![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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League Leaders Meet on MHSAA TV
January 22, 2019
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
A number of basketball match-ups with conference leads on the line highlight this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule, which again is offering more than 250 events produced by School Broadcast Program participants.
In Boys Basketball: On Wednesday (Jan. 23), Bad Axe is hosting Unionville-Sebewaing at 6 p.m., and both teams are 5-0 in the Greater Thumb Conference West. Ovid-Elsie welcomes New Lothrop in a Thursday contest at 7 p.m., with the two teams tied for the top of the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference with 5-1 league records. On Friday (Jan. 25) at 7:30 p.m., Reed City is at Fremont, where both teams are 5-1 in the Central State Activities Association Gold.
In Girls Basketball: An early Saginaw Valley League Red showdown Friday has Saginaw Heritage (9-0 overall, 2-0 league) at Bay City John Glenn (8-1, 1-0) at 7 p.m.
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.
Here’s the upcoming MHSAA.tv schedule of video streams being produced by School Broadcast Program members and the NFHS Network:
Tuesday - Jan. 22
Freshman Boys Basketball - Novi at Howell - 3:50 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Coopersville at Comstock Park - 4 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Whitehall at Fremont - 4 PM
Freshman Girls Basketball - Freeland at Fenton - 4 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Waterford Mott at White Lake Lakeland - 4 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - East Kentwood at Grandville - 4 PM
Freshman Girls Basketball - Dearborn Divine Child at Bloomfield Hills Marian - 4 PM
Middle School Girls Basketball - Ann Arbor Greenhills - 4:15 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Carrollton at Frankenmuth - 4:30 PM
Middle School Girls Basketball - Ann Arbor Greenhills - 5:15 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Novi at Howell - 5:20 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Genesee Christian at Montrose - 5:25 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Whitehall at Fremont - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Watervliet at Kalamazoo Christian - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Hopkins at Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Flushing at Flint Kearsley - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Howell at Novi - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Dearborn Divine Child at Bloomfield Hills Marian - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Waterford Mott at White Lake Lakeland - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - South Haven at Plainwell - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Ortonville-Brandon at Fenton - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - East Kentwood at Grandville - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Coopersville at Comstock Park - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Lake Fenton at Ovid-Elsie - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Chesaning at Corunna - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Bessemer at Dollar Bay - 5:45 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Mason County Central at Hart - 6 PM
Boys Basketball - McBain at Harrison - 6 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Carrollton at Frankenmuth - 6 PM
Girls Basketball - St. Louis at Hemlock - 6 PM
Girls Basketball - Unionville-Sebewaing at Bad Axe - 6 PM
JV Girls Basketball - West Iron County at Norway - 6:30 PM
Boys Basketball - Novi at Howell - 6:50 PM
Boys Basketball - Whitehall at Fremont - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - Waterford Mott at White Lake Lakeland - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Hopkins at Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - Flushing at Flint Kearsley - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Ortonville-Brandon at Fenton - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Lake Fenton at Ovid-Elsie - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Chesaning at Corunna - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - Oak Park at Lake Orion - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Watervliet at Kalamazoo Christian - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - East Kentwood at Grandville - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Clarkston Everest Collegiate at Waterford Our Lady - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Howell at Novi - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - Coopersville at Comstock Park - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Dearborn Divine Child at Bloomfield Hills Marian - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - Genesee Christian at Montrose - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - Walled Lake Northern at Milford - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - South Haven at Plainwell - 7:15 PM
Girls Competitive Cheer - Bessemer at Dollar Bay - 7:15 PM
Girls Basketball - Mason County Central at Hart - 7:30 PM
Boys Basketball - Carrollton at Frankenmuth - 7:30 PM
Boys Basketball - St. Louis at Hemlock - 7:30 PM
Girls Basketball - West Iron County at Norway - 8 PM
Wednesday - Jan. 23
Wrestling – Burton Bendle, Flint Hamady & Webberville at Corunna - 5 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Clarkston Everest Collegiate at Ann Arbor Greenhills - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - East Jackson at Manchester - 5:30 PM
Wrestling – Plainwell Quad - 5:30 PM
Wrestling - Wyoming Lee at Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian - 5:30 PM
