Holy Toledo Sports Edition
Behind the scenes stories from the Toledo Mud Hens, Toledo Walleye, and Hensville that spotlight the people, partnerships, and impact shaping the Glass City.
Holy Toledo Sports Edition
#010 Kendall Linnenkugel - Toledo Walleye
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Toledo Walleye color analyst, Kendall Linnenkugel, discusses her hockey career and life outside the arena with host, Brad Rieger.
Well, welcome everyone. Thanks for joining, Holy Tloedo Sports Edition. We have another great guest. We have Kendall Linenkugel, and she has a fascinating background as a hockey player herself, and also obviously as a broadcaster and color analyst for the Tlueto Walleye. Plus, throw in some community work as a firefighter and EMT. I think you're going to really enjoy this conversation. Well, Kendall, thank you for joining us and carving some timeout so we get to know a little bit about your association with uh Twitter Walleye and the Mudheads and just giving us a glimpse in who you are as a professional and as a person.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you for having me. I'm super excited to be here.
SPEAKER_00So And just to set the table, I I find your path really interesting from the standpoint of uh hockey player from a young age, a goalie. Um you resurrected the Bowling Green State University uh women's hockey team with the help of others. Um you played uh at the D1 level um hockey. Um you coached youth hockey, and now you're a color analyst for the walleye, and you had this whole other aspect of being a five firefighter in EMT. So a lot to unpack here. So thanks for giving us this opportunity.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, I'm super excited to be here. I'm happy to talk about what I do and what I'm passionate about, and I love doing that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_00So let to get us started, let's talk kind of on a macro level about women's hockey. So the USA women's hockey team in 2026, here back in February, what an unbelievable gold medal. They were uh undefeated. They outscored their opponents like 33-2. Uh that final game against Canada, oh, incredible. It looked bad all the way up until like the last three minutes, scored the tie, and then uh overtime uh winner uh just uh bring home the gold medal. So what what did what how does that resonate for you, just as someone who loves hockey, to see that?
SPEAKER_01I love watching the women being able to shine on that kind of stage. Not that I don't love watching the men's hockey play and win, because we all know that they the USA took a three-peed against Canada with the gold medal with men's, women's, and sled. So, but that was it's always super cool to watch from the women's aspect because at least around here in Northwest Ohio, women's hockey isn't the biggest around like in the Detroit area, women's hockey is huge. Um, but being able to try and watch that to happen and coming from an area where women's and girls' hockey isn't really that prevalent. So growing up, I played with all boys, which I still had a great time with, but watching more and more girls come up through to want to play hockey. And I think that game itself already had a big of a big impact with that. And I love watching the women being able to succeed on that kind of world stage as well. And um, I was I watched the game. I was um I was hanging out with Toledo Fires chief, um, Alison Armstrong. And so her and I'm a lucky fans. So her and I sat down and we actually watched the game together, and that was a great time. And um it was just the the hype around it was unreal. It felt like magic when watching them come back and tie and then win the game. It was an unreal experience to even watch. And then that's not even their first gold medal they have. I was able to watch the gold medal game the last time they won it. So that was a really cool experience too.
SPEAKER_00What do you think that gold medal um has done or will do as far as elevating the interest from uh for girls and young women and opportunities and in hockey in general?
SPEAKER_01I think around here it's already like exploded. When they won the previous gold medal, so not this time around, but the gold medal before that. I was um pretty early on in my coaching career with girls hockey, I was coaching the 10 or 12 Usylvania North Stars at that time for girls. And um the the news came out and they did a whole story because at the time we were the only youth girls team in the area, so they did a whole story on the the the USA hockey game versus how it would kind of impact the girls in their playing careers. And I was able to watch after the USA women's won that gold medal that year, the amount of interest that girls' hockey completely took just at Tam O'Shanner itself by the time because I ended up moving to coach in Detroit for a few years. And but by the time I left Sylvania, we were able to have an 8U girls, a 10 U girls, a 12U girls, and a 14U girls. Right now they're working on a 16U girls and a 19U. I was just reached out recently um by somebody to help help uh help out with a potential 19U girls team in Sylvania as well. So the the interest has exploded in Northwest Ohio, and that's a huge thing for us to be able to see if we can compete with those like Detroit girls teams, you know, with because they have great hockey up there. So watching the MGR, I think.
SPEAKER_00Kanda, where did you coach up in Detroit? What league or what?
SPEAKER_01So I coached um in the MGHL. So that's that's where the Sylvania North Stars play as well. They play in the same league as the Detroit teams because um the North Stars, they're the only girls' team around here. You'd have to either go to Columbus or Cleveland to play any other girls' teams in Ohio. So they played in the MGHL and previously the Little Caesars um Girls League in Detroit. And when I the teams I coached, I coached Little Caesars for a year, and then I coached the Plymouth Lady Flyers for two. So we actually started the program for Plymouth in over there. So we we had a team in Little Caesars, and um things just weren't quite working out. And we had an interest of some people in Plymouth that wanted to play Plymouth, Michigan. And so we um decided to get a girls' program started over there in Plymouth. So we were able to do that. And by the time I finished coaching there, we had a an 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U girls team in Plymouth, Michigan.
SPEAKER_00So when you coached uh Kendo, what type of experience did you want for your players?
SPEAKER_01So I'm the kind of coach where I want to be their friend as much as I want to be in a leadership role with them. I try to balance that pretty well because that was something that resonated with me just by learning growing up. If I could get along with my coach pretty well, that I learned a lot more. And so I went with that, I will be your friend, but when it's time to work, it's time to work. And I um so that was that was what I went with, and that was my leadership role. And um, I was a goalie coach for the most part. I was an assistant coach on the roster, but I was mostly a goalie coach. And so that was the role that I went with. And I watched some girls that were a little bit more on the shy side where I would kind of let back a little bit, be their friend when it was time to be their friend, and when it time when they started to warm up a little bit, I would let them understand, like, look, this is we have practice, it's practice time right now. Like it's time we I we have stuff to do, it's time to work, there's no slacking off with this. We can slack off a little bit later. And I think that um that was received pretty well by a lot of the girls that I coached, and it helped too with I think the aspect that I was the only woman coach in the area for a long time.
SPEAKER_00In the Detroit metro area, not the Detroit Metro.
SPEAKER_01Um, at least in Sylvania for a while, I was the only woman coach. And um, going up to Detroit, there was quite a few women that coached just because girls' hockey is so big up there. But I think the girls, especially the younger ones, with that have them having a female coach to look up to that wanted to be their friend as well as their coach, I think that was received pretty well on the girls then because they had a little bit more personality to relate to. And I've always I'm a younger coach, so I'm a little bit closer in age than their dads that are coaching them. So might have a different approach.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Right. So you started skating when you were nine. And when did hockey grab your attention? Right away?
