Lights, camera, football
Television show connects Crimson Bears with community
Once a week during football season, a TV transformation takes place in Juneau.
Juneau-Douglas High School football coach Reilly Richey becomes a television interviewer. His wife, Kathi Yanamura, takes on the role of director, producer and camerawoman. And their living room morphs into a studio, with an assortment of players and coaches waiting in the wings to talk on tape about the previous game.
"Coach's Corner" has been a fall staple on local television since 1998, providing a half-hour of highlights, interviews and analysis about the week in Juneau football. Though admittedly humble, the show offers a link between the team and the community that becomes especially important when the Crimson Bears play out of town.
"It's really good for their parents," Yanamura said. "It gives (players) an opportunity to talk about what they do, and what football means to them. There's a lot of things behind the scenes that parents get a glimpse at."
"Coach's Corner" tapes on Sunday afternoons, and is shown on KATH-TV, cable channel 15/ broadcast channel 5, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 11 a.m. Thursdays. It started in 1998 as a combination of Richey's ideas and the expertise of Yanamura, who is principal of Harborview Elementary School and has a degree in educational technology.
Initially, the show appeared on a Juneau School District cable channel - where the technology was occasionally suspect. Once a show was ready, Yanamura would head to the high school to get the tape on the air while Richey waited at home by the television to see if the broadcast worked.
"She'd have to call and ask, 'Is it on?,' and I'd say, 'Yeah, for a few seconds,' and then she'd have to rewind it," Richey recalled.
In the early days it could take up to one hour to edit a single minute of the 27-minute show, with time spent paring down highlights, and adding in titles, transitions, music and special effects.
"I'd stay up all night long, and sometimes crash in the middle of the night," Yanamura said. "It could be painful."
New technology has cut production time in half and improved quality, but the show's format has changed little. Richey interviews a few selected players and coaches - often offensive coordinator Rich Sjoroos - about the previous game, incorporates some highlights, and looks ahead to the next week.
The show is taped whether the team wins or loses. While Juneau has had its share of success the past few seasons, there have been some dark moments.
"When you've lost three games, that gets really hard," Richey said of giving his weekly introduction to the show. "It's really challenging. Sometimes you feel like saying, 'I'm Reilly Richey, and unfortunately I'm the head coach of the Crimson Bears football team.'"
Last Sunday's taping, however, was upbeat, as Juneau had beaten East Anchorage in the state playoffs the day before. Crimson Bear quarterback Chris Hinkley and receiver Josh Lehauli were on hand to talk with Richey about their game-winning touchdown combination.
After turning off the telephone, clipping on microphones and testing the audio, the taping commenced with Yanamura manning two cameras. While it required a few takes - the doorbell rang once, and the players got each other laughing a few times - the trio recounted the decisive action for fans in Juneau who could not see the away game in person.
Although producing the show can be an ordeal, Richey and Yanamura said it's worth it to promote the JDHS football program. Crimson Bear players appreciate the effort.
"It's an advantage that not many teams get - to have their games on TV," Hinkley said after the taping. "It lets the town see our games when we're away."
"It's not just the families, but all of Juneau," Lehauli said. "Everybody knows the show."
• Andrew Krueger can be reached at andrew.krueger@juneauempire.com.