BY SAM AHRENS | Ball State Sports Link
Ever since I was little, the term “together” has played a big role in my life. Starting when my fourth-grade travel basketball coach had our team break every huddle yelling “together” to make sure we played as a team and not individually. Since then, the term has carried me through high school and into college.
This year more than ever have I relied on that term and what it means.
Right out the gate this school year, I was able to direct two soccer matches. Never directing a live broadcast in my life, I was excited, nervous and scared.
I’ve watched soccer games before but it was now my turn to direct one. When the week of the two broadcasts came around, it was time for me to start preparing.
I started re-watching professional soccer games and taking notes, but that only got me so far. I needed to talk to someone about this because no current Sports Linkers had directed before; no one could answer the questions I still had.
Before asking an instructor for help, I reached out to a former Sports Link member, JC Obringer.
For the first two years of school, I watched JC direct and listened to him direct me. In my eyes, he was the best. After chatting with him and receiving two pages of notes, I felt much more comfortable.
After receiving help, it was time for me to help others. Many of the camera operators for the broadcasts were freshmen and had never run a camera for a live broadcast before. I needed them to be as comfortable as they could be so we could put on a great production.
When the day of the first broadcast came, I was no longer scared. I was excited and ready to work together as a full production crew to have a great show, which we did.
I give credit to working together in sports, work and everyday life for my whole life. If it wasn’t for JC helping me and everyone else in Sports Link helping someone in a new position, it wouldn’t have been a good broadcast.
This mentality went on all year long through multiple broadcasts, stories and work with the NCAA. That is what I love about my organization. People are always willing to help someone get better.
This was especially true when Logan Dubbs and I took on the biggest story of our careers with the Cody Rudy story. We’ve both worked on a feature story before but nothing to this magnitude. We definitely needed help in certain areas and we got just that. If it wasn’t for our instructor’s guidance, we would have been lost many times; if it wasn’t for others that helped us shoot something, we would have lost opportunities on the shots we needed.
As the year comes to an end, the seniors made sure we all knew how much we mean to one another. At the last meeting of the year, seniors touched on being there for one another in our work environment and in our social lives.
To sum things up, it is hard to make it alone in the real world. There are people out there that have done this, but it is rare. It is much easier to make it in life with the help of others. In a world where many people suffer from depression and anxiety, it is extremely important to be there for your friends and family.
The people I have in my life now will be the most helpful people I will ever have. No one is above someone, everyone is equal, and that’s what makes us a great group. We work well alone and even greater together.