SPEAKER_01Not right away. I um I wasn't too super educated on hockey as like a sport itself when I first started skating. My dad was a hockey player his whole life, and he took a big hiatus from hockey when myself and my brothers were born. Um his first time back on the ice in over 10 years was when he took me ice skating for the first time when I was nine, and I still remember that day, like it was yesterday.
SPEAKER_00And where did your dad play?
SPEAKER_01He played travel growing up. Um, so he played for the Toledo Cherokee. Um he played in travel in that organization for the most part, played travel all the way through high school because at the time um his high school did not have a team. So um, after he graduated high school, he played for the University of Toledo as well for their hockey teams. Um so he was a he was a travel kid in the Toledo Cherokee organization. And he after he took me ice skating, he decided that he wanted to get back into it. So he started playing for the Toledo Fire Department's hockey team. Or yeah, Toledo Fire Department's hockey team. And um I was watching my dad play. My older brother decided he wanted to start playing, and so my dad started teaching him how to ice skate as well. And myself and my brother and my dad would be out on my grandparents' pond for hours just skating and shooting hockey. Pond hockey, yep.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_01And that kind of started my love for it. But growing up, I was a soccer goalie growing up. So I already loved being in the net and just I don't know what it was about the position of goaltending that I loved. But when I I begged my parents for a long time to let me play hockey, but it's it's so expensive of a sport. And um, so my brother was already into it. So they wanted to just kind of see if it was a phase, let it ride out with soccer, see what happened, and it just didn't go away. And when I initially played, I always wanted to be a goalie. I always wanted to be a hockey goalie, but hockey goalie equipment is very expensive. So my parents told me that like you're gonna be a forward, you're gonna play out, and we'll see how it goes. And I played one year competitively as a forward, and I changed it over to goaltending the next year, and I never looked back.
SPEAKER_00Never looked back. And then you went to Sylvania Southview and you were a starting goalie for the high school team. Describe that experience.
SPEAKER_01That was it was scary. Um, because that was actually my first year, net was my freshman year. Um, I started playing competitive hockey way, way, way later than most people do. I was in skates at nine years old, but because my my parents wanted to see if it was a phase for a few seasons, that um I didn't I didn't play my first competitive hockey game until I was 13. So that was I was started very, very late. Um, so when I changed over to goaltending at Southviews, the hockey team at the time just did not have a goaltender. They graduated out the goaltender before me. And nobody else, there we just didn't have any goalies. So I took that as this is my chance, you know. So I I begged my parents for a little bit and they finally, they finally caved and they got me some goalie equipment. And it was terrifying because like I I I did play boys hockey previously, um, but being as a goaltender, and I'm I'm not that tall. Let's be I am I am five foot three, so I'm not the biggest person ever. And so I had to like really learn how to play my angles a lot more than your typical goaltender. So um I suited up the pads my first time out on the ice. I did not do very well. And I was like, what did I get myself into? Um, so I I busted my butt for a lot of that time, my freshman year, and um the times that I wasn't at practice or captain skates, I was at any different goalie clinic under the sun that you could think of. So I would by per season, I would say I tripled my ice time that the rest of my teammates did just because I wanted to make sure I got caught up. So I um there was a lot of hard work involved. I busted my butt, and my first varsity game freshman year was really scary. We played Anthony Wayne, and I don't know how I did it, but I somehow shut it out. Wow. And that was like, all right, I I can do this. You got it. So that was my confidence boost that I needed, and I just kept working at it.
SPEAKER_00Navigating being a female on a on a boys' team, what perspective can you give us on that? And I know you had one or two other teammates that were also female eventually, right?
SPEAKER_01I loved it. Um, I know some people didn't like aren't the biggest fan of like being the only woman on a men's team or but I I loved it. And I don't know if that's just because I only had brothers growing up. Sure. Um and growing up in a fire department family, I hope I always had a bunch of like big brothers and extra dads around. So I um I was in a pretty male-dominated household. And all of so all my friends were were guys just from that. And so I really enjoyed playing on a boys' team as a girl. And um we got along really well. And I think I just already knew how to interact with boys a bit better than most just because of my upbringing. Um, I had a blast and I tried playing girl sports. I played girl soccer growing up, and I it wasn't my favorite thing. Um, myself and the other girls didn't really get along that well. So when I played over on a boys' team instead, like I it was a huge sigh of relief, actually. And the guys treated me great and they they took me in like a little sister. They um they would protect me when I needed to be protected. If someone was taking chops at me in the net, they would make sure that they came over and pushed them off and helped me out. And it was really great. The guys were awesome. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00Who what goalie or any hockey player were you trying to emulate or did you look up to at that time in high school?
SPEAKER_01I am a big Marc-Andre Fleury fan. Oh, who is it, right?
SPEAKER_00What about his style that you really liked?
SPEAKER_01Um, it initially started with just being a Pittsburgh Penguins fan growing up, and he was the starting goalie at the time. And um he was the goalie that was in net the first time I watched an NHL hockey game. And so I think I just I clung to that. And he like I was watching like at the time, just like Facebook videos and stuff of just like the pranks he would pull in the locker room, and his personality was just as fun as the way that he would play on the ice. And um I I just I really just gravitated towards Marc-Andre Fleury as a goaltender. He's my favorite one still. Um, and I that was that was the one that I tried to emulate.
SPEAKER_00So your parents obviously were big advocates for you to uh let's go all in in this hockey. Was there anyone else cheering you on on the sidelines?
SPEAKER_01I had all sorts of friends and family. Um, my dad was one of my biggest uh supporters. He was a hockey player, my mom was one of my biggest cheerleaders. Um, my grandpa was a huge, huge, huge hockey fan growing up. He didn't play a whole lot, but he's what got my dad into it. And so my grandpa was always at all of my hockey games. It didn't matter um who, what, where, where we were playing. He was always on the road. And we had a family friend in um Fremont that he always um he always watched my games. And he was a great friend of my dad's when he worked for the Fremont Fire Department. And uh he's actually since passed away a few years ago, but he was the biggest supporter of me playing hockey. He wants, he knew from the beginning my dad wanted all of us to be hockey players. My dad always told his friend Doug that um he was like, I want, I want hockey players. I don't he tried to get us in skates, it didn't work out when we were younger. Um so Doug always knew that my dad wanted those hockey players, and so when he finally got those hockey players, Doug was super supportive and super excited. And um, so Doug was at all of my high school games, he went to all of my college games, drove all the way from Fremont for everything. So he was definitely one of my my biggest like unwritten cheerleaders as well.
SPEAKER_00It's part of team Kendall.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00So you uh were uh a strong student and you wanted to play hockey in college, and you ended up at BGSU, but it wasn't a straight line there. So can you what what was the transition from high school to college?
