(February 11, 2016) After consecutive winters without landing a baseball play-by-play job, Robert Ambrose realized he needed to make changes. Those changes have led him to his new position as Broadcasting and Media Relations Manager for the North Adams SteepleCats.
The SteepleCats are a summer collegiate baseball team in North Adams, MA. Ambrose replaces fellow STAA member Jake Levy who has accepted a broadcasting and media position with the Houston Astros Class-A affiliate in Quad Cities.
As a student at California Lutheran University, Ambrose broadcast the school’s baseball games online. He thought that would be sufficient to land a broadcasting job in minor league baseball. It wasn’t. After spending consecutive summers in off-air positions with the Birmingham Barons and Reno Aces, Ambrose realized he also had to market his writing skills.
“The biggest change that I made was to add some mock writing samples to my STAA Talent Page,” says Ambrose. “The samples included a press release, a game recap, and game notes.
“Many teams want their broadcaster to be able to do media relations in addition to their broadcasting duties. When I added my samples, I not only was able to show teams more of what I could do, but it was also great practice.”
A second change Ambrose made in his job market approach was to cast a wider net. “In past years, I was only looking at jobs with affiliated minor league teams. This year I also looked at college summer league and independent league teams and it paid off.”
Ambrose says the number one thing he has learned in the sportscasting job market is persistence.
“You cannot let a rejection discourage you from continuing to apply for jobs,” he advises. “It is just like sales in that sense. While you continue to apply for jobs, it is also important to focus on improving your approach. If you apply with the same resume and portfolio as before, you will get the same result every time. It also helps to cast a very wide net. If you limit yourself to one specific kind of play-by-play job, then you are putting all your eggs in one basket and are doing yourself a disservice.”
Ambrose has been an STAA member since 2013. “I couldn’t be more grateful for everything STAA has done for me,” he says. “Jon Chelesnik has taught me how to improve my portfolio and has guided me through every step. He has also given me guidance on how to format my resume and a better perspective on what employers are looking for in a play-by-play applicant.
“I look forward to continuing to use STAA’s services while I continue to become a better broadcaster.”
(Visit Robert’s STAA Talent Page).