Ford Field Trip Gives Students Taste of Football Finals Broadcasting
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
December 7, 2021
Four levels above them, in the press box, a group of prospective broadcasters were touring the facilities. The high school students had spent the Fall sports season streaming games to the NFHS Network and now were learning about a career in broadcasting from Eric Vandefifer, a Montrose High grad currently serving as the radio voice of Saginaw Valley State University basketball and as a contributor to a variety of high school broadcast channels including the MHSAA Network.
Seven years ago, Vandefifer was in a similar situation. He was part of a field trip to Ford Field for the Finals that helped him realize sports broadcasting was a career he wanted to pursue. Those field trips were headed by Tom Skinner and Thom Lengyel, who became mentors to Vandefifer. As a high school junior in 2017, Vandefifer was named Best Student Broadcaster nationally by the NFHS Network.
“With Tom Skinner now deceased and Thom Lengyel retired from the broadcast business, I just felt like I had to continue this and their legacy,” Vandefifer said. “It was important to me to keep it going because when I was in school, it was something I looked forward to.”
Nearly 50 students from Lowell, Montrose, Lake Orion, Mount Pleasant and Ann Arbor Greenhills high schools made the Nov. 26-27 trip to Ford Field. They were able to film highlights, interview players, practice announcing the games, meet other members of the press and more. For Vandefifer, giving back to students who are in the position he once was is very rewarding.
“We had the ability to feel like real media members for a day. I wanted to be able to give other students that same opportunity,” Vandefifer said. “Seeing kids who have a love for sportscasting and that drive to get better gives me real hope for the next generation in this business.”
And after the field trips were done each day, Vandefifer put his headphones on, got behind the microphone and called the two afternoon games for the MHSAA Championship Network.
PHOTOS (Top) Eighth grader Sam Belill, left, and freshman Owen Leitelt from Montrose practice calling a game from the Ford Field press box. (Middle) Mount Pleasant make a stop at the press conference room. (Photos provided by the Montrose and Mount Pleasant School Broadcast Programs.)
Lacrosse Finals Continue MHSAA TV Championship Coverage
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 8, 2021
Four Girls & Boys Lacrosse Finals highlight Michigan High School Athletic Association streaming this weekend on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv, with a variety of pre-Finals games also being broadcast on the Network this week.
The Girls Lacrosse Finals will be played Saturday, June 12, at Novi High School, and the Boys Lacrosse Finals will be played at Parker Middle School in Howell. All of the action can be viewed by purchasing a Month Pass to MHSAA.tv for just $10.99. The Lacrosse Finals also will have live streaming audio on the MHSAA Network.
The schedule is as follows:
Girls Lacrosse
Division 2 – 2 p.m. – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam685797ce48
Division 1 – 4:30 p.m. – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam260b7d51f9
Boys Lacrosse
Division 1 – 2 p.m. – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam8e7f6f7297
Division 2 – 5 p.m. – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam0f3b692607
All Lacrosse Semifinals will be played Wednesday (June 9). All four girls games and two boys games will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv, and the schedule is linked here: Lacrosse Semifinals.
Additionally, a number of Regional matchups in girls soccer, softball and baseball will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv this week. Among soccer games available Tuesday (June 8) will be a Division 1 Regional Semifinal matching up Troy Athens (14-1-4) vs. Romeo (14-2-2). This week’s Softball/Baseball Regional broadcast schedules are highlighted by the Division 3 Softball Regional hosted by Millington, which includes the top-ranked Cardinals, No. 2 Richmond, Bad Axe and Capac. The broadcast schedules for those three sports are available at these links: Girls Soccer | Baseball | Softball.
The 2020-21 MHSAA Finals schedule will conclude June 17-19 with Softball & Baseball Semifinals and Finals and Girls Soccer Finals; all will be streamed live. All events, including this weekend’s Lacrosse Finals, will be archived for on-demand viewing after their completion. Audio streaming also will be available for next weekend’s Soccer, Softball and Baseball.
Now in its 13th year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. Pixellot – the NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 per month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and on-demand video from across the country. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as a portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program. (Subscriptions must be cancelled before the 30-day period is over to avoid recurring charges.)
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.