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh, yeah. So um I I did bust my butt in the classroom. I was I really wanted to make sure I had good grades because I did want to go to a good university. When I first started playing hockey and throughout a good part of high school, playing college hockey wasn't necessarily on my radar, just because I didn't think that I had enough experience to do it. Um I was just like, that's for the girls that played all the way up. Like, there's no way that I'll be able to play hockey in college even if I wanted to. So I just I did it for fun. I did it for the love of the game. And um I when I was a freshman, actually, the conclusion of my freshman year, I was reached out to by the University of Michigan for a prospect skate. So I was 14 years old skating with all these college women, and um I went out to that prospect skate and I shut it out. And um the coach was he was really impressed, and he came to a few of my games sophomore year in high school, and so he was kind of like coming and scouting me a little bit. He invited me to all of his prospect skates thereafter. Um, and he actually changed from Michigan to Michigan State. So by the time I was a junior, when he made that transition, I was still on Michigan's radar, but that coach also still wanted me to play. So now I was having prospect skates with Michigan and Michigan State. So I was going to both of those. Um and by that point I was like, I I really can play college hockey if I'm still being recruited, you know, like I I think I can do this. So I started going, I made it like my own highlight reel. Um, I did my own recruitment journey. I was reaching out to a bunch of different universities. I reached out to Ohio State, Penn State. Um, and uh I was still skating with Michigan and Michigan State, and I was in contact with all these coaches from all these different universities. And um, I really wanted to go to Michigan. I Michigan's been in my heart since I was young, and I always, always, always wanted to be a Wolverine, but I just did not have the ACT score to um get out of to get the in-state tuition for financial aid. So it was just not financially feasible for me to go to the University of Michigan. So I was so junior year, I was sitting in pre-calc and I get a phone call from my dad. And I was, I texted him, I'm like, Dad, I'm in class, like I can't answer the phone, I'm in school. And he was like, Well, can you like go to the bathroom real fast and answer the phone? Like, this is really important. So I um I got the hall pass, I went out and I called my dad back, and he's like, I just got off the phone with a coach of Lake Superior State, and um, he would like to have you up for a prospects gate, and he wants to talk to you. So he saw your higher your highlight reel, he's seen your stats, he's talked to the coach at Michigan and Michigan State, he wants to talk to you. So I got home from school and I'm on the phone with this coach, and I was we were chit-chatting for a couple hours, and I got an offer for half-ride in-state and free room and board to play Division I NCAA hockey for Lake Superior State. And I my I was beside myself, my dad was beside himself, he was all excited, like looking for I'm like Lake Superior State Lakers t-shirts already. And so um I sat on it for about a week and I accepted the verbal commitment. So I verbally committed to Lake Superior State, and so I was doing all that kind of stuff through the rest of my junior year, and then senior year rolls around. And we come back from winter break, I get a phone call from Coach, and he's like, Hey Kendall, um, I've got some really bad news. We lost a bunch of funding. Um, so we had to cut some programs in order to make up for the budget cuts, and women's hockey was one of the cuts. So we will still honor your scholarship if you would like to come here, but we understand if you don't, and so that was that was kind of a shot to the heart of it. Um I hadn't signed yet because it was January, February, and signing day for me would have been in March, and so I couldn't enter the transfer portal. So um, luckily I had applied to BGSU as like a backup plan, and I was offered a half-ride academic scholarship at Bowling Green. So I looked at my parents and I'm like, I guess I'm going to Bowling Green. Like, I guess college hockey just isn't in the cards for me, and that's okay. I'll go to BG, I'll still get a degree, I'll still get a good education, and it's not gonna be a whole lot of money out of my pocket. So I opted to be a Falcon and I ended up at BG, and I was so I'd actually used coaching almost to kind of fill that void of me playing, and I ended up falling in love with coaching. And um, so that's when things started to happen, and a couple years later we started the the BGSU women's hockey team. But that's how I ended up at Bowling Green.
SPEAKER_00Did BG have a women's hockey team at one point?
SPEAKER_01They did.
SPEAKER_00They did, and it so how long was it defunct be when you arrived?
SPEAKER_01They were there in the 1990s.
SPEAKER_00Oh boy.
SPEAKER_01So a while yes, late 90s, and um Toledo Fires Chief Allison Armstrong was actually one of the members on that old BGSU women's team. So she was actually a big help in getting this team resurrected as well. Um, because her and I were super close with family friends, with my parents being um retired Toledo firemen. So um we she was a she was a big help in getting that team back off the ground.
SPEAKER_00But how did you do that though? You kind of picked the flag up, right? Said we're gonna do this. How did you get and it was a two year campaign?
SPEAKER_01So I was um I was kind of making connections with coaching, and um, so I had this, I had a class. With a couple of other girls that they were basically in the same boat as me, or they were committed to play NCAA D3 somewhere, D1 somewhere, and stuff happened, financial stuff happened, they couldn't end up playing, and so they ended up at Bowling Green. And so we, me and this group of girls, we just kind of bonded over that in class. And um all of us wanted to try it, try out for the men's club team, but it would just it just didn't work out. The roster was full, and we weren't sure how the rules were gonna work of women playing in men's college, even though it was club. Um so we just kind of were like why don't we start a team? You know, so um we went to the club sports director and he explained this is the steps you have to take. And um it was a really, really, really, really tough process. And one of our first steps is we had to find a coach. And so the um the coach that I was coaching youth girls with at the time, she was our first coach. And she um so her and I kind of were working together, and me as well as um Ellen, who was our team president, she was like the the big head honjo behind the whole operation. I was more of like on the PR side of like just trying to like spread the word, try and recruit, um, just try and help get some support to see if this is even feasible for us. So that's kind of how things kind of transpired with that.
SPEAKER_00And you had to raise some money also?
SPEAKER_01We did.
SPEAKER_00How much did you have to raise? If you don't want to say that's all right.
SPEAKER_01I don't, I don't know the exact number off the top of my head, but it was it was at least 10,000.
SPEAKER_00Um get a coach, raise 10,000, get a team.
SPEAKER_01Get a coach, raise 10,000, get uniforms, um, get a team. As long as we had enough to put a line on the ice, we could apply for the ACHA. And so that's what we did. We had enough to have a line. We had my when we applied for the ACHA and into my senior year, we had five skaters and me.
SPEAKER_00No playing time concerns, right?
SPEAKER_01Nope. We were one line. And um, we had we were able to recruit um a person or two by by senior year. So we had six or seven on the bench, but still two subs and a goalie. That's all we were able to put on the ice, but we've we fielded a team.
SPEAKER_00And the first game you were in that and you put aside 74 shots. 74. And you were number one star MVP of the game. First game.
