PA Announcers

[gg2224]

Are there any official standards of good practice for PA announcing for Iowa high school events, particularly baseball?

 

[PNation]

There are some given out by the associations both for PA and for radio guys

Why where were you at that you did like the announcer?

 

[gg2224]

The local team is breaking in a new guy without a lot of baseball knowledge or experience. I'd also say he doesn't yet understand the role of a baseball PA announcer (e.g., you're not calling an NBA playoff game at the United Center). I was hoping the expertise out there could help me track down some 'official' guidance from Boone or elsewhere that I could pass on.
Also, if any of you know some good high school PA announcers, it might be helpful to point him in their direction as well. I'm not looking for names, just schools.
This post was edited on 6/3 9:15 AM by gg2224

 

[pinkphantom]

It's not Gilbert is it? We played there this weekend and every ground ball was a "line drive" and everything was a hit whether there was an error or not.

 

[rengstra]

Ballard's PA guy is a legend and does a really nice job. Contact their AD and arrange for your guy to sit in and listen to him do a game.

 

[Kurt Whiton]

I do PA for our football team...I get the official PA guidelines from our AD every year. In baseball or football, it is not the PA's job to do play by play. His job is to let you know the lineups, lineup changes that happen, and who is batting. If there are any promotional announcements needed to be read, you handle that. If you get any other scores, you read them, especially the for the girl's softball game. Play some pre-game music, play some music in between innings and keep it simple. That is what a good PA guy does...play by play is not expected or needed!

The guy at Ballard a couple of years ago lost my respect...we had a kid get caught stealing...and his comment was "thou shall not steal."

Of course, later we threw out one of their runners...funny how he didn't make the same comment.

 

[Who Are You]

Grinnell has an outstanding PA guy in baseball. Has trivia between innings, does "farm reports" on the JV and freshman teams, plays great music, and always gives the totals after a pitcher has been removed, or after the game goes final. Best I have heard in 27 years a player and/or coach.

 

[terrehawk]

Order the book "Baseball Playbook" written by Ron Polk. (former Mississippi State coaching legend) It is the best baseball coaching book ever made and it includes EVERYTHING you need to run a baseball program. From fundamentals, situations, practice organization, game administration forms, field maintenance, psychology to even setting up committees for tournaments etc. He even goes all the way down to guidelines and a script for PA announcing. You could simply copy that section from the book and give it to the PA guy.

It's not a cheap book but it is far and away the best book I've ever seen for coaching/running a program.

20+ years ago as a new coach, I called Ron Polk directly at MSU (before the internet age) and he told me to send him a check. A week later I received a hand signed copy from him. I still refer to it often even today and I'm no longer coaching.

 

[gg2224]

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I've ordered the book - it sounds great - and I'll pass the other information along as well.

I sent an inquiry to Boone but have heard nothing back as of yet. I won't hold my breath, but if I hear something I'll post it.

Also - I'm intentionally avoiding response to the "who" and "where" questions. I don't really want to bust on a guy who's just volunteering and who I think has his heart is in the right place.

 

[terrehawk]

Let me know what you think of the book. I just pulled it out again last night and spent an hour browsing through it and was again amazed at how thorough it is. There is nothing left out.

 

[gg2224]

Got the book yesterday. An amazing amount of baseball detail included. Frankly, more detail than I've ventured to think about when I was a youth coach who thought I had all the answers. I can't wait to dig into the detail.

I really wish I would have had this when the likes of Urbandale's little league coaches were kicking my sorry backside up one foul line and down the other. It's one thing to have your team beat by superior talent. It's another thing all together to recognize, talent not withstanding, that you've been out coached and it's you that has left your team unprepared. I could see how this book would have made a difference with my coaching learning curve.

Thanks for the recommendation. It's much appreciated.

 

[acoach#5]

I will 2nd owning this book. This was the first book I bought when I started coaching. When somebody starts coaching this is thee book to have. That's why it's coaching the baseball coaching bible.

 

[gg2224]

From IAHSAA. Please note, I had to edit the layout in some areas for this to work in the posting tool:
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Guidelines for Public Address Announcers at High School Events
This article has been developed from a request by the member schools.
The IHSAA offers it for use at high school events and hopes that it will assist your event announcers.

Public address announcers are invaluable to the school and the audience that supports an interscholastic game.

