When Abby Waner shadowed Denver Nuggets color commentator Scott Hastings for a high school project, the guard got her first taste of professional broadcasting.
As part of the same assignment, Waner did a mock, voice-over commentary of a five-minute clip of a McDonald's All-American game.
"It was a little bit of a disaster," Waner said. "First time."
The experience, though, did not discourage Waner from giving up on her dream.
Even though the sports broadcasting profession continues to be dominated by men, Waner hopes to follow the paths paved by the growing number of mainstream female broadcasters as she pursues a career in the industry.
One of the women who Waner admires is Dana Jacobson, currently a co-host of ESPN2's popular morning show "Cold Pizza." Waner said the show appeals to her most because it fits with her "opinionated" personality and it has a more "fun, loose environment."
Given that the emergence of female broadcasters has only begun in the last 20 years, not all women on television today had such aspirations like Waner growing up because of the perception that sports broadcasting was mostly a male profession. One of those women was ESPN's Doris Burke, whom Waner said is one of her "favorites."
Burke had no idea during college that she would be a top-notch broadcaster one day, covering both men's and women's college basketball games. After finishing up an illustrious basketball career at Providence College, Burke spent three years as an assistant coach for her alma mater.
Instead of working toward a head coaching position, Burke decided that it would be best for her to raise a family if she got out of the coaching profession. Intending to find a career in education, Burke was unable to escape the allure of basketball. When Providence told her that it was looking for someone to call the women's basketball games on the radio-a novel experiment at the time-Burke jumped on the offer.
"I decided to give it a try," she said. "Fortunately for me, the timing was unbelievable because women's basketball coverage was exploding."
After hearing Burke call a Providence game, an agent in New York gave her a call. The broadcaster's career eventually landed her at ESPN, where she became the first woman to ever call a Big East Tournament men's game in 1995.
"Gender goes out the window when the subject turns to basketball," Burke said. "I don't think that Coach K or [Jim] Calhoun treat me any differently than they do with Lenny [Elmore] or Dick [Vitale] or any male announcer."
Waner's experience answering questions as a player, like Burke's, could help her down the line.
"Being a player you are able to pick up things that you like and you don't like," Waner said. "Sometimes, you are going to get the political correct questions, and those questions are like gimmes. But if you can find somebody that puts a little twist on it, brings up things that are a little different, you notice that."
Since her shadowing experience with Hastings, Waner has taken a number of steps to prepare herself for a broadcasting career.
One summer she worked as an intern at a sports radio station in Colorado, where Hastings hosted a show.
Waner said she decided to major in English because she believed it would be helpful in writing her own scripts, telling a story and getting to the point.
And last September Duke hosted the Duke Athletics Nights at Cameron Indoor Stadium. At the event, Waner was introduced to Laura Gentile-Vice President and Assistant to the President of ESPN and a former All-American field hockey player for the Blue Devils in the early 1990s.
During their conversation, Waner told Gentile about her broadcasting aspirations. Gentile, deeply immersed in the business, presented Waner with a variety of options for a possible future career.
"Women's basketball is going to be the door that will open things up for me," Waner said. "I would like to take that avenue and see where that takes me."
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