SPEAKER_01That was that was a lot. It was really exciting. I was um because that was uh COVID year. So my junior year was 2020. And so we didn't even think like we worked so hard to get this team in the ACHA. We were working so, so hard and to watch it possibly get yanked away was really, really hard on us. So we worked really close with the university, worked really close with the league to see what we could do to get if there was any chance that we could play, because we had a couple of seniors that were graduating. Like we we put this team on the ice. We want to be able to play for this team, you know. Um, so that was a long time coming. And so we weren't actually able to play a game until February of my senior year because of just COVID restrictions, and the old there was only a select amount of teams that would play. Um, so Adrian, Michigan State, Lake Superior State were basically the three. And yes, so Lake Superior State did put a team back in, but they were club.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So um they ended up back in the league that I was gonna play for, but now we're, you know. So that was a a fun little just kind of moment for me there. But our first game was Adrian, and we already knew like Adrian's got a really good hockey program behind him. Like it boys, girls did not matter. Adrian is a hockey school, new rank, all that. Yep. And so we that I was just as a goaltender, I was terrified, but in a good way. I was visualizing my like just making saves and stuff a lot. I was doing a lot of just mental exercises just to keep myself like ready for that game. And we come in and it was it was a lot. There was I'm I might have thrown up in between the first and second period, but just because of the intensity? Mm-hmm. It was it was a lot, but it was a blast. And I I was exhausted, but I would go back and do it again a hundred times over. That was probably one of the best games of my life.
SPEAKER_00So let's talk about the the mindset of the goalie, because you just kind of touched upon it. Uh mentally, what do you have to have makeup-wise uh to be a really effective goalie?
SPEAKER_01So I actually still struggle with this part, but having a very short-term memory is one of the biggest things you can do as a goaltender. Is, and like I said, I still I still get in my own head a lot. And so when I'm playing, I I can tend to things can snowball for me pretty quickly just because I still need to dial myself mentally back in. But it's having that short-term memory of if a goal goes in, you look at it, you get it out of the net, you forget about it, and focus on the next save in front of you. And that is the biggest form of advice I give to my youth, my youth goalies that I coach. I know um it gets talked about amongst the professional goalies along with the walleyes, you have to have a short-term memory. It's that's the only way you can do it because if you dwell on the goals that are going in, the other teams they can tell when it starts to get with you emotionally. Like it's the it's your body language, it's the way that you get ready for a puck. Um, it it can even make your puck tracking slower if you're too into your head, and other teams can pick that apart.
SPEAKER_00And and your teammates play a role and keep in your head in the game too, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So like after a puck will go in, you'll have your defense come up and just like, hey, it's not your fault, we'll get it back, or like they're the they tend to be really supportive because they also understand the mental aspect that goes into goaltending. But that's that's that is one of the biggest things to be successful, is you have to have a short-term memory as a goalie.
SPEAKER_00And what lessons from your goaltending days actually help you now in the booth or just kind of navigate challenges in life now?
SPEAKER_01It's helped me settle my nerves a lot. Um, you know, when you're in really big games and it a lot of it, you feel like the whole game's on your shoulders. And that's a lot of pressure. And being able to try and get with that mentally and calm yourself down and still go out and play a great game, that I think is what mostly has translated back into my commentating world. And when I was in high school too, I did I also did theater on the side. So there was a lot of like that um, that mental of I have to go up and perform on a stage as well. So keeping myself mentally in that on top of my um my competitiveness on the ice. So translating that because even still, like I'll I'll get in front of that camera in the wallet, and I my nerves are shot. Like my I can still feel my heart pounding, but it's I'm so used to it at this, at this point. But the first couple games were nerve-wracking. And I I know I didn't have the best calls just because I didn't, I was still trying to get trying to get into it. And I was making that transition from radio in college to TV in the professionals. So knowing that people were actually gonna be able to see my face and stuff like that, that was a big mental aspect for me to try and tackle heading into the color analyst world.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00We're gonna get into the breath because let's stay with BG for a minute. What what did you enjoy the most about your playing days?
SPEAKER_01Oh wow. Um the relationships that I made. Um, and I know that's a pretty cliche answer. A lot of people give that is the relationships, the friendships, and but that is true, especially in the hockey community. And I'm sure people will you'll hear people say it, but the hockey community is this big. And it's a it's a big community size-wise, but the uh the brotherhood that and sisterhood that goes into being a hockey player, it's uh something that doesn't quite compare to any other sport that you might witness. It's one it I almost kind of compare it to one big fraternity, honestly. It's um if if you see like, and I don't want to get like on the more sad side of things, but one of the biggest ways that that highlighted was the Humboldt Broncos bus crash a number of years ago. The hockey community from all over the world was pouring support for these guys, and they had a putcher sticks out for Humboldt. And so they were it was a whole social media movement of people putting their hockey sticks out on their front porch with a candle all night. And um, and it's it's global. Like the hockey community, the brotherhood is so, so tight-knit. And that's something that I don't think a lot of sports can replicate. So definitely my the relationships that I made all the way through my playing career.
SPEAKER_00You started at BGSU um and you majored in broadcast journalism. Did you start right out of the gate in broadcast journalism, or did you kind of develop that major?
SPEAKER_01So technically, yes, I did start right out of the gate with broadcast journalism. But I initially wanted to do the weather. Um broadcast. So this could be this could be a little bit of a long story. So I'll try and give a cliff notes version, but I wanted to do the weather my whole life. I'm a weather geek. I love thunderstorms, all that stuff. And I initially wanted to go to University of Michigan, major in meteorology. I wanted to be a storm chaser. That was what I wanted to do. And I when I ended up at BG, they only had a meteorology minor that was available to broadcast journalism majors. So that was my option. So I took it. And I was doing the campus news show for a couple of years, and I didn't, I realized that it wasn't really my thing. I wasn't enjoying the newscasts. I was, it was, I was at a point where I was almost, we only did it once a week. And I was dreading going into that news. I'm like, I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. If I'm dreading this once a week, I don't know what to do, you know? And it was too late for me to change my major. I was a junior at this point. Like, I don't, I don't know what to do. So I um that was when so I was great, great friends with the play-by-play broadcaster for BGSU because they let their students broadcast, as you know. So he was in a student in my grade. And that was when he kind of pulled me over to the sports side because of him and I would just chit-chat about hockey forever. And that's a story in of itself. But yeah, so initially I wanted to do the weather. Um, I go in, I did have a I did start with broadcast journalism, but the weather just wasn't working out for me, and sports just kind of fell into my lap, is when it that I made the changeover.
