It’s the perfect situation for him to hone his craft for the next two or three years. That’s why I was stunned by the question he asked me after less than one month in the position.

“Where do you think I should be looking for my next job?”

I almost fell out of my chair. I asked for clarification. “You’re less than one month into an awesome job and you’re already thinking about your next opportunity?”

Focus on the job at hand.

If you are focused on where you are going next, you aren’t doing your best in your current job.

There are many ways to advance your sportscasting career – things like building relationships, sending out lots of resumes and attending conferences. However, the best way to get your next job is to do your best in your current opportunity.

The best way to get your next job is by doing your best with your current opportunities.
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When David Price was traded to the Blue Jays in the summer of 2015, he didn’t worry about where he would be pitching in 2016. Instead, he focused on the job at hand. The payoff was a monstrous deal with Boston.

When you consistently do great work, you don’t have to promote yourself for greater opportunities. Others will do it for you and opportunity will find you.

The post There is danger in being too quick to look for your next job appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

As you would imagine, it was the dominant news story that day, and not just in sports. It led all of the national newscasts. My ESPN Radio show was on that night. Hosting it was the hardest thing I ever had to do on the air. I met Pat when he was a student at McPherson College (KS). I was the Voice of the Bulldogs. We played pickup ball together in the Bulldogs gym. Holding it together while discussing the crash, and discussing a friend, in front of a national radio audience was tough. My voice cracked more than once. Even now, I’m getting chills as I pound out these words on my keyboard.

I bring this up because twice in the past month I have had sports broadcasters ask me a very unique yet relevant question.

When a member of the team that you cover has died, how do you address it in your play-by-play broadcast?

In one instance, two members of the local team had died in an auto accident since the end of the previous season. In the other case, a young man passed away from an injury suffered in a game just the week before.

I relied on compassion and common sense to form my reply. It’s the same thing I suggested the broadcasters do on the air.

Here is exactly what I said:

• There is no wrong way to show respect as long as it comes from the heart.
• During your play-by-play broadcast, let circumstances dictate how much air-time you give to the story. As a play-by-play broadcaster, you are a reporter. If a team wears a commemorative patch on their jerseys, report it. If they leave an empty seat on the bench, report it. If the public address announcer requests a moment of silence, report it.
• It is a relevant topic in your pre and post-game interviews. While it can be hard to address, you also can’t act like it didn’t happen.

Rely upon compassion and common sense to deal with sensitive topics on the air.
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I’m sure there are other valuable pieces of advice for such a unique situation. If you have ever had to deal with death on air, I know our STAA community would appreciate you sharing your experience. Please take a moment to post them in the comment section below.

The post How do you address death in your broadcast? appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

Cronin is joining Chat Sports as the on-air host for the company’s Atlanta Falcons channel. He will be based in Chat Sports’ Dallas, TX studios.

The Hoosier alumnus learned of the opportunity through an STAA Job Leads+ email. He joined STAA last fall.

At Indiana, Cronin served as co-sports director for IUSTV Sports. His responsibilities included covering Indiana football and basketball as a beat reporter, hosting a weekly roundtable talk show, and creating a live program dedicated to Hoosiers football.

The opportunity with Chat Sports allows Cronin to continue building on that experience while covering one of the NFL’s most passionate fan bases.

Cronin credits IU with helping prepare him for the opportunity. He posted on LinkedIn, “I can’t thank The Media School at Indiana University enough for all of the opportunities to help make this possible.”

The Carmel, IN native is the latest of countless new college graduates over the years who have turned STAA Job Leads into their first full-time opportunities in sports media.

Just weeks after earning his diploma, Cronin is set to begin covering an NFL team for a national digital sports media company.

See how STAA can help you advance your sportscasting career.

The post Joe Cronin joins Chat Sports as Atlanta Falcons host appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

Upon hearing that, I stopped to ask myself why I chose sportscasting for a career. The answer I have always told people is that I wanted to get paid to go to games.

