JD Radford
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Biography
JD Radford is a second-year transfer student at the University of Utah. Coming from Salt Lake Community College, Radford is extremely passionate about sports, journalism and writing. He is a strategic communications major and has one more semester until he graduates with a bachelor's degree. Radford has experience in news writing, live radio and TV broadcasting. He is a big fan of sports journalism and can often be found reading or writing about sports.
Reporter's Notebook
My enterprise story was done on the Utah Lady Grizzlies Youth Hockey Organization. They are currently the only youth girls hockey organization within the state of Utah, and I wanted to investigate and find out what advancement opportunities these girls have within the organization. I took it upon myself to interview coaches of the organization to tell me more about what they do within the teams they coach and the opportunities they can provide to the girls that are currently enrolled in the organization.
I was first really surprised to hear about the community within the organization and how supportive they are. Coaches took it upon themselves to get more people to the games, and based on this last season, attendance for a youth girls hockey game was surprising. I was also interested in the unique ways different coaches understand and coach their girls on different teams. Some coaches talked about positivity and the mental side of sports, while others focused on pure skill and development. It was interesting to talk to multiple brains inside the hockey coaching world.
While interviewing different coaches, I was surprised by the time commitment that was taken on by the girls. Between practices and potential individual and small group training sessions, some girls are on the ice four times a week, all while being enrolled in school full time and engaging in other hobbies. As for athlete experiences, coaches touched on how inspiring it has been to be able to have the opportunity to coach and develop young girls into college-level talent. I didn’t get to interview any players, even after reaching out on multiple platforms. However, specific coaches talked about how far certain girls have come while in the program, entering at an average level of talent, and now committing to NCAA hockey schools. The Utah Lady Grizzlies Instagram page represents them as an organization, posting insight on player development and news.
Some unexpected challenges I faced throughout reporting first came with interviewing and finding enough sources. I reached out first through their website, and when nobody responded, I started to panic a little because I really didn’t have any other contact information. However, I was able to look at their Instagram and find coaches' personal handles. After interviewing one coach, I asked for more coaches' phone numbers, and it started a domino effect. A specific memorable moment for me was talking to Rob Johnson, the head coach of the under-19, Tier I team—the best and highest level in the organization. It was so awesome to hear him talk about college prospects he had the pleasure of developing.