My stomach was in knots. I was about to interview Tyler Smith, the former first-round draft pick for the Dallas Cowboys. Wondering why a seventeen-year-old high schooler had the opportunity to interview an NFL player who is now an All-Pro? I did, too.
Here's my story:
As a second grader in youth football, I would sit with all the dads when the team would get together to watch the Super Bowls. I would hold my own in heated debates about history, stats and predictions while all the other boys were running around and playing. If it was about football, I was talking about it – and I had much to say.
In middle school, I settled into my role as a big kid on the offensive line. I soon began thinking about the high school team and what I would need to do to clinch a spot on varsity. I researched long snapping and found the Chris Rubio Long Snapping Invitational Camp online. I practiced for hours and submitted a try-out video. Surprisingly, I was invited to the camp and earned a 3-star national ranking as a long snapper. I aspired to play football in college, but first, I needed to make some noise on the high school team.
During my freshman year, I got to know our varsity long snapper. I attended workouts with him and even started going to varsity games where I helped him warm up. I increased my activity level, gained muscle mass, and lost over 80lbs. I was committed. My coaches started noticing, and I earned the long snapper position on the junior varsity team.
In an instant, it all changed.
One hit after the whistle by an overly aggressive lineman would change the course of my high school journey and, arguably, my life. The hit broke my elbow, and the impact on the ground dislocated the joint. It was a wicked season-ending injury and, before I knew it, a career-ending one. My dreams of getting a spot on the varsity team were dashed. I could have let this crush me. Instead, it reinvented me and made me stronger. I took advantage of the opportunity to be on the field in a completely different way.
While still in a sling during my recovery, I watched my team from the bench and started updating my friends about each game from my phone. I was giving my friends essential information from the sidelines in real-time. It helped me feel connected to the game, and I enjoyed the rush of delivering the information. I was slowly falling in love with being on the field, but this time, I was reporting – not playing. I was laying the foundation for something I would come to do years later.
In my junior year, I took the first step of many to become a future sports journalist. I joined my school's broadcasting team (RACC-TV). I entered a district-wide broadcasting competition, where I took on eleven other high schools in a battle of video news packages. In the end, I didn't do very well. I was a single student battling teams of six, eight, and 10. However, in my mind, I still came out as a winner; as I was introduced to a very influential person, Emmy Award-winning Sports Journalist and NBC 5 DFW Sports Anchor Pat Doney.
He invited us to register for his broadcasting camp, and I texted my dad immediately and pleaded with him to go. I attended the camp, and it was the most incredible experience, igniting my passion for sports journalism. I felt like I was doing exactly what I was meant to do. Which led to a once-in-a-lifetime internship with Frisco Sports Network/NBC Sports Engine during my senior year.
This internship was a groundbreaking partnership between Frisco ISD and NBC Sports, which redefined my understanding of sports journalism. The partnership streamed all sports played at FISD-sponsored venues, providing coverage across all 12 high schools. Our class at the FISD CTE Center met regularly to plan our coverage, mirroring the dynamics of a real newsroom.
From hosting College GameDay-style pregame shows to conducting interviews at iconic venues like the Dallas Cowboys headquarters at The Ford Center, to doing play-by-play commentating at The National Soccer Hall of Fame for a FISD football game. I immersed myself in every aspect of sports broadcasting. Under the guidance of Steven Doherty, an influential figure in FISD athletics, I seized opportunities to be on the air, conduct interviews, and report from the sidelines. This experience exposed me to the intricacies of sports journalism and fostered invaluable connections with industry professionals like Kyle Youmans and Nick Harris of the Dallas Cowboys.
The FSN/NBC Sports Engine partnership provided a platform for immersive, real-life sportscasting training that transcended conventional classroom settings by allowing me to be sideline reporting on a stream with hundreds watching at a UIL State semi-final game that had professional news stations represented around the field. Through this program, I honed my technical skills and cultivated a deep passion for storytelling in the world of sports. One of those stories actually placed second in this year's FISD broadcast competition; a pretty high jump from last to second place.
Ultimately, the injury that I thought had robbed me of everything gave me something. It was the catalyst that ignited my passion for sports journalism. This journey, as physically and mentally demoralizing as it was, brought me closer to the sport I've loved since childhood, just in a different way.
Back to that interview with Tyler Smith – with a sweaty handshake and my heart beating out of my chest, I finished the interview. I was nervous and talked too fast, but I did it. And in that moment, I knew that's what I was meant to do.
