In our business, having a network is important.  It’s always good to be able to contact other announcers to ask questions of.  Because, who really can provide the best feedback and suggestions than other announcers, right?  Well, the answer to that is anyone.  But it’s always a good idea to bounce things off other announcers who may have seen, heard, or actually done something.

The biggest flaw that we have, is there are thousands of announcers, and so few who are willing to network, join online forums, or even reach out.  One such situation happened last week when we were announcing a volleyball match.  An announcer from another school approached us about pronunciations.  The problem was, and every announcer knows this, is when someone approaches you to chat while you are writing something down, finalizing an announcement, etc.  We all get into our habits before games, it’s what helps us stay prepared.

This announcer didn’t get the best interaction, but I was able to chat with him a little, get the pronunciations and even have a little small talk.  I left the meeting feeling that I’d cheated another announcer the opportunity to expand his network.  After the match, I gave him my card and asked him to check out the web site.

Meeting other announcers can be a God send when it comes to pronunciations.  Coaches are not the best source, but sometimes our only source.  I didn’t even talk to the coach of this team because I had their announcer help me with names and some other information and it was greatly helpful for the entire show.

In Northern Virginia, volleyball rarely has announcers during the match, let alone music.  Something that we provide at three high schools full time, and a hand full of others for their Senior Nights.  Typically, the announcer is an assistant coach or manager who introduces everybody before the match, and once the match starts, the only noise comes from the floor.  Watching reactions of the players during the match that aren’t used to having music are both positive and negative.

“Do we really need to be this obnoxious?” said one player during a JV match recently.  “We don’t have this at home, why do they have to do it here?”

Her teammates responded with, “This is awesome.”  “I love this.”  “I wish we had this.”  The aim is to make the game fun for all, not tear teams apart.  The irony is the father of the player approached me after the match and asked if I could announce one of their matches.

In situations like this, and if you have the time, offer to help the school develop their own announcers.  This can help you create a network, expand a network and create a positive support line for those who may not have ever thought they had a chance to get behind a microphone.