The Voice of the Cougars

The youngster was immediately taken by the Wolfman’s distinctive, deep-gravelly voice, his seemingly boundless energy, and his unfettered passion that came through the airwaves.

 

“I said, ‘Mom, I want to be a DJ,’” Herring recalled one day recently. “I’m not kidding. She went out and bought me two turntables. We used to eat at the S&W Cafeteria at Willow Lawn on Saturdays. I’d eat real quick and then run over to the G.C. Murphy and use my allowance to buy all the 45s that were out. I was always into music. I enjoyed all kinds of music.”

What began as a kid sitting in his room with his turntables and headphones evolved into a decades-long career in radio, one which began in earnest when he was a 17-year-old Virginia Commonwealth University freshman broadcasting on WVCW (the campus station) and continued on 20-plus local and regional stations including K-95 and WKLR (Classic Rock 96.5) in Central Virginia.

 

It’s a career that’s given him much enjoyment because he was able to indulge his own passion for music and make listeners happy. It also created great memories, like meeting Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Mick Jagger, Garth Brooks, and even Wolfman Jack.

        

 “When you find something you love to do, you just do it,” Herring said. “Got to ride on an elephant. Got to jump out of an airplane. Did a live broadcast in a sailboat in the ocean. Got to meet the person who got me into the field. That was pretty cool.”

 

Along the way, Herring has used his voice (which, by the way, is much more mellifluous than the Wolfman’s) for other purposes, among them as the public address announcer for Collegiate varsity football games in the late 2000s and, for the past decade or so, for the Cougars’ girls and boys varsity basketball games.

 

He’d never actually announced athletic events before he heard through a friend, former Collegiate teacher Carl Parrish, that the school was looking for a “Voice of the Cougars.” Immediately interested, he contacted Charlie McFall, the athletic director at the time, interviewed, and signed on for what has become a labor of love as much as it’s been an avocation.

        

“I’d always been a sports fan,” said Herring, a 1981 Douglas Freeman High School graduate, who for the past couple of years has worked as a property manager in Richmond. “I had a lot of friends who went to Collegiate, and I always liked the school. There was a sense of community, a sense of family. Collegiate’s been around a long time. There’s a legacy and a heritage. It’s positively impacted the community in so many ways. It’s a really special place.”

 

Once he took his seat at the scorer’s table, he was “all in.”

 

“I love hearing the students,” he said. “When they’re in the stands during a (basketball) game with Trinity or St. Christopher’s or Benedictine, it’s awesome to see them get involved and see how many parents show up. I really enjoy that a lot.”

 

To say that Herring takes his heard-but-not-always-seen responsibilities seriously is an understatement.

 

“I’m conscious of certain things,” he said. “The kids work really hard to be on the team. When they get on the court, I make sure that their name is announced. I try to be conscious of anybody who plays and make sure their name is announced at some point in time because it feels good and fires you up when you hear your name or your family hears your name.

 

“One of the challenges is making sure I know how to pronounce people’s names. I do try to make sure I get that cleared up beforehand. They deserve that.  

 

“And I have to be impartial when I’m announcing. That’s tough because you want to cheer and you want to groan sometime when things don’t go your way, but you have to be impartial.”

 

When Herring announces, his voice resonates with professionalism, his own style, and a joie de vivre that suggests that he truly finds pleasure in giving credit where it’s due.

 

“I really enjoy watching the kids progress,” he said. “I’m an NC State guy. Evan Justice (Collegiate ’17) ended up being a pitcher for NC State’s baseball team. Wilton Speight (’14) ended up going to Michigan to play football. That was exciting to me to know you’d announced their games. And Russell Wilson (’07). His sister (Anna, who went on to play at Stanford) played girls basketball. It’s also pretty cool when you see kids on other teams go on to be stars in college or the pros and know you announced a game they played in in high school.

 

“And Luke Smith is playing right now. When I announce Luke’s name in the intros, I always carry out that ‘Looook.’ The kids start doing it when he comes out. I think that adds something to the game. That’s pretty cool.”

 

Each game, he says, has its own unique story line.

          

“I really try not to let one game stand out,” he said. “I see every one as an area of opportunity to create a memory. The girls (varsity basketball team) had a very big struggle (this past) Saturday (against Potomac). They got behind by quite a bit, but they kept trying. They played their best. They paid attention. They did not complain. They did not give up. They played as if it were a one-point game. I love that.”

 

Herring exudes positivity. He’s blended his gift for speaking and love for sports into a calling that enhances the ambiance of Collegiate athletics.

 

“It makes me feel good to see people smiling,” he said. “I wake up every morning looking for blessings, and I find them. I feel like every day’s a blessing. I don’t see problems. I see opportunities for improvement. I love seeing effort. I just enjoy being around people trying to do their very best.”

 ~Weldon Bradshaw