The voice seems familiar.
It’s one of those memories that pops in, but its origin is as invisible as the radio waves that carry it from a play-by-play booth to your listening device.
“Asad looks like the producers of “La La Land” when they found out “Moonlight” won the best picture.”
Whose voice is that? Why does that sound familiar?
The voice belongs to Adam Schick, the new radio play-by-play voice of Atlanta United on 92.9 the Game. To understand why it may ring an bell, Schick goes into his life and how this job completes a dream.
An excellent story-teller (go figure?) — he describes them as filibusters — takes us back to when he was a kid, growing up in metro Atlanta.
Filibuster No. 1: A friend of Schick's father, Ken, told him about a contest on 790 the Zone to be a part of a monthly radio show in 2000. Schick loved to entertain — the theme of his Bar Mitzvah was "Adam's world of entertainment" and featured a video voiced by Atlanta media legend Chuck Dowdle — so he and his dad taped a mock radio show in the basement of his home. His dad had two roles: He called in pretending to be Mike Piazza, and he called in as Jack from Dawson County. (Schick chose the name because he was a big fan of the movie "Titanic")
A few weeks later, he was called in by the station to go on TV33, which was broadcasting the radio show “Mayhem in the P.M.”
“They just threw things at me to see if I had the same instincts on live radio that I had on my audition tape,” he said.
Turns out, he was pretty good. He got the gig on a show called “The KidZone.”
For the next year, once a month, he would banter with radio personalities now well-known in the market: Matt Chernoff, Chuck Oliver, Mike Bell, Chris Dimino and Nick Cellini, among others.
The voice is starting to sound familiar.
Filibuster No. 2: Hooked on becoming a media personality, Schick wanted to become a TV sports anchor, just like Dowdle, who was a family friend.
He sought and earned internships wherever offered: WSB with Dowdle and Zach Klein, the “Chuck and Chernoff” show, “2 Live Stews” and Turner Sports, among others. His responsibilities ranged from research, to putting together clips, to writing short pieces to be read on the air … anything asked of him. He televised the morning news at Dickerson Middle School and Walton High School.
“It was Adam’s drive and work ethic, attention to detail, that set him apart,” Klein said. “From the moment he stepped into the office, he was ready to rock. That’s all you can ask for.”
Klein’s advice to Schick in his pursuit of a career: “Whether it’s sports broadcasting, sports reporting, relationships are everything. From the get-go, meet, talk, visit, take out to lunch as many people in the sports industry that you can.
“Combine that with a strong work ethic, and when the opportunity comes, you will be prepared. Don’t let anybody outprepare you.”
Schick learned that lesson, which played a role in him earning the gig with Atlanta United.
The voice is becoming more clear and leads to the next story.
Filibuster No. 3: Schick matriculated to the University of Florida, where he began working at WRUF in Gainesville.
His boss at the station, Steve Russell, received a call in 2007 from someone at the University of Florida Athletic Association saying a young student was needed who could broadcast games for the Gators’ women’s soccer team.
Schick, a sophomore, happened to be in the room.
Russell leaned out the door and asked him if he was interested.
Schick’s answer was inexplicable: “Let me think about it.”
Schick grew up on Skip Caray, Pete Van Wieren, Steve Holman and Wes Durham doing baseball, basketball and football. Schick didn’t know soccer.
He called his dad, who straightened him out: "Call him back right now and tell him you will absolutely do it. You don't say no to having a foot in the door in the industry you want to be in. You can then go figure out the sport."
He did and changed his dream of being a studio anchor to becoming a play-by-play announcer for an Atlanta team.
“That’s what’s so ironic about getting the Atlanta United job,” Schick said. “Ten years ago I was completely new to the sport and almost said no to the opportunity that led me here.”
Florida’s women’s team wanted to play like Barcelona, so they used a similar formation. When Orlando City was founded, Schick interviewed for the radio play-by-play job. During the discussion, he told them that he was familiar with then-coach Adrian Heath’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation because that’s what Florida and Barcelona ran.
He thinks it helped him win the job, which leads to the next story.
Filibuster No. 4: When Schick heard in 2014 that Atlanta had been granted an MLS franchise, he thought it could be the perfect situation for him to fulfill his desire to do radio play-by-play in Atlanta.
Perhaps remembering Klein’s advice, Schick reached out to Atlanta United President Darren Eales a year ago. They met last summer.
“I spent part of every single day after that making a call or sending an email trying to improve my chances,” he said.
Still, nothing was happening. It appeared that Atlanta United wasn’t going to have an English-speaking radio partner, going only with a Spanish-speaking partner.
“With only a few weeks until the opener and no word from the club, I was sure it wasn’t happening,” he said. “It was almost one of those things, ‘This has been my dream for so long, if it’s not going to happen, maybe I should do something else.’”
And then, on Feb. 27, he got the call.
“It was a sprint to the finish line,” he said.
Schick said he wants to make sure that people can feel and see what he’s describing. Play-by-play soccer on the radio is very difficult. It is an abstract sport with few identifiable markers on the field and rarely any breaks in the action.
Schick said he estimates he will put in at least 8-10 hours of preparation for every game. He will jot down a few bite-sized facts about each player on each team that he can throw in during the few seconds he will have during games to add background and context.
He wants to educate, but like Caray, he also tries to interject a little humor, which is why he used that specific line about the Academy Awards when describing Asad’s reaction to a missed opportunity.
“I’m trying to make sure the emotions I’m feeling as a fan of the game are coming through the calls as well,” he said.
Filibuster No. 5 (it's short): Before Sunday's inaugural game, Schick was a guest on 92.9's pregame show. After he wrapped up, a person walked up and told him that they remember his show on 790.
“It was really crazy,” he said. “It was really cool.”
Lastly, after the game, a 14-year-old aspiring sportscaster who heard Schick on the pregame show found his contact info online and reached out. He wanted advice on how to advance his career after hearing his story.
Perhaps that voice in 10-15 years will one day sound oddly familiar.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA UNITED
Coach: Adrian Heath
Stadium: TCF Bank Stadium
Record: 0-1
Previous game: Lost at Portland 5-1.
Three Players to watch:
Miguel Ibarra: The midfielder was a standout on the team when it was in the NASL. He signed with a club in Mexico before re-joining Minnesota United this season.
Christian Ramirez: The forward scored his team's only goal against Portland. He won two Golden Boots, given to the top scorer, in the NASL.
Kevin Molino: A solid offensive threat when he was with Orlando, Molino had five shots, one on goal, against Portland.
Notes: The Loons have sold more than 30,000 season tickets for Sunday's game.
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