When COVID-19 prompted the cancellation of sports, athletes didn’t stop training. They didn’t stop trying to improve themselves. You should take the same attitude with your sports broadcasting career.
Here are six ways to improve your career while sidelined.
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Two people I especially admire are Oprah Winfrey and former Philadelphia Eagle turned magician, Jon Dorenbos. I love the two because they both exude joy and gratitude.
Feeling gratitude is critical to feeling joy. Here’s why: it’s impossible to experience negative emotions like frustration, disappointment, or anger when you’re feeling gratitude.
Here are a few things you can do to feel grateful while waiting for the games – and your sportscasting career – to resume.
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The San Diego Chargers had a player in the 1990s named Darren Carrington. His locker room nickname was Prison Body because he was so ripped and had washboard abs. He looked like he’d been in prison where he’d had nothing to do except work out.
He looked a lot like me.
Well, maybe not.
While I can’t promise you washboard abs, I can share ways for you to strengthen your career by wisely investing the extra time we all have on our hands right now.
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When STAA hosted our annual One-Day Ticket to Sportscasting Success seminars, I would hear from attendees who would leave fired up and optimistic about their careers. They would hang on to that inspiration for several days, but their excitement and enthusiasm would eventually wane. That’s because – you’ve heard me say this time and again – motivation is like bathing: you have to seek it every day because it wears off.
Here are some ways to seek daily motivation and inspiration.
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My late twenties was a frustrating time in my sports broadcasting career. I wasn’t getting the opportunities I felt I deserved, and it started to affect me mentally.
One Friday night my dad and I went to a high school football game. I hadn’t shaved for a day or two, and I did not look great. Dad didn’t mention my unkempt appearance, and he even took me out to dinner after the game. (Looking back on it, I appreciate my dad’s patience during that time.)
I wish I would have known some coping mechanisms to get me through that season of frustration.
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Sportscasters experiencing frustration in the job market may wonder if a master’s degree from a broadcast journalism school could get them closer to a network-level play-by-play opportunity.
There are two benefits of getting a master’s degree from a broadcast journalism school.
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An aspiring sportscaster living in Los Angeles saw an opening for a sports talk radio producer in South Carolina. He badly wanted the job in order to get his foot in the industry. Instead of mailing or emailing his resumé to the employer, he hopped on a plane and hand-delivered it. They were so impressed with his gumption that he got the job.
That aspiring sportscaster was Jonas Knox, who ended up being a sports talk host with Fox Sports Radio Network.
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Looking to advance your sports talk radio career when sports resume?
Former ESPN Radio Network Programmer Scott Masteller shared eight suggestions for accelerating the process at an STAA One Day Ticket to Sportscasting Success seminar.
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It’s fun when employers share crummy cover letters with me.
I’m sharing two examples of dumb things sportscasting job applicants have written in their cover letters – and why you want to avoid making similar mistakes.
When I was the play-by-play voice for the old Anaheim Piranhas of the Arena Football League, I had a conversation with my dad. He said, “Jon, I listened to your broadcast last night.”
I prepared myself for a bunch of compliments and superlatives.
Instead, Pop blindsided me.
He said, “You scream on your touchdown calls.”
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