Many people would say that Mr. Sahli is the “Voice of Stevens Raiders”, but he humbly says, “I am officially not the voice of Stevens Raiders.” If you don’t already know, Mr. Sahli is one of our announcers for sporting events for Stevens. He routinely announces for cheer, dance, and wrestling, but he has also announced for soccer and tennis, including many State Tournaments.
Mr. Sahli has been announcing sports at Stevens High School for quite some time. He has been announcing for cheer and dance ever since it became a sponsored sport and wrestling for four years. “I like the activities, I think it’s important for students to be involved, and most of the activities I would be at anyway so I might as well do something while I’m there.” Mr. Sahli’s favorite part of announcing is seeing the athletes get recognition and applause from the fans. He also says that the recognition is never about him, but the athletes.
When asked why he started announcing, his reply was simple “because they needed someone.” He said he was asked by Mr. Vasquez, the activities director at the time, and Mr. Sahli told him, “Well I’ve never done it before.” And Mr. Vasquez responded with “That’s okay.” And he has been doing it ever since.
Mr. Sahli also said that the only sport he announced that he never watched before was tennis.
Even after doing it for years, he still makes mistakes. His worst mess-up when announcing came when he mispronounced a kids name at a State Tournament. The specifics of the mishap are confidential, though if you ask him, he may share the details with you. Even though that happened, he still loves what he does. “Announcing isn’t as bad as people would assume and if you mess up, it’s likely that only two people will remember and that’s the athlete and their parents.”
When you’re walking down the halls of Stevens High School and you see Mr. Sahli, tell him thank you for his contributions to Steven’s athletics. He won’t want the credit, but he deserves it.
Ruth • Feb 15, 2024 at 7:59 pm
Shout out to Sahli – and also the sweet lady next to him – Karla Dieterle does a TON too!