Wrestling broadcasts help keep this injured athlete in the game

This was not exactly how Ryan Anderson’s junior year at New Hampton High School was supposed to go.
Instead of competing in sports, a torn UCL muscle suffered last year and repaired by Tommy John surgery this past summer has kept him on the sidelines as his New Hampton/Turkey Valley wrestling teammates are putting together yet another fantastic season.
But he’s not totally out of the loop; in fact, Anderson may have found a calling after serving as the play-by-play commentator for Iowa Wrestling’s online broadcasts of the top-ranked Chickasaws’ home meets.
“It’s been a lot of fun, and I kind of like how it keeps me involved with sports,” Anderson said. “It’s definitely different, but yeah, sometimes I think maybe this something I might want to do.”
When Iowa Wrestle approached New Hampton/Turkey Valley about broadcasting their home duals, it had one caveat — the school needed to provide its own commentator.
NH/TV coach Nick Hemann immediately thought of Anderson and Aden Zwanziger, who also helps with the broadcasts, and they’ll wrap up their first year of broadcasting tonight [Tuesday] when New Hampton hosts Union and Center Point-Urbana in the final home meets of the year.
That means when school ends, Anderson will eschew his usual workout and rehabilitation to study the rosters of Union and Center Point-Urbana.

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“I know our guys and where they’re ranked and all that,” he said, “but I try to make sure I know as much about the other teams as I can. I don’t want to be one of those loud announcers, I just want to call the action and be fair.”
 
For more of this article, see Tuesday's Tribune.