Why Youth Sports Deserves A Professional Voice

It was an early, chilly Saturday morning game out at the Manchaca Optimists Youth Sports Organization - the kind of field where the grass hasn’t decided if its still winter or already spring.

A four hole hitter stepped in. Quiet kid and shorter than most. No parents yelling his name that I could hear and likely many of the other parents didn’t know it.

He started the at bat patiently and racked up a couple of balls. A 2-0 pitch finds the plate and he turned on it and ripped a clean double down the first base line.

As he stood on second base, helmet slightly too big, he looked across the diamond in my direction where I was setup behind home plate. He wasn’t overly celebrating and he wasn’t showing off. He just wanted to check to see if I captured what just happened.

In my broadcast, I said his name and I said it clearly. I said it with respect.

I talked about his approach, his discipline, and how clutch it was for him to end the inning with runners on base depending on him.

His shoulders relaxed and later, his mom found me and said, “No one’s ever talked about my son like that before.”

That moment is why this matters.

Youth sports don’t lack passion, noise or opinions. In fact, there’s probably more of all three of those things in the youth sports arenas. However, what they often lack is perspective.

A professional voice doesn’t mean hype. It means that every athlete matters, not just the stars of the team. Effort is acknowledged, not just outcomes. Mistakes are framed as learning moments and the game is explained, not yelled over. Good announcing slows the moment down. It adds context and it teaches the game while honoring the player.

When done well, it protects kids from being reduced to stats—or worse, silence.

And it subtly teaches parents something too:

how to watch…how to listen…how to value development over domination.

What most people don’t realize

Kids hear everything. They hear who gets mentioned and who doesn’t. They hear tone. They hear bias. They hear sarcasm disguised as “joking.”

They also hear affirmation—and it lands deeper than most adults realize.

A professional voice doesn’t inflate egos - it grounds them. It tells a kid, “You belong here.” That’s not fluff. That’s formation.

Over the years, parents, coaches, and organizations have asked me the same questions:

• Why does announcing feel different at higher levels?

• What separates good commentary from noise?

• How can youth sports environments be healthier without losing competitiveness?

This newsletter exists to pull the curtain back. By staying subscribed, you’ll learn:

• What good play-by-play actually does for young athletes

• The subtle announcing habits that shape confidence (positively or negatively)

• How parents and organizers can raise the standard without being overbearing

• Why professionalism isn’t about polish—it’s about care

Whether you’re a parent, coach, administrator, or someone who simply loves the game, this space is about doing youth sports the right way. The truth is, these moments don’t come back and every kid deserves to be seen, named, and respected when they step onto the field.

Here is a clip of the play described at the beginning of this post:

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx-XHeib04xx9vQGhHH2evHi2yIha6PiAc?si=jfCYAUbqLRrO79ND