Aug. 31, 2010
SEATTLE - For four years, Washington guard Sara Mosiman has worked on making connections. The recently graduated women's basketball player interned at local radio & television stations, shadowed media professionals and crafted her educational experience around a future in broadcasting. Her hard work is coming to fruition this year, when Mosiman will provide on-air color commentary for Husky women's basketball and volleyball games for Comcast On-Demand, a web replay service available on GoHuskies.com. She'll work behind a microphone, analyzing strategy and lending her considerable experience in both sports to the listeners online. In addition, Mosiman will work on ad-hoc communication projects for the Washington athletic department. For a recent graduate, it's an amazing opportunity. Mosiman was approached last April at the season-ending banquet in Bellevue by Jon Horton of Flying Colours Creative - and a recent hire of the Washington athletic department - with the job offer. It was a no-brainer. "I couldn't say no to something like that," Mosiman said. "Everyone I've talked to about it has been really cool. And they keep saying if we can't do it for our student-athletes, who can we do it for?" Those who knew Mosiman best figured this would be where her career path took her. In many ways, Mosiman's fledging career mirrors that of former letterwinner Elise (Niemela) Woodward, who hosts her own show on KJR-AM ("Elise at Night") and is the sideline reporter for UW football games. Mosiman isn't the only Husky this summer who has realized their post-college goals. Michelle Augustavo, who played for the Dawgs for two seasons, was recently named an assistant coach at Sacramento State University after she spent a year as an intern at Seattle University. All this professional success reverberates positively around the coaching offices of Hec-Ed. "We are extremely proud of Sara and the fact that she is living out her dream," said women's hoops coach Tia Jackson. "She has been grooming herself for this exact career path for as long as I've known her. She has always been a young lady who sets her eyes on a target and does all she can to hit that exact mark." A tenacious, hard-nosed athlete from nearby Kings High School, Mosiman also has an extensive volleyball background. She was an all-state caliber player at the prep level, and still plays on the local summer beach circuit at Golden Gardens, Green Lake and Alki Beach. But while Mosiman is still developing her broadcasting style, she follows a tried-and-true rule by being meticulously prepared. Before her first night on the microphone, a Huskies volleyball game against Mercer, Mosiman spent hours tucked away at Conibear Shellhouse studying film, digesting stats and memorizing the roster. Nervous? Of course. For someone whose only on-air experience was small special segments, this is an entirely new experience. But she understands the key to success in broadcasting is building an organic style, not a difficult proposition for the free-spirited Mosiman. "I'm looking forward to having a voice and being able to chat and talk about what I'm seeing (on the court)," Mosiman said. "I just want to have a good time." For women's hoops games at Hec-Ed, Mosiman will team with play-by-play voice Dan Giuliani, who is returning for his second season in that capacity. Giuliani added he's looking forward to working with the former Husky, whom he admired for her ability to rebound in record time from a surgical procedure that called for a titanium rod to be implanted in her legs. Despite being handed grim news at her prognosis, Mosiman returned to the Huskies lineup after just nine weeks. The two analysts talk frequently over email, and Giuliani is prepared to lean on Mosiman's basketball acumen during their broadcasts. "Mo' is exactly the kind of player that you want to have in the broadcast booth. She's so cerebral, she understands the game, and she understands what it takes to be successful," Giuliani said. "She was the type of player who I always admired, because of her tenacity, she understands the game for the prospective of the player and adds a layer of depth to the quality of the broadcast." When she broadcasts basketball games, Mosiman said it would be hard not to use nicknames and laugh at inside jokes. But it's a problem she doesn't mind having. "I'm going to work on it," Mosiman said. "It's going to be fun having that connection with the girls and getting to see games from a broadcast view as well." |
