While the Neuqua Media team has started broadcasting nearly all of this season’s spring sporting events, one student’s voice can be recognized throughout the streams. Dominick Liacone has been commentating on games since his days at Gregory Middle School. Now in his senior year, Liacone is the play-by-play announcer for nearly every Neuqua Media broadcast. I recently got a chance to talk to Liacone about the steps he took along the way of his media career. 

Liacone started commentating by himself for Gregory basketball, but it has been an interest of his since childhood. He shares, “I’ve always wanted to broadcast… I would always turn the TV down whenever I saw a sporting event and do my own play-by-play.” 

During his Freshman year, Liacone continued on this path by doing play-by-play on his own Instagram for the baseball team

“I realized this was something I could do for Neuqua when I did the regional and sectional games for our baseball team and then I was able to get permission to do all the football games, it was all real.” 

Understanding that broadcasting was a possible path  he could take, Liacone jumped on the chance to take the media classes offered at Neuqua Valley. He realised his passion and took advantage of the opportunities available to him. He notes that  “another thing that helped [him] get into broadcasting was the media classes [he] was able to take [at Neuqua]… being a coordinating producer for Wildcat Weekly has definitely helped as well.” 

Liacone does more than just play-by-play. As a member of Wildcat Weekly, he also works as a coordinating producer, leading production and holding occasional interviews with important members around Neuqua such as the principal, Dr. Lance Fuhrer. Being a producer on Wildcat Weekly and commentating 4 to 5 games a week, Liacone’s presence and voice is felt through Neuqua.

Liacone has taken his broadcasting career outside of Neuqua Valley as well, as he runs a podcast for his friend’s wiffleball league. This is a side project and yet another facet of broadcasting he has gotten into. Perhaps the most real opportunity for broadcasting has come in the form of summer internships.

“I work with a collegiate summer ball team called the DuPage Pistol Shrimp… I’ve been able to interview guys, I do their social media… did a bunch of play by play… it definitely was an experience that helped.” 

Running the media for a college level baseball team is another step Liacone took on his way to a broadcasting and media career. Looking into the future, Liacone plans to attend Ball State University and major in digital sports production. His goals are to “join their Sports Link program and hopefully keep this digital sports production, media and broadcasting experience going.” 

Ball State’s Sports Link program is the number 3 program in the nation according to a 2017 ranking by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America and has alumni working ESPN, Turner Sports and Fox Sports, and Liacone hopes to continue this path.

Through his media and broadcasting journey at Neuqua Valley, Liacone credits the skills he learned in Broadcast Journalism.  Taking the opportunities available at Neuqua and finding his passion, Liacone encourages students to follow what they love when he tells everyone to “stay persistent.” 

You can hear Liacone commentate almost every Neuqua sporting stream at www.neuquatv.org, and we wish him the best of luck with his future broadcasting endeavors.