Northwood’s PA announcer sings the National Anthem and calls the football and basketball games

Zach Halop performs many duties on campus at Northwood High.

Northwood High teacher Zach Halop wants to prove that, “no chasm exists between fine arts and sports.”

He points to the gymnasium wall at Northwood where championship banners are displayed.

“There’s a CIF championship in girls golf, we got that the same year we won a Grammy award,” he said. “You can do both at the same time at a high level and kids just do it. They get it. I discount anybody who says you can’t do both.”

Halop has been able to mix the two quite well. The Irvine resident is the vocal music director on campus, has been the girls and boys golf coach and he’s also the public address announcer at Northwood football and basketball games.

He’s been the voice of the Timberwolves for at least 10 years, informing and entertaining fans in the stadium and in the gymnasium.

“It’s something I’ve always done,” he said. “My dad announced baseball games. They asked me to do it and I said, ‘sure.'”

Halop, a professional singer, also sings the National Anthem at basketball games and he’s also sung it at football games.

“That’s a perk, I guess,” he said. “The truth is, I’ve tried to get my kids do it because I’ve sung the National Anthem a few times and I would love the kids to get that experience of singing for the student body and the parents and get them some exposure, because we certainly have some kids good enough to do it.

“That’s why you should also tap the choral music director to be the announcer because that way you got a ringer.”

Halop believes that teachers should get involved in activities on campus.

“When I’m done teaching here, I would love it if the next person that comes in is also a teacher and gets involves in the lives of the students,” he said.

“For me, that’s really important to be a teacher and be involved in sports and fine arts and the student body. It’s something I’m really passionate about.”

Halop has also done very well as a coach, leading the girls golf team to a CIF title in 2011. He now just coaches the girls golf team because his spring is filled up with responsibilities for the choral department.

“We won nine league championships and seven in a row,” he said. “The girls golf in the Pacific Coast League is extraordinarily strong. All the teams have really solid players.”

Halop said he still enjoys golfing and he still sings.

“I was a pretty good amateur at one point,” he said. “I had dreams of going pro but that would have meant I couldn’t make music, and I love music more than golf. I still love golf an awful lot.

“I still sing when I can. I sing in the Masters Singers USA which is a national men’s ensemble and we travel the world.”

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com