Professional athletes always say to start young with a sport so why not with P.A. Announcing?  I started announcing in seventh grade for my brother’s youth hockey team.  The rink always left the microphone out and I decided to try it out of curiosity.

Getting Started

I worked with the local youth hockey teams all the way up until college, and I began to work with my high school program my freshman year through graduation.  At the start of my sophomore year, Deerfield High School Athletic Director, Robert Ruiz found me and asked me to announce athletic events at DHS.  Prior to the start of my junior year, I met a fellow PA Announcer from Deerfield, Scott Marovitz.  He taught me “How to Announce” since I’d never really had someone to learn from.  He was able to mentor me throughout high school.  I was also able to build up my confidence and become recognized around the Central Suburban League as a member of the 2012-13 CSL Leadership Conference as well as the Principal Service Award for Athletics recipient at Deerfield.

My friends began to notice and gave me the nickname, “DJ Skylon”, and the nickname has followed me since.  Men’s basketball games in high school were usually accompanied with chants of “DJ Skylon”.  Whether it was me or Scott on the mic, they always tried to get the chant started. 

“It was so fun having you as our PA Announcer because no matter what the score was or who we were playing you made it seem like it was the state championship every game,” said Deerfield softball and basketball alum Emelia Karkazis.

Although I appreciate the chant, the event isn’t about me or the announcer.  It’s about helping to create a positive enjoyable atmosphere in the facility and attempting to help create lasting memories the athletes won’t forget.  I try to make a positive environment for the athletes no matter what the score is.  Feedback came at me often.

“Dylon went above and beyond for a high school program,” DHS Head Softball Coach Susan Johnson said.  “He connected with each one of my softball athletes to create personal walk-up songs.  This was very motivating.”

I enjoy announcing because it is the best seat in the house job and to help enhance the athletic experience while having fun myself. 

“He brought the crowd and school to their feet to cheer on our softball team,” Johnson said.  “He created a positive and fun environment for all of our supporters, he also promoted great sportsmanship through his professional announcing style”.

Moving to College

I currently announce for the Upper Iowa University Peacocks, who are part of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, an NCAA Division II institution. The Peacocks are considered to be a professional sports team to some in northeast Iowa as they compete in a very entertaining conference, and a school is on the uprise making the transition from Division-III to Division-II ten years ago.  While announcing for UIU I’m also a student earning a degree in sports communications.

After volunteering in the athletic department for a few weeks, Assistant Athletic Director Brock Wissmiller, and Sports Information Director Howie Thompson approached me about announcing volleyball and coordinating audio for the football program.  This led to the opportunity to announce men’s and women’s basketball, and wrestling.  All the teams and their opponents are talented and creates a great atmosphere.  Night in and night out, I can add a new event to the list of most exciting athletic events I’ve announced.

My ultimate goal with announcing is to continue down the track I’m currently on and hopefully announce professional sports. It would be an honor for me to announce for my favorite team, the New York Rangers of the NHL, however I wouldn’t mind announcing for any professional sports team no matter what league, city, or sport!

SportsAnnouncing.com is happy to welcome Dylon who will be contributing to the website throughout the year.