Last year, long time voice of the Hawks, Jay Gonzales, who announced both volleyball and basketball games, called his final game in El Mirador gym as highlighted in the May 2019 edition of the Gregorian Chant. The vacancy has since been filled by a younger face: Andrew Choi, a senior at TGS. Before Choi quickly filled the announcing job, Gonzales had been calling games since his first child’s game at The Gregory School for many seasons, up until last year when his last child, Rachel Gonzales, graduated. Choi accepted the challenge of filling some big shoes.
Gonzales, a former journalist for the Arizona Daily Star and current president of the Tucson Sugarskulls football team, was known to all as an outstanding announcer. Given that most schools, especially ones with smaller populations, typically play without an announcer, it is great that there will continue to be a voice in the gym without hiatus.
Having attended and played in games in a gym with no announcer, it creates an eeriness, especially when the stands are half full. A voice to go along with the action adds more to the atmosphere. However, during volleyball games, Choi admits that “there’s never silence… the only time there’s silence is when they’re getting the ball so that’s usually when I’ll [announce]”. While that is the case for volleyball, oftentimes, basketball can be a little more fast-paced without the clarity of the action of a volleyball game. He says that he “thinks [he] will be” continuing his announcing career as basketball home games begin on December 10th.
Gonzales had plenty of experience especially by the end of last year, but Choi, on the other hand, had to learn the games of volleyball and basketball before being able to start announcing games.
Coach Earnhart said that his first practice with calling a volleyball game was the first scrimmage the team had before a game that followed the next week. It was a way for Choi to understand the minimal basics to call a game in the gym with the microphone on and people watching. Even though it was his first time to completely comprehend and call a game, there were no real nerves for him even from the beginning. It was only a matter of making sure the call was right and that he got better at not making mistakes over time.
As someone who was more experienced, it was easy to understand why Gonzales was so smooth behind the mic. To Choi, it’s just calling what he sees and it just so happens that “there’s a bunch of people” listening to him announce the games. It makes no difference and doesn’t interfere with him doing his job.
This job was offered to him because he was “very boisterous” according to Coach E. As the announcer, Choi finds himself in the gym two to three times a week to call all home games. It is a part of his senior internship that all seniors must complete by the time they graduate at TGS.
To the luck of those who attend volleyball and basketball games, the gym will continue to be lively and noisy thanks to Andrew Choi, the new voice of the Hawks.
Written by leo Gruenstein
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