SPEAKER_00And you did radio on the men's side?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yes, and you enjoyed that and you said, hey, I might have a future behind the mic.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I and I loved it. And I initially didn't think I would. When Ryan would, I was kind of venting to him about like, I don't know what to do. Like it, I I don't, it's too late for me to change my major. I'm stuck, I don't, I don't know what to do with this degree anymore, but I don't want to drop out because I'm so close to finishing. And he was like, Kendall, like you and I talk hockey for hours. Why don't you just come do the games with me? And I said, absolutely not. You are insane. Absolutely not. And he's like, Why not? And so I'm like, at the time, I women weren't really broadcasting hockey games, and I didn't really know how prevalent women were in the sports field. And so I was just like, Ryan, no, there is no way. Women don't call hockey games, they're sideline reporters usually, and that's that's about it. They'd they're usually not on the mic. So them hearing a woman's voice on the mic, and then let's say I mess up one call, I mess up a stat, I mess up a play, I'm already gonna be under a microscope. It's not gonna end well for me. If I mess up one time, I'm done. And I just I couldn't get past that idea of like I cannot mess up because my whole broadcast career will be over. Because that would, I was fear afraid that that would take away my credibility. And Ryan was like, well, why don't you just come shadow me? Just see what you think. Like, it'll be great. Like I promise, like the way you and I talk hockey, like that's that's what we would do on the broadcast. So just come shadow me, see what you think. And so I was like, all right, fine. If it'll shut you up, then I'll go shadow you. And so I show up to the game for, and it was the NCAA BGSU men's team. So the ones that was going to the NCAA tournament and all them. And so I show up to the game and I walk up to the broadcast booth, and you know, I'm saying hi to Ryan and all this stuff, and he's like, Yeah, this is where you're gonna sit. Go ahead and put your stuff here. And I sit down and I notice a headset sitting there on the desk. And I was like, Ryan, what's that? He goes, Oh, you're calling the game tonight. And I said, Excuse me. Um, no, I'm not. Like, I will walk out of this broadcast booth right now. I am I told you no, I'm not doing it.
SPEAKER_00And what a move by Ryan.
SPEAKER_01What a move.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01And he's like, You're not doing that. And I said, No, I'm walking out right now. He's like, Well, I already told WBGU that you're on the you're on the call. So your name's already on the broadcast and on the rundown. And so trapped. Sorry. I was like, you've got to be kidding me. So um he's like, here's your stat sheet, here's your lineup. Go ahead and I'll have if you have any questions, let me know and I'll softball you questions and stuff, but we're gonna get through this, but you're calling this game tonight. So I put on the headset, I called the game, and I never looked back. I took that headset off after the game and I was like, Ryan, that was the coolest thing I've ever done. I'm so mad at you right now, but I can worry about that later. Like that was incredible, and thank you for doing that. And so him and I became the broadcast duo for our junior and senior year at BGSU's.
SPEAKER_00What type of feedback did you get from listeners and fans?
SPEAKER_01A lot more positive than I thought. I was so terrified, but um, I was getting a few like really um strong BGSU hockey fans. They started following me on Twitter, and um, the university started following me on Twitter, the football coach started following me on Twitter, and um, back when it was still Twitter and not X, and I was blown away. And I would get comments like they would tag Ryan in it, and they're like, hey, this girl that you've got on the broadcast, like she knows her stuff, like that's awesome. And I was blown away. I had people from like the broadcasters from like Fair Estate reach out to me and tell me I was doing a good job. And I like I still think about it, and it feels almost like a fever dream because I'm like, there's no way I'm doing as well as you guys think it is. Like there's no way. Like I was really dumbing myself down a bit when I was getting all that feedback.
SPEAKER_00Fever dream. I like that description. That's good. Uh so you had success there, you said, okay. Um, but you started here with the I think with the Mud Hens and the Walleye as an intern.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Maybe nine years ago. It was a while ago.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And probably nine years ago. So what was it about this organization that you attracted you to say, hey, I want to be an intern?
SPEAKER_01So this organization also kind of fell into my lap. Um, I did a lot of video editing as a hobby. And that was just I learned how to video edit because of my journalism degree. And so it just I liked making hype videos for people. It just became, you know, something I enjoyed doing, and it was a hobby of mine. So I was, you know, filming a bunch of stuff for youth hockey for Nick Perillo and all of that stuff. And um, the Toledo Fire hockey team, the Battle of the Badges, was coming around when I was like a senior in college, I think. And my dad, who is uh one of the captains on that team, he kind of voluntoled me to do a hype video for the game because we were it was we're just trying to like really explain because you know it's over at the Huntington Center.
SPEAKER_00Was Chief Armstrong chief at that point?
SPEAKER_01Or was she I think she she was close? Yes, she was. Okay. Yep, she was chief, and um so he was working with TPD, and I just oh my dad was on the phone with the captain on TPD's hockey team, and I heard my name getting thrown around, and I'm like, what is he talking about?
SPEAKER_00Kingo can do this.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, you I'm doing what? So he gets off the phone, he's like, Yeah, you're gonna make a hype video for us, by the way. And I'm like, Okay. So I uh I made the hype video for the Battle of the Badges game. Um, I think it was in 2019, was that? And that was like our biggest showing that we had. And so I made the video, I posted it, and it got 13,000 views overnight. And I'm like, what in the world? And it's if you look back at the video, it is not my best work. It is a very amateur video, but at the time, like I was super proud of it. And um I was chilling at home, and my dad gets off the phone, and it was Mr. Napoli. And um he had called my dad and said that he saw my video, and he wanted to sit down and have a chat with me and about maybe interning. And so we um we sat down and we had a couple of chats. I applied for the internship here, and I um initially wasn't accepted for the internship that I applied for, but after that position was filled, they reached back out to me and they were like, hey, we think you'll be a much better fit here. So um that was when I ended up in fan experience, and I had a blast doing that. Like I I loved doing fan experience.
SPEAKER_00Game operations, promotions, yep. So that's and some video work also, right? Yes.
SPEAKER_01So that's where I ended up with my um my work in my internship. And um so I was starting out with the Mud Hens, and I was doing all the fan experience and throwing the t-shirts out in the crowd and all that fun stuff. But we did a tour of the press box up there in the ball diamond, and they that was when Corey informed us that we could do some of that kind of stuff if we wanted to. So we did some trainings and I said, I want to do that. So that was when I hopped up there, I was trained on Tri-Caster and Show Control. And so the days that I wasn't doing swamp squad or pond patrol, I was in the press box running the the scoreboard and the jumbo tron and the and the ribbons and all of that stuff.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. So when did the opportunity, when did the door open for the broadcast booth? Because you did the fan experience for a couple years, right? Several years.
