As a young boy, Scott DeCamp relished scouring the local sports section and diving headfirst into the wealth content. He dreamed about what it would be like to interview athletes and captivate readers with the exploits of athletes from around the area. Through hard work, sacrifice, and the support of his family, Scott hasn’t had to wonder what living his dream would feel like, he has been one of the lucky few to live it.
If you have attended a West Michigan high school athletic event in the last 20 years, there is a good chance you have met Scott DeCamp. On any given week night, Scott can be found prowling the sidelines of your local high school athletic events, and for the last eight years, he has been a fixture in the Muskegon-area sports scene. Managing producer overseeing sports, news and education beats; managing producer for a statewide team of local sports reporters; sports culture reporter; and local sports reporter, are just a few of the titles Scott has held over his amazing career.
Producing at a high level comes at a cost, and DeCamp is no stranger to the sacrifices. “Sports reporters work long hours – lots of nights and weekends. Time traditionally reserved for family – nightly dinners, weekend plans and such — are often trumped by games to cover, interviews to conduct, breaking news to address,” DeCamp wrote in his recent MLive Column. “Those sacrifices were made by many people in my life – notably by my wife and our children.”
According to DeCamp, “It is time for a fresh look in my career, for a change in the lives of my family and me.”
So, what’s next for Scott DeCamp? Beginning Sept. 13, Scott will begin as a lead writer and media/marketing specialist at CatchMark Technologies.
CatchMark Technologies got its feet wet in the local sports scene a little more than a year ago when Jeff Johnson, Montague Schools Superintendent, requested technical assistance. Johnson and Athletic Director Jay Mulder were trying to get ahead of spectator limits due to the COVID outbreak and provide a way for the community to enjoy the wealth of talented Wildcat teams.
CatchMark created a streaming solution, streamed all athletic events (high school and middle school), and has continued to grow its local sports coverage by adding Whitehall Schools this fall.
In July 2021, CatchMark SportsNet was founded, and a YouTube channel was established with the sole purpose of providing local athletics content to the community. Brent Raeth, CatchMark Managing Partner, has dreams to grow into something much more than simply video content.
“We would like to use digital media to provide a multi-faceted approach to local sports. We want to use technology, something we know a lot about since it has been the core of our business for 10 years, to provide quality video, written and media content and coverage for our local athletes.”
According to Raeth, “Scott is a huge win for our business and our future; rest assured his writing days and coverage of local sports is not over. We are launching a sports media website, a new Facebook site, Instagram and Twitter all dedicated to CatchMark SportsNet.
“CatchMark is dedicating a tremendous amount of time, talent and resources to fill the vacuum that the death of local papers has left for small communities and Scott DeCamp will be the centerpiece of it all for CatchMark SportsNet,” Raeth said.
