Sports fans with the gift of gab can make a career out of it.
(USE STOCK PHOTO also have a file photo of Rhett doing a broadcast 9.23.16 issue if needed)
Though Plant City native Rhett Rollyson is no longer a full-time sports broadcaster, he’s come from helping with WPLA’s local sports shows in high school to running them himself with partner Scott Hammock. Rollyson has covered college football, college basketball and other sports on both television and radio. He and Hammock host football shows and game broadcasts for the Plant City Raiders and Rollyson is hoping to take some students under his wing next football season with the shows.
Learning the Ropes is an educational series for high school students, college students or adults who wish to work in the sports world. Not everyone can be an all-star pro athlete, but there are plenty of ways to work in the sports you love.
What made you want to get into sports broadcasting?
I used to listen to Ercelle Smith and Al Berry on This and That on WPLA. Dick Shiflett would do the games. Darek and I would do the sideline quarterback show with him on Thursday nights, where we would preview all the area high school games plus the Gators, the Seminoles and the Bucs. That kind of catapulted me, at that age, to know what I wanted to do. I wanted to go to UF because I knew the journalism school was unbelievable. Their broadcast journalism school is one of the best in the country. Syracuse, Missouri, Florida.
How did you get your start in high school?
When WPLA was in town, Darek Sharp and I would, on Thursday nights, do the sideline quarterback show. Very similar to what we’re trying to do now with coach (James) Booth, but of course that was when we had an AM radio station. I was 14 years old. That was kind of getting thrown into the fire at an early age, being on radio. As a junior and senior I got to be a sideline reporter for high school games. I got to interview the coaches at halftime and after the games. As a high school kid, that’s a pretty cool opportunity that most kids would never have.
How can high schoolers get a start like you did?
If I was to say ‘what can I do if I’m a 13, 14, 15-year-old kid’ is get involved with Raider TV, Tomlin TV, whatever you can do. The more comfortable you feel when talking in front of other people, all of a sudden it becomes second nature at some point. Do what you can and look to intern. If it’s something you have a passion for, it’s not like work. It’s like fun.
What did you do in college outside of your classes to get more experience?
I had the opportunity to work at a public radio station, so I had to learn how to talk really slow and enunciate. Then I got to work at Rock 104. I’d do a sportscast at both stations. I got to cover the Danny Rolling murder trial when I was there. You have to do news before you would do sports. It’s important that you have some news background, too. When I was in college, I covered a Final Four, I covered a Sugar Bowl. I did a live shot from the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street. I did a live shot from Charlotte in the Final Four. I was the sports anchor for a 30-minute newscast every day for a year. That was cool. I worked for SportsChannel Florida (now Fox Sports Florida). I did the Lon Kruger Show, I did the Steve Spurrier Show and Gator Magazine. I was there as I finished my last semester and extended out so I could intern and do some stuff like that, which was really cool.
When you’re in front of a TV camera or microphone for the radio, how do you get prepared to call a game?
I interned with the Reds with Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall. Marty’s a legend, he taught me the ropes. You want to be opinionated but you don’t want to be over the line. It’s important that you do your homework. Even at almost 50 years old doing a Raider game, I want to get the roster the day before so I can get some names. Just doing your homework and getting ahead. Get with the coaches, know who their key players are, know what they run. In the moment, you want to be excited but you don’t want to go too fast. That’s when you make mistakes. The key is to try and maintain some sort of calmness, even during a cool moment.
Who are some other sportscasters that influenced you?
If you can be the liaison between the person sitting at home and you can make it real for them, like they’re there, like they can live vicariously through you telling them what’s going on, you’re painting the picture. A good broadcaster is like an artist. Dick Enberg and Vin Scully, you would almost rather just listen to them on the radio than watch on TV. They had a soothing voice. Jack Buck was the same way. They were painting a picture. Vin Scully, at 90 years old, was literally knocking it out of the park. Unbelievable.
You eventually got out of the sportscasting world full-time as other opportunities came up, but you still do a lot of work for Plant City High School during football season. Still have the bug?
Even though I don’t do anything now as far as a full-time job in broadcasting, I still love doing the Raiders games. The coolest thing ever was that I got to do the games at the southeast regional for my son’s Little League. I’m glad that I still get to do some things that correlate to broadcasting. I still have the fire. It scratches that itch, so to speak.