SPEAKER_01And that was that was a process too. Um, I tried to start the broadcast thing as quickly as I could. Once I was in the video production booth, I was kind of I I loved what I did. And I was it was a great way for me to network. Um, so I was constantly in like the same room as Matt Malzak. And so him and I would chit-chat, and um Matt already knew who I was because he actually called my games in high school. So I think about a year, a season or two in, I think it was my second season, I um reached out to Matt on Twitter and I was like, hey, Matt, like, because we followed each other just because of him calling my games. And um uh when I was started broadcasting in college, I wanted, you know, just we followed each other on Twitter because of that. And so I reached out and I said, Hey, um, I'm really trying to get into the broadcast field. I'm doing video production for the hens right now. Um I really like this is something I want to do. I did, I have some experience from college. Um is there a way I can come in and shadow you and just network a little bit? And he was like, Well, how much experience behind the mic do you have? And I said, I had two of you, I have two years of NCAA from Bowling Green. And he was like, I'll just add you the rotation. And I'm like, Are you serious? So he um that that was how that kind of fell into my lap as well. That I just it was a DM on Twitter to Matt. And because I already had NCAA experience, he was like, I trust you. I know you know hockey because I've watched you play, I've called your games, like you know, you know the game, I'll just add you the rotation. So that was a process coming. COVID kind of threw a wrench into things, so I it was kind of like a full season worth of waiting for that to come down the pipe, but it did.
SPEAKER_00And so 2022, your first game? Yes. Season. Remember your first game? How you felt going in?
SPEAKER_01It's November of 22. It was a Wednesday day game. And you remember. Yep. I um I remember I chose the gay day, the the day game intentionally because I was like, there's not as many people that are gonna watch the day game, like I don't want a Saturday night to start like there's oh boy, you know, I was really nervous and because it was the idea of making the transition from radio to TV, but on top of going from NCAA hockey to a professional hockey stage where I know a lot more people are gonna be watching, and I was so nervous. And I didn't, I I just remember that morning, like I was panicking. I didn't know what to wear, I didn't know what to do with my hair, and I was like really trying to talk myself off the ledge a bit. And um, Melzac was a huge, huge help. He'd really he was like, This is how we're gonna do the broadcast, this is what we're gonna talk about. He really held my hand for my first few games just to try and like get me into the idea of coming up with questions for interviews at the time. And so for my first probably couple months, he really held my hand. He was helping me out with interview questions just so my it could ease my nerves a bit. It was just less for me to scramble to think about. So I just had to worry about the game, get comfortable with the game first, and then I can turn into the supplemental stuff like the interviews and um talking about that kind of like the other stuff, like in the intermission reports.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_00Now you're a couple years into it, you obviously feel very Really grounded. What what do you do now to prepare for a walleye game?
SPEAKER_01So I've got a pretty good routine going. Um, a lot of the times for walleye now is I'll I'll actually be getting off of work from the fire department that morning. So I try to come home and take a little bit of a nap. Um, but I try to make sure I work out in the morning just to get my blood pumping. And my my gym time for on walleye game days is my time to think about how I want to do the broadcast. So I think about my keys, I think about um how I think this game might go depending on who we're playing. Like when I'm in between sets at the gym, I'm look, I'm making sure I'm looking up the stats, I'm looking up highlights that of stuff that I think I might need to know. And I come back, that's when I start getting ready. I'll do my hair and makeup. And I usually get to the arena about two and a half hours early. So for a seven o'clock game, I'm usually at the arena by five at the latest, 5:30, it's pushing it. Um, I like to come in, chit-chat with a little with the guys a little bit, just try and get a feel on how the game feels for them and how the game feels for Matt. And I'll go up to the booth, I highlight all my stuff. I have my my little me time in front of my space heater in the booth, and um, I'm highlighting my packet, and then Matt and I'll go over my keys for the game, like this is what I had in mind, what do you think? And so we'll kind of um bounce ideas off each other for that, and then that's kind of when we start to get ready for the pregame show.
SPEAKER_00And what are you trying to uh what what do you like to contribute uh to a broadcast? What do you want the viewers or listeners to get from the analysis that you bring to the broadcast?
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell So my goal as a color analyst, just in a nutshell, is to to paint the picture of what's going on in the hockey game. You know, the term color analyst was coined when the sports was still solely on radio. And um, so that's you're you're painting the picture for everybody to listen to. And so that would, that's your initial goal going in. Um, I think it kind of gives me a little bit of an advantage with my goaltending background because when I'm sitting in net, I'm if the game's not in my zone, I sit back and I watch the entire play develop in front of me. And then that's how I go out and I cut my angles off to decide how I'm gonna make that save, where I'm gonna make the save, how I'm gonna position my body based on the play that's happening on the other end of the ice. And so that kind that gives me a little bit of a leg up in terms of picking apart the systems and how they develop and then what led to the shot on goal or the goal or the huge save.
SPEAKER_00And um you can speak from experience. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yes. And I like being able to bring a goaltender's perspective onto the broadcast because not a lot of people understand what goes on from a goaltender's perspective because there's just not a lot of us out there. And the ones that we are, we don't we're not on the broadcast a whole lot. We don't talk about the goaltender's perspective. And so that was something different that I wanted to bring to the broadcasts. And my my first like real true goaltender save analysis, I got a lot of positive feedback for. I had people like reaching out to me and I would go back to the ring to coach, and people pull me aside. They're like, hey, I loved your breakdown of the save the other day. And like I never thought about it from a goaltender side. And um, I think a lot of people are quick to blame a goaltender when it comes to a goal. And that's that was a goal that I wanted to make as well of like, look, yes, there are goals that sometimes are the goaltender's fault. They weren't ready, they weren't watching as well as they should, like that kind of thing. But I wanted to provide that just some food for thought on why it's not always the goaltender's thought fault, and here's why. And so being able to break a part of play and being like, so this is what he uh he was lined up for. This is the play that happened in front of him. This is the defensive breakdown that caused this shot on goal. Goaltender gets tied up over here, and then this defensive breakdown leads to the puck to be over here. There was just not enough time to get over that kind of thing. And I actually still remember my first like real goaltender analysis. And I was talking about a save that I believe it was Jan Bednar's save. I think it was. And it would actually, no, it was a goal. But it was the way I wanted to explain it because it was the first thing I noticed is oh, his skate missed the post, and that's why he didn't get over in time. But a lot of people just watching it is, oh, the goal went in, you know, goaltender wasn't over in time. But I made sure that they slowed it down. We had the aerial view of here's that lateral movement. He gets stuck on the post here, tries to leverage and push back the other way. His skate missed the post. So that took away all of the leverage that he had to move. So it just stops you. And so when you don't have that momentum, you just trickle across the net because you just lost all of that springboard that you just had leaning up on that other post, and he just didn't get over in time because of that. Right. And that was that's something that I've tried to make it my goal is something different on the broadcast of just kind of opening up the fans' minds a little bit onto why exactly this play happened and not necessarily uh making it a blame game, but just kind of seeing it how a goaltender can see it and just adding that appreciation for that position.
SPEAKER_00And you and Matt now have worked together a couple years and you seem to play to each other's strengths and have really good chemistry.
