In a joint effort for improving both technology and instruction, Buford City Schools has announced the addition of two new scoreboards for BHS’s baseball and softball fields, while providing training for students to learn how to operate them.
The two Formetco digital LED matrix boards are scheduled to be installed prior to the 2022 baseball season, and students will be the ones who operate the systems for games.
Formetco is the nation’s leading supplier and manufacturer to the outdoor advertising industry and is headquartered in Gwinnett County on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth. They have provided large-scale electronic scoring systems to venues from the former Turner Field, now Georgia State University’s stadium, to Lumpkin County High School and countless others in between over the past 50 years.
In mid-January, students from BHS attended a training day on the digital billboards’ software and operation at Formetco’s Duluth campus, along with BHS career technology teacher Nicholas Beshiri, baseball coach Stuart Chester and softball coach Trent Adams.
“Students will score big, so to speak, while learning how to operate these new matrix boards,” said Katie Strickland, Buford’s director of strategic communications. Strickland thinks the real-world experience these students will garner from this hands-on learning experience will prepare them for any number of jobs in broadcast technology in the future.
With large sporting venues and several professional sports teams that call metro Atlanta home, the opportunity to eventually land such a job isn’t outside the realm of reach for students who’ve already had some level of on-the-job experience while still in high school. If nothing else, it’s certainly a great opportunity and resumé building experience for those students who are interested in future careers in sports broadcasting and technology.
The Wolves’ 2022 varsity baseball team is set to play the season opener against North Oconee at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, at Gerald McQuaig Field in Buford, with games scheduled until the state championship playoff rounds, which begin in late April and end in late May.
To catch a glimpse of the Wolves and Lady Wolves and their new matrix boards in action, check out their season schedules here.
FEATURED PHOTO: Mr. Nicholas Beshiri’s career technology students from Buford High School attend a Formetco training session on Jan. 12, 2022. Photo courtesy of Katie Strickland with Buford City Schools.
