Coaches extend expertise to boost student broadcasters

[TomM]

Coaches extend expertise to boost student broadcasters
http://news.psu.edu/story/335134/2014/11/18/academics/coaches-extend-expertise-boost-student-broadcasters
November 18, 2014
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Coaching matters in sports -- something that's been proven repeatedly at Penn State through the years as teams pile up conference and national championships -- and coaching matters for aspiring sports broadcasters.

That's being proven at Penn State as well.

Thanks to a forward-thinking effort involving ComRadio, some championship-caliber Penn State coaches and a group of committed and talented undergraduate students, the state of sports broadcasting has already improved.

It started with a brief discussion between men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik and ComRadio general manager Jeff Brown last summer.

"Pav and I were at lunch and I told him that I'd always wanted to conduct seminars for students, to help educate those who want to do radio play-by-play," Brown said. "It seems like everybody knows football, basketball and baseball, but we were sorely lacking for things like volleyball, soccer and wrestling. It's hard to put students on the air if they don't know what they're talking about."

ComRadio is the Internet-based radio station housed in the College of Communications. More than 150 students contribute to ComRadio each semester. Programming includes a variety of news and sports-talk shows as well as play-by-play coverage of a numerous of Penn State varsity sports.

Pavlik was immediately interested in the idea. "Jeff asked if I could help out every now and then, and I actually suggested we do it every week," Pavlik said. "It's worked out really well."

What resulted was a weekly Wednesday night meeting between the coach who has a national championship and 15 consecutive Final Four appearances to his credit and a handful of students whose combined volleyball experience or expertise generally ranged from watching the sport during the Olympics on TV to playing with family and friends at a summer picnic.

In fairness, some had broadcast Penn State women's volleyball games before, but even they had a steep learning curve.

During the sessions in Rec Hall, Pavlik showed the students Penn State game film and discussed volleyball basics as well as higher-end strategy. They talked volleyball and watched volleyball -- especially samples Pavlik pulled from ESPN, YouTube and other sources that included work by people he considers some of the best volleyball broadcasters in the world.

In addition, the students with some experience brought in tapes of their broadcasts for Pavlik to critique.

"It's been an amazing experience," said junior Tyler Feldman, an aspiring sports broadcaster who regularly works on ComRadio and for BTN.com broadcasts. "Coach Pavlik has been wonderful sharing his time, and we know the game better as a result. Whether it's little things or big things, he helps us understand how a volleyball broadcast should sound."

Pavlik has been impressed with the students' passion and talent. Attendance for the sessions was consistent and strong. His goal was to help them avoid mistakes that an informed volleyball audience would easily catch and prepare them to be the best at what they do.

"They brought in a DVD of a women's match that they did, so we discussed that and they had really good questions. For me, it was initially about avoiding obvious mistakes," Pavlik said. "For example, someone might say, 'Micah sets the ball up for Nia.' Well, 'up' is just unnecessary. Is she going to set it down? And 'dug out.' What was it in that it had to be dug out of? Once you point out that those kinds of things that are obvious, it improves a broadcast -- and much more improvement comes with familiarity."

Later in the semester, Pavlik and the students took their sessions to a different level when the women's volleyball team played at home on a Wednesday night. Instead of talking and watching film, one of the best coaches in the nation sat in the Rec Hall bleachers with students who hope to be the best at what they do -- all watching one of the best women's volleyball teams in the nation.

"These kids really want to be excellent at what they do, and its been a lot of fun," Pavlik said. "To be involved with people who want to improve and be the best they can be is special. It's certainly nice to be in touch with students who are not my players. It just gives a broader connection to campus.

"We have a University full of very special people, whether its students, faculty or staff. Our students have never let us down. It's so much fun watching them pursue excellence."

Pavlik's willingness to coach and mentor made him just the first of several Penn State coaches who have committed to help the ComRadio students -- many of whom are part of the first-of-its-kind John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, also housed in the College of Communications. Along with Pavlik, women's soccer coach Erica Walsh plans to participate in similar sessions in the future. Men's soccer coach Bob Warming has expressed an interest as well.

In addition, alumnus Jeff Byers, the award-winning radio broadcaster who calls Penn State wrestling for the Penn State Sports Network, plans to conduct seminars with the student broadcasters. In fact, Byers, who earned his broadcast-cable degree in 1992, and members of the wrestling staff have agreed to conduct a couple of sessions as the season progresses.

For Brown and ComRadio, the coaching and mentoring sessions lead to better broadcasts and, eventually, better-prepared alumni who move into jobs as professional broadcasters. Someday Brown anticipates home and away coverage of as many Penn State sports as possible on ComRadio. He also envisions sport-specific shows for many Penn State sports on ComRadio each week.

Still, he knows many first steps must be completed first, and this combination of coaches and students -- a truly engaged scholarship, out-of-the-box (and out-of-the-classroom) experience -- has represented a strong start on that journey.

"Pav has been the ideal person go get things started because he really cares and has been so supportive," Brown said. "He understands that this is an educational experience, and that's the core reason for what we're doing. It's about helping the students get better at what they do."