Announcing a state championship game for my alma mater

Last week, I accepted an invitation to do the public-address announcing (starting lineups, etc.) for the 2009 Indiana Christian State Tournament (ICST) Finals in Lafayette, Indiana. I never imagined that I would end up announcing Clinton Christian's state championship Saturday evening.

After a two-and-one-half hour trip to Lafayette, I arrived at the Faith Community Center at about 9:30 a.m. The center is a beautiful complex next door to Faith Christian School. It has a 1,000-seat gym, weight room, running track and concessions area. It also boasts a skate park outside.

Because of my college class schedule, I had not announced since the ICST North Regional girls volleyball tourney at Clinton last October. I was excited about what was to come.

After Horizon Christian of Indianapolis beat Columbus Christian in the first boys semifinal, the Couriers edged Heritage Christian of Dyer. In a very intense game, there were moments where I wanted to be a fan but had to back off and try to stay unbiased.

Since Heritage Christian's girls team was playing for the state championship in the early evening, I got the unusual opportunity to talk to some members of the Heritage team and their athletic director. That was a good time to express my appreciation of their fine program and make another connection with their AD. Some day, I would like to be a coach or AD or sports information director so it is good to get to know others who are already in the field.

Kings Academy's lack of height and experience resulted in a 57-23 loss to Heritage Christian in the girls state final. For those who are familiar with Taylor University in Upland, their coach Skip Trudeau works there and the school is located in nearby Jonesboro.

Finally, it was time for the Couriers to play for their second ICST title and sixth state championship overall. Despite an unimpressive 16-12 record, the Couriers played their best game of the year and trounced a good Horizon Christian team 52-32. I was proud to watch the team receive their awards and cut down the net.

As a high schooler, I did not play much varsity basketball but I was privileged to be on two of the Couriers' ACSI state championship teams. Today, my main link is as an uberfan. Saturday's title was special, though. The hard work paid off for the players and I got to enjoy it in one of my favorite roles as an announcer.

Both of the Couriers' games were broadcast on the internet by Hoosier Authority. To see the video webcast of the championship game, go to the school's website and click on the link. The audio from the semifinal is also available at HoosierAuthority.com.