![Montrose SBP](/sites/default/files/2021-12/211207_fieldtrip_2H.jpg)
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.)
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Spring Underway on MHSAA TV
March 26, 2019
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
Here is the schedule for Spring sporting events to be streamed live on MHSAA.tv from March 26 to April 9:
March 26
JV Girls Soccer - West Bloomfield v. White Lake Lakeland - 5:30 PM
Girls Soccer - West Bloomfield v. White Lake Lakeland - 7 PM
Girls Lacrosse – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep v. Lake Orion - 7 PM
March 27
JV Girls Soccer – Grosse Pointe South v. St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 4:30 PM
Girls Soccer – Grosse Pointe South v. St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 6 PM
April 1
Girls Soccer - Hartland v. Howell - 7 PM
April 2
JV Girls Soccer - Hartland v. Howell - 5:30 PM
Girls Soccer - Laingsburg v. Manchester - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Soccer - Birch Run v. Freeland - 6 PM
April 3
Baseball - Swartz Creek v. Montrose - 4 PM
JV Girls Soccer - Midland v. Freeland - 5 PM
JV Girls Lacrosse - Midland v. Saline - 5:30 PM
Girls Soccer - Midland v. Freeland - 7 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Midland v. Saline - 7 PM
April 4
JV Girls Lacrosse - Flint Powers Catholic v. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 4:30 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Montrose v. Ovid-Elsie - 4:30 PM
JV Girls Soccer - Midland Dow v. Grand Blanc - 5 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Detroit Country Day v. Saline - 5:30 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Swartz Creek v. Ovid-Elsie - 6 PM
Girls Lacrosse - Flint Powers Catholic v. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 6 PM
Girls Soccer - Midland Dow v. Grand Blanc - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Detroit Country Day v. Saline - 7 PM
April 5
JV Boys Lacrosse – Detroit Catholic Central v. Howell - 4:30 PM
JV Girls Lacrosse – Noblesville, IN v. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 4:30 PM
JV Girls Soccer - Frankenmuth v. Freeland - 5 PM
Girls Lacrosse – Noblesville, IN v. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 6 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Brighton v. Grand Blanc - 6 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Ann Arbor Greenhills v. Howell - 6 PM
Girls Soccer - Frankenmuth v. Freeland - 7 PM
April 6
JV Girls Soccer - Royal Oak Shrine v. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 1 PM
Girls Soccer - Royal Oak Shrine v. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 11 AM
April 8
JV Girls Soccer – Saginaw Heritage v. Freeland - 5 PM
JV Boys Lacrosse - Stevenson v. Howell - 5:30 PM
Freshman Boys Lacrosse - Salem v. Brighton - 5:30 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Salem v. Brighton - 7 PM
Girls Soccer – Saginaw Heritage v. Freeland - 7 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Spartans v. Howell - 7 PM
April 9
Boys & Girls Track - Brighton v. Howell - 3:50 PM
Boys Track - White Lake Lakeland - 4 PM
Girls Track - White Lake Lakeland - 4 PM
Girls Soccer - Chesaning v. Montrose - 4:30 PM
Girls Soccer - Ann Arbor Greenhills v. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 4:30 PM
JV Girls Soccer - Rochester Adams v. Grand Blanc - 5 PM
Boys Lacrosse – Bay City Central v. Ovid-Elsie - 6 PM
JV Girls Soccer - Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 6:30 PM
Boys Lacrosse - Warren Cousino v. St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - 7 PM
Girls Soccer - Rochester Adams v. Grand Blanc - 7 PM
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 are selling 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.