In 2014, the Star Valley Independent was expanding into a new path of multi-media coverage. Along with the addition of internet and traditional am/fm radio also came something brand new to the valley. Video coverage of high school sports.
Like most ventures at the beginning, SVI Media’s video broadcasts began simple, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t challenges along the way. Those challenges were overcome, however. And with visions and goals of what the product could become, SVI Media is now heading into its seventh year covering high school sports in Star Valley, Cokeville, Kemmerer and surrounding schools.
“Reflecting back on the early years of SVI’s broadcasts, I recall one of the hardest battles was warming up the Wyoming High School Activities Association to our work, let alone some of the schools we traveled to for broadcasts,” said Dan Dockstader, Owner and Executive Producer at SVI Media. “It took about three trips to Casper to visit with the association at their meetings, made up of athletic directors from around the state. It was complicated because, for some reason, the association had teamed up with an out-of-state company and that’s where their allegiance appeared to lean when it came to final event broadcasts and other matters.”
“However, we continued to pursue a working relationship explaining that we could bring so much more to Wyoming high school sports with our broadcasts. Now, several years later, that point has been made with our producer-led, multi-cameras broadcasts with unsurpassed talent delivering the coverage in a way that brings the games home to living rooms across the state and the nation with literally thousands of viewers tuned in. Nothing else compares to an SVI Media broadcast. Let me say that again, nothing else compares to an SVI Media Broadcast and that reputation has spilled across the state where schools now welcome us showing up in our old high-mileage Suburbans with our little, hardworking multi-talented broadcast teams. And those teams include students learning new talents, trades and skills that would not come in any other situation.”
Dahl Erickson, Sports Director at SVI Media and long-time Braves announcer and writer, also reminisced about some of the early challenges with local video.
“One of the things I remember about the first year of SVI broadcasting was we weren’t terribly wanted. Whether it was other competing businesses or other Activity Directors on the road, we were kind of viewed as rock in their shoe. We had to earn our spot at the table. We did broadcasts from the back of a flatbed truck, an open field and up on top of the press box because we were viewed as an inconvenience. But we didn’t give up and now there are times the kids from opposing teams will ask their administrators if SVI is coming.”
When SVI Media first began producing sports, it was in partnership with Star Valley High School. While the direct cost sharing partnership no longer exists, the initial cooperation between SVHS and SVI Media has developed into a paid internship program for students. The program gives students the ability to gain hands on, professional experience that quite often leads to college scholarships. This education and training is provided to the students by SVI, at no cost to the district.
“As an educator moving to Star Valley in 2012, I really wanted to give back to students and give them the same opportunity I had in high school to receive broadcasting experience, which was with Dan Dockstader and a broadcasting class he taught,” stated David Cazier, senior producer. Cazier and Dockstader were then able to work together to get the process started.
“Perhaps one of my fondest memories was when we visited Powell High School in our early years to broadcast a basketball game,” Cazier said reflecting on the first season. “We rolled in with our massive amount of equipment, including 3 cameras and all the fixins. The radio commentator saw us walking in with all this equipment and started laughing. He turned to me and asked, “Boy, who are you guys trying to be, ESPN?” I turned back to him and said, “Yup! That’s exactly what we are trying to be!” A few seasons later, we showed back up at that same location and the same individual saw me. He nodded to me and after greeting us said to me, “You guys sure do a good broadcast! It’s like Wyoming’s ESPN.”
“There have been some funny things about those early days that didn’t seem funny at the time,” stated Erickson. “I had a rage moment gathering up cables in a cardboard box because we didn’t have reels yet. The payoff was honestly the postseason game in Douglas when we had an end zone camera and when people were able to be transported to the goal line seven hours away for the playoffs, they were hooked.”
SVI Media’s broadcast coverage has expanded to include video coverage for Jackson and Bear Lake High Schools along with radio coverage in Cokeville and Kemmerer. During the 2020-2021 school year, over 1 million views were reported on SVI Media’s broadcast by Livestream for the third consecutive year.
SVI will kick off its eighth season of high school sports coverage this Friday night when the Braves open up their football season on the road against Summit Academy. Games are free to watch at SVInews.com or on the SVI Media Channel, found on the Livestream App on ROKU, Apple TV, Chromecast and mobile devices.
