Grow a Sportscasting Career When You’re Not Calling Games
The off-season or unexpected downtime can feel like a broadcaster’s worst nightmare when trying to…
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Handling Criticism in Sports Broadcasting: Stand Firm or Adapt?
As a sports broadcaster, you know that criticism comes with the territory. Whether it’s a…
Small Language Tweaks That Sharpen Your Play-by-Play
As a play-by-play broadcaster, your job is not just to describe a game, but to…
A Viral Moment: Managing the Unexpected in Sportscasting
In the world of sports broadcasting, the unexpected can often become the most memorable. A…
Keeping Listeners Engaged During Blowout Games
It’s the worst-case scenario for any play-by-play announcer: the game you’re calling turns into a…
Sportscaster’s Guide to Quick and Effective In-Game Notes
As a sports broadcaster, you’re tasked with balancing multiple elements during live play—analyzing the action,…
Catchphrases That Enhance (Not Distract From) Your Call
Catchphrases: they’re a staple in sports broadcasting. From “The big fella’s on fire!” to “Boom!…
Calling Off a Monitor: Why Remote Broadcasting Is Here to Stay
Imagine calling a live basketball game from the comfort of your home or studio, miles…
How to Tell Better Stories with Stats
Have you ever found yourself looking at a box score after a game and thinking,…
Voice over editing: one simple trick for your recordings
Whether it’s pre-game intros or scripted reports, we’ve all had to voice over some elements…
How often should you say the time and score?
When everything else is equal…when voice and vocabulary and veracity are all comparable, the ability…
Three tips to protect your sportscasting gear investment
For those lucky enough to own your own equipment, you know it’s an investment. For…
Nicknames and First Names; How to Use Them
Dale Carnegie once wrote, “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”…
Broadcasting different sports: what can you learn?
It’s common wisdom for athletes to cross-train. Seldom to the world’s best focus strictly on…
The challenge of getting ‘in the zone’ on air
Get in the zone. It’s great advice for new sportscasters. Players know it, they know…
Three life hacks for sportscasting road trips
Being a sportscaster and road trips go together like peanut butter and jelly (unpopular and…
How to deal with losing your sportscasting job
Losing your sportscasting job is a horrible feeling. Whether you’re fired, laid off or squeezed…
Three things to tell an aspiring sportscaster
Recently I had the opportunity to speak to a high school class on the nature…
Scripting: When It’s Okay To Read Prepared Text
We work in a business which relies on our skills to swifly describe what we…
Stay in the Moment: Not Getting Ahead of Your Call
In the past decade or so, the idea of instant replay and this notion of…
Tips on Being a Helpful Sportscast Host
At times, being on the road can be rather stressful for a sportscaster. Whether it’s…
What’s your broadcast horror story?
It’s Halloween. A day to celebrate all things scary and spooky. When it comes to…
Social Media Language: We vs Them
Let’s start a debate about social media language. In the past, Sportscaster Life has covered…
Communicating With Your Color Analyst
A little while ago, Alex talked about the differences between broadcasting a game solo versus…
Producer and Play-by-play: When you’re on your own
“… with 12:25 left in the second period, the Fuel lead Kalamazoo 2-1. You’re listening…
Five Non-Broadcasting Friends To Have in Your Corner
Sometimes when networking or building a book of connections, we forget that it’s not only…
Networking: Four examples of why it works
Ask any professional worth their salt and they’ll tell you the number one thing that…
My Pocket Notebook Makes Me a Better Sportscaster
Anyone who’s known me long enough knows that since high school, some 13 years ago,…
10 Tips to Keep Your Equipment In Good Health
For many winter sports broadcasters, the season is right around the corner. As for the…
Broadcast backups for when things go wrong
The single most important thing a broadcaster can do is prepare. You’ll see it all…
Why testing equipment before a game is crucial
The notion of testing equipment is somewhat of a no-brainer for me. You arrive at…
Three Secondary Skills To Aid in Job Security
A while back, we discussed the importance of secondary skills in sportscasting, the notion that…
The Importance of Secondary Skills in Sportscasting
Today we’re back and talking about secondary skills. It’s been over a month since Sportscaster…
Talking with Coaches After Tough Incident
One of the most challenging aspects of sportscasting has to be dealing with coaches. If…
The Five Basic Principles of Sportscasting
I truly love sportscasting. The thrill of being live, the satisfaction of executing a great…
Diary of a Sportscaster: The Last Seven Days
Regular readers on Sportscaster Life may have noticed a bit of a lull through the…
The Best Shortcut to Finding A+ Demo Reel Material
Building a demo reel can be an extremely tedious task. You not only need to…
Calling Games Solo vs With Colour Analyst
There is a huge difference between calling games on your own and having a colour…
Dealing with Bad Injuries On Air
In the light of Gordon Hayward’s ankle injury on national television to essentially open the NBA…
Handling Training Camp as a Sportscaster
