Broadcast Ops Playbook

Every program runs one of two systems for getting a student behind a camera: self sign-up or teacher-assigned. Nathan and Jordan Burns (Nixa Live) break down when each one works, when it breaks, and the hybrid most established programs actually land on. In this episode: The real cost of self sign-up (gaps, unready students, SOPs skipped) Why teacher-assigned solves that but puts you right back in...

State basketball. The biggest show most of Nathan's crews had ever run, and he wasn't in the truck. He was on the sideline, finding out whether the training actually held. It did, right up through a last-second replay call that ended up on SportsCenter's top 10. This episode is the system behind that moment: five steps for training a crew that can run equipment they've never touched, at a scale th...

It's Tuesday, and your first broadcast is Friday. You don't have the roster, you're guessing at pronunciations, and the away coach still hasn't emailed back. Nathan and Jordan Burns (Nixa LIVE) break down the five real steps to get ready for a broadcast, before kickoff, not during it. In this episode: Why "ready" quietly turns into whatever you remember to do, whenever you remember to do it Jordan...

Jordan's program grew from 6 students running a single camera to a 65-student, three-section program covering about 165 games a year, and he's honest about what broke along the way. Nathan traces his own path from a sophomore running his school's broadcast to building Broadcast Ops with Striv Education. Together they land on the phrase that's become this season's rallying cry: Define Ready. In thi...

Game day isn't the problem. Your pre-event process is. Every broadcast teacher has lived it: 30 minutes before tip-off, a student texting "where do I go?", gear that wasn't checked, scoreboard ops figuring out the software live. After the broadcast, you think, "We just need to practice more." But practice isn't the fix. Preparation is. And game-day chaos almost never starts on game day. In this ep...

You've been approved for the new broadcast equipment. Cameras, a switcher, and wireless transmitters. Students were excited. For about two days. Then nobody knew how to set it up, nobody knew what connected to what, and you had $5,000 of gear with the same chaos as before. Just more cables. This episode is for any teacher who has ever bought equipment that ended up sitting in a closet. IN THIS EPI...

44 games. 2 weeks. 100+ students. And somehow… our smoothest state tournament yet. In this episode, we break down the systems that made it possible—from pre-production planning to role-based training and real-time adjustments. If your broadcast feels chaotic, this episode will show you how to fix it.

You defined the roles. Students know their jobs. But the stream drops, a camera dies, or a sponsor ad gets missed and you fix it before anyone notices. Every time you step in, you teach your students they don't need to figure it out. You will. This episode is for any teacher stuck in the rescue cycle — fixing things mid-broadcast because it's faster than letting students feel the weight of the mis...

Your students showed up. They want to help. But game day still feels like chaos because "everyone pitch in" means nobody owns anything specific. This episode is for any teacher who's ever set up the equipment, answered "what should I do?" four times, and wondered why willing students still can't run the show. IN THIS EPISODE: Why helpful students without clear roles create a different kind of chao...

Students said yes. They showed up. But you're still doing everything yourself. This episode is about the gap between commitment and execution — why it happens, and what structure to build so students actually run the program. If your students are excited but still waiting for you to tell them what to do, this one's for you. IN THIS EPISODE: - Why buy-in doesn't automatically equal execution - The...

Students don’t stop showing up because they’re lazy. They stop showing up when the program stops meaning something. In Episode 2 of the Broadcast Ops Playbook , Taylor Siebert and Nathan “Hoosier” Ladehoff dig into one of the most common frustrations in student-led broadcast programs: Students start strong… then fade. Teachers end up chasing, covering, and carrying the load. This episode reframes...

Thinking about starting a student-led broadcast program… but hesitating? You’re not alone. In this first episode of the Broadcast Ops Playbook , we talk about why student-led broadcast programs are worth starting — and why they don’t have to mean more work, more stress, or more chaos. This episode is for teachers who: Feel stretched thin already Want students to take real ownership Worry about equ...