TEC Crew members sophomore Ethan York and senior Michael Geisler set up prior to a game against Atascocita Sept. 12 2025 at George Turner Stadium. “Once everything is working off the ground, we’re all hands off,” PAC coordinator Zach Bobrowski said. “And those students run everything.”
Photo Credit: Joe Nogalski
At 11:35 a.m. Sept. 12, 23 students, all part of the Westlake Technical Entertainment Crew (TEC), set out for Humble, TX from Austin to prepare for that week’s broadcast of the varsity football game on KBVO and KXAN Plus. After a 35-28 Chap win, the students returned back to school over 12 hours later. Through the first three away games, they have traveled a total of 1098 miles.
TEC has been broadcasting games for the Chaps since 2002. Since then, the crew has won first place in UIL Broadcast Producing six times, among many more UIL awards.
“This is a professional level broadcast, so this is about as good of an experience as you’re going to get in high school,” junior director Michael Peays said. “So it really helps with [going into broadcast], because you’re getting hands-on experience with broadcasting.”
The crew starts preparation early in the week starting with a review of the previous week’s broadcast before running a practice broadcast during a junior varsity game on Thursday.
Fridays will sometimes include a bus ride to the stadium where the football team is playing. This year’s trips through three games have included UMHB’s Crusader Stadium for the game against Prosper, a trip to San Benito’s Bobby Morrow Stadium and a trip to Atascocita’s George Turner Stadium.
This week marks the first home game for the Chaps and also the first home broadcast for TEC this year.
“At home, we’re a lot more comfortable,” senior crew head of camera four Michael Poole said. “We’re able to kind of get more into it. We have a lot less to do for setup. The other thing about home games is the crowd is a lot bigger, and so you’re dealing with a lot more crowd noise and distractions, and there’s a lot more people around you on the field.”
When away, the students set up equipment such as cameras, audio and the trailer which includes the replay system and the sound board. In addition to these, TEC runs an audio fiber which transmits audio back to the trailer. During the Atascocita game, the crew ran 1,500 feet of fiber, the most the crew has ever done.
After setup, the crew preps for kickoff and eats dinner as a group. When the game gets rolling, the broadcast is managed entirely by students.
“Nothing is done by adults,” Michael Poole said. “We’re down here on the field. It’s just us.”
If an issue arises during the broadcast, there is help nearby to assist them with potential issues.
“If we [do] have an issue that I’m not sure how to fix, I can have Mr. Strange, Mr. Poole come look at the camera,” Michael Poole said. “And they’re able to offer a lot of insight.”
Michael Poole also plans to major in mechanical engineering in college. He believes TEC can help him due the leadership and teamwork skills he has learned during his time with the crew.
“I’m hoping that I can pull a lot of the leadership values and skills that I’ve learned in tech with that, with me into [mechanical engineering],” Michael Poole said. “I know that I can just use all of the soft skills that I’ve learned through TEC wherever I end up, because a lot of what tech does is not just teaching you the technical skills, but it’s the soft skills, and working on a team or with a group of people.”
These positions arise as a result of the constant opportunities to be a leader in video crew. When students are thrust into those positions, it helps them learn how to make those decisions. That helps make them such a different person than when they were a freshman.
“I’ve known so many people who have come through this program over the years who have left so different than they’ve come in,” Michael Poole said. “TEC is just a great way for people to come out of their shell. Somebody who’s really shy or doesn’t have a lot of leadership experience can come into tech and leave as one of the leaders of an elite group of students.”
