The National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS) online broadcasting has been awfully quiet this year without the commentating from two of Myers Park’s biggest sports fans. For two years, Brendan O’Neill and Harry Crowther took to the booth of the Gus Purcell Stadium and the gymnasium perch, bringing the online streaming of each home game to life. Now, O’Neill and Crowther have put down the headsets and are freshmen in college furthering their love for sports. Yet, no students have followed their footsteps.
NFHS broadcasting gained considerable popularity throughout the pandemic, offering a way for far away family members, friends, and the general public to take part in viewing high school sports. More than 7,000 events a week are recorded, making them the leader in live streaming and on-demand high school sports.
O’Neill took the leap that set their dream in motion when he reached out to Coach Poore after reading about the cameras being installed and the use of NFHS network broadcasting. Poore was on board with the broadcasting mission, sending O’Neill off to build the announcing team for the 2020 basketball season, which quickly grew to include football and soccer seasons.
The duo met through a mutual friend, Watt Canipe. O’Neill and Crowther hit it off and knew they would work well together with Watt alongside them in the booth for the basketball season. “I had just met Harry that year and I was like, ‘Watt, send me Harry’s number,’ because I knew Harry would be fantastic at this,” stated O’Neill.
Crowther grew up a sports fan, watching the Mets with his father and dressing up as Kirk Herbstreit for Halloween. His dream of broadcasting was set aside as he got older, until NFHS brought it back to life. “That kind of interest went dormant for a little while, through middle school and the start of high school, as I had found other interests. But when Brendan reached out that was the spark that reignited that interest, and now obviously that’s what I want to do,” said Crowther.
O’Neill’s passion for sports has been lifelong too, growing up a passionate Duke fan and never failing to recite any sport’s statistics. “I knew I wanted to do something in the sports world, I didn’t know exactly what, but then being able to do this for two years and loving it… it was honestly probably one of the top ten experiences of my high school life,” he explained.
O’Neill is now furthering his love of sports at Belmont University in Nashville, majoring in Sports Administration with a minor in Emerging Media. He has been working with the university’s athletic department, helping with broadcasting and video operations. “Doing a lot of camera work right now, just kind of building my way up…. I’m just a freshman so I’m not gonna have the microphone in my hand yet,” he informed. However, the microphone may come into play sooner rather than later, after O’Neill recently secured an internship with the longest running sports radio talk show in Nashville.
Crowther is continuing his education at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, majoring in Media and Journalism while also working the audio desk at The Daily Tarheel, where he produced a game recap for the men’s soccer game along with various interviews. “Just trying to get as many hands-on experiences as possible because Brendan and I both know, in the business we’re trying to get into, it’s really hard. You’ve got to work your way up from the bottom,” Crowther explained.
After their two year legacy, no one has stepped up to the mic to follow in the footsteps of O’Neill and Crowther.
If you have an interest in sports and/or a sports career, broadcasting is a favorable way to broaden your horizon. Reach out to Coach Poore at [email protected] for more information.