Wrestling – St. Johns at Fowlerville - 5:30 PM
Girls Competitive Cheer - Lake Fenton at Montrose - 6 PM
Girls Competitive Cheer – West Michigan Conference Jamboree at Hart - 6 PM (Mason County Central, Montague, Ravenna, Shelby, Whitehall)
Boys Basketball - Memphis at Harbor Beach - 6 PM
Boys Basketball - Unionville-Sebewaing at Bad Axe - 6 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Clarkston Everest Collegiate at Ann Arbor Greenhills - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - East Jackson at Manchester - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Bath at Pewamo-Westphalia - 7 PM
Boys Basketball – Portland St. Patrick at Vestaburg - 7:30 PM
Thursday - Jan. 24
Freshman Girls Basketball – Walled Lake Western at White Lake Lakeland - 4 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park - 4 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball – Flint Carman-Ainsworth at Grand Blanc - 4 PM
Freshman Girls Basketball - Flint Southwestern at Flint Powers Catholic - 4 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Byron at Mt. Morris - 4 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Lansing Eastern at Fowlerville - 4 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Lawton at Kalamazoo Christian - 4:15 PM
Middle School Girls Basketball - Vandercook Lake at Manchester - 4:30 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Shepherd at Freeland - 4:30 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - St. Charles at Hemlock - 4:30 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Millington at Frankenmuth - 4:30 PM
Middle School Boys Basketball – Sterling Heights Parkway Christian at Southfield Christian - 4:30 PM
Wrestling – Macomb Area Conference Gold Quad at St. Clair Shores Lakeshore- 5 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Paw Paw at Plainwell - 5 PM
Freshman Girls Basketball - Caledonia at Grandville - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - New Lothrop at Ovid-Elsie - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Byron at Mt. Morris - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Caledonia at Grandville - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park - 5:30 PM
Freshman Girls Basketball - Chesaning at Fenton - 5:30 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Lansing Eastern at Fowlerville - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball – Flint Carman-Ainsworth at Grand Blanc - 5:30 PM
Boys Basketball – Indian River Inland Lakes at Pellston - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Lawton at Kalamazoo Christian - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball – Walled Lake Western at White Lake Lakeland - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Houghton at Calumet - 5:45 PM
JV Girls Basketball - St. Charles at Hemlock - 6 PM
Girls Basketball - Flint Southwestern at Flint Powers Catholic - 6 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Millington at Frankenmuth - 6 PM
Girls Basketball - Marlette at Harbor Beach - 6 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Shepherd at Freeland - 6 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Paw Paw at Plainwell - 6:15 PM
Boys Basketball - New Lothrop at Ovid-Elsie - 7 PM
JV Girls Basketball – Flint Carman-Ainsworth at Grand Blanc - 7 PM
Girls Basketball – Walled Lake Western at White Lake Lakeland - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - Byron at Mt. Morris - 7 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Swartz Creek at Fenton - 7 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Lansing Eastern at Fowlerville - 7 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Lawton at Kalamazoo Christian - 7 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Caledonia at Grandville - 7 PM
Girls Basketball - Farmington at Lake Orion - 7 PM
Girls Basketball – Burton St. Thomas More at Waterford Our Lady - 7 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Caledonia at Grandville - 7 PM
Boys Basketball - Houghton at Calumet - 7:15 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Shepherd at Freeland - 7:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - St. Charles at Hemlock - 7:30 PM
Boys Basketball - Potterville at Pewamo-Westphalia - 7:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Millington at Frankenmuth - 7:30 PM
Boys Ice Hockey - Rochester at Lake Orion - 7:45 PM
Friday - Jan. 25
Freshman Boys Basketball - Birmingham Brother Rice at Warren DeLaSalle - 4 PM
Freshman Girls Basketball - Ludington at Fremont - 4:30 PM
Freshman Boys Basketball - Madison Heights Bishop Foley at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 4:30 PM
Freshman Girls Basketball - Grand Blanc - 5 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Montrose at Otisville-Lakeville - 5:25 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Monroe at Saline - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Plymouth at Howell - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Michigan Center at Manchester - 5:30 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Bay City John Glenn at Saginaw Heritage - 5:30 PM
Girls Basketball - Onaway at Pellston - 5:30 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Birmingham Brother Rice at Warren DeLaSalle - 5:30 PM
Girls Basketball - Goodrich at Corunna - 5:30 PM
Girls Basketball - Northville at Novi - 5:30 PM
Girls Basketball - Goodrich at Corunna - 5:30 PM
Girls Basketball - Reed City at Fremont - 6 PM
JV Girls Basketball - Ravenna at Hart - 6 PM
JV Boys Basketball - Madison Heights Bishop Foley at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 6 PM
Boys Basketball - Marlette at Harbor Beach - 6 PM
Girls Basketball - Hemlock at St. Charles - 6 PM
Girls Basketball - Swartz Creek at Fenton - 6 PM
Boys Basketball - Plymouth at Howell - 6:50 PM