Trying to get into play-by-play...

[TheScorpion]

My lifelong dream has been to be a hockey play-by-play guy and I have no idea how to get into that landscape at all. I called a couple games in university as a fill-in colour guy for the uOttawa Gee-Gees and I've done some public address stuff at high school basketball games but that was only a small little taste. I want to start trying things out and seeing if I can actually call a hockey game in real time, even if it's only a period.

Would anybody potentially be interested in listening to a YouTube audio stream of me calling the first period of the Flames/Oilers game on Tuesday? And does anyone know of any teams in the city (any sport) looking for people who can call games?

Sorry if this is a stupid thread but I'm genuinely curious about this!

[jayswin]

I would do it privately first. Isn't that how Harnarayan Singh did it? Just record the game and mess around with it a few times, redoing plays when you know what's happening.


You're cutting your teeth, no reason to throw yourself into the fire with the pressure of a live stream, imo.

[jayswin]

Not to hijack the thread, but man is that Singh story great. "We'l; give you the job but you have to move from Calgary to Toronto?" "I'll take my dream job and live in Calgary, thank you very much!!".

The producers at HNIC: Punjabi Edition had told Singh that to be a part of the show he would have to move from Calgary to Toronto, as there wasn’t any travel budget. “I told them, ‘Don’t worry I’ll be there,’ ” says Singh. But he didn’t relocate, or quit his day job as a local radio reporter. “Basically I became a travel expert. I was the guy you wanted to talk to about flight sales, the best time of day to fly. I had Excel spreadsheets. I was buying tickets months in advance when there was a seat sale.” His weekends often looked like this: take the red-eye from Calgary Friday night, get to Toronto early Saturday morning, rent a car, go to the studio and prepare for the show, call two HNIC games, drive back to the Toronto airport around 1 a.m., beg the maintenance staff to turn off the noisy floor waxers, sleep on a bench, and head to the gate when security opened at 4 a.m.

“I kept it hidden for so long,” says Singh. “I didn’t want anyone to know that I was coming out on my own dime, because I didn’t want them to think I was a lunatic.”

[Scroopy Noopers]

Yeah take some time to work some stuff out. You seem really detail oriented based on the hockey card designs, so I’m sure you would find ways to fine tune your skills by listening to your playback.

In terms of a live game you’re really setting yourself up for a rough ride relying on what the camera is showing you. When you’re live, line changes are obvious and you can keep up with who is on the ice every second.

[Poe969]

I'd listen scorp. You've done a lot of great stuff so far and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you can do this well too. Let me know what I can do to help.

[TheScorpion]

God those hockey cards, I almost forgot all about them with everything that's gone on with COVID et al. They'll be done at some point but after getting a job and doing the podcast and now with another opportunity (to be announced this week!) it's been tough to have time for that sort of intensive design work.

Re: practice, I agree with what's been said, but also, while I don't have experience calling games for people, I've been practicing calling games since I was eight years old and going to the Dome and annoying the hell out of people in my section by trying to emulate Loubardias in the stands. I frequently practice in front of my TV when I'm watching at home... now I want to try it out for people, if that makes sense?

And yeah re: calling stuff off a monitor, that'll certainly be a challenge for even the pros, let alone me. But I want to give it a shot.

Thanks for all the kind words also!

[tvp2003]

Harnarayan’s story is great. His article on the Players Tribune is a must read:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en...-chapared-shot

Also, there was an article in the Athletic about Leah Hextall getting into play-by-play. Might have some ideas for you to consider:

When she first set her sights on play-by-play, Emrick suggested she take a page from his book. When he started broadcasting in 1968, there was nowhere to practice, so he would take a recorder and sit alone at hockey games in Fort Wayne, Ind., and call the game to himself.

Based in Winnipeg, Hextall started showing up at AHL Manitoba Moose games and doing the same. Eventually, the Moose gave her a booth to sit in to call the games to herself. And this year, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League invited her to call their games live on a streaming service.

“It’s not a lot of bells and whistles,” Hextall said. “Getting reps is banging on doors and saying, ‘I’m doing this and I would love an opportunity’ and honestly, doing it for free. I just go do this. It costs me money, I’m driving an hour out of Winnipeg to go do this and it’s my own time and it’s not glamorous in any way, but if you want to get better, it’s the only way to get better.”

https://theathletic.com/1652343/2020...oadcast-booth/

[Gaskal]

Worth taking the time to get a few games in and evaluate yourself first before opening yourself up to the critique of others. You want some time to develop and tailor your own 'style' after all and learn the little tricks of the trade.

I believe Leah Hextall had this cheatsheet of little hockey-specific phrases to alternate between, like "fires it in, blasts it in, hammers it through" etc for point shots, so that she doesn't sound like a broken record after 1 period.

