With so many Northwood sports to keep track of, students often turn to convenient, centralized sources of information to track their teams. More often than not, these sources are third-party websites such as MaxPreps or OC Sports Zone. But despite their convenience, these websites may not always be accurate in the information they present.
MaxPreps, used by high schools across the U.S., displays the schedules, statistics and player profiles of high school sports teams. Typically the team’s statistics are reliable when correctly uploaded by a coach, but the initially uploaded scores from games are often provided by attendees and may be inaccurate until MaxPreps can fact-check the information. Schedules on the website can also be incorrect or outdated at times, potentially causing athletes to miss important events.
“MaxPreps for some sports is very reliable,” track and field coach Louis Muniz said. “For other sports, it may not be reliable. It just depends on whether someone’s updating that information, either through their school site or through the coach themselves, or through a parent.”
Another platform that tracks high school sports is OC Sports Zone, a sports journalism website providing photos and reporting on the results of local games. This website tends to be a more reliable source, as journalists and photographers attend sporting events while double-checking information with the schools’ athletics directors and coaches.
“It was for sure really accurate about our team,” girls varsity water polo junior Cassidy McCallon said. “Because I know the reporter for that article came to our games and interviewed us after our CIF games.”
To effectively use third-party websites, students should cross-check the information on the sites with other sources, such as the sports teams’ websites or their social media accounts.
Ultimately, the most accurate and up-to-date information will be provided by the coaches of each sports team, as well as Northwood’s athletics directors. This prevents students from encountering incorrect schedules or inaccurate statistics. Students can look online for the designated websites and Instagram pages for any Northwood-specific sport or player they would like to learn about.
“I think the top alternative is to check in with the coaches and athletic directors at your own school, because they have the most up-to-date information,” co-athletic director Erik Terry said. “I think both MaxPreps and OC Sports Zone can be a reliable source of information, but they’re not always the main source.”
Some high schools are interested in creating centralized websites for all their sports, with all the schools having similar website designs for easy navigation.
“I think that high schools are starting to look at maybe generating a platform that is similar to the collegiate level,” Terry said. “So that when students do go on to play at the next level, that kind of exposure and player profile and statistics, it’s a similar platform, moving up from high school to junior college to four year schools.”
