The Hockey House Podcast is a podcast run by a group of individuals that play in the ACHA for a variety of Universities. These boys eat, sleep, and breath hockey. Throughout their podcast, they look to shed light on the news and stories of the ACHA. In each episode of their podcast they look to focus on specific universities, and their ACHA programs. The hosts look to find the true stories of the ACHA, and it promotes an image of exposure to athletes within the league. From sharing these stories, athletes within the ACHA feel connected, and it builds a sense of community. Today they have grown to have over 22.4 thousand followers on instagram, and have over 80 released podcast episodes.
I chose this text for my mentor text because it relates to my topic in the sense of increasing exposure to a specific company/league. By using their platform, they are able to shed light on a topic that is not discussed as much as it should have been. I hope to do the same with this project.
In the episode I listened to, the hosts looked over the ACHA program at Oklahoma State University. Throughout the beginning of the podcast, each of the hosts give a background on their weekends to establish a sense of connection to the audience. By establishing this connection, you are able to easily connect to the discussions and people of this podcast. As they continue on, they break down the league as the season progresses. The hosts discusses the established rankings, and discussion allows the group to follow up with the outcome of some notable games. By doing this, it gives a sense of understanding and credibility. This sense helps the hosts to compare and contrast teams as they discuss the state of each division and conference within the ACHA. Later on, they begin the discussion of OSU, and the hosts invite two members of the team to join them. They use an interview format to ask the athletes questions about their program, and what makes it unique. By doing this they build a relationship with their guests, continuing to ask questions regarding the building of their team. With this being OSUs second year sense joining the ACHA, they discussed the process of them joining the steps undergone to get to the point they are at now. From their discussion, it shows the sense of community the sport and club provides. From these discussions they move on to focus on the teams upcoming opponents and their goals for the season. When bringing the interview to a close, it is apparent that there is a sense of community among the group.
This mentor text is important because it shows how examples of composition can help to build a sense of community no matter the topic. However, the major similarity between the podcast and my topic helps to show how I can use my own platforms to do the same. My hope is that I attract a similar audience with the platforms I create. This work is making a difference, and it proves there is value within this community.
Learning from this mentor text above, I decided to create a podcast using the interview I did with my teammate Tommy Budreck. I hope from this podcast people can learn about the growth and sense of community the team has provided him.