SPEAKER_01Yes. So Matt and I have become really, really close friends. Um, it's it's it's really awesome. You know, it's not something that I expected to happen when he was just calling my games in high school. And this is I just finished my fourth year professionally. And Matt and I, we we go on a lot of road trips together for the hockey games. So we would just spend a lot of time just talking about life and all that stuff. So him and I have gotten to be really close of friends. Our families hang out. Um, I've now taught hit uh taken his daughters on the ice, teach him on an ice skate. And um, so they're they're the Melzacs are a very great family, and I'm very grateful to be as close with them as I am.
SPEAKER_00What responsibility, Kendall, if any, do you feel because you're a high profile female in a broadcast booth? What do you feel a certain level of responsibility to the young girls or women who might be aspiring to something?
SPEAKER_01I I do in a way. Um I've never I've never thought about the the ty the term high profile female, if I'm being honest.
SPEAKER_00I uh it's well you it's very rare. I mean, and you're very good at what you do.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. I just I've just always looked at it as I am I'm this I'm just a girl that likes to talk about hockey. And I was just blessed with the opportunity to be able to do it on a professional stage. And I wanna I want to show like the young girls out there of how much I do love my job. And I love the sport, I love what I do. The sport has brought me so much joy and it has become a huge part of my identity. And um so just showing them that you can follow your dreams, and even if things don't necessarily work out how you think they're going to, that you know, God has a plan and this was his plan for me. And it didn't work out with weather, but and that was what I initially wanted to do. But I found something that I have so much deeper of a love for, and um bringing girls like that confidence of if they want to try and dive into something that's typically considered male-dominated, um, they can. And I try to carry myself in a lot more professional of a manner, but I also it goes back into like my coaching that I was talking about, where I want to be everyone's friend, and but when it's time to work, it's time to work. And my my personality with the broadcast booth is I still try to joke around and stuff like that. I try to make myself more personable. And if there's people that I run into on the concourse and they want a picture, absolutely, you know, and I I've never wanted to be that person that feels like I'm shying away from people that want to just say hi or bounce a couple of questions off of me. I want to, I wanna be as personable as I can on that, on the on the booth because it just shows how much I love my job. And I really do. And I want people to be able to come to me and ask me about the job, ask me what I do, ask me why, how I got into it, why I love hockey so much. Because if I can talk to those people that might initially be afraid to talk to me, that hopefully my experience can help put them in the game too. If not just hockey, but or even sports in general, working in sports, but just giving them that kind of inspiration of you know what, I have this dream and I can totally get it if I just keep chasing it.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Besides Matt Malzak, who do you um, what broadcaster or an analyst uh are you taking notes on?
SPEAKER_01Who there's there's a few. Um I want to chalk a lot of that up to my broadcast partner in college, Ryan. Um, he's who got me into this, and he has been my biggest cheerleader behind the mic since I made the jump into the professional world. Um, when I graduated college, he has been a huge support system for me. And he is a really, really good broadcaster himself. And I just when I was growing up as a little baby broadcaster, I've I watched his confidence on the mic, the way he articulated his stuff on the mic, and I wanted to emulate that. And so having him now still continuing to support me after college and just be a cheerleader like that. He's he still gives me a lot of inspiration. And I'll I'll go back and I'll listen to our calls here and there and just like, okay, so this is how he brought it up. Like, I like the the verbiage that he used for this call. He doesn't use the same words for every single call, like even just little things like that, where um I could say, yeah, they just passed this across, but he's got different verbiage for the word pass just to make it more entertaining. And I loved that the way that he called games like that. Um, I've also shadowed Daniela Bruce a couple times for the Detroit Red Wings, and she's she's a really good person to listen to with broadcasts as well. Her confidence on the mic is incredible. Awesome.
SPEAKER_00All right. Uh your favorite miscue in the broadcast booth.
SPEAKER_01My favorite miscue?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, do you have any? Like times that I messed up on the booth or anything goofy, something that didn't quite things, something that went sideways.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I mean, there's been times I've I've made myself laugh. And um, like I'll just a lot of the times, like if I'm just overtired from getting off of work, I can't finish a sentence. Or I'm like, it sounds like I'm just spewing words. Like it's just the, you know. And there's times where I'll finish saying something and I'll look over at Matt and I'll lift my mic up and I'm like, what did I just say? What? I'm like, what just happened? Um, so I'm like, am I like what is going on? And so like that him and I'll just like laugh about that, where I'm like, what did I just say?
SPEAKER_00I'm sure he picked you up just like you pick him up at times.
SPEAKER_01And we'll tease each other sometimes. He'll look at me and he's like, Really, you had to say that? And I'm like, Well, really, you had to say that. So, you know, like we're just we'll mess with each other. Um, but then my other favorite thing was um the Walleyes PR team was the social media team when they had the um the TikTok that they made about Matt saying just random things that the players picked out on the broadcast. I was having such a blast listening to him say those just different phrases and words. And there'd be some because I actually didn't get to hear what the players wanted him to say leading up to that. Like I saw, I glanced at the list, but I didn't actually hear what they wanted him to say. So he would say some outlandish stuff just because that was what the players wanted him to wanted to hear out of him. And I wish people could have seen the faces that I made when he would say something. I would look at him, I'd be like, And I would just start dying. I had to take off the headset a couple times because I was laughing so hard. I think that one was one of my favorites.
SPEAKER_00That's great. So the whole media aspect of your life and the hockey aspect, we could just stop right here. This would be a great conversation, but you had this whole other branch of your life with being a firefighter in EMT. How did that branch start and how did it grow?
