(January 26, 2011) Lance Cartelli is hoping to cram one year’s worth of development into five weeks. An STAA client, Cartelli has been hired as Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the Arizona Winter League.

The AWL is comprised of players from four different independent leagues. They play their games in Yuma, AZ and the season runs throughout the month of February. There are ten teams, five games per day and two broadcasts most every day. Cartelli will be broadcasting all of those games online.

“The AWL is only for about five weeks but I will get a year’s worth of experience in those coming weeks and it will hopefully lead to another position in broadcasting,” says Cartelli.

Cartelli is a former student in the sports broadcasting class taught by STAA CEO Jon Chelesnik at Palomar College in San Diego. He is also the second straight STAA client to broadcast AWL games. Last winter, Dan Hawkins parlayed the opportunity into a Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations job with the Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League.

The AWL opportunity came to Cartelli through the help of a friend and fellow STAA client Josh Feldman. The pair met 18 months ago when Feldman was Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the Orange County Flyers. Feldman called STAA for recommendations for an assistant and ended up hiring Cartelli. This winter, Feldman has moved on to the Kannapolis Intimidators (A) and the Flyers have suspended operations. However, Feldman called a friend at the AWL on behalf of Cartelli and recommended him for the position. Cartelli emailed the link to his STAA Talent Page to the league and eventually landed the job.

“I want to thank STAA for all the help and support and fellow STAA client Josh Feldman for recommending me for the position,” says Cartelli.

“I learned how to do play-by-play with the Flyers last year. This experience will let me be a No. 1 broadcaster and help me figure out everything it takes, including games notes and media notes. It’s going to a great experience for me.”

(January 20, 2011) At a point in his job search where many hopefuls give-in, Aaron Cox gave more. Now, his persistence has been rewarded. An STAA client, Cox has been named Play-by-Play and Media Relations Director for the Idaho Falls Chukars.

The Chukars are the rookie affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Cox spent last summer broadcasting wood bat college baseball in Chillicothe, MO.

“When you’re in affiliated ball, it’s a step up,” Cox says. “What I’m looking forward to most is the big road trips. We had big trips in Chillicothe but we didn’t stay on the road. With Idaho Falls we’ll be staying on the road for extended periods of time.”

Cox will also get some valuable sales experience with the Chukars.

Getting the Chukars job didn’t come easily for Cox. In fact, there was a time last fall where he considered giving up his sportscasting dream. Fortunately, those thoughts were short lived.

“Some of it comes down to the fact that I know this is what I want to do,” Cox says. “I have zero doubt. All the other options [of leaving the industry] felt like I would be quitting. If I bailed on this now, I would have been really upset at not giving this a chance.”

“I give Aaron and guys like him a ton of credit,” says STAA CEO Jon Chelesnik. “Most everyone who has ever been in the job market has reached a point of frustration where they wonder if taking the next step is ever going to happen. The fact is the guys who make it to the very top aren’t necessarily more talented than everyone else; they just persevered through the tough times.”

Cox learned through the STAA website that Idaho Falls had posted its job opening at the Winter Meetings. He wasn’t able to be in Orlando, but when the meetings finished, Cox called the Chukars. “They told me they were getting ready to start reviewing applicants but said if I could get my stuff to them in the next day or so I would be fine, so I sent the link to my STAA Talent Page.”

“That’s when the online version of my demo and resume is so much more helpful,” he adds.

Cox has also leaned heavily upon STAA, especially when things got most frustrating.

“Besides the Talent Page which is an obvious benefit [of being an STAA client], having somebody like Jon Chelesnik in my corner is huge. I’ve called him with the silliest of questions but he never makes it feel like a stupid question. I don’t know what I’m doing with some of this stuff. It’s extremely encouraging when I have someone I can call and whose opinion I trust. It’s like having a pseudo agent without having to pay a commission. [Sportscasting] is such a unique profession. You can’t just get advice from family and friends.

(January 18, 2011) Chad Cooper is excited to live in his permanent home year around. An STAA client, Cooper has been named Broadcaster & Director of Media Relations for the Pittsfield Colonials baseball club of the Can-Am League. Pittsfield is located less than an hour’s drive from Cooper’s home in Albany, NY, and to his winter job as play-by-play voice for the women’s basketball team at the College of Saint Rose. “I can honestly say I’m commuting to work every day,” Cooper smiles. “The stress of not having to move more than makes up for the commute.” Geographic location isn’t the only thing appealing to Cooper about his new job. A veteran of the Frontier League who spent last summer in his second stint with the Traverse City Beach Bums, he is also excited to working in a new league. “I have felt very at home in the Frontier League for the majority of my career, but at the same time, it s a great opportunity for me to be in a league that is more geographically compact in an area of the country I am so familiar with.” Cooper learned of the Pittsfield opportunity through a friend, Mike Radomski, who Cooper once helped land a job in the Frontier League. Cooper sent the link to his STAA Talent Page to Pittsfield shortly before Thanksgiving. “The Talent Page is the easiest way to get [employers] my highlights and the resume,” Cooper says. “Getting the call from Mike was kind of a case of pay it forward a little bit because he had just graduated last spring and I helped him get a job for the 2010 season. I guess this was his way of returning the favor. “I wouldn’t have been in a position to help somebody else had it not been for the help I had received from STAA in the first place. It all goes back to my relationship, which started in 2005 with STAA. If not for that, I would not be in the position I am today to be here right now.” Through his career, Cooper has broadcast in over 60 venues in 21 sates. “I can now add one venue and one country to the list because the Can Am League has a team in Quebec City,” Cooper grins.

(January 4, 2011) Many folks might balk at moving from the San Francisco Bay area to small town Kansas, but Tim Slack is embracing it. An STAA client, Slack is joining KIUL Radio in Garden City as a sports broadcaster and marketing consultant.

“Obviously its different but I’m excited,” says Slack. “One thing that is appealing about the job is the fact it’s something different that I haven’t done before. I’ve known since I graduated college last year that I was likely going to move to a town that was vastly different than anywhere I’ve lived before. Part of the excitement of the career for me is getting to see parts of the country that are different from where I grew up.”

A 2009 graduate of Biola University in La Mirada, CA, Slack has spent the past year doing high school sports play-by-play for iBN, a national Internet broadcasting company. In Garden City, Slack will be broadcasting high school football, basketball, baseball and volleyball. He will also be heavily involved in sales, something else he is embracing.

“I went to school for journalism, so all my experience is in broadcasting and my lack of sales experience has been a big thing,” says Slack. “The experience I’ll gain in this job is something I need to balance out my resume.

“To have someone like [Station Manager] Rick Everett mentor me is something that is very appealing,” Slack adds.

Slack appreciates the boost STAA has given to his career.

“I don’t think it is a coincidence that I was looking for a broadcasting gig for almost nine months without STAA, then found the full-time job I needed just two months after [STAA] re-did my resume and put up the talent page,” says Slack.

“STAA was a big help.”

(Visit Tim’s STAA Talent Page).