For the past three years, Chase Kuech has been the student voice behind USM sports. He can be heard over the loudspeaker at most fall and spring sports, and he does internet-radio play-by-play broadcasts for USM hockey and basketball.
His student days are over now-he just graduated in December, earning a degree in Media Studies with a concentration in writing.
An athlete by nature and by hobby-you saw him featured last semester in our Dec. 10 story about Portland’s co-ed recreational soccer league-Chase has done what few athletes ever can, and turned his love of the game into a realistic and pursuable career.
He hopes to leave Maine soon, heading to California to become a baseball radio sports-caster, though USM’s athletes, parents and fans would probably like to keep him for themselves.
FP: How did you get started announcing?
Chase: I become friends with Al (Bean, athletics director) in his “Baseball in American Society” class. That must have been the summer of ’04? ’05? That actually would have been my first class at USM, I was just taking it for fun. We talked a lot and he became an acquaintance, not a friend friend. When I decided to come back here to school after leaving Clemson University, I asked if there was anything I could do for the athletic department. I said announcing and writing was really my thing. I just kinda lucked out I guess.
FP: Have you announced for things outside of USM?
Chase: I’ve done games for the Maine Tomcats, which is the single-A semi-professional football team, and the Maine Freeze, which is the women’s semi-pro football team. I could have done the Cobras (also semi-pro football), but I didn’t have time. And I didn’t really get paid for any of this. It’s hard to find the time to travel and announce when you’re not getting paid. With the Freeze, I went to Pennsylvania for a couple games. And Mass. and Connecticut. At home games I’d do the public-address announcing, and away, I’d help do play-by-play for video, which I guess would get played on TV later.
FP: Do you prefer the public-address announcing, or doing the play-by-plays?
Chase: I prefer doing play-by-play. It’s less glamorous I guess, but I like it more. It’s easier, and more fun-you just say what you see. I’d rather be describing the action, painting a picture for people. I see that as almost the way it should be. I grew up listening to sports on the radio. I have a nostalgic outlook on sports in general, I like the way things were. But it’s nice to be the public address too, people can come to games and hear you.
FP: What’s your favorite sport to announce?
Chase: Hockey. Yeah, I think hockey. It’s fast, which is good. It’s really hard not to have something to talk about for a hockey game, the game really speaks for itself-you just have to say it. But baseball is probably the classic radio sport, and it always will be a radio sport. It lends itself to description. It’s very basic, very slow-paced. And it’s probably what I’ll end up doing. But hockey is the most fun, and probably the hardest to get into.
FP: You said you’ll probably end up doing baseball, as in, for a career?
Chase: I’d like to do hockey, or soccer, but baseball has the most jobs, especially on the radio, so that will probably be where I end up. I hope so!
FP: So how do you go about getting an announcing job?
Chase: You just talk to a lot of people. I’ve talked a lot to Mike (Antonellis), who does the Seadogs. You have to get into it as early and as high up as possible-you start really low, doing single-A, double-A baseball, and work your way up. There are also a lot of sports-casting agencies, where you pay them to help you get jobs. There’s one in California that I’m considering. But that’s the million dollar question right now-how do I find a job! It’s not as easy as I’d like it to be. I mean, there’s Monster and Craigslist and all those, but it’s very hard to find a job like this there. The sports field is very much a specialized job field.
FP: I know you’re quite the athlete as well, really good at soccer, so how come you didn’t play any sports for USM?
Chase: I didn’t really have time to play. Once I started announcing here, I was out of shape, and career-wise it was better to play in my free time. I think most guys feel like they could play a sport if they wanted to. I played club tennis at Clemson, that was my only real inter-collegiate sport, and I played intramural soccer and basketball down there as well. When I came back here, I thought it was a smarter decision to announce. Yeah, it would have been fun, I miss playing sports, but career-wise it’s better to announce for them.
FP: You just graduated in December, so what’s your advice for those of us who are about to graduate?
Chase: Start looking for jobs as early as possible. I think a lot of places don’t necessarily care that you haven’t graduated yet, they’re willing to accept that you’re close. I feel like I’m in this weird limbo-I’m done with school and I have nothing to do. And talk to your teachers. Just in general, they can give lots of good life advice. Lots of teachers have had a lot of experience in the real world. Stay after class, send them emails, etc. Just talk. They generally give valuable advice.
FP: Did you get such advice from someone?
Chase: Not one in particular, but when I took the time, yes. There are a handful of people at USM who would be there for me for anything-if I needed a reference, or help with a resume. It’s important to establish relationships with professors, as opposed to skating through. Life is all about connections, its good to connect. College isn’t just about going to class. Those connections, with people in general, are really important to establish.