Matt Mariani, Basketball Beat Writer

You are never too old or too young to start something. Pierson Clark is proving just that. 

Clark is a 14-year-old public address announcer for Quinnipiac Club Sports. Clark, a student at Slate School, a K-12 school in North Haven, Conn., has been announcing games for over three years. He drew inspiration from Quinnipiac sports and from watching games on ESPN throughout his childhood. One announcer who stands out to him is Adam Hamway, the New Jersey Devils public address announcer. 

“I guess just kind of trying to match their energy in a way,” said Clark. “Obviously, I’ve got kind of my own style of doing things.”

Clark discussed matching energy and using that in his own announcing. Especially with opposing teams, he learned from Jimmie Clark, Quinnipiac’s varsity PA announcer, and Hamway about flat-lining at certain aspects of the call when announcing opposing teams, which basically is voicing less enthusiasm and dropping their voice. 

Clark began his career when he reached out to the Quinnipiac men’s club ice hockey coach. He had attended games and realized the team had no announcers, and thought he’d be a good fit for the job. 

According to Clark’s mother, he was very excited about his idea. She also was on board with it. 

“I said, ‘OK! That sounds fantastic, go for it,’” Clark’s mother, Jenifer Staple-Clark, said.

He made demos and contacted the coach within days. He focused on hockey and recorded himself announcing all the same announcements you’d see at M&T Bank Arena. 

“I just recorded demos, on my phone actually, and I did penalty announcements, goal announcements, starting lineup announcements, last minute of period announcements, just kind of everything I could think of,” Clark said. 

Last year, Clark announced all eight of the men’s club ice hockey’s home games. This season he did home games for almost every sport. He credits John Somers, the associate director of recreation, for helping him branch out into the other club sports Quinnipiac offers. 

“I guess some of the other club teams kind of saw what I was doing and they wanted me to announce for them too,” Clark said.

Announcing is a lot more than just a voice. Clark puts in serious time and effort – prepping the night before gameday, getting rosters for both squads and creating a PA game script that includes starting lineups and positions. 

“He is so committed to everything that he is doing…I think he follows challenges with grit,” Staple-Clark said.

He was not an expert at every sport he covered. Hockey was his main sport, but he had to learn how to announce for other sports teams that wanted him on the mic at their games. Clark had to familiarize himself with lacrosse, basketball, soccer, softball, and field hockey. This was no easy task, but Clark got to work. 

The young announcer announces these club games, and showcases his skills on Instagram. Clark posts under the handle “piersonclark2012” and has amassed more than 2,000 followers. He mainly posts his starting lineup introductions, which gain thousands of views. His most recent video introducing club lacrosse is closing in on 30,000 views. His most popular, introducing men’s club basketball, currently sits at more than 848,000 views. Clark also reposts Quinnipiac sports-related posts on his story. 

He understands how difficult announcing can be, and the hard work that goes into it. He uses his older posts to help him hone his skillset.

“Kind of looking back at some of my past videos I’ve created, like I’ve seen how I’ve come a long way, and still have a long way to go,” Clark said. “I guess it kind of teaches me to appreciate all the professionals that do it for a living”.

He also understands the necessity to balance his social and school life with his work life.

“I kind of leave off weekends for [announcing] in a way. The weekdays for homework and social life,” Clark said.

The young star plans to continue announcing games at Quinnipiac and would like to pursue a future doing what he is doing. His goals include attending the university after he graduates high school and to one day be in the NHL, not as a player, but as an announcer. 

“I’ve got, I guess 8 years left of doing this, hopefully if they’ll keep having me back,” Clark said.

His advice to the even younger generation of announcers? 

“Keep doing it, you’ll get far”.