02 Broadcaster Press December 30, 2014 www.broadcasteronline.com The Art of Success Series: Thayer, Van Goor: Two voices for one Coyote athletic program By Alan Dale alan.dale@plaintalk.net Sometimes success isn’t defined by how long you are good at one thing, but it can simply be the path of growth someone takes to achieve the next step. For Joe Van Goor and John Thayer, they have worked their way to becoming the voice of University of South Dakota sports over the past few years. Van Goor, 55, is in his second stint working with the Coyotes and is in the middle of his third year doing football and men’s basketball. Thayer, 29, is in year two of giving USD women’s basketball fans a dose of exuberance as he calls their games from Des Moines, Iowa to Seattle, Washington to Lawrence, Kansas to Brookings. They both have had different careers as one is a long-time veteran of the trade and the other is a young up-and-comer. What they have in common is that they both made it to Vermillion and are giving it their all to provide the best play-by-play announcing for Coyote fans. That’s been one heck-of-a deal for the city and the university. Joe is back in the USD saddle Van Goor was born and raised in Yankton and graduated from the high school in 1978. He would attend the University of South Dakota for a year and later Mount Marty College and St. Cloud University. He actually got involved in radio after his sophomore year in high school, securing a part-time gig with a Yankton station. He would ultimately work at at in stations in his hometown, Hot Springs, and St. Cloud, Minnesota, during his early days behind the mike. He would begin covering sports in 1984 as he did playby-play work for WNAX 570AM in Yankton. “Supposedly the first game I ever covered was the annual Knox County invitational, boys and girls basketball tournament, simply known as ‘The Knox,” Van Goor said. “It was a Bloomfield Queen BeeCrofton Lady Warrior basketball game. It was not a good game. A classmate of mine from Yankton High School was coaching Bloomfield at the time and this was when they were still playing with the big basketball and they still had a jump ball. They must have had 30 or 35 jump balls in the game. That far outdid the number of shots put up in the game.” He reported on high school football, boys and girls basketball, wrestling, and track and field. He would also do play-by-play of both USD and South Dakota State, the latter for one year. Van Goor also covered Mount Marty sports and American Legion baseball. To say Van Goor, who is in the third year of a five-year contract to cover USD sports for KVHT, was busy, would be an understatement. He is an independent contractor through Learfield Communications. He previously worked with USD sports as the voice of the Coyotes in 1990-91. Before getting back in the play-by-play chair at the beginning of the 2012-13 college athletic season, Van Goor was the sports director for Five Star Communications and the NEW YEAR'S EVEial YEA S AR AR'S c K AVERN'S KAVERN'S S | Volin, SD Volin, , spe 12oz ribeye fo 16.95 OR ribeye for ye or 4ithshrimp sksalawearllic asto 14.95 cakkee. skewers for slice cheese ak e ar rs for lice che Served with sweet or baked potato, salad bar, garli toas and slic Served with a sweet or baked potato, salad bar, garlic toast an a slice of cheese cake. e ed wit bake aked ta o, ala a gar ic ke at Com n njoy. Come and enjoy. Come and enjoy. joy Open New Year's Day, Ye ear's y sorry kitchen will be closed. y Ha Have a Happy Ne Ye r! Happy New Year! Happy appy Joe Van Goor (above) and John Thayer have been the voices of USD athletics on the radio for the last few years. According to many, the duo have been a pair of home runs. THOMAS HATZENBUHLER / FOR THE PLAIN TALK programmer for ESPN Radio 1570 AM and a staff announcer for classic hits KVHT 106.3FM as well as the sports director for the two latter stations. Van Goor was fortunate to not have to move around too much as many in the business find themselves doing. He held his post as the sports director for 19-plus years before being able to be the play-by-play man for the Coyotes again. “When 106.3 got the rights to broadcast football and men’s and women’s basketball, unbeknownst to me I was a part of the package,” Van Goor said. “So when they got the five-year contract I was included in that. I was doing Yankton and Vermillion High School sports and Mount Marty College and there is no way you could do both, so I went to do full-time work for Coyotes football and men’s basketball.” One thing is for sure, the move has been a welcome one to the coaches Van Goor deals with including new Coyotes’ men’s basketball coach Craig Smith. “Joe bleeds red, he’s all in,” Smith said. “It’s almost like Harry Caray for the Cubs… he only sees it one way. He’s a great ambassador for USD. He’s great for me, because there is no doubt where his loyalties are at.” Smith sees plenty of Van Goor and he and the USD players appreciate the radio man’s presence. “He’s a fun guy to be around and he keepS everybody loose,” Smith said. “He’s easy to talk to, he has a great persona to him. He has a quirky sense of humor that makes him enjoyable to be