The number one thing to remember when announcing, is to get names right.  Ask the coach, ask the player, ask the moms, ask the trainers, find anyway to get the names right.

One thing that we’ve noticed a lot of recently is the number of lower-level coaches who don’t know their players names.  That seems to be something that’s important.  To at least learn the players names, first and last.  There are a couple of schools who are notorious for that.  At the beginning of the season, that’s one thing, the coach may not have had the team very long and is still learning his/her player’s names.  However, at the end of a season, they’ve spent practice, games, and bus rides with the players.

A good way to start remembering names is to use your roster and when you meet a coach, call them by their first name instead of “coach”.  That goes a long way with a lot of people that you took the time to learn their name.  Plus, the more you call them by their first name, the more you’ll remember it and the line between visiting coach and announcer is blurred.

Same with the people at the scorer’s table, learn everyone’s name, write it down on a scrap piece of paper if you have to.  You’ll find yourself learning more and more names, and this can help when it comes time for tournaments or big games.