By: Andrew Feeback
Many people say their career choice stems from one moment where they “just knew it was what they wanted to do.”
For Ball State University freshman Robert Connett, a Telecommunications major, the moment happened in middle school.
“At a basketball game one time, Tim Atkins, the PA announcer at Norwell High School, talked to my dad,” he says, mentioning his father and Atkins are close friends. “He told my dad it would be kind of fun to announce the games.”
Sensing Robert had the voice to be a successful announcer, Atkins took him under his wing and taught him the basics of PA announcing.
His instinct was right.
“I happened to walk into the middle school gym once, for a game he was announcing, and I could hear from the hallway, he sounded just like me,” Atkins says. “The phrases he used, the voice, everything about what he was doing gave me the impression that it was me.”
“Some parents came by afterward and said I did a really nice job,” Robert says. “It started to evolve from there.”
Influences Provide Strong Start
The friendship between Atkins and Robert’s father, Mike, proved to be instrumental in determining Robert’s future. Mike also spoke with Rob Williams, who was in charge of the baseball club, and helped set up Robert’s first official job as an announcer with the Norwell High School baseball team.
Mike has stressed to Robert the importance of looking for connections in the sports/broadcasting field.
“Any time you see someone you have seen on TV, or know from the area, always go and introduce yourself to them,” he says. “You never know where that connection will open doors.”
Robert feels these connections are what have enabled him to maximize his capabilities.
“My dad has always told me it’s all about the connections you have with people in life,” he says.
The middle school athletic director heard him at the baseball games and offered him a job announcing middle school basketball games. He accepted and went back to the gym to perfect his craft for the next four years.
By this point, everything started to fall into place. The challenges of high school awaited.
“We Just Broadcasted History!”
Robert’s initiative led to more job opportunities outside of school. Sharing the press box at a baseball game one day, the local broadcaster of the radio station in town said he felt Robert had a good “radio voice.” He asked him if he had any interest in radio.
“I thought, yeah, that sounds like fun,” Robert says.
He proceeded to become a board-op at the radio station in Bluffton, and would later co-host a sports show. Additionally, he was given the chance to broadcast play-by-play for high school baseball games.
The chain reaction continued.
Voice Enterprises, a local internet company, began operating in 2009 with the creation of Wells County Voice. Manager Scott Mentzer had previously worked at the radio station in town. Robert took advantage of his connection with Mentzer to secure a job broadcasting high school sports online.
It was here, perhaps, where Robert experienced one of his fondest memories as a broadcaster.
On Monday, March 7, 2011, Bluffton’s boys basketball team defeated Fort Wayne Bishop Luers to win a sectional championship. It came two days after the other two high schools in Wells County, Southern Wells and Norwell, had won sectional titles.
The outcome of this emotional game, which featured Bluffton beating the team which had ended its season the previous three years, was also historic in another sense: it marked the first time all three Wells County schools won sectional championships in the same year.
This dawned on Robert right after the final buzzer sounded, and many will remember his next words for a long time.
“It wasn’t something I planned, but a lot of my friends make fun of me for it,” he says. “As soon as the buzzer went off, I just looked at Scott and said, ‘Scott, we just broadcasted history!’
“Some people made that a joke and posted it on my Facebook Wall, but it’s true, and it’s those type of things where you’re going to remember it, whether it was something you said in the broadcast, or the game itself, or who you were with, it’s just going to stick with you.”
Moving on to College
In the spring of 2011, Robert graduated from Norwell High School and headed to Ball State University to further his broadcasting career. Now more than an hour away from home, he would no longer be able to broadcast high school sporting events.
Except no one told him.
His arrival in Delaware County prompted Voice Enterprises to launch Delaware County Voice. This website covers games for schools in Muncie and the rest of the county.
“Scott said to me, ‘I know you want to keep broadcasting while you’re in college, what if we started another website with our company?’” Robert says.
With help from Mentzer and his dad, the website was launched and Robert now has the chance to broadcast games for Delta and Yorktown high schools.
Student media at Ball State has also provided him the chance to add to his expansive resumé. NewsLink Indiana puts together a newscast every Wednesday night, and Robert serves as the sports anchor every other week. This has presented another new experience.
“It’s the first time I’ve really been in front of a camera,” he says. “I’ve always been behind the headset or behind the microphone. It’s new for me, but it opens more doors and gives me more ideas before I graduate from college.”
Robert’s hard work at NewsLink and adaptability certainly haven’t gone unnoticed.
“I really enjoy Robert’s enthusiasm both on camera and off,” junior Cody Butler says. “I tried several new ideas as producer and he was always on his feet ready to make those changes.
“What impresses me most is his ability to go with the flow as the newscast unfolds, or falls apart. We are notorious for technical difficulties and he handled each one with class that I normally wouldn’t expect from a freshman.”
Freshman Brandon Pope agreed.
“Rob has a professionalism about him that’s really admirable,” he says. “He’s dedicated to his craft. It’s really good to see a freshman come in with the ambition he possesses.”
The Sky is the Limit
Only one semester into college, Robert already has more experience than most his age could imagine. And there’s no reason to think he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.
“I like where he’s at right now,” Atkins says. “Sometimes kids that age tend to wear out their welcome, but I don’t think he’s done that. I think he continues to evolve, change and get better.”
Robert’s father feels choices will be plentiful for his son.
“I see him working anywhere he sets out to go,” he says. “Since he was about 10, he has wanted to be on ESPN. I have no doubt if that is still his goal, he will be there someday.”
Robert would like to, but doesn’t see it happening right away.
“I doubt that will happen right out of college, but you just have to work your way up, work with what you have, and keep the connections you have in life,” he says.
“It really is all about the connections you have with people. I truly believe that.”
