The PXPU Podcast with Tony Castricone: from Play by Play University

Today’s tape comes in from Gabe Genovesi, a broadcaster and network coordinator at Learfield. Give him a follow on X at @GabeGeno13 and leave a comment with your thoughts in the comments section!

Some basic critique etiquette:

* No fluffy false positives. When you say something positive, it must be sincere. Positive feedback implies that the announcer would be well served to replicate that performance as consistently as possible in the future.

* All criticism should be constructive. When something sounds like it misses the mark, the point is not to demean, but to identify areas for improvement and demonstrate ways to implement positive change.

* Critiques should aim at helping people identify ways to take the next step in their development. It makes no sense to compare a novice to national network announcers who are decades further along in their career.

* Be respectful. Make sure the statements you offer check all three boxes: is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?

We are now taking submissions for our next critique! Send an email to [email protected] with the subject “Critique” and include a link to 5-10 minutes of audio or video, and you might be next on Tell the Truth Tuesday. We will choose from subscribers first, so make sure you click the button below to get more content like this delivered straight to your inbox.

Reminder: our first Office Hours session of the year takes place on Monday, November 18 at 4:30 pm PT/7:30 pm ET. If you’d like to join me for an intimate group Zoom call where we talk all things play-by-play, subscribe at the Office Hours level by clicking the Subscribe button below.

You spend hours during the week preparing information for your broadcast, digging up perfect nuggets and compelling storylines. Then the game gets exciting, adrenaline takes over, and suddