(April 16, 2013) Matt Nelson left baseball’s 2013 Winter Meetings frustrated, but the challenges he experienced helped lead him to his next job. An STAA client, Nelson is joining ESPN Radio in Williamsport, PA and minor league baseball’s Williamsport Crosscutters as a Broadcaster/Account Executive.
In addition to being the No.2 Radio Broadcaster for the Crosscutters (Phillies Class-A short season) and the lead writer for Crosscutters.com, Nelson will work in media relations and sales for the team, and broadcast games for Wilkes University on the ESPN Radio affiliate in Williamsport. “Plus,” he adds excitedly, “I’ll get to live in the home of the Little League World Series!
A trip to the baseball Winter Meetings in Nashville last December proved helpful to Nelson, even though he didn’t land a job there.
“I learned more about, not just working in minor league baseball, but working in professional sports as well,” says Nelson. “I feel as though I made some mistakes in my interviews when I spoke to three MiLB teams. I learned from those mistakes and it made me feel more confident about other interviews I had after the Winter Meetings.”
The Williamsport opportunity came after Nelson cold-contacted the Crosscutters.
“In late February, I sent an email to the team because there wasn’t an opening posted for a broadcasting/media relations position on any website. One week later, Todd Bartley, the GM of ESPN Williamsport told me about what the team could offer me. On March 22, I took a 3 1/2 hour drive from my hometown of East Windsor, NJ to Williamsport to meet with Todd and a representative from the Crosscutters at Bowman Field. They told me more about what they can offer me and on March 25, I said yes.
“I have never been this happy in my life and I can’t wait to start my career. Since graduating from Rowan University in Southern New Jersey, I have been applying non-stop to almost every play-by-play broadcasting position that has been posted on STAA. Thanks to [STAA], my resume looks better and the audio demo reels sound better.”
Nelson has been an STAA client since May 2012. “I came across the [STAA] website and I can’t remember a day when I wasn’t on the website, so I certainly appreciate the services.
“This is a great opportunity for me,” says Nelson. “I went to community college to learn about broadcasting and I got a better grip for the broadcasting field while I was at Rowan. The opportunities I had with the television and radio stations at college and the courses have prepared me for the start of a new beginning!”
(Visit Matt’s STAA Talent Page).