Steve Shaff is in his third year as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports
Information at St. Francis. He assists with the day-to-day operation of
Athletics and coordinates all communication efforts for the department.
Troubie TV:
Bringing SF Athletics to the World
By Steve Shaff
Grandma and Grandpa would love to watch their granddaughters compete in their high
school athletic contests but live outside California. Now they can on TroubieTV thanks to the
St. Francis Sports Media Club. “TroubieTV is a really good opportunity for me,” said sophomore Grace Horner. “I don’t think there is anything like this at other schools. I really enjoy
announcing and broadcasting games. It is giving me experience for later in life.”
TroubieTV is the Sports Media Club broadcasts of St. Francis sports games via PlayOn!,
a web-streaming company specializing in high school sports, on the NFHS Network. The
service is free to all St. Francis families. Over the last year, the club has showcased more than
80 Troubadour basketball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, volleyball contests and
school events like National Signing Day celebrations. “I am going to major in Sports Media and
Production in college,” said senior Ugonne Okugo. “I wanted to get a taste of it before I entered
college. I like the club because it gives me a chance to learn how to film, produce and announce
in a quick manner of time.”
Assistant AD Steve Shaff, a veteran of more than 20 years in collegiate athletics, started the
program at St. Francis. With the help of the Booster Club, the school was able to purchase two
HD video cameras and other announcing equipment. The club started with a grass roots effort
on campus and has grown to 66 students signing up this fall.
The broadcasts can be viewed live online or on your mobile device or watched on demand.
The club recently showcased a varsity basketball game played against Davis High School at
Sleep Train Arena. The crew sat courtside in the Kings’ television location. “I loved going behind
the scenes at the Kings game and I saw myself in the future doing play-by-play and player interviews at a big arena,” said sophomore Marianne Hayes. “I have learned to just go for it and not
hold back. I want to keep the conversations going and be really descriptive. The camera is only
showing what is right in front of you. It is nice to describe the feeling in the game. I have loved
learning to keep talking.”
Troubi eTV will show numerous contests each season from campus and other venues across
Sacramento. “It is pretty cool because you can go home and watch it to evaluate your performance and accomplishments in the game,” said sophomore Isabella Quiniola, who played on the
junior varsity basketball team.
The purpose of the Sports Media Club is to increase exposure and help build the St. Francis
brand to stakeholders by offering events for viewing with full mobile capability, including phone,
Internet-enabled TV and tablet. The experiential opportunities include broadcast announcing, sports filming and production of the events. The club meets monthly at lunch to listen to
speakers in the industry from the local area including Frances Wang ’10 from News10 and radio
personality Morgan Ragan.
TroubieTV showcased the Homecoming Rally and it was watched by over 450 people live
and 250 on demand in the first few days following the event.
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