Two years into my first job in McPherson, Kansas, the play-by-play gig at the University of Kentucky opened. Cawood Ledford had passed away. I naively thought I could go from doing McPherson High School games to the Kentucky Wildcats.
I must have spent 20 hours trying to find the best stuff for my demo.
Stupid.
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Now that the puck has been dropped on the new hockey season, here are some helpful hints for hockey voices from veteran broadcaster Matt Dumouchelle.
Thank you, Matt!
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This post is prompted by an e-mail I received from someone who said he’s running out of perseverance and belief in himself. He writes, “That feeling when you get rejected by a cute girl is the same feeling I’ve got over and over the past four or five years when I miss out on job opportunities.”
As the message continued, it included such phrases as, “Gut wrenching pain. Starting to fatigue. I feel it in the pit of my stomach. Running out of perseverance and belief in myself. I just feel lost.”
He finished by saying, “I’m sorry to sound so defeated, I’ve just been at this for a long time now and I can see no end in sight.”
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Do you bathe regularly?
Of course!
You bathe regularly because you need to.
There are also several things you should be doing regularly to help your sports broadcasting career.
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When I hosted on ESPN Radio from 1999 through 2003, there was a rule that TV talent had to make occasional appearances on the radio network. One night, the door to my studio opened shortly after midnight. In shuffled Dan Patrick. It was the end of a long evening for him hosting SportsCenter yet he went out of his way to do a segment with me.
Now, Dan and I are connected again.
Two years ago, Dan started the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting in collaboration with Full Sail University. At STAA, we are proud to announce a relationship with the Dan Patrick School. We are offering STAA services to DPS students and making occasional virtual classroom visits to help prepare them for sports broadcasting success.
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A sportscaster invited me to listen to the demo on his website. He pointed me to a specific basketball play-by-play track he wanted me to listen to. It was one of several on the page.
If you have a single sample you want to be sure an employer reviews, make it the only sample of that genre of sportscasting that you provide.
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Ray Scott and Pat Summerall are among the greatest TV football broadcasters of all-time.
They were masters at talking less.
That’s the first of three keys to great football play-by-play, and for broadcasting any sport on TV:
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A college play-by-play job opened. A broadcaster wanting to apply told me, “I worked with a guy who is close with the hiring manager at the university.” I replied, “That’s awesome! It’s terrific to have an ‘in.'”
Then he dropped the bomb.
“I haven’t been in touch with this guy for a year and a half. Should I still ask for his help?”
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A TV sportscaster in Georgia had a Skype video job interview with an employer for whom he desperately wanted to work.
He blew the interview.
Follow these three tips for Skype job interviews so you don’t make the same mistakes our friend did.
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“Do you have any questions for me?”
Invariably, most job interviews get to the point where the employer asks you that question. The absolute worst response is…
“Nope, I think you pretty much answered everything.”
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