If I could have been featured in one of Kobe’s documentaries, though, he would have wanted me to go deeper. Why did I want to go to games? Well, because I love the energy and athleticism of sports. I love watching people compete. I love the variety of emotions on display.

Being in the sports environment makes me happy.

That is why I chose sportscasting — not so I could go to games, but because doing so makes me happy.

During my career, I would sometimes lament that my monthly four-digit paycheck started with a one. I wish I had thought to remind myself that the reason I chose sports broadcasting was because it made me happy.

Happiness. You can’t put a price on it.

Did you choose sports broadcasting because it makes you happy? Or is your why something different?

The post Is this also the reason you chose sports broadcasting? appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

“If you let people in, then you allow yourself to be helped.”

The quote resonated with me because I encounter sports broadcasters daily who don’t allow themselves to be helped.

For example, we provide STAA members with detailed guidelines on how to write great resumes and killer cover letters. These same job seekers will ask me for advice when they aren’t hearing back from employers. A quick glance at their letters and resumes makes it clear they have ignored the advice.

The San Diego Union-Tribune once published a story about why people don’t accept advice. One point that it made was about ego. For some people, ego prevents them from accepting advice. They think they are doing everything right and refuse to consider the possibility that they’re not. I know I have been guilty of that many times throughout my life.

One common denominator among leaders in any field is that they are constantly seeking better ways to do things.

They allow themselves to be helped.

The point of the Sports Illustrated article about Shawn Oakman is that he isn’t playing to his potential. Art Briles intimates that Oakman can be an NFL star if he will allow himself to be helped.

If you feel stuck in your sports broadcasting career, maybe Briles’ advice will help you, too.

Here are three actionable steps you can take right now:

1. Identify two or three people who are already in a place where you want to be.
2. Share your challenges with them and ask for advice.
3. Touch base with them periodically and share how you have implemented their advice.

What is the number one challenge in your sports broadcasting career right now? Please share it below or on X using the hashtag #SportscastingChallenges.

The post Put ego aside and do this to boost your career appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

Whenever I hear new team shows, I always remind myself not to make snap judgments. You don’t give birth to an adult. It takes at least a year for a new show to hit its stride.

People mature only with time. So do new shows. Hosts must:

• Get to know each other
• Develop camaraderie
• Learn each other’s way of thinking
• Learn each other’s habits
• Learn each other’s personalities
• Learn how each other reacts in certain situations
• Learn the topics and issues about which each other are passionate
• Learn what pleases, excites and frustrates each other
• Develop bits through trial and error
• Recognize visual cues for when their partner wants to speak

If you start a new team show, know that it isn’t going to be what you want right out of the chute. However, you can speed up the maturation process by spending time with your co-host off the air. The friendship you develop off-air will carry over on-air.

Be patient. Remember, good things come to those who wait.

The post New shows take longer than you think to develop appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

Big mistake.

Interviews are NOT conversations. By definition, interviews are Q&A. They are input/output. You input questions and your guest outputs answers.

If you hold conversations, it gives your guest too much leeway to go whatever direction they want. Usually, it won’t be the direction YOU want. Your guest will often steer clear of subjects that make them uncomfortable.

Another reason that conversations don’t work is because they often involve you making comments instead of asking questions. Guests often won’t reply to comments, which brings the entire interview/conversation to an awkward, grinding halt.

If you want to distinguish yourself as an interviewer, do these four things:

• Be well-prepared
• Have a plan — know what you want from the interview
• Ask open-ended questions
• Be a good listener and ask follow-ups

It’s funny – I wanted to have conversations because I wanted to distinguish myself. However, it was only after I realized the error in that that I was able to set myself apart.

The post This common mistake will sabotage your interviews appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

At 28 years old, McManus announced that he was leaving his sports talk gig at ESPN Radio Syracuse. He told Syracuse.com that he hoped to find a job that allows for a greater balance between his professional and personal life.

“When I was just coming out of school, I thought that if you loved your job, nothing else really mattered,” McManus told the website. “But in the radio industry you often have to move all over the country, and you might not have a permanent home until your 30s or 40s. When I was coming out of school, that sounded OK. At 28, you start to evaluate some of those things.”