around. He’s always got a smile on his face. He’s been awesome to be around and I can’t think of a better guy to work with.” Van Goor who, like Thayer, has made his living covering small town sports, sees growth in the USD sports community and the challenges it faces. “My second stint with the Coyotes is when they are fully eligible in Division I and you find that many of the same people that I saw 30 years ago at games,” Van Goor said. “It’s just now you have to be more inventive. People want to be entertained with more than just what is happening on the court or on the field. When they were Division II the basketball teams would play doubleheaders. The women would play first and the men would play second and at halftime you would have little kids come out and shoot for pizzas. “Now everything is visual and audio and shoot for a million dollars. You have to be really inventive to get people to a game now.” Thayer has picked up quite a few lessons from the veteran Van Goor. “It’s hard not to learn anything from Joe,” Thayer said. “Joe’s been around for a long time doing this, especially in this area. You learn a lot from someone who has been around it, especially for as long as Joe has. When I got here he helped me adapt to the area and I was fortunate enough IMMEDIAT IMMEDIATE OPENINGS ATE OAKWOOD APARTMENTS A to shadow him and understand how this all works.” John finds his place Thayer is a fixture on KVHT and ESPN Radio 1570AM where he hosts his morning show “On the Jon” Mondays-Fridays starting at 9 a.m. He has also become synonymous as the voice of the Coyote women’s basketball team. He also did what many young professionals in his field do: make a lot of moves to places for quick stops in search of that one job that he could finally settle in on. Before that he grew up in the small town of Eustis, Nebraska, and eventually went to Doane College located in Crete, Nebraska, where he graduated in four years. His first job out of college came in Holyoke, Colorado where Thayer worked for a year. “I did everything,” Thayer said. “There were two of us that worked at that station – me and a salesperson.” He left there to move on to a new job in Grand Island, Nebraska to work for the College Fan Sports Network where he would cover NAIA sports. “We travelled all over the country,” Thayer said. “We went to places like Helena, Montana to Rome, Georgia to Willamsburg, Kentucky to Azusa, California.” The operation was closed after the finish of the athletic season, but Thayer and another College Fan Sports Network alum decided to travel and still do football despite the shutdown. “He bought all of the equipment and asked me if I’d help him do it through the football season before I knew I needed to find a job,” Thayer said. “So I got a job in radio sales in Beatrice, Nebraska and spent about eight months or so doing that.” Thayer ultimately began doing freelance stuff in hopes of securing a full-time on-air position. “I was at the Nebraska state softball tournament covering a game and I got two phone calls and two voice mails from stations asking if I’d have a conversation with them,” Thayer said. “One of them was in Ray, Colorado and the other was in Chadron, Nebraska. I ended up moving to Chadron.” Thayer got to cover sports there in seven months and was able to get involved with coaching youth baseball and helping with church groups before a call came and he ultimately arrived in Yankton in 2012. Now he is the sports director at the KVHT stations, programmer for the AM side while also enjoying the opportunity to host his own talk show. As for the USD women’s coverage, that is actually just a part-time job he got hired for through Learfield,, but one he is fully invested in. Now he is enjoying his longest tenured stay and the process didn’t come at any large expense. “(The process) can be tough, the only place that I really got connected to people at was Chadron right before I came here,” Thayer said. “It’s tough when you have to move. You are constantly starting over, you are just trying to get to know people and getting used to it and then you are going somewhere else. It’s the nature of it I guess.” Thayer also never gave up too quick despite some quick stops and a small one that n OIAV, Page 05 Crop Consultation “Reinforce the Business... in your Agribusiness” Mission Statement: CALL NIKKI OR DAVE V (605) 624-9557 EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY KNUTSON FAMILY DENTISTRY Advantages to hiring a crop consultant: g g p Dr. Richard Knutson Dr. Matthew Knutson Dental Excellence for Children & Adults Services: Cosmetic • Implants General Practice •Single Visit Crowns Braces For Adults & Children •Invisalign HOURS: Monday – Friday, 8:30 – 5:30 1714 East Cherry Street, Vermillion 605.624.6291 JOEY HANSON Crop Consultant/CCA 605.659.4783 OPEN New Year’s Eve Serving Prime Rib, Steaks, and other specials available - New Year’s Eve Drink Specials CLOSED New Year’s Day Bar Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 3pm - ? Grill Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 5pm-9pm Friday & Saturday, 5pm-10pm Closed Sunday & Monday Serving Prime Rib & Steak Specials on Fridays & Saturdays