Tweet

BLACKSBURG - As a starting pitcher on a team accustomed to being in the spotlight, senior Maggie Tyler is used to being in front of a camera representing the Virginia Tech softball team. This summer, she’s learning to be behind the camera. And just like with pitching, she’s taken to it quickly.

Tyler, from Poquoson, Virginia, has been a mainstay in the circle for the Hokies as they’ve been selected for the NCAA Tournament each year during her time in Blacksburg. Last season, she was Tech’s workhorse in the circle, throwing a team-high 187.2 innings, earning second-team all-state selection by VaSID after picking up 15 wins with a 3.17 ERA and a team- and career-high 227 strikeouts.

This summer, though, has been a busy one, highlighted by her internship at WSLS in Roanoke. She’s also taken a trip to the Dominican Republic as part of a leadership class at Tech, and she went to Charlotte as a representative of Tech’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“This summer has been crazy, but it’s been exactly what I wanted going into my senior year,” Tyler said. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after college, like getting my master’s. But I realized that wasn’t what I wanted to do, and now after what I’ve done this summer, I know exactly what I want to do after college. The Dominican Republic trip was the best experience ever and I learned so much from it in terms of learning about myself, learning about others, leadership and how sports affects people globally. What I learned on that trip didn’t fall off when I got on the plane to come home and it will stay with me for forever.”

A communication major, Tyler applied for and was accepted as a Virginia Association of Broadcasters intern. The V.A.B. selects 32 students state-wide for an eight-week paid program, and then those students are placed at radio or television stations in the state of Virginia.

Tyler obviously has an interest/concentration in sports, so she’s been helping that station with producing, editing and reporting in its sports department. So far, she’s helped with the sports web page and social media as well. She’s also done some practice anchoring.

Earlier this summer, she went to the Greenbrier golf tournament in West Virginia and was present for press conferences with Tiger Woods and Shaquille O’Neal, and just last week went to Pinehurst, North Carolina, for the ACC Kickoff, the football media days for the conference. This week, she went to Bristol, Tennessee, and rode in a racecar for a story at the Bristol Motor Speedway where the Tech football tram will play Tennessee next fall in front of a possible record crowd of over 150,000 fans.

“Maggie has come to us with the plenty of enthusiasm, which I see often,” said John Appicello, sports director at WSLS. “But the aptitude she’s displayed for the various elements of TV sports broadcasting — now that’s rare. She learned our Edius non-linear editing system in about an hour, and our AP ENPS scripting/rundown system in about a day. And she’s just as comfortable reporting. For instance, she battled for interviews with the likes of Tiger Woods and Shaquille O’Neal on the same day at the Greenbrier. Trust me, it can be a battle, and our crew — Maggie and Alyssa Rae — came back with sound.”

Appicello said his normal expectations for interns are that they leave the station with the understanding of what it takes to do this job, and hopefully some of the skills.

“Maggie is ahead of the curve on that,” he said. “She’s pretty close to having the skills needed to handle a small market job … almost immediately upon graduation. I guess when she finishes striking people out, we will discuss that.”

Tyler says, after her summer of working with Appicello, she is certain she wants to go into some sort of career in sports journalism and has gained a new appreciation for reporters when they’re asking her the questions in interviews. She also feels as though her experiences this summer will carry over to the diamond this fall and spring in terms of leadership and accountability with her teammates. The hardest part has been working in her training for softball while juggling her work schedule, but knows this summer will be worth it in the long run.

“This summer has given me some stability knowing that I’ll have something to fall back on when I hang up my cleats next spring,” Tyler said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself this summer through my internship and travels and all of that is going to help me be better prepared for what comes for me after college.”

For updates on Virginia Tech softball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_Softball