Montrose Junior Named NFHS Network's Best
By
John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director emeritus
April 26, 2017
Eric Vandefifer, a junior at Montrose High School, was named today the Best Student Broadcaster nationally in the NFHS Network School Broadcast Program Awards.
For the second straight year, James Kitts, the coordinator of the School Broadcast Program at Montrose, was a finalist in the Teacher of the Year category.
Just last week, Montrose was named the “Program of the Year” in the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program Excellence Awards for 2016-17, claiming the top honor for the fourth straight year. Montrose took first place in four categories.
Vandefifer also was honored recently by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association as the top Student Broadcaster in Division 3. Vandefifer and his broadcast partner David Sackrider placed second in the Play-By-Play Category in the MHSAA SBP awards and first in the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation Sports Announcing Team category this year.
In its eighth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics.
The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
All sporting events – live or delayed – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.
Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of live video streams being produced by SBP members (All times Eastern):
Wednesday, April 26
- JV Softball – Onaway at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- JV Softball – Onaway at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 27
- Girls Soccer – Lake Fenton at Montrose, 4 p.m.
- Baseball – Rudyard at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Lake Linden-Hubbell at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Troy Athens at Lake Orion, 4:30 p.m.
- Baseball – Rudyard at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
- Softball – Lake Linden-Hubbell at Calumet, 6 p.m.
- Boys Lacrosse – Holt at East Lansing, 7 p.m. (On Demand)
Monday, May 1
- Baseball – Mt. Morris at Montrose, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Baraga at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Baraga at Calumet, 6 p.m.
- Girls Soccer – Clarkston at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 2
- Baseball – L’Anse at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- JV Softball – Oscoda at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- JV Softball – Oscoda at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
- Baseball – L’Anse at Calumet, 6 p.m.
- Girls Soccer – Montrose at Corunna, 7 p.m.
Be sure to check the Upcoming Events page at MHSAA.tv for schedule additions every day.
The NFHS Network has announced new pricing for 2016-17, eliminating the Day Pass and lowering the cost of a Month Pass to $9.95. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.
PHOTO: Montrose's Eric Vandefifer (left) and Conner Pyrc call an MHSAA Girls Soccer Semifinal last season for the NFHS Network. (Photo courtesy of Montrose High School digital media.)
Montrose Wins Top MHSAA/SBP Award
May 11, 2016
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
Make it three in row for Montrose High School, which was selected as the “Program of the Year” in the third annual MHSAA School Broadcast Program Excellence Awards for 2015-16.
The SBP Excellence Awards will award certificates and plaques to the schools which took individual honors, with the presentation dates and times to be announced.
Montrose took first place in Best Student Play-By-Play and the top two spots for Best Produced Commercial/Feature. The program also took a second place for Best Use of PlayOn! Sports Graphics.
Montrose also demonstrated during the year a good blend of productions in a variety of sports covered, the ability to cover home and away events and an overall command of the PlayOn! Sports software used for graphics and inserting commercials/features during the course of productions.
Other category winners were: Cedar Springs High School for Best Multicamera Production and Best Single Camera Production with PlayOn! Graphics and Haslett High School for Best Use of PlayOn! Graphics.
Here is the complete list by categories of the schools and students being honored in this year’s SBP Excellence Awards:
Best Multicamera Production
First Place – Cedar Springs – Ethan Lewis, John Grigsby, Leah Carter, Kelly Salmon – Football game v. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.
Second Place – Haslett – Conor Clifford, Torsten Holland, Alex Riley, Dylan Wolschleger, Brennan Simzak, Altair Boonraksa, Jacob Johnston, Nathan Glaza, Thomas Ashley – Girls Basketball game v. Mason.
Third Place – Montrose – Eric Vandefifer, Conner Pyrc, Jared Adams, Mandy Ramsey, John Blackford – Boys Basketball game v. Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy.
Best Play-By-Play
First Place – Montrose – Eric Vandefifer and Conner Pyrc – Boys Basketball game v. Goodrich.
Second Place – Haslett – Conor Clifford and Torsten Holland – Girls Basketball game v. Mason.
Third Place – Cedar Springs - Jonathan Wolfarth and Jalen Jackson – Football game v. Wyoming.
Best Produced Commercial/Feature
First Place – Montrose – Eric Vandefifer, Conner Pyrc, Jared Adams, Mandy Rasmey, John Blackford – Ford Field Trip Feature.
Second Place – Montrose – Amanda Ramsey, Jared Adams, Alyssa Bernard, – RAINN Sexual Assault PSA.
Best Single Camera Production with PlayOn! Graphics
First Place – Cedar Springs - Alex Tanis, Alex Robinson, Jonathan Wolfarth, Ethan Lewis – MHSAA Football Playoff – Muskegon at Muskegon Mona Shores.
Second Place – Haslett – Tyler Goldberg and Jonah Brown – MHSAA Football Playoff – Romeo v. Grand Ledge.
Third Place – Cedar Springs – Alex Tanis, Alex Robinson, Jonathan Wolfarth, Ethan Lewis – MHSAA Football Playoff – Lansing Catholic v. Grand Rapids West Catholic.
Best Use of PlayOn! Graphics/Software
First Place – Haslett – Dylan Wolschleger, Brennan Simzak, Jacob Johnston, Conor Clifford, Reece Huberts, Henrik Holland, David Weston – Girls Basketball game v. St. Johns.
Second Place – Montrose – Eric Vadnefifer, Conner Pyrc, Jared Adams, Mandy Ramsey, John Blackford – Boys Basketball game v. Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy.
Third Place – Montrose - Peyton Hobson, John Blackford, Conner Pyrc – Boys Basketball game v. Corunna.
Michigan schools were represented recently when the NFHS Network announced its SBP awards for the 2015-16 school year on April 28. Jamie Kitts of Montrose High School was one of three finalists for the Best Teacher honor, and Rockford High School had a finalist for Highlight of the Year, a 65-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tyler Bradfield against Grandville.
The School Broadcast Program, powered by PlayOn! Sports, is a platform which schools can utilize to reach members of their communities about activities taking place in their buildings, providing recognition for students while at the same time giving them hands-on opportunities to gain broadcasting experience and providing schools an opportunity to realize additional revenues for their programs. Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.