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.)
Streams Continue with Saturday Lacrosse
June 4, 2019
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
There will be live streaming audio and video coverage of the MHSAA Boys & Girls Lacrosse Finals on Saturday (June 8) on the MHSAA Network and MHSAA.tv.
The MHSAA’s audio streaming website – MHSAANetwork.com – goes back on the air for the last two weekends of the Spring sports tournament run for live coverage of the Lacrosse and Girls Soccer Finals, as well as the Semifinals and Finals in Baseball and Softball.
Here’s the complete Lacrosse Finals schedule with direct links to the live video streams on MHSAA.tv:
Girls Finals at Novi High School
2 p.m. – Division 2 – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood/East Grand Rapids Semifinal winner v. Okemos/Bloomfield Hills Marian Semifinal winner
4:30 p.m. – Division 1 – Birmingham Seaholm/Rockford Semifinal winner v. Hartland/Brighton Semifinal winner
Boys Finals at Parker Middle School, Howell
2 p.m. – Division 1 – Birmingham Brother Rice/Rockford Semifinal winner v. Detroit Catholic Central/Lake Orion Semifinal winner
4:30 p.m. – Division 2 – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central/Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Semifinal winner v. East Grand Rapids/Ada Forest Hills Eastern Semifinal winner
Subscribe for a Month Pass to the NFHS Network for $9.95, which will provide access to more than 100 hours of live programming of Spring Finals. Next weekend, MHSAA Finals in Lower Peninsula Girls Soccer (June 14-15) and Semifinals and Finals in Baseball and Softball (June 13-15) will be streamed live.
All events will be archived for free on-demand viewing, beginning three days after their completion. Subscriptions must be cancelled before the 30-day period is over to avoid recurring charges.
Instant audio and video downloads of events taking place on the MHSAA Network and MHSAA.tv will be available shortly following the conclusion of each stream. Click the appropriate button next to the media player of the broadcast to order. Audio downloads are $4.99. Video downloads are priced at $19.95.
MHSAA members participating in the School Broadcast Program will be providing bonus coverage during the final days of the spring sports season. SBP participants routinely stream MHSAA tournament events their schools host.
Brighton is one of more than 100 SBP schools using the NFHS Network’s automated production solution – Pixellot – to produce games and has a Pixellot unit installed at its outdoor multi-purpose field. Brighton will provide Pixellot coverage of two Semifinal games Wednesday (June 6) in the MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Tournament.
Here’s the schedule:
Division 2 – Okemos v. Bloomfield Hills Marian – 5:30 p.m.
Division 1 – Hartland v. Brighton – 7:30 p.m.
Cedar Springs High School will cover a Division 3 Girls Soccer Semifinal at 6 p.m. on June 11 involving the winners of the Hope College and Clare Regionals.
In its 10th 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 events. The SBP also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 a month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. School Broadcast Program participants also sell Season and Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.