had left The Morning Times, when I figured out what I needed to do. I woke out of a sound sleep, knowing exactly what Valley Sports Report would entail.
The next day I approached a couple of friends - both local business owners - and detailed my plans. They loved the concept, but questioned if there were enough advertising dollars in the Valley. I firmly believed there was.
The next day I started hitting the pavement. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't like selling advertising - I'm a sports writer, dammit! - but I had put myself in a position where that's what I had to do, so I did it.
One of my first stops was the Valley Bowling Center. Greg Joseph immediately bought into the concept, and has been supporting Valley Sports Report since Day 1.
My next stop was John H Murray & Sons. Paul Baird gave me a quick "Yes," and he, and his bothers John and Peter, have been on board since Day 1.
Within the first year, First Citizens Community Bank, Williams Auto Group and the Dandy Mini Marts were on board, and have been three of our main sponsors ever since. Ditto with Sutryk & Sons, Croft Lumber, Tioga State Bank, Gannon Associates, Austin Excavation, the Guthrie Community Credit Union, Beeman's Restaurant & Lounge, The Club at Shepard Hills, Visions Federal Credit Union, Choice 102, and Tioga Downs.
Over the years, we've added loyal advertisers like Ted Clark's Busy Market, Owen Insurance Agency, Coaches Pizza, Tomasso's Restaurant & Golf Course, Waverly Wine & Liquor, Kinsley Chiropractic, Camco Manufacturing, B's Tavern, Ad Graphics Printing, WJ Graphics & Sporting Goods, and Comfort Inn & Suites.
In the last couple years, we've added Blaise-Alexander, Guthrie Sports Medicine, Decatur Automotive, Mirabito Fuel, Allstate (Aaron Lounsbury), Hal Fish Heating and Air Conditioning, Sam's Bar & Grill, Apothecary of Mary, 2 Rivers Insurance, Country Kennels, At Your Door Dog Grooming, Traveling Portraits, Valley Eye Care Associates, Journey Fitness, Busy Bee Rentals, Salt & Light Cafe, The 1882 on Desmond, Naglee Moving & Storage, and Simmons-Rockwell.
Now, 12 years later, Valley Sports Report has 43 advertisers, and has just one advertising spot available.
I thank each and every advertiser, especially those that stuck with me through the Covid lockdown. Amazingly, VSR lost just one advertiser, and that was unrelated to Covid.
One thing I can't stress enough is the importance of doing business locally. We are very fortunate to have the options we have in the Valley, and spending your money in the Valley is the best way to ensure we maintain our quality of life.
I had established the launch date for Aug. 10, to coincide with the first day of fall sports practices. I had advertised it all over town with fliers, on Choice 102, and on Valley cable - I was ready to rock-and-roll.
One thing I hadn't taken into account was the Web site itself. I could build it, right? How hard could it really be?
I can honestly say now, I would be nowhere right now if I hadn't been tipped off to Brad Zehr at zehr.net. Turns out, he was in the infancy of his Web-building business and was willing to take on what he now calls a "challenging Web site."
I was too immersed in selling ads, and trying to get everything set up for the Aug. 10 launch to know that Brad was struggling on his end as well. I didn't give him much time - less than a month - to create a new, more intricate and layered Web site than he had ever developed. Again, I had no clue.
For his part, Brad nailed it. The site was ready to roll on Aug. 10.
What I didn't realize, unfortunately, was the fall sports practices didn't begin until Aug. 17, so I was stuck without anything to write about for a week.
Fortunately, Jim Friend, who had recently purchased The Club at Shepard Hills, called to tell me they were hosting the Club Championships. So, there was one thing.
I reached out to Jason Miller, Jack Young, and Larry Hanafin - the football coaches at Waverly, Athens, and Sayre, respectively, at the time, and did "State of the Program" stories with them - the first three posts on Valley Sports Report, after my initial column.
Once the practices and games began, I was in my element.
In the early days, I spent a lot of time on the phone with coaches, just as I had done at the newspapers, but as time went on more and more of what we did over the phone was done with a quick photo of a scorebook and a text or an email.
The site has evolved in other ways as well. At first, I posted a maximum of three photos per story. In year three, I bumped it up to nine photos, and a couple years later, we max out at 24 photos per story.
We will continue to evolve, with plans for more videos and podcasts, but that's a discussion for a later date.
Valley Sports Report, which is part of the River Road Media Group, has spawned four more Web sites in the area.
In August of 2018, Tioga County Sports Report, which covers Owego, Newark Valley, S-VE, and Candor, launched with veteran sports writer Tim Taylor at the helm.
One of the first games I covered when I launched VSR was a Waverly-Tioga football game at Haggerty Field. In the first football season, I blogged the game live from the press box.