SPEAKER_01So it's it's the family business. Um, both of my parents are retired from the Toledo Fire Department. They were both lieutenants. Um, my great-grandfather was a fireman, both of my brothers are firemen. Um, so it just kind of worked its way down. I've always had a great appreciation for the fire service growing up, just because I've grew up in a fire family. Um, I have I have gotten in quite a few arguments over my passion for the fire service. And if there was just something like that people weren't agreeing with, I would, I would defend it tooth and nail. And um with the hype videos and stuff that was like that I was making for the the fire department's hockey team, like that was one of the closest that I felt to being a part of the service. And um like I said, I've always had like this great appreciation for it, but I never saw myself doing it. And I was the only one in the family that never saw myself doing it. My parents were like, why don't you just join the fire service? Like it's a great career, it's a rewarding career. And I'm like, I'm I know, but it's just not what I want to do. I want to do the weather, like I was saying when I was growing up, and I want to broadcast. And I also was terrified of EMS. I did not think I could handle EMS. Um, just like listening to the stories from my parents and family friends and stuff of some of the things that you can see on the job is not things that normal people should have to see. And I just didn't think that I could handle that aspect of the job. Now, putting on an air pack and running into a burning building all day, I would have had a blast, but the EMS side terrified me. And so I went and I finished a degree, and I was probably six months out of college. And I had a couple of instances that kind of like shoved me towards the fire service. And um, and like I this is like another instance where I believe that God works in mysterious ways, where I believe that He He put these instances in my lap to show me like this is this is a calling and you need to follow this calling. And so I was on my way to go film a hype video for Nick Perillo's goalie clinic that he puts on. And um, so I was at an intersection in front of Tam O'Shanner and I witnessed a motorcycle crash. And so um I hurried up and I got out of my car, and I I had zero training whatsoever, but I just this is what my parents said that they do on scene. So I got down and I held his neck and in the in the service, it's called holding C-spine. And um, so I was just waiting for paramedics to get there. I was holding his neck. I got I got the person awake and um talking, and um paramedics showed up and they got they got this person um you know carted away, taken care of. And um they asked me, they were like, Are you are you a paramedic? And I said, No. Are you a nurse? No. You're just you're just a civilian? I said, Yes, I am. They're like, How did you know to hold C-spine? I'm like, my parents were in the service, that's just what they told me that they would do, so I just figured I'd do it. I don't know, you know? And um I I didn't realize it, but I was just so in the zone that after they had to pull me to one of their ambulances because I I had a lot of blood on me from that. And so they just cleaned me up and like just wipes and that kind of stuff, and I had no idea because I was just so locked in. And so um, I called my dad afterward. I'm like, you will never believe what just happened, and he's like, Well, what did you think? And I'm like, as terrible as that was, I had a blast, like, and and that's not like I'm not having it's not the excitement on other people on their worst days, it's not that. It's just there's this form of adrenaline that you get when you get to be in that zone and you get to be that person that helps that person. That's the form of adrenaline that you get. And I was just so in the zone I had no other recollection of what was going on besides me and this man that I was trying to keep awake, waiting for paramedics to get there. And um, so my my parents were, you know, um teasing me, and they're like, you know, it's probably your sign. I'm like, no, absolutely not. No, and I'm not doing it. And um probably about a week later, I was out to brunch with my friend, and um, I was sitting on the outside patio of this restaurant, and I witnessed somebody fall and hit their head on the sidewalk, and that was not a pleasant sight. So, and I was hopping tables and I go over and I just I hold pressure on this person's head because there was um there was a lot of blood. And I after that whole thing got taken care of, I called my mom. I'm like, you will never believe what just happened. And um, the same thing. They're like, Are you are you a paramedic? Are you a nurse? No, how did you know what to do? Well, my parents, you know, and so my mom was like, I think God's trying to tell you something. And I'm like, There, no, I'm not doing it. No way. And I sat and thought about it for probably another week of just like the this the rewarding feeling that I got after helping these people. And I was like, you know, I everything that I feared about EMS, I just did twice as a civilian. And I the the sense of reward that I felt from that and accomplishment, I can, I can do it. So let's do it. And so I um I applied at the Lake Township Fire Department, and they were kind enough to hire me with no experience whatsoever. So they sent me to school, they sent me to EMT school, they sent me to fire school. Um, and I am actually right now in school to pursue my paramedic. So I am a paramedic student right now as well. So I'm a firefighter EMT. I will, and about a year from now, I will be a firefighter paramedic. Um, so I'll be able to expand my scope of practice even more to be able to just kind of work and help people more than what I would as an EMT.
SPEAKER_00And you must be working third shift if you talk about coming home resting and then going to the broadcast.
SPEAKER_01We work 24 hour shifts. 24 hour shifts. Yes. Um, so I'm I'm on three fire departments. My full-time fire department, we are a 24 hours on, 48 hours off schedule. Um and then there's there's a lot of overtime that gets sprinkled in there as well. So I'll be my 24 hours on, and then during my 48 hours off, I'll have to, I have minimum hour requirements at my other fire departments. So I'll have to pick up at my other departments. So there's times where I'll be working 48 to 72 hours at a time. I'll get off of my 24-hour shift at one fire department, go to my other fire department for 24 hours, then get off and have to work at 12 at this fire department. And so I'll be very, very little sleep. And um, so there's times where I'll be working at 24 or 48, and I'll get off and I'll have to do a wallet game that night. And it is what it is. I'm getting used to the lack of sleep. Um, and I enjoy the schedule. I still love the job. Like the schedule is nothing compared to how much I do love the job.
SPEAKER_00Those situations, Kendall, where you are on the scene when someone's having their worst day of their life, how and you're helping them get through that. How has that changed your perspective about just life in general?
SPEAKER_01It gives you a better appreciation of your own. Um you know, when you're when you're there on somebody's worst day, they call 911 because they're having their worst emergency. And um they how the mental aspect that that that can take on the patient as well as myself and my crew. And it it it gives you a better appreciation of the things that you have because you we go into some people's houses and homes and they're they're not very well off. And there's, you know, like the living conditions aren't the greatest, or um just the situation of why we had to get called in the first place, and it's a recurring situation, and it just gives you a better appreciation of what you do have outside of the job when you get to when you have to come into these homes and see how some of these people have to live their lives. And it's to a lot of people, like it's some are they have it really hard, and it's it gives you it helps you empathize a lot more as well when I'm with these patients and having them explain to me what's going on. And if patients feel comfortable enough with you, they'll they'll open up. And some of the stories that some patients have told me have, they've just really given me so much of a better appreciation for my life and what I have, and um, as well as being able to empathize with my other patients, that I get even more so because you don't know what somebody is going through. And I just happen to be in a career where I get to witness a lot of this firsthand and watch these patients go through this stuff. So it's um you really, you really don't know what somebody else is going through. And I think that it opens up my eyes a lot more in that aspect as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, very meaningful, Kendall. Last question for you. It's kind of open-ended. Where do you see yourself in uh 10 years?
SPEAKER_01In 10 years. Um, ideally, I still want to be doing what I am now. Um still broadcasting. Um, I want to be with the walleye until I can. And if I would love for a couple of opportunities to broadcast in the in the National Hockey League, that would be ult obviously the ultimate goal, even if it's just a game or two. Want to be on the broadcast at a ha in an NHL game at some point. Um I love to expand in my fire career, maybe be an officer one day, um, and just and have a family and being able to um just share my love for everything that I do in my life with my family as well.
SPEAKER_00So it's a great 10-year plan of vision. Well, Kendall, this uh this has just been wonderful. Uh very genuine, very open, very candid and uh thoughtful. I I'm struck by your your goal-oriented disposition. And quickly behind that is your ability to pivot when something gets in your way and just to keep going and not be deterred by detractors. And that's just really has come through just in this conversation, among many other things. So thank you for your great uh contribution you bring to the walleye broadcast booth and obviously how they're serving the community in such a meaningful way. So thanks for being you.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, and thank you so much for having me. It's been such an honor to be on the show.