“THAT! IS! GAME!” yelled Shalhevet seniors and experienced game announcers Elisha Fishman and Yonah Terech as number 12 Alex Magence hit a buzzer-beating three-point shot for the SAR Sting girls team to win the 11th annual Steve Glouberman z’l basketball tournament.

Every year, for all games taking place in the Shalhevet gym, there are two students commenting live on the Boiling Point website, where it is broadcast for hundreds of worldwide viewers.

For nine years, Glouberman commentary was completely managed by the Boiling Point. After Mrs. Joelle Keene, the paper’s faculty adviser for 21 years, retired at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year, the Shalhevet administration took on the responsibility of organizing the announcers. 

Mr. Daniel Weslow, General Studies Principal, who has led in managing the Glouberman commentating, highlighted its importance for those tuning in online.

“The commentating, it brings you in,” said Mr. Weslow. “And it’s a much more immersive, tangible experience when you have excellent commentating.”

Mr. Weslow also highlighted a few key characteristics he associates with successful commentating.

“The more knowledge you have on players on the court, and the schools and coaching staff, the more successful you will be,” said Mr. Weslow. “You also have to make whoever’s listening feel the excitement, get goosebumps on their neck.”

Before the tournament, intense preparation goes into picking commentators and training them to be game-ready. Mr. Weslow runs the process, asking those who are interested to submit an online form and a short audition video announcing a game from the previous year’s tournament.

Once selected, the announcers go deep into their tournament prep mode.

“I get contact information for the coaches, [the announcers] reach out to the schools, and then they get additional content that may be specific to each team that they’re commentating [for] so that they’re well-prepared,” said Mr. Weslow.

Traditionally, sports commentating is divided among two announcers: one does “color commentary,” thinking about the game from an analytical perspective, identifying any patterns or outside information that they can bring in, and the play-by-play announcer comments on what’s happening in the game as it happens, from each steal and rebound to each pass and shot.

New commentators also often pair up with a more seasoned upperclassman for a few training sessions and for any guidance necessary.

Yosef Eisenberg, a freshman at Shalhevet, got to experience life in the booth for the first time this year. Being paired with Elisha made him feel comfortable going into his first game.

“He would ask me questions to help guide me through the game,” said Yosef. “We also made a Google Doc before the game with a bunch of information on both teams, which helped.”

A basketball fan since he was four years old, Yosef thought that commentating would be an interesting way to continue this interest.

“I grew up watching basketball,” said Yosef. “When I saw this opportunity, I just wanted to go out there and have fun with it.”

Elisha also specifically acknowledged multiple commentating inspirations, from Shalhevet to professional sports, who have inspired his own form of the craft.

“Vin Scully [legendary L.A. Dodgers commentator], Bob Miller of the LA Kings, and Charlotte Hornets’ Eric Collins are all guys I definitely take after,” said Elisha. “Their style of commentating and excitement is really special.”

Besides these legendary announcers, whom Elisha highlighted for their expertise on the game and excitement, three Shalhevet alumni of the class of 2023, all seniors during Elisha’s freshman year, inspired him to try out for Glouberman announcing.

“I was watching the way Noah Elad, Jack Metzger, and Avi Litvak all announced games,” said Elisha. “It was their guidance as upperclassmen that really got me into this.”

Elisha specifically highlighted the alumni trio’s ability to be excited and lively in the announcing booth while staying serious. He also mentioned four main tips they gave him as a freshman commentator.

“One, you need to memorize the names of the players; two, have fun; three, be confident and have energy; four, and in my opinion, the most important, sometimes just let the beauty of the game tell the story and don’t feel the need to over-commentate,” said Elisha.

Yonah said the view of the court from the commentating booth gives him a unique view of the game.

“I’m always looking for a special moment to pick out of the game to talk about,” said Yonah. “As a color commentator, that’s what I do best.”

For Yonah, the most special moment as an announcer was the championship game.

“Announcing the girls’ final was a different experience,” said Yonah. “You really feel the energy of the gym in the school, and it was really fun.”

Yonah and Elisha are two of the 15 Shalhevet representatives — 14 students and one rabbi — who participated as tournament commentators this year. Eight of them announced multiple games during the 2025 tournament.

Sarah Edwards, a junior and captain of the girls’ varsity basketball team, who returned for a second year as a Glouberman announcer, said that her background as a player assists her ability to commentate.

“I love basketball, specifically the little details of each play that you can analyze and talk about,” Sarah said. “I get to pull from my own games in my announcing, and from the games I’m watching and learn from them.”

Sarah said that she hopes to do sports broadcasting in college.

The one faculty member participating as a Glouberman commentator, Judaic Faculty Rabbi Ari Schwarzberg, has been announcing for the last three years. 

Rabbi Schwarzberg specifically likes being an announcer because it gives him a chance to talk about something light and refreshing.

“So often you’re teaching Torah and dealing with education, and everything is very serious,” said Rabbi Schwarzberg. “To be able to just sit and shmooze and talk about something that is light and meant to be a good time is great.”

A few other faculty members have expressed moderate interest in the activity, Mr. Weslow said, but Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Yagil Tsaidi was the only one who participated as an announcer.

All commentators interviewed mentioned getting recognized randomly throughout the year in the Jewish community from their broadcasts.

“Whether on the East Coast, in LA, or at camp, people go to me, ‘you’re the guy from Glouberman,’” said Elisha. “Even in Palm Springs at a small Jewish school on our Chesed trip, a little kid recognized me from the broadcast.”