Late August and early September mean many hockey, football and basketball teams are holding their…
Prep for a New Season and Four Things to Consider
If you’re like me, August means two things. Hot temperatures with plenty of time in…
Five Ways a Broadcaster Can Kickstart Their Career
Editors Note: This article was submitted to Sportscaster Life by John Vicari, a High School…
Broadcasting Games off a Monitor
A couple of weeks ago I had a unique opportunity. From my home office in…
Three Types of Mentors You Can Benefit From
You might have heard the phrase “self-made man” thrown around from time-to-time. Personally, I have…
Staying “On” During the Off-Season
If you’re a fall/winter sportscaster like me, you may be smack in the middle of…
Five Things Sportscasters are Tired of Hearing
Sportscasting is an amazing job. We get paid to watch sports, witness incredible moments and…
Thank You Coach (A Sportscasters Guide to Coaches)
Growing up we all played for at least one good coach. Good coaches not only…
Five Truths (and One Lie) About Sportscasting
One year ago tomorrow, Sportscaster Life posted an article that would go pseudo-viral among the…
Three Ways to Get Started in Sportscasting
You love watching sports. You love to talk. And a career where you get paid…
How to Call a Pro Wrestling Broadcast
I love pro-wrestling. It’s a guilty pleasure that I truly enjoy for a multitude of…
What It’s REALLY Like to be a Sportscaster
People who want to be a sportscaster as a profession know how tough it is. On…
Five Ways to Promote Yourself When Job Hunting
Job hunting is a bit like high-stakes speed dating. Rushing from interview to interview, trying…
Metko’s Musings: Ten Lessons From Ten Years
Friday marks a pretty significant anniversary for yours truly. On the 20th of January way…
The Star of the Broadcast is Always the Game
It was October of 1993. I was barely a month into my WHL broadcast career…
What broadcast gear is in my travel bag?
My first year covering hockey full time was rough, and in particular my first couple…
My Big Break: Five Reasons Why You Didn’t Get It Yet
When will I get my big break? Sportscasting is a cut throat business. There are…
Three Ways to be a BETTER Broadcaster
There is so much focus and attention given to getting a job in sports broadcasting.…
Metko’s Musings: “Patience Through The Mishaps”
We’re talking patience. If you’re in this industry, and something either before, during or even…
How I Got My Start in Broadcasting
As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a fan of Logan Anderson’s blog, Say the Damn…
Metko’s Musings: More Than Just “A Game”
“The Cubs Win The Pennant”. Granted, Chicago had the best record in their league during…
Travel Survival: Eight Must Haves for Long Road Trips
Travel. It’s part of the job. If the idea of sitting on a bus with…
Metko’s Musings: “Greetings And Salutations One And All”
For the last several years, I’ve placed those words, in that order, in every pre-game…
How to Prep for Games When Info is Unavailable?
This post stems from a conversation I had with fellow hockey broadcaster Jonathan Kliment. Kliment…
Five Must Haves for Purchasing Your Own Gear
Buying your own gear can be a very smart investment in your sportscasting career. While…
Five Myths (and One Fact) About Sports Broadcasting
Do a search on sports broadcasting, and the number one question that pops up EVERYWHERE…
Guest Post: My First Hockey Experience
Hi, I’m Logan Anderson, I’m a sportscaster from South Dakota. Alex has invited me to…
How to Podcast Live Radio for Self Critiques
Getting honest feedback on your work can be one of the toughest things to obtain.…
The Secrets to Surviving Long Bus Rides
I’ve been enjoying reading Logan Anderson’s blog, “Say the Damn Score” over the last few…
The Art of Following Up on a Job
I want to tell a story, about how I got my first real job in…
Trying to Broadcast a New Sport
In the summer of 2011, I had a great opportunity to try something new. Prince…
The BEST Playback System for your Game Audio
ZaraStudio is my favourite, number one, most loved, bestest program on my computer for sportscasting.…
The Anatomy of a Goal Call
Not long ago, I got an email from a colleague in the BCHL asking about…
What to include in your demo reel
Note: I’ve never hired anyone or been in a position to influence hiring for an…
Getting your reps in: Practice Without Games
The more years I’ve called games, the more I’ve come to believe that play-by-play broadcasting…
How to Format Broadcast Segments
My background in this industry, the on-camera side of things at least, is all from…
Purchasing your own Equipment, what to buy?
Purchasing your own equipment is a big investment. In this industry, money is usually at…
Editorial: Building a Demo-Reel
Before I start this article, I should clarify something. I’ve never hired anyone, and thankfully…
Editorial: Handling Bad Officiating
It’s happened to all of us. You’re calling a game, everything is going well, and…
Auto-update team stats from web in Excel
Do you spend hours collecting and transcribing information from team and league websites, into a…
Using VLOOKUP to search stats
Excel can be a powerful tool to help collect and organize information for your broadcasts.…
Zara Studio Radio Automation
ZaraRadio is a radio-automation program, which makes playing commercials and elements during a broadcast extremely…