The Catamount Tribune presented by Redstone Apartments and Lofts is an avenue for UVM student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, and fans to tell unique stories in their own words. This edition of the Catamount Tribune is written by Michael Lehr, the radio broadcaster for Vermont men's hockey. Interested in sharing your story for the Catamount Tribune? Please click here.

"Lekkas in goal to our left… Oettinger in goal to our right… the puck drops at center ice and we're under way at the Gut!" It took a lot to get to that moment on Saturday night, and to be up in the booth calling every UVM Men's Hockey game.
 
First came the inspiration to be a sports broadcaster from people like Tom Hamilton, the Voice of the Cleveland Indians. I grew up hearing "Swung on and belted…" and "How a-BOUT that??" in the car every summer and decided that was what I wanted to do. Next came college, growing pains in the booth, and eventually I found myself here calling my favorite sport.
 
Getting ready for the puck to drop every weekend usually starts the Monday before. The goal is just to be as prepared as possible, so I can think less when I'm on the air. A great game usually requires about 10% of the prep work I do, but you never know which 10% that will be.
 
So early in the week I spent time with the roster, began memorizing names (with some help from Quizlet), and just got the basics of Boston University. In hockey you deal with names like Vlad Dzhioshvili and August Von Ungern-Sternberg every week, so that's always fun. Next I built my charts (see photo) with player bios, last goals/assists, and basic information about them. By game time, charts are just a cheat sheet for stories I already have in my head.
 
At breakfast throughout the week I watched press conferences, listened to college hockey podcasts and checked out highlights from BU. You never know what's going to happen in a game, so having a bunch of information in the back of my mind never hurts.
 
By Thursday I had started my line charts, which are probably the most important thing I have with me. I made these by combining what Dan D'Uva (Voice of the Vegas Golden Knights) and Doc Emrick use. Yep, every scribble, color and illegible mark means something to me. I've been lucky enough to chat with D'Uva, Dan Rusanowsky (Sharks) and Pete Weber (Predators) about what they do to get ready for a call, so pull little things here and there.
 
Gameday is always a blast. Friday I spent the day talking to coaches and players, finding more information for my linechart, and pounding a few cups of coffee courtesy of Equipment Manager, Luke Nestor. Once the puck hit the ice, I'd done all the hard work… and the fun began.
 
When my mic is on, I have two goals. I want to inform the listener (scores, stats, nuggets etc.) and I want them to have fun. Me being loose and enjoying myself is really the only way to make that second thing happen. It's how you find your style and your own little things.
 
I started saying "and we're alllllllll tied up" in a baseball game last year. It was an intense home game, where the team I worked for tied and later won the game. When I listened back to the call, I kind of liked it. I wasn't trying to come up with a go-to phrase, I was just enjoying an exciting game. Next thing you know I've got players' parents and Earl from Handy's Lunch saying it when I walk by them.
 
It's a challenging job too, with lots of little moving parts and issues that come up. Power goes out, audio is out of whack, I have to sneeze. You name it, it happens.
 
Broadcast wise, it's all about critiquing and listening back to get better. I'm far from where I want to be as a broadcaster, and the only way I get better is to know where I'm not doing well. Whenever people say "Great job!" I thank them but ask, "What did you not like about it?" You never know where the simplest but best critique will come from (thanks, mom).
 
It's hard to say what the best part of my job is, but being around the players, coaches and staff this year has been a blast. Everyone at UVM has been so easy to work with that it never really seems like work. It just feels like hanging out with a team and being a part of their season. (That's also where you get the best stories and information for your broadcast, but that's just an extra bonus).
 
I'm lucky enough to "work" at an ice rink, and my desk is the best vantage point in the building. So that's a day (week) in my life as the radio broadcaster for Catamount hockey, doing what I love and somehow calling it a job. Off to practice my pronunciations of Ruslan Iskhakov and John Wojciechowski!
 
Also… I'd love to hear your comments about my broadcasts, things you like and don't. Shoot me an email at lehr.michaele@gmail.com or find me on twitter @MichaelELehr.