At Hays High School, two seniors are paving the way for student sports announcing.
Seniors Hank Corsair and Cooper Smith have both announced two completely different aspects of sports. Corsair has been working for Tribe Broadcasting as a radio announcer during their livestreams, while Smith has been doing in-person game announcing in a similar fashion to the way former audio/video teacher Dan Balman has been.
Corsair said he has been interested in sports announcing since middle school.
“I started looking into it during eighth grade, and that was when I decided to make it my future career,” Corsair said. “I started getting involved with it when I transferred to Hays High, and it just took off from there.”
The two major sports that he has announced are football and basketball, with football being his favorite.
“It’s been my favorite sport for a while, and with it being such a short season, I like to take advantage of every moment,” Corsair said, adding that his favorite broadcasting moment was announcing the Indian football team’s state championship game on Nov. 30.
While Corsair plans on continuing broadcasting for basketball this season, he also has aspirations beyond Hays High, as he plans to attend Kansas State University next year.
“My biggest goal is to be become a radio voice for a D1 [Division I] college, but wherever it takes me is wherever it goes,” Corsair said.
Smith’s story in broadcasting started recently, with a request from Balman.
“Balman gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Smith said. “He wanted me to announce soccer for a game he wasn’t going to be here for.”
Since then, Smith has announced in-person for boys soccer and basketball, with basketball being his favorite due to its fast-paced nature and the ability to “hype up the crowd during starting lineups.”
“[You have to] know the game and know your role,” Smith said. “Mainly know the game because if you put someone in there for announcing that doesn’t know how the game works, then they won’t do very good.”
In conclusion, Corsair and Smith are gaining valuable experience in broadcasting at Hays High School.