Finding where to draw the line between personal and professional fulfillment is a challenge that eventually confronts most sportscasters. Not only is the line in a different place for each individual, but it usually moves as we get older. Things that were important to us when we were younger can become less so as we enter new stages of life, like marriage and family.

One thing that sometimes makes locating the line easier is maturity. Ego often minimizes with age. When ego gets small enough, it makes it easier to find fulfillment, even if our careers aren’t unfolding as we once imagined they would.

The choice Chris McManus made wouldn’t be right for everyone, but it was right for him. Huge props to Chris for having the wisdom to figure out where to draw his line.

If you have found where your line is, what helped you figure it out? If you are looking for your line, where are you getting stuck? I would love your input in the comments below or on X.

The post Where is your line between personal and professional fulfillment? appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

For the most part, the etiquette inside the locker room is the same as on the outside.

1. Don’t go into the trainer’s room. That is totally off-limits to the media.
2. Don’t follow guys to the shower.
3. When guys return from the shower to their locker, either (a) wait for them to acknowledge when it is okay to start asking questions or (b) wait until they have put their pants on.
4. Don’t be “that guy” who never asks questions but instead only takes audio back to the station that came from the questions of others. You’ll gain respect from your peers if you actively participate.
5. Always thank people for their time.

Sports talk hosts – here is another point about the locker room that is particularly relevant to you:

You will gain the respect of the players you cover if, after you have been critical of a guy, you make yourself available in the locker room.

Being critical then hiding inside the press box or radio or TV station is a fast way to lose respect.

The post 5 tips to ensure you are welcome in the locker room appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.

Not in the stands, but in the booth. Next to his dad.

His father, Gerard Wellbrock, is a longtime sportscaster in Hays, KS, respected across the state. Garrett often tagged along as his dad traveled to broadcast games.

“I remember growing up always sitting in the booth or court side for basketball games. And I used to always go with him to the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City and sit court side, as well as the NBC World Series and I would keep a scorebook for the different games that the Hays Larks played in. It’s honestly part of the reason I fell in love with this career.”

Those experiences turned into a path.

Congratulations @gwellbrock04 on your new position at NWKS Radio!
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STAA member Garrett Wellbrock will graduate from Fort Hays State University in May and is set to begin his broadcasting career with NWKS Radio in Colby, KS. He will serve as a sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, co-hosting a daily sports talk show with fellow STAA member Ross Volkmer while also calling high school sports, and potentially Colby Community College.

“It’s a great first job out of college in a good market, and the opportunity to call good competition at the high school level, plus the chance to maybe do college games as well, was a no brainer for me.”

The opportunity came together through STAA. When NWKS Radio’s Chad Jones reached out to STAA for help identifying candidates, STAA owner Jon Chelesnik recommended Wellbrock.

Wellbrock joined STAA in 2025 after learning about it through his dad.

“My dad told me about STAA and that it can lead to jobs like this, especially since I knew I would be looking after college.”

Like many young broadcasters, Wellbrock values both the job leads and the community. He appreciates having access to openings, along with the ability to improve through feedback and learn from how other broadcasters prepare. Seeing how others approach their work, and reading their experiences, has helped shape his own.

Staying close to home mattered, but so did taking a step forward.

“I always wanted to stay close to home. I am a big family guy and my girlfriend is finishing up school at FHSU, so I knew I didn’t want to go too far. But I think it’s really good for me to get out of my comfort zone a little bit and leave Hays.”

Through it all, his father’s influence remains strong.

“My dad has helped me a lot just on what it takes to be very professional and how to thrive in this business. He’s taught me that relationships go a long way and that how you treat people is very important.”

Now, after years of sitting in the booth alongside his dad, Wellbrock will step into one of his own—calling games across western Kansas. Just like the broadcaster he grew up watching.

See how STAA can help you advance your sportscasting career.

The post Wellbrock joins NWKS Radio for sports talk, play-by-play appeared first on Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.