By Jerry Clay, Drew Charter School Student Correspondent
Every year the TOUR Championship takes place in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. This year it means a little bit more because I was offered the opportunity to join the press team, bringing me tons of excitement. With an interest in sports broadcasting, I was hoping to get a sneak peek into what my future career path might look like. When I showed up to the beautiful East Lake Golf Course, I received media credentials and immediately felt VIP, sitting inside the media tent, behind the scenes where players do interviews and news articles around the TOUR Championship come to life. Shortly after arriving, I had to get to work preparing for my Interview with Sellers Shy.
Sellers Shy is currently the Lead PGA Producer for CBS Sports and has done many other broadcasting jobs such as NFL on CBS and NCAA college basketball. With his Lead Producer role, I knew that it must come with various responsibilities so, my first question was, “What responsibilities come with being the Lead Producer?” His response was in simpler words stated, “To make sure all machines, cameras, and people were all on the same page getting the job done in showing the tournament in the best way possible for the fans watching at home.” He also stated, “Here at CBS we work 23 weeks out of the year so that’s 23 weeks away from home. So, it’s a large commitment.” Towards the end of the interview, I told him about my interest in sports and working in the sports broadcasting world, to see if I could capture any advice. He explained, “I’m in a great position, by being from Atlanta, to leverage the many different opportunities like internships with the many different sports networks and teams here.” But the part that really stuck out to me was when he said, “You have to truly love sports and be ready to put in a lot of hours involving yourself in sports”. For me, spending hours of my life involved in sports is easy because it’s something I already do on a day-to-day basis. At the end of the interview, to my surprise he gifted us nice hats and invited us to see him in action on the CBS trailer.
Later in the afternoon, we headed back over to the broadcast trailer, and I was able to have a once in a lifetime experience seeing behind the scenes of how we, the fans, see golf on TV. We walked into a room with 10-12 people, taking in the many different camera angles. It was a very intense environment, giving me insight into what the CBS team looks at for almost six hours at a time. You could hear them communicating with different people on the golf course, to get the best shot on TV. Being allowed to see behind the scenes has really changed the way I watch golf. I will not be able to watch golf the same again knowing how many people, cameras, and how much time and work these people spend. It was truly an unforgettable experience.
