DEFINITELY THE BEST- TIM BEST THE LATEST ADIRONDACK BANK 12TH MAN
From left: Nick Carzo, Lindsay Roberts, Tim Borza, Tim Best, Jeff Marraffa, Jon Wallace, Nicole Sergott.
Jeff Pexton-MHTS
The newest Adirondack Bank – My Hometown Sports 12th Man Award recipient has much in common with all of the previous winners of the award yet still breaks new ground.
For example, he unconditionally gives his time, energy, effort and spirit to the sports organization that he associates himself with. He offers all of the above and expects virtually nothing in return. He embodies the spirit of “The 12th Man”.
So, what makes our newest member of the 12th Man Club different from the previous winners of this award? Well, for starters, he’s a 16-year-old high school student.
Second, his spirit of volunteerism, hard work and dedication to the various sports teams at Whitesboro High School and Marcy-Deerfield Little League are rivaled only by people at least twice his age, making Tim Best pretty much the most unique winner of “The 12th Man” so far.
Make your way over to Whitesboro’s storied “Chiz” Frye Stadium, home of Warriors Football, on a Saturday morning in the fall and look up into the press box. You will likely catch a glimpse of Tim Best. He is the guy seated behind the public address microphone, communicating with the big crowds at “The Chiz”, on hand to watch the JV football team play.
While other high school juniors are sleeping away their Saturday mornings, Tim Best is rolling out of bed at 7:30 to begin preparation for the day’s game. Then, after a few hours filling the PA system with accurate announcements of the action and some really interesting sports trivia questions, Tim finally gets to go home and be a kid, which for Tim usually involves getting ready for his next event.
“I bleed blue” Tim Best told MHTS during a recent interview at Whitesboro High School, where the “12th Man” was joined by twenty or so of his friends from several different Warriors sports teams.
Besides the JV football games, Tim Best can be found doing the public address at all Whitesboro Wrestling matches, JV basketball games, and he has even been known to do some color commentary for the Whitesboro High School live stream coverage of Warriors Varsity Basketball games.
“He makes it fun”, Whitesboro Senior Nick Carzo told MHTS of Best’s work at Warriors games, adding “People at the games that he works have a great time. He uses the nicknames of the players that he announces, he adds trivia questions and mixes in music, he really puts a ton of effort into what he does”.
Carzo has had first hand experience listening to Best’s fine PA work coming up through the Warriors Football and Basketball programs. Carzo has also been the subject of several interviews on Tim’s own You Tube channel.
Tim Best- Latest Adirondack Bank 12th Man!
For Jeff Marraffa, a varsity wrestler and long time friend of Tim Best, the Warriors home matches just wouldn’t be the same without him. “He just has so much energy when he announces. He gets the crowd into it, he’s funny and sounds so professional you forget it’s a high school event” Marraffa added.
Vinny Cotrupe, also a football and basketball player at Whitesboro has known Tim Best since the two played Biddy basketball together in Whitestown. Cotrupe believes that Best gives a whole lot more than he gets in return. “He (Best) gives so much time and effort to all of the games he works at. There’s no way he gets enough credit for what he does. Nobody realizes how hard this kid works to do it right” Cotrupe said.
Lindsay Roberts, a basketball player, described Tim Best’s efforts as ” Very professional, he cares about what he’s doing and sounds like he’s been announcing for a long time. The players and fans love what he does at the games”.
While many 16-year-old kids have pretty much no idea what career they would like to pursue, Tim Best is locked in on what he wants to do, and he even knows when it hit him.
After graduation from high school in 2014, Tim’s first choice for college is Syracuse University’s world-renowned Newhouse School of Communications, where he plans to pursue a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
Lofty goals? Yes. Achievable by this remarkable young man. Absolutely. Best maintains A’s across the board in all of his studies in high school, including college level Spanish and AP Math.
So when did Tim Best come to the conclusion that he wanted to be a voice behind a microphone that reaches the sporting masses? “Oh that one’s easy” Best recalled, “I was with my family at Yankee Stadium when I was 10 years old, we were there to see our beloved Yanks take on the Baltimore Orioles. I heard the voice of Mr. Bob Sheppard announcing the starting lineup for the Yankees and it just hit me, I want to do that…I have wanted to be in broadcasting ever since”.
