Whenever football is played at MHS, above the chanting of the crowd or the tweeting of the whistle, the boom of the announcer’s voice is prevalent. Freshman Braedon Laino began announcing for football games as the first student commentator for JV football in August 2023, Braeden Laino said.
“We’ve had a few student announcers here and there but the position was created this year for him with JV football,” Athletics Director Joanna Butcher said.
Growing up around his father, Nick Laino, who is a professional announcer that announced for the Golden State Warriors during the 2019-2020 season, greatly influenced his passion for sports and sports announcing, Braedon Laino said.
“I’ve always kind of had it in my blood,” Braedon Laino said. “I was going to try out for football, but it just didn’t work out with my schedules and everything, so I decided,‘Hey, I could be an announcer.’”
Although the decision to become an announcer for the school was heavily influenced by his father, Braeden Laino came to this decision by himself, his father said.
“He asked me for some advice,” Nick Laino said. “I gave him advice. I gave him the story of how I became the announcer for my high school. Now he’s following a similar path I was.”
Braedon Laino personally approached Athletics Director Joanna Butcher for the role, he added.
“She gave me a tryout,” Braedon Laino said. “I apparently did really well, since I’m still here, and I’ve been doing it ever since the home opener.”
Nick Laino also serves as his son’s spotter, helping his son announce games by identifying players and plays that Braedon Laino might have missed, he said.
“It’s a surreal experience,” Nick Laino said. “He reminds me a lot about myself when I was his age, and now he helps me in my professional career with one of my announcing jobs. He’s my spotter when I do professional indoor football for the Bay Area Panthers, so this is sort of a role reversal where he’s the announcer and I’m the spotter. But I’m always happy to help out any way I can and I am enjoying the experience.”
In order to prepare for his announcer role, Braedon Laino practices by watching professional games, Braedon Laino said.
“I’d just mute the announcers and start announcing the games,” Braedon Laino said. “I’ll go through past footage of MHS games, old college games, anything, and I would just start announcing.”
During a game, a lot of teamwork is needed between the different staff members, Braedon Laino said.
“I tend to coordinate with my dad usually because he’s my spotter,” he said. “I coordinate with Ms. Butcher a lot too. I coordinate with the clock operator, Lisa. It’s really a lot of people.”
Nick Laino felt that it was most important for his son to pick up on core values that will not only benefit him in his announcing, but also in his own life, he said.
“I taught him to be humble, to not worry about making mistakes, because we’re human,” Nick Laino said. “We’re all going to make them, so we come in here with a professional attitude. And to take this seriously – it’s not a joke.”
Braeden Laino believes that his father’s lessons have not only helped him become a better announcer, but also helped him through the stressful experience of announcing games, he said.
“He taught me how to calm down when you’re announcing and how to relax myself,” Braedon Laino said. He taught me “not to get stuck in my head, to block out other noise; so if someone’s yelling at me, I can just stand and block it out and keep going.”
Overall, Braedon Laino has really enjoyed the experience and is looking forward to continuing announcing the games next year, he said.
“Hopefully, they keep me for next season,” Braedon Laino said. “I’d like to be here next year and do this again, and who knows – I might be doing it for varsity.”