Matt Harmon is a proud husband, father, specialist professor and broadcaster who continues to honors his late father Art Harmon's education and sports legacy.
Harmon, the radio play-by-play announcer for the New York Red Bulls and Monmouth University's Digital Network, joined SportsJam with Doug Doyle to talk about his career and family.
Matt Harmon began his professional broadcasting career when he joined WOBM's sports play-by-play team of Kevin Williams and Doug Doyle while he was a attending Monmouth University where he spent some time as a running back for the Hawks (1993). The Monmouth University and Wall High School graduate followed his father's footsteps as not only an educator but also a lifeguard in Sea Girt.
"This past summer I finished my 35th year on the beach. My brother and I both work as lifeguards down in Sea Girt. My 18-year old Cooper is now beginning his third year with us. It's amazing to know how important that's been to the Harmon family."
It was the late 80's when Art Harmon, the Athletic Director at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School back in the late 1980's, first let Doug Doyle know about his son Matt's desire to be a sports announcer. Art had hired Doug as a ninth grade boys basketball coach.
"My dad passed away in 2009, but the number of people either help me get associated with, like yourself, or the people still to this day walk up and say hey I remember when your dad told me this and that. He left quite a mark on people. It's something to this day I'm really proud to say I'm his son."
Matt says getting involved with the New York Red Bulls was a pivotal moment in his broadcasting career. This year is his tenth season calling the action for the MLS team that plays at Red Bull Arena in Harrison.
"I was really fortunate in 2015 to get hooked up with the right people. I have a great group around me. I've had the opportunity to work with the same guy, former player Steve Jolley, we've been together for ten years as the radio crew. We have a great engineering staff and great support from the upper level of the team."
Matt gives plenty of credit to Monmouth University for allowing his to not only call the Hawks games but to create sports broadcasting classes as a specialist professor.
"I decided I could go back to the school and give back. I started my adjunct faculty career in 1999. So this is my 25th year of being a faculty member at Monmouth, fortunately for me the last half of those years as full-time. I have been able to develop a lot of classes around sports. What better teaching ground is where so many worlds can intersect in the sports world whether it's political, religious, science, the competition side of things and the sociology and the psychology aspects. It's fun to be involved in the industry but from a teaching perspective there's so many things we can learn from in the sports world."
Matt has been able to find the balance in his life to be a broadcaster, professor and restaurant-bar co-owner and still be a good husband and father of three.
"My wonderful wife Megan has been supportive of everything I do from a travel and work perspective and sometimes it's a lot. That balance starts within the walls of your house."
For two decades Matt Harmon and Kevin Williams called the action for Ocean and Monmouth County sports as part of the Shore Sports Network. Williams, a recent guest on SportsJam, recently retired from radio. Harmon says he learned so much from Kevin over the years.
"He never made the broadcast about himself. If you're making the game about you, then you're not there for the right reasons. I definitely learned that from Kevin. He's an icon."
You can SEE the entire SportsJam interview with Matt Harmon here.
