2 Students Are Voice Of White Bear Lake H.S. Sports
WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. (WCCO) -- Some strive to be stand-out athletes, some strive to be stand-out students. But two seniors at White Bear Lake High School have a different goal. They are striving to be the voice of their school.
"We had tons of fun broadcasting in the student section and I've been surprised about how great it has gone so far," said Chad Olson.
But it didn't start out that way for Olson and his friend Zach Halverson. Last spring they got an idea to create an online radio network for White Bear Lake sports, something people could listen to in real-time. Donations helped make that possible, and the name came easy enough.
"And it was the HORN -- Halverson Olson Radio Network," said Halverson.
The kick-off, though, was a bit of a challenge. The first game of the year wasn't what they expected. "We left thinking: this is our senior year and we have to be doing this all season. And we weren't having a lot of fun," said Halverson.
That would change. The duo started to get more comfortable on-air. And in a game against Woodbury, the HORN was officially born.
"We both just went nuts on air. I listened to it the next day on air. We were just screaming," said Olson.
"Every week since then that we go along, it seems to get better and better," said Halverson.
The friends have taken their show on the road. Not only do they broadcast home games in the student section, but they do the same thing for away games.
Like their classmates on the field, they've become fan favorites in the stands.
"During the Woodbury game, the student section chanted 'Halvy! Halvy!' for me and then ended up chanting 'Chad! Chad! Chad!' like that," said Halverson. "It has just been an amazing, amazing experience, absolutely."
Halverson said his vision for the HORN is to broadcast for other sports in addition to football, like girls soccer and spring sports, as well.
He says they've received feedback from alumni across the country who are listening online.
