How I Became - a Sports Commentator w/ Taylah Johnson.

Welcome to the ‘How I Became’ series where Billie talks to girls across New Zealand who are killing it in their chosen career and see how they got there!

Trying to decide what you ‘want to be when you grow up’ is hard enough as it is and your careers counsellor probably won’t have all the answers you need.

HIB aims to give you a bit of insight into different career paths and what it takes to get there.

Name: Taylah Johnson

Age: 27

Job title: Sky Sport Presenter

Firstly, what drew you to commentating sports?

I was born and raised in Te Kuiti, a small town in the Waikato where there was a plethora of things to do outside, so from a young age I was very active. I started racing BMX when I was 6 years old and after a few months, I was the National Champion for my age. At Primary and Intermediate school in Auckland, I picked up different sports whenever they became available as I enjoyed being outside of class as much as I did being in it. I played Touch Rugby, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball, Cricket, Rugby, you name it! My biggest passion of them all was Rugby because my Dad was heavily involved as a player, coach and administrator, so weekends at rugby meant weekends spent with my Dad.

And that’s how I fell into commentating. I watched more rugby than most kids every weekend with my Dad and while I was at University, current Sky Sport commentator Karl Te Nana, who coached the Auckland 7s team with my Dad for a few years, said Sky were wanting to bring in a female presence on their first xv coverage who knew the game really well. Obviously having played internationally for Samoa and in the Farah Palmer Cup for Northland & Counties Manukau, he felt I was more than qualified. I went along to my first game and the rest is history! I have to pinch myself sometimes that I get paid to talk about Rugby, something that gives me so much pleasure. 

What subjects did you take in high school that you think helped?

It’s quite funny because I actually wanted to be a Doctor until I got to my final year of High School. I took Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Calculus, English etc, but I was at a first xv game where my boyfriend at the time (now my husband!) broke his leg and his bone was protruding out of his skin and his ankle and I was so disgusted. So, I decided then and there I will not be pursuing a career in Medicine. In my final year of school I changed my subjects to Physical Education, Statistics, English, Geography and Business. If I was to pick a subject that helps me everyday with my commentary, it would have to be statistics. Statistical analysis is so underrated when it comes to broadcasting. It’s beneficial to have statistics to rely on when you are establishing a point or an opinion - evidence to back it up is gold! 

What did your pathway towards starting your career look like?

I had no broadcast experience before I started at Sky, but you can’t teach a personality. I knew a lot about rugby as a player, referee and coach and I had a bit of experience in writing rugby articles. As a high school student, I used to voluntarily write match reports for Auckland Rugby to publish on their website because I would be watching so many games each week that it made sense to be doing something else with my time at the games.

What did you study/where/how long did it take?

I studied a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce with a triple major in Accounting, Management and Marketing at the University of Auckland. It took me six years to complete and then on top of that, I completed my Chartered Accountancy which took another three years and then did my Professional Legal Studies Certificate for admission to the Bar. So I am an academic junkie! Although my qualifications don’t have a direct link to commentary work, they definitely help. It’s easy to interpret rule books as they’re like interpreting statutes & laws!

What’s the best thing about your job?

It’s far too hard to pick one aspect, but the people I meet along the way has been a bonus. I love working across all rugby, from school boys and girls all the way to Test Matches, I meet some of the loveliest athletes and crew. I use Dalton Papali’i as an example. I remember commentating him as a fresh-faced 15-year-old at St Kentigern College, then at the Jock Hobb under 19 Tournament then for Auckland in the NPC, the Blues in Super Rugby and then interviewing him before he made his All Black debut. It’s wonderful seeing people grow throughout their careers and playing a small role in it. He is just one example, there are plenty of young men and women I have loved seeing sprout into world class athletes.

What’s the hardest part?

For me, it’s self-criticism. I am my own harshest critic and I will go back and rewatch every game or show I did and look at things I would have done differently and try to implement it for my next match. I did my first Sal’s NBL Basketball game the other week and wrote down two pages worth of notes that I would do differently because at the end of the day, I always want our viewers to finish watching a broadcast feeling satisfied and enthused with what they’ve watched, or hopefully they learnt something they didn’t know before.

What surprised you most about your job once you started working?