How seriously does Tim take his pursuit of a career in Broadcast Journalism? Serious enough to attend sports broadcasting play by play camp each summer in Boston, that’s how seriously he takes his ambition.
Our latest “12th Man” is the son of Tom and Monica Best of Marcy. To say that the Best family is sports oriented would be an understatement.
Notre Dame Football, Syracuse University Basketball and New York Yankees Baseball are the family favorites. Tim’s parents and younger Brother Matt are also very accommodating to his athletic event pursuits, both home and away.
# 25 Nick Carzo in action for the Warriors.
For example, how many families do you know that host full-blown NBA style dunk contests, complete with sponsors and awards, in their backyard?
Tim Best and his family host two dunk contests per year, one in April (the DJB Invitational named in honor of Tim’s late Uncle Dennis) and one in July (known as Summer Slam), featuring mostly Whitesboro athletes (his Cousin from Oriskany was allowed in once though).
The hoops on the full basketball court at the Best’s home are lowered to eight feet to accommodate the height of the contestants and awards are presented in front of some pretty large crowds of kids on hand to witness all the fun.
Tim, who somehow finds the time to play CYO basketball for Our Lady of The Rosary, has won the Summer Slam, which is judged by a select panel of Whitesboro students. Last summer Best defeated Warriors Varsity Basketball player Nick Carzo in sudden death overtime. “That was pretty incredible” Best said of the win.
Tim Best’s efforts on behalf of Whitesboro sports teams hasn’t gone unnoticed by the administration at Whitesboro High School either. Of Tim Best, Principle Jeffrey Kuhn told MHTS “He takes his jobs seriously and is receptive of constructive criticism that he is given. Tim is always enthusiastic about any job he performs and aspires to do his best at all times. He also brings the student perspective to the game which is unique considering he sits in class with the student athletes he covers. We have received many positive reviews for Tim’s work.”
Speaking of sports trivia, pretty much all of Tim’s fellow students pointed out his incredible knack for knowing the facts. “We sit at lunch and he just kills the trivia questions,” Jeff Marraffa said of Best, adding “Ask him anything sports related and he knows it”.
Well, never missing an opportunity to be marveled, this writer asked Tim a question that could not possibly have been prepared for, to wit: Where was Superbowl IX played?
After pondering the question for a second or two, Tim responded “Oh, Superbowl IX was played at Tulane University Stadium in New Orleans. The game was won by the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 16-6 over the Minnesota Vikings and Franco Harris was your Most Valuable Player.” Jeff Marraffa is right, Best “kills it.”
Tim’s knowledge of sports facts and figures helps him to recite his trivia questions right off the top of his head to the crowds at Marcy-Deerfield Little Games as well.
Best, a M-D Little League alum, returned to the league in 2009, a year after his final season as a player, to serve as the league’s public address announcer. In that time, Best has developed and maintained a Facebook page for the league featuring player statistics, game results and league news.
“The kids in the league and their parents really love it, and if they love it, then I love it” Best said of his efforts on behalf of Little League in Marcy-Deerfield, adding “I like to give the players and fans the feeling of a major league ball park, I play music for batters as they step to the plate, I announce their stats, all kinds of stuff, I really enjoy being there night after night.”
As the interview with Tim Best wound down and the friends and classmates who showed up to show their support and friendship of him moved on to their various practices, Tim Best wanted to make sure that he said thank you to some very important people to him.
First, Tim wanted to say thanks to Principal Kuhn, Athletic Director Michael Deuel and Mr. Brian McQueen for allowing him to have the opportunity to hone his skills behind the microphones of Whitesboro Atheltic events.
Next he wanted to thank Mr. Sam Tornatore of Marcy-Deerfield Little League for the green light to work the ball games at Link Memorial Park. Last, but certainly not least, Tim wanted to make sure that he acknowledged the love (albeit sometimes tough he said with a chuckle), and constant support that he receives from his Parents, Tom and Monica, adding “They are just there for me, all the time, through thick and thin my parents support and guide me with everything and I want to tell them thank you for everything.”
On behalf of Adirondack Bank and My Hometown Sports, congratulations Tim Best on your “12th Man Award”. It is so encouraging to see a young man of your age be so giving of his time and energy for the benefit of so many others, while asking absolutely nothing in return.
Well done Tim Best, keep up the great work!