Tioga Superintendent of Schools Scot Taylor, whom I had gotten to know years earlier when he was the football and wrestling coach and I was at The Times, mentioned that his brother Tim was in Colorado, and was looking to get back home.
A few months later, I was told I needed neck surgery and would be laid up for a month. I phoned Tim Taylor and offered him a job, and we planned on launching a site in Bradford County for him the following year.
Tim worked for me for about a year, but we were never able to get the Bradford County site off the ground. He went to work for The Times, where he had worked in the early "˜80s when I was playing basketball and football at Waverly.
Flash forward to 2018, and my wife has convinced me to launch a new site. I called Tim and he accepted the position. Site No. 2 is up and running.
In the spring of 2020, just after Covid lockdown had begun, I was convinced I was ready to launch a site in Bradford County. It was touch-and-go until late July when the PIAA announced there would be sports, and there would be state playoffs.
Chris Manning, who had been let go by The Review at the onset of Covid, accepted my offer to run the new Northern Tier Sports Report. Site No. 3 was up-and-running on Sept. 1, and has exceeded all expectations in the first year.
A few months later, Lance Larcom, who had a brief flirtation with a Web site of his own - CanTro Sports - in the early 2010s, reached out to me, and said he would like to return to writing sports.
I knew his photography was top-notch, but I wasn't sure about his writing. He quickly convinced me with a series of columns he penned for the The Sports Reports.
I was going to wait until the fall to launch, but I wasn't keen on the idea of launching two sites at once. So, we launched in mid-March for the spring season. Site No. 4 is up-and-running.
That brings me to next Monday. Site No. 5 - Southern Tier Sports Report, which will cover Corning, Elmira, Horseheads, Notre Dame, and Thomas A. Edison - will launch, with longtime Review Sports Editor Brian Fees at the helm.
So, here we are 12 years later, and there are five Web sites in "The Sports Reports" family. It's a bit hard to believe.
I have to thank my parents - Elizabeth and the late Jim Birney - for their help in getting VSR started. I couldn't have done it without them.
My father passed away four years ago, and not a day goes by that I don't think about him and the life lessons I learned through his actions, while my mother's zest for life continues to be a source of inspiration.
While my parents were a crucial part of getting Valley Sports Report started, it's my wife - Nikki Birney - who has been a key component in the success and expansion of "The Sports Reports."
She has given me the confidence to expand, and also the support to work the long hours to make it happen. The growth of VSR, and the launch of four more sites would not have been possible without her.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again because it is the absolute truth: she is not only my muse, my harshest critic, and biggest fan, but she is my sounding board, and my voice of reason. She pushes me to be better in every facet of life, and does not allow my hectic schedule to effect our life together.
And then there are the kids. Andrew and his wife Jessica, whose daughter Natalie celebrates her fifth birthday later this week, and son Nathan will be 3 in December. They are expecting their third child in November. ... Alex and his wife Rebecca, who recently purchased their first home ... Emily, now a senior at SUNY Potsdam ... James, a graduate of the University of San Francisco at just 20 years old ... Cassie, who will be attending St. Bonaventure later this month ... and Patrick, a junior at Tioga. They are the reason I do what I do, and they all have great things ahead of them.
I need to thank Tim Taylor, Chris Manning, Lance Larcom, and Brian Fees for their hard work and dedication to their sites, and for having faith in me.
I also need to thank a small group of photographers whose work with the camera bring more quality photos to the pages of Valley Sports Report than I could have ever managed by myself. My thanks goes out to Dave Alliger and Matt Patton, as well as Mike Lubertowicz, Chela Bubniak, Shannon McCarty, Christina Rossi, Theresa Pipher, Christina Kreykenbohm, Danielle Hickey, Glenn Jarvis, and Lori Vascoe.
I've also been blessed to have covered four school districts whose teams and individual athletes have won countless league and district / section titles. The number of Division I athletes the four "little Valley schools" have produced in recent years is truly mind-blowing.
The majority of the Valley teams have been led by coaches who have kept the numbers high in their programs, and have maintained a winning tradition.
All this has made my job a bit easier, and resulted in rabid fan bases in the four Valley school districts, which has led to consistent, and constantly-increasing viewership numbers for the site.
For me, this site is mainly about the student-athletes and the fans, the majority of whom view the site multiple times per day, so I offer a huge "thank you" to both.
The 13th year of high school sports coverage for VSR begins Monday. I'm hoping common sense prevails, and our student-athletes have a normal 2021-22.
I continued to be amazed by the support this site continues to receive. I look forward to the future, and I hope to see a lot of familiar faces on the sidelines, and in the stands this fall, winter, and spring.
