HAMDEN, Conn. - It's game day for Jared Doyon, but he's not an athlete. He is the public address announcer and voice of the Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena for the Quinnipiac hockey teams. When Doyon arrives to the arena, just like an athlete, he has a routine.

Eric Grgurich , to make sure everything is set for the game. He then makes his ascent up to the press box to go over the line charts, in order to make sure he knows every player's name, so he doesn't mispronounce any of the 30 plus names that are involved in any given hockey game. First, he checks in with Executive Director of the People's United Center,, to make sure everything is set for the game. He then makes his ascent up to the press box to go over the line charts, in order to make sure he knows every player's name, so he doesn't mispronounce any of the 30 plus names that are involved in any given hockey game.

The temperature of the ice and arena slowly warms as 3,000 people begin to fill the arena, and for Doyon, who is approaching his 100th game from his seat high above the ice, this is still routine.

Credit: Liz Flynn

Then, Doyon warms up his voice. Now, just like those hockey players need to stick handle and skate around their side of the ice in order to get ready for a game, as a public address announcer, Doyon needs to warm his voice to do his job. For Doyon, though, getting his voice ready for a game is more difficult than most public address announcers. This is because his voice can be affected by those sudden mental urges that force him to commit actions or say words he never intended to.

Jared Doyon has Tourette's syndrome.

"It's like you have an itch on your face and that itch is going to bother you until you scratch it," Doyon said. "In my mind I get a tick, or a mental itch, and that tick bothers me until I do it, and then it's such an uncomfortable feeling and then it goes away."

These uncomfortable feelings usually bother Doyon when he goes through day-to-day life, but when the arena clock hits 0:00, the teams skate out for introductions and the light of the receiver connected to Doyon's headset turns red, the ticks fade away.

He captivates all 3,000 plus with his signature introduction as he holds onto the "-sity" in Quinnipiac University while the Bobcats skate onto the ice.



When the headset is on, life is easy for Doyon, but it always hasn't been that way. Doyon has overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where he is today. He has had these uncomfortable feelings and ticks for as long as he can remember.

"I was in fifth grade and I started doing these things on the court – banging my head – and that was in fifth grade."

It wasn't until middle school that he was diagnosed with the condition, and his ticks became progressively worse the more he went through school.

"When I was 12 it was not as bad. It got so bad when I was going into high school, through high school, and even after high school up until I was 22," Doyon said. "My ticks were very bad. I could go out in public and people could ask, 'What are you doing?' Why are you making that noise?'"

The ticks and outbursts not only affected Doyon, but it affected his family as well.

"There were nights that I would cry myself to sleep," Laurie Parisi, Doyon's mother, said. "For many years you don't want to admit there is something wrong even though you know that there is."

While the condition and the ticks may have been consistent in his life, so was the sport of hockey. Hockey is one of Doyon's passions and escapes.

"He loved hockey. When he was three he got on skates and never had a lesson," Parisi said.

One of Doyon's favorite teams to watch while growing up was the Hartford Wolfpack, the New York Rangers' AHL affiliate. When he attended games it wasn't just the sights of the skaters that caught his attention, but the sound of the overhead words that introduced the players, and guided the audience through penalties and goals.

"I remember when I was five, I would go to Wolfpack games and hear that voice and say, 'Wow, I want to be that voice,'" Doyon said.

He wanted to be a public address announcer. Now, some people who have a condition like Tourette's might be nervous that their ticks would go off while they were on the mic speaking to a stadium full of people, and it would stop them from chasing this dream.

But not Doyon. He was born for it.

Doyon started pursuing his dream of being a public address announcer on his own. He built a reputation for himself, not letting his condition stop him, and he started to notice something else.

Credit: Liz Flynn

When he was practicing his verbal flow there was a limited amount of ticks, or no ticks at all.

He did public address for the Hartford Yard Goats, a Double-A baseball team for the Colorado Rockies, and continued building on his already strong reputation. He also was able to complete a life goal of his by being a back up public address announcer for his childhood team the Hartford Wolfpack.

He continued to use public address as an escape, just like he used his favorite sport of hockey as one too. Then his two escapes collided when he got the call from Quinnipiac.

Doyon took full advantage of his position as a fill-in. He did so well that they asked him to return, and just like that, Doyon's dream was coming true.

Even though Doyon was getting new job assignments, the condition still stayed with him, but Doyon's case is unique. He almost never slips up when he is on the job. When the mic comes on and it is his time to speak he relaxes and no longer has any ticks.

His electric and undeniably smooth flow is all that comes out of the speakers of the arena, not his ticks.

For some speaking in front of a stadium with up to 3,000 people in attendance, it may make them extremely nervous, but for Doyon it is the opposite.

"It's therapeutic in a way. I can chill out, I know I am doing something I am good at and I just love when that microphone is on," Doyon said. "Whether it is 200 people or 11,000 people, it's pretty sweet and it's all I have ever wanted to do since I was five, so I can't let Tourette's syndrome stop me."

The ticks just disappear. They vanish and never bother him when he is guiding the audience of the hockey games through the player introductions, goals, and penalties.

"What I compared it to, is a blind person," Parisi says. "There are other senses become more aware to them, so for Jared, when he gets behind the mic, that's how I see that. That is his goal in life and that's what he wants, so it fades away. Something else takes over their focus."

Eric Grgurich , couldn't be happier that he made the decision to put trust in Doyon. Doyon has now gained a few years of experience being the voice at Quinnipiac hockey games and the man who hired him,, couldn't be happier that he made the decision to put trust in Doyon.

"He is the voice of the hockey programs right now. He has been doing all of our games and that's the voice that people associate with Quinnipiac men's and women's hockey," Grgurich said. "A great voice a lot of enthusiasm, and a professional public address announcer."

Since Doyon has now built the reputation as the voice of Quinnipiac hockey, he feels a bigger responsibility than just his job. He also feels the responsibility to let others with Tourette's syndrome know that the mental condition doesn't define you.

"It's not my life, I don't let it stop me. I do this, I do my other announcing jobs, it shows that you can do anything. You still can live a life, I go out, I go on dates, I go out with my friends."

Doyon is truly an inspiration to all those with Tourette's syndrome and is defying all odds each and every time he introduces the Quinnipiac University hockey teams, while hanging onto the "-sity" in University. He also is an inspiration to his mother, who's pride for him is limitless each and every time his mic comes on.

"I can't even put that into words," Parisi added. "Immensely, it is overwhelming to me. If I think about it I get tears in my eyes. I am so proud and honored to be his mother and I always tell him that."

Doyon continues to leave his mark on everyone who attends Quinnipiac hockey games with his voice, but from now on he is leaving a mark on all of those who have Tourette's syndrome and can inspire them to chase what they love to do.

"You should not let Tourette's syndrome stop you," Doyon says, "The best thing to say is that I am doing something that I love, and I get to watch hockey. You can't beat that!"