The amount of much effort goes into producing a LIVE game of sport. There are so many people who all play a vital role in every single game of sport. From Basketball to Rugby, there are so many unsung heroes. There are producers, directors, cameramen, floor managers, sound technicians, replay directors and even people who adjust the brightness and contrast of the camera shots during the game, and that’s just scratching the surface! Each and everyone of them is super important. I wish more people could see what goes on behind the scenes as there would be a much greater appreciation for a broadcast.

What does an average day look like for you?

On game days, I get up early, have breakfast with my husband and take our two dogs for a walk around the neighbourhood. I’ll then go over the notes I have already made throughout the week and look at the latest news from the Basketball & Rugby world that could be relevant to the game I'm commentating. I’ll then get dropped off to the airport to fly to the match, or drive to the stadium or studio, then head in to Hair & Make up. We’ll then do a rehearsal, talk to players and coaches before the game to get any last minute nuggets to throw into the broadcast, then get into the commentary. After a game, I’ll head to my hotel and order Uber Eats, or try and catch up with my friends in that particular city. If I’m in Auckland, usually my husband has dinner ready for me then I go straight in to watching the recording of my game to review myself!

During the week, I get up, play with the dogs to tire them out before I leave for work and then head to Mount Smart where I work as Head of Marketing & Communications at the start-up Super Rugby franchise. In the afternoon, I’ll pop in to the Sky studio in Mount Wellington which is just a few minutes away from Mount Smart and go over the upcoming games I'm on with my producers, then head home and cook dinner if I beat my husband home. If he beats me, he’ll usually cook. I’m so lucky to have a partner who loves cooking just as much as I do! I am also someone who prefers to workout at night time, so I will head to the gym around 8pm for a session and find it’s usually less busy the later it gets.

What advice would you give to those looking to follow a similar career path?

Always give your best in everything you do. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. With every opportunity you are given, make sure you have prepared as best you can to put your best foot forward. Lastly, make sure you are pursuing this career path for the right reasons. There are plenty of people who want to get into commentary because they think it’s a glamorous lifestyle, but I got into commentating because I get pure joy out of watching, growing and advocating the sport. I never call working at Sky Sport ‘work’ because for me, it doesn’t feel like work, it feels like a blessing.

What are the biggest challenges in your opinion to getting into sports commentating?

Being a woman! There will always be traditionalists who think only men are qualified to be sports commentators. I have been lucky enough to never face any push back or backlash from my Basketball or Rugby commentary, but that is because legends like Rikki Swannell and Melodie Robinson were the first to do it and normalise a female presence on our screens. For that, I am very grateful.

What kind of skills does your job require?

The ability to think on your feet! No single game of rugby or basketball is the same so you always need to be able to think of different words or sayings to describe something while keeping the viewer entertained. Some call it the ‘gift of the gab,’ but most commentators will tell you that it’s not a gift, we work hard with a thesaurus in hand!

It also requires you to be personable. Not only do you need to come across as relatable on the broadcast, but you need to understand and recognise how players and coaches are feeling during or after a game and adjust your interviews and conversations to get the best out of them. The more comfortable they feel, the better the answers they’re going to give you will be.

What part of your job gives you the most satisfaction?

Everything! It is so hard to pinpoint one thing as I love the people, the travel, the sports and everything in between, but one thing that stands out to me is representation. I have lost count of the times I have had players, amaetur and professional, come up to me or message me via social media to thank me for something as simple as pronouncing their name correctly. For some people, that’s miniscule, but as a proud Samoa & Māori woman, I know how important culture is to our people.

What has been an absolute highlight of your career?

It seems as each year passes by, I hit a new career highlight. A few years ago, the highlight was commentating on my first NPC game, then last year it was commentating my first Super Rugby game and commentating a test match when ‘Ikale Tahi & Manu Samoa met at Mount Smart Stadium. But I hit a new highlight this year, and that was making my Sal’s NBL commentary debut as the first female play-by-play caller. It was a huge honour to even be considered and I loved every second of it. It was so different from rugby, so fast-paced, but I got so much enjoyment out of it. I can’t wait to keep growing into different sporting codes that I enjoy.

What’s an unexpected element to your job that people don’t realise you have to do?

Work on my voice & breathing! It seems so simple and mundane but I actually have to practise my pace, my pitch, my volume and so much more. People think how hard can talking be? But when you are flat out talking for a basketball and rugby match, you need to know when to get excited, when to keep your voice soft, but also protect your voice!

Describe your job in three words

Exciting. Rewarding. Humbling.

Check out Taylah commentating the Sal’s NBL season on Sky.