[PaperBagger'14]

I went to high school with a guy who cut his teeth by doing announcing for the Okotoks Dawgs, maybe look into other small local sports teams once you feel ready for the job.

[DeluxeMoustache]

A long time ago at the hockey hall of fame they had an exhibit where you could call famous plays, like Bobby Orr’s cup winner or some other highlights like that. Having a try at that fixed any notion of being able to do that without a whole lot of practice.

I agree with the others. When hockey is back on, try recording yourself calling games and listening back to yourself. If you have the technology, you could record the video and overlay your audio track, re-do bits like musicians do

Takes a lot of practice but if you are truly passionate about it, I think you can do it

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

A long time ago at the hockey hall of fame they had an exhibit where you could call famous plays, like Bobby Orr’s cup winner or some other highlights like that. Having a try at that fixed any notion of being able to do that without a whole lot of practice.

I agree with the others. When hockey is back on, try recording yourself calling games and listening back to yourself. If you have the technology, you could record the video and overlay your audio track, re-do bits like musicians do

Takes a lot of practice but if you are truly passionate about it, I think you can do it

I remember that exhibit well. I thought I was pretty good at, but then I noticed the friends I was with having quite a chuckle.

Scorp - you've probably done this to an extent, but the way you have reached out and secured these great guests for your podcast, was wondering if you could find a mentor out there who'd be willing to share their experiences. And in particular, how they got connected to the business in the first place.

I assume at some point you want to build your own highlight tape that you can share with potential employers.

[EldrickOnIce]

I regularly did some colour and a couple times filled in as PBP for local Jr A Hockey team. That type of thing is a good place to start.
Good luck

[topfiverecords]

Get Rick Ball on your podcast and ask him for tips.

[Harry Lime]

I would start by calling a few games on your own, to get the jitters out and build a rhythm.

Then move onto a stream with a couple of friends to get some feedback before moving onto a college or university team where you can work for free (something like this might not even be externally broadcast, but for the entertainment of the 12 people who come to the games). I think that it will be a slow build up to landing a paying contract, like in the realm of a decade, so persistence is something that you better have.

In another life, I spent some time in the film industry, and the best advice that I can give you is to not lose sight of the fact that you are part of an entertainment product. The call will get you a job, but the delivery will get people to listen. Being comfortable on the air is going to take practice.

Good luck!

[Toonage]

If you get a chance to speak with Lou again, ask him about the Western Academy Broadcasting College in Saskatoon. I believe he went there. Not sure if it's still around but he may be able to recommend a similar and maybe local broadcasting college and that's the route I would recommend (school). WABC produced other notable graduates like Darren Dutchyshen and Darren Dreger.

I said notable, not great.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I did some games for the Cougars and Royals back when I was in broadcasting and still do the Roughnecks. Also did the Dawgs back in the day and a little bit of basketball (which I found to be toughest). Baseball is totally different because of the pace, it's more of an ongoing conversation you are having with the audience, with moments of excitement.
Hockey is hard because of the pace of play.
Calling off your TV is a great way to start. Record yourself so it seems real. If you don't record you'll be tempted to stop and correct yourself.
That being said, once life is normal look for opportunities to call from a game in the booth. The perspective is different and calling off your TV will be easier in some ways.
Practice, practice, practice. It's a muscle that you have to build.
Would be happy to give anything a listen.

[GioforPM]

TV or radio? IMO they’re quite different, though I guess you start off the same way. But if it’s radio you think you’ll start in, keep that in mind when practicing off of TV. The pace, level of detail, etc. = higher in radio.

Speaking of Ball, how are your eyes at following the play? That to me is one of his best attributes. He sees the details - who tipped the puck, infractions away from the play, etc., as well as anyone in the biz.

[Fuzz]

Just wondering, is this something journalism school might help for? Do they have sports journalism programs? I wonder if you might have more success with going that route first? I'd imagine getting hired would require some sort of education?

[Galakanokis]

My first thought goes to school either some sort of journalism or the SAIT program for radio and tv. Not sure there are many out there calling games (outside of players themselves) that haven't gone through broadcast school and worked their way up from the small town radio and tv stations. It is not just about being able to call plays, you need to paint a picture or tell a story while interacting with an audience that doesn't interact back.

Having worked in some form of radio, tv, and hockey for 25 years you see all types come and go. Some have "it" and others just don't. But school gives you the basics to build upon and often times a foot in the door. When we interviewed candidates for the Canucks new in arena host it was the most painful 5 hours of my life. So much cringe.

[CroFlames]

The hockey hall of fame has an exhibit where you can practice calling famous plays. You literally know what happens, and it's still near impossible to make the call.

I have all the time in the world for guys who do PBP or who want to get into it.