It is often a difficult position to fill and not an easy one for which to train a new person. Pronunciations can be tricky and there is a “language” unique to each sport. The announcer may disagree with a play that is made or an official’s call, but has to sit on his/her feelings. There is always an urge for the announcer to “cheer” the home team on” or “get the crowd into the game.” This is common at college and professional events. But high school athletics is different. The game is played by the pure student-athlete. To an almost exclusive degree in Iowa the players are coached by professional educators. Sports are educationally based and the final game result has no lasting effect on the values students derive from the game.

In a very real sense, the public address announcer at a high school event is a “Champion of Character.” He/she can influence the atmosphere of the contest by what they say and how they say it. Quite simply, the announcer’s job is to provide information that is timely and pertinent and to do it professionally. They must refrain from trying to entertain, incite the crowd, lead cheers, make remarks about the officiating or players, second-guess coaches or editorialize in any way. Their job should never be confused with play-by-play announcing which is inappropriate for the public address. Your sports public address announcers are your information specialists! Following are some examples of some of the differences we have referenced.

--------------------------------
PLAY BY PLAY EXAMPLES:

Inappropriate: Blair pitches to Hanks on the sweep. He slashes to the 45 yard line, carrying tacklers with him.
Best PA Practice: Hanks is the ball carrier. His gain is to the 45 yd line. Jones and Nelson on the tackle. It will be second down and three.

Inappropriate: Basket by Johnson. That is her 15th point.
Best PA Practice: Field goal by Johnson.

Inappropriate: Larson with a 3-point goal. It is raining three’s here in Enid.
Best PA Practice: Three-point goal by Larson.

Inappropriate: The Hawks lose momentum with this 15-yd penalty for offensive pass interference. It takes them back to their
Best PA Practice: The penalty for offensive pass interference puts the ball on the 25. It will be third down and 22 yards for the first down.

Inappropriate: Now batting is right fielder #10 Carlson, who was robbed of a home run in her last at bat.
Best PA Practice: Now batting for the Cardinals is #10 right fielder Carlson.

Inappropriate: Cantrell is sacked for a big 10 yard loss by that swarming Eagle defense. That makes it 3rd and 20.
Best PA Practice: Loss of ten on the play. Medford, Evans and Larson in on the tackle. Third down, 20 yds to go.

Inappropriate: FIELD G-O-O-O-A-L by Larson; and the Huskers have erased a 12 pt. deficit. Albright is tagged with his fourth foul and Larson will try to complete the three point play
Best PA Practice: Larson with the field goal. Foul is on Albright and Larson will attempt the free throw

Inappropriate: Johnson slashes to the 40. That’s ANOTHER Cowboy . . . “FIRST DOWN!”
Best PA Practice: Johnson on the carry to the 40-yard line. First and 10 for the Cowboys.

___________________

In some instances, announcers feel like they are providing the fans a service by doing play-by-play and adding a commentary. While some play-by-play is an inherent part of sports public address announcing, the announcer must be vigilant that he/she refrain from comments that can be construed as being disrespectful to the opposition and other participants.

Following are some guidelines from the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers Association’s Code of Conduct that we feel are worthy of consideration.




Announcers will introduce the raising of the flag and the playing of the national anthem at the start of the contest in a manner that promotes respect and honor for our country.
Announcers shall not attempt to be bigger than the game or event by doing play-by-play or by providing a commentary in an effort to draw attention to them.
Announcers shall understand that because they have a tremendous influence on the crowd and that cheerleading or antics designed to incite the crowd for the purpose of gaining an advantage for their team is inappropriate.
Announcers shall promote good sportsmanship by what they say and how they act.
Announcers shall treat the opponents and their fans as guests, not the enemy.
Announcers shall respect the officials, participants of all teams and remain neutral when introducing the officials, the starting line-ups, substitutions and the outcome of plays or performances by participants.
Announcers should be familiar with emergency procedures that may have to be announced.
Announcers shall be prepared and familiar with the correct pronunciations of the names of officials, participants and coaches, knowledgeable about the rules of the sport, officials’ signals and how the game is played.
Announcers shall respect the individuals who are responsible for the administration of athletic contests such as officials, coaches and administrators and avoid making any comments that reflect positively or negatively on them.
Announcers shall endeavor to exhibit professional behavior and represent their school and community with respect and dignity at all times by what they say, how they act and how they appear.
Announcers will make additional announcements during the contest but only those authorized by the host administration.

The IHSAA wishes each school the very best for your announcer(s) and teams each season. Thank you for contributing positively to the overall education of Iowa students.


Edited for formatting
This post was edited on 6/10 6:23 PM by gg2224