Here are 3 key insights in 3 minutes on the 3rd day of the 3rd week at 3:33 PM that will hopefully make you want to do one of 3 things: Think more about it, share it with others, or do something with it.
It's 20 minutes to kickoff, and three different people are asking me for field access I never approved. A booster with a full camera rig wants to shoot from the sideline. A parent is already down at the fence line, phone out, recording for the team's Instagram. And a videographer somebody hired for a hype reel is standing at the gate asking where he's supposed to set up. None of it came across my desk first.
I've lived this more times than I'd like. Here are three things I wish I'd settled before the season ever started.
1. The fence line free-for-all
It used to be one photographer for the yearbook, maybe a parent with a real camera. Now every kid with a phone wants sideline footage for their own account, every booster club has someone "doing content," and everyone assumes standing wherever they'd like is fine — because no one ever told them otherwise.
It isn't just crowded. It's a safety concern when people are drifting along the sideline during live play, and it's a fairness concern when one family's videographer ends up with closer access than everybody else's kid.
Nobody's trying to cause a problem. They just don't know where the line is, because there isn't one.
Takeaway: Write a single line of sideline access rules and post it somewhere visible: who's allowed on the field, and exactly where they can stand.
2. The booster video nobody approved
This one sneaks up on you. A booster club decides to hire someone for a season hype reel, or a parent offers to shoot "just a few games" for the team's socials. Here's the problem: it never reaches you until they're at the gate expecting the same access as your actual game staff.
Then you're the one telling a booster club — in front of a line of ticket buyers — that their guy can't be on the field. That conversation goes a whole lot smoother in July than it does at kickoff.
The fix is simply getting ahead of the ask instead of reacting to it.
Takeaway: Before this month is out, tell your booster club exactly what access their videographer gets, in writing, so nobody's negotiating it at the gate on game night.
3. The media request process that actually works
What's worked for us is treating this like any other request that needs an answer before game night, not a debate at the gate. Three things make it click. First, clear eligibility, so everyone knows who's even allowed to ask — official media, an approved booster content creator, a student journalist. Second, a real timeline, so requests come in by a set day each week instead of a text at six o'clock on game night. And third, one person who actually approves or denies each one, rather than whoever happens to be standing at the gate.
Once that process exists, the person working your gate isn't making judgment calls on the spot. They're just checking a list somebody already signed off on.
One thing that's made this easier for us: a simple online form instead of scattered texts and emails. A few fields — name, role, date, and the kind of access they're requesting — and every request lands in one place instead of split across your inbox, your phone, and a hallway conversation you're trying to remember later. You don't need anything complicated. A basic form with three or four questions gets you further than most departments ever bother to build.
Takeaway: Set up a simple request form this week — who's eligible, what the deadline is, who signs off — and route every request to it from here on.
Pick one
Take one of these, not all three. And if someone's standing at your fence line with a camera tonight, it's worth asking yourself whether you actually approved that — or just didn't say no fast enough.
Looking for more tips to manage game nights? Check out our Events Toolkit for guides on crowd control, emergency planning, and more.
🔗 JOIN THE CONVERSATION — Each month I share insights like these on LinkedIn. Follow along and subscribe to get these direct in your feed and inbox, and share your take in the comments. If you want more of my insights for ADs and coaches, you can subscribe to my Substack.
