Hello, Winter

 

I got the first basketball call done today, as Brunswick fell to Avon Old Farms.

While I have called Boomslang games since then, it had been several months since I had called high school hoops.

I expected a little bit of rust but it wasn't too bad. 

As usual, I was ready. I'd done my prep. At least I thought I had.

I had talked with Brunswick head coach Steve Juricek and assistant coach Zach Dobbs.

I felt good and had everything pulled together before seeing my Hunt Scanlon colleagues for a nice holiday luncheon at a nearby restaurant.

A restaurant that Sean and I walked to.

The concept is still so foreign that it is wonderful.

So was lunch.

I was in the Dann Gym on King Street roughly an hour before game time because, when covering Brunswick, setup is so easy. I established a table using two chairs, and set up my mixer, computer, headset, and crowd mic, before running my audio to the LocalLive input on the wall behind me.

Everything was set. I was able to catch up with several familiar faces before chatting with head football coach Wayne McGillicuddy. We were walking about the Avon Old Farms team when he glanced at my roster.

"That's all wrong," he said.

Those weren't the names I had

I still don't know what happened but the roster indeed was not right. The good news is, when covering basketball, there's an official scorebook that I can go to, especially since I stand right behind the scorer's table at Brunswick.

So I took a picture of the book from the Avon Old Farms scorekeeper and assessed the situation.

I began to write the correct names in as the seconds ticked down to the opening tip.

Panic achieves nothing. I'd done my due diligence and had been burned. Now it was time to do what I could to mitigate the situation and get on the air.

I'll spare you another rant about rosters for tonight.

Once the broadcast began there were moments when I definitely felt good. The description felt sharp and the stories were being told. But I had moments where I stumbled.

Nothing fatal. Just like Brunswick, it's best to simply move on to the next game.

While that's currently scheduled for January, I'm going to try to get a few more broadcasts in before the end of 2023.