Published: October 26, 2026 | By Clayton Greenberg
A good PA announcer is invisible.
Nobody notices when it's done right. They just notice when it's done wrong. You never hear someone leave a game saying, "That PA announcer was amazing." But you'll definitely hear it if the guy on the mic is all wrong.
That's the job—not to be the loudest person in the building, but to be the one person nobody has to think about.
I've been doing PA announcing around the Dallas-Fort Worth area for more than five years and have been behind the microphone for more than 250 live events. Along the way, I've worked with Parish Episcopal School, Lake Highlands High School and Premier Events USA, among others. I've learned that what sounds easy—show up, read some names, announce the score—is actually the product of a lot of work before the first pitch or kickoff ever happens.
A lot of the work happens before I ever get to the venue.
I work backward from game day: roster, starters, coaches' names, pronunciation guides, sponsor reads, special announcements, and anything unusual about that particular event.
I want to know how to say every player's name correctly. I've sat in the car before games writing out phonetic spellings. I've called coaches to confirm pronunciations. Get a name wrong in front of 500 people, and that player remembers it.
The better prepared I am, the easier the night is. And that matters because things move quickly once the game starts.
Football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer and lacrosse all have different rhythms, and you have to meet each one where it lives.
In football, I'm dealing with substitutions, penalties, scoring plays, timeouts and everything else happening around the game. The pace is deliberate enough that you can think.
Basketball moves much faster. There isn't much time to figure out what you're doing. You're calling lineups, fouls, timeouts, and scorekeeping all in real time. Miss something in the first quarter and you've already fallen behind.
Baseball and softball require a different approach entirely—the rhythm is slower, more methodical. You set the tone between innings. Volleyball and soccer have their own cadences.
You have to understand the sport and pay attention to what's happening on the field or court. That sounds obvious, but it's one of the biggest differences between simply reading announcements and actually being a good PA announcer.
One of the hardest things to learn is that you don't need to talk all the time.
I once called a youth baseball tournament on a hot Saturday afternoon. A kid stepped up to the plate who had been struggling the whole season—I could see it on his face. I wanted to pump him up, call his name with energy, get the crowd behind him.
Instead, I announced him and stayed quiet.
The kid hit a home run in silence. When he rounded the bases, the crowd erupted—not because I told them to, but because they'd watched something real happen. He'd done it himself.
That taught me something: sometimes the game is the important thing, and the microphone needs to stay quiet.
The same applies to energy. Some events call for a lot of energy. Others don't. A high school football game on Friday night isn't the same as a middle-school basketball game or a tournament during the day. The PA should fit the event instead of trying to make every event sound exactly the same.
One of the things I enjoy about doing this is the variety of events and organizations.
I've had the opportunity to work with Parish Episcopal School, Lake Highlands High School and Premier Events USA, along with other schools, leagues and events around DFW. I've spent several years announcing Lake Highlands baseball and girls basketball, along with other high school and youth events.
Those experiences have given me the chance to work in different venues, with different production setups and with different expectations. Every event teaches you something—sometimes it's a pronunciation you need to get right, sometimes it's figuring out a better way to handle a particular type of announcement, and sometimes it's simply learning how to deal with something unexpected when the game isn't going according to plan.
I don't think a PA announcer needs to be a performer. The athletes are there to play. The coaches are there to coach. The fans are there to watch the game.
My job is to provide the information people need, keep things moving when necessary, and add some energy to the event without taking over.
After more than 250 events, that's still what I focus on.
Be prepared. Know the game. Know the names. Pay attention—and don't overdo it.
That's what I try to bring to every event through Voice of DFW.
Working on an event and want to talk about bringing home field advantage to your game? Get in touch—let's make sure your crowd sounds as good as your team plays.
Every game deserves home field advantage.