Giving Back | written by: PAMELA DEY VOSSLER
from left: DHS junior Thomas Cavolo with recent DHS graduates Michael McCormack and Ryan Dahlquist working a game at the DHS stadium field | photos courtesy Katharine Calderwood, Calderwood Photography
As legacy local media continues to consolidate under large corporate umbrellas rendering high school sports all but invisible, DAF Media has us covered. Founded in 2017, DAF Media is the 60 Darien High School (DHS) students who give hundreds of volunteer hours each year to take us live to most Blue Wave games, meets and matches.
They work hard and it shows.
Supported by the Darien Athletic Foundation (DAF), an all-volunteer group which founded the program with funding from donors throughout town and seed money from The Darien Foundation, and supervised by Damian Andrew, a two-time Emmy Award-winning sportscasting veteran who has been with organization since it started, DAF Media produces more than 100 high-quality live-streamed broadcasts each year. They air free on the DAF Media You Tube channel, thanks to ongoing private support from residents and businesses for all that is required to maintain the program.
Crews of five to 10 students per production cover football, field hockey, soccer, swimming, ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, rugby, golf, lacrosse and more, complete with play-by-play announcing, instant replays and color commentary. (They also broadcast community events such as the Memorial Day Parade, the annual HT40 Foundation Shoulder Check, Middlesex Middle School graduation and DHS graduation.)
No Experience Required
Students spend hours on set up, take down and everything in between using an LAN system and a full complement of state-of-the-art cameras, computers and monitors, plus complex communication, lighting and audio systems, graphics packages and other software. DAF Media is high tech and fast-moving, and most students join with no knowledge of any of it, just a willingness to put themselves out there and learn.
And learn they do, ultimately filling roles ranging from producer, director and graphics officer, to camera operator, play-by-play announcer, production assistant and more.
“Watching a DAF Media production of a live event is, bar none, one of the top I’ve ever seen,” said Jennifer Montanaro, DAF president. The New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the same organization associated with the prestigious Emmy awards, agrees. Over the past nine years, they have given the group 10 student production awards.
DHS students Raam Krishnan and Declan Keating with Bruce Ferguson and Jamie Demark (now a DHS graduate) at Wee Burn covering Blue Wave golf.
A Unique Gift to the Community
“A lot of people think of DAF Media as a typical high school A/V club — but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Braden Schenck, DHS Class of ’23, a four-year member of DAF Media and graphics lead for three of them. He also ran cameras, directed, produced and announced. “No other high school in Connecticut, or even New England, is doing what DAF Media is doing in terms of equipment, production quality, number of broadcasts and student involvement,” he continued.
Now a junior at Virginia Tech, Braden is majoring in Sports Media and Analytics. He was the first freshman on-air with the ACC Network where he still works. He also remains the youngest lead broadcaster across all 120 Minor League Baseball teams in his role announcing for the Salem Red Sox.
“Broadcasting is all about reps and experience — and I got a ton of both (at DAF Media),” said Braden, crediting Damian for much of what he learned. “Damian is an incredible mentor. He has such a wealth of knowledge, and learning this field from someone as talented and genuine as him was invaluable,” he added.
Backed by the Best
Damian, the only paid DAF Media employee, came to DAF Media by way of News 12 in Norwalk, CT where he spent more than 10 years as a sports anchor/reporter. Before that, he was at the ABC affiliate in Elmira, NY, Spectrum News NY1 in New York City and Capital News 9 in Albany, NY. He has covered the Major League Baseball playoffs, the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, the Rose Bowl, the Super Bowl, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes and the Little League World Series.
While he is well-versed in producing, directing, live commentating and mentoring—helping students develop the knowledge, autonomy and communication skills as well as the initiative, discipline and accountability they need to handle live production under pressure, Damian, admittedly, leaves the tech side of things to Bruce Ferguson, the DAF board member who oversees DAF Media.
Owner of his own software company and a proud geek (self-proclaimed—he has been writing code since he was 13 years old), Bruce live-streamed the first game ever in 2016 after being recruited to the DAF Board “to see what they could do with video,” recalled Bruce. He then assembled the pieces required to create what DAF Media is today.
“He is the brains behind the operation, a big-time giver in town,” said Damian of Bruce and his commitment to DAF Media, all as a volunteer. There is nothing he hasn’t done and will not do for DAF Media, though he is less involved now as the knowledge base among students and Damian has deepened.
Damian Andrew, DAF Media Advisor
A Gift of Many Facets
When you give, you receive, certainly—as an adult watching students thrive within the program but especially if you’re one of those student volunteers bringing us these live broadcasts.
“I definitely learned a lot about confidence and trying new things,” said Caitlin Kelly, DHS Class of ’25 who joined DAF Media her junior year as an announcer. “It gave me a new perspective on working on your feet. That confidence carried over outside the streams too. I’ve learned that it’s okay to make mistakes, because usually those are the moments where you find your voice,” she continued. Caitlin is now a freshman at Syracuse University where she is studying sports management.
“I’ve learned to always have a positive attitude,” added DHS senior Owen Heffron who is the DAF Media training officer and a play-by-play announcer. “Broadcasts rarely go smoothly, so it’s important to keep a level head,” he said. “It was also very helpful to learn about interacting with people. Adults and students alike.”
It’s an extraordinary thing these students and the Darien Athletic Foundation (filled as it is with supporters of all ages and stages) bring to Darien—a collective, resounding “No!” to collapsing local coverage of our high school sports, and a community-building point of major pride for our town.
Amazing what we can do when we pull together. Game on!
For more about DAF Media, which is open to any high school student in town, visit dafmedia.org. For more about DAF and the projects Darien has supported under their leadership, visit darienaf.com.
