Commenteachers: Two teachers commentate for East sports to strengthen relationships and keep their love of sports alive

The day after boys varsity soccer fell to Blue Valley West in the quarter finals, senior Simon Zimmerman walked into his sixth hour AP Psych, still down from the sting of the loss and the memories of his fellow teammates crying on the field. Walking through the door, he was immediately greeted by teacher Brett Kramer, who congratulated him on a great game — making sure to mention all of Zimmerman’s highlights and assure him that their loss was just unlucky.  

“I felt as if he was really watching the game,” Zimmerman said. “I was really happy with how he actually analyzed the game.”

Kramer was on crowd control during the KSHSAA Boys Soccer Quarterfinal, East’s last game of the season — stopping the crowd from yelling at the other team and screaming insults. This is one of Kramer’s many jobs dealing with East sports, but he doesn’t do it for supplemental pay. For him, it’s about building relationships with students and playing a reliable role in their lives. 

Five years ago, Kramer’s role in East sports began when he announced a soccer game, subbing for Mr. Klein. Since then, he’s played six different roles in over 12 different sports — from keeping stats for girls basketball games to timing swim meets. 

Kramer says he’s willing to do just about anything with regards to working athletic events. In his mind, it’s an opportunity to get to know and support students in a different arena than the classroom.

“[He] doesn’t coach, but [he] certainly helps us in a capacity that allows us to have the games,” East Athletic Director Debbie Katzfey said. “Without the people behind the scenes, the games wouldn’t take place.”

After each game that Kramer commentates or works, he makes an effort to talk to the athletes the next day, telling players how well the team moved the ball, or how proud he was of the seniors after senior night. 

“He definitely brings a positive vibe,” Zimmerman said. “He makes everybody happier.”

And after interacting with his students when they aren’t sitting in desk chairs, announcing gives him the opportunity to meet the parents of students. It’s allowed him to feel more like a part of the “very large” East community, compared to the small town where he was born. 

“It’s nice to have a teacher that you can talk to about sports,” junior Reese Althouse said. “And not just sports, you can talk to him about anything.”

Now that the fall season is over, Kramer will move on from helping with boys soccer and football to his favorite sport: basketball. He will attend every varsity girls basketball game to keep stats, while also keeping score for all of the other girls and boys basketball teams whenever he can — right after he finishes teaching six classes. 

“In the classroom, I’m the one that’s supposed to keep order and have all these tremendous lesson plans and differentiate my instruction,” Kramer said. “At a sporting event, I don’t have to be Mr. Kramer. I’m a human being there to support Shawnee Mission East.”

Leading up to basketball tryouts his senior year, World Regional Studies teacher Steve Klein played basketball and conditioned every day after school — training for the required six-minute mile that every athlete had to run and perfecting his shot with his coach at the nearby Jewish Community Center. He had grown six inches and four starting spots had opened up.

However, four weeks before tryouts, he tore two ligaments in his ankle — benching him for the season. 

His summer basketball coach, who’d heard about his ankle, recruited Klein to be an assistant coach at a local high school for the season — landing him his first coaching gig at 17, in charge of kids the same age as him. 

“It was good for me from a social standpoint and a confidence standpoint,” Klein said. “To coach before you’re really confident and really talkative, it certainly made me both.”

The confidence he built while running drills and building other kids’ confidence came with him when he started announcing for East sporting events and helping out with the scoreboard. 

Klein started ten years ago when he was asked to work the chains at an East football game— moving the first down marker on the sidelines of the football field as the teams gained yards. When the announcer at the time left, Klein was asked to replace him — and as someone who originally majored in sports broadcasting before switching to history, he agreed to take the job.

“He’s got a good radio voice,” East Athletic Director Debby Katzfey said. “When’s he’s announcing at the games, it sounds good.”

Klein now announces for football and both girls and boys soccer, in addition to keeping score and occasionally announcing basketball games. Some games take up the majority of his night — from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. On those nights, he’ll have to miss KU basketball games and coaching his 13 year-old son’s basketball team — something he’s experienced for the past 10 years. 

Klein’s wife, Nikki Klein, says that Klein’s whole family receives an email from him everytime something exciting or funny happens at a game. According to Nikki, Klein takes it very seriously. 

“It’s a fit,” Klein said. “It provides a little extra income, while also allowing me to be a bigger part of the school and watch the players progress in their competitive careers.”

As someone who has been involved in sports for the majority of his life, announcing for sports has given Klein the opportunity to stay vested in the competition of sports, even though he doesn’t play them anymore. All the competition — announcing for his favorite sports, coaching for his kid’s basketball team — keeps his life as a teacher steeped in his love for sports. 

“To me, a team sort of has a spiritual connection to each other. I like that part which is a big part of coaching,” Klein said. “I don’t think I’d enjoy my life a lot if I wasn’t involved in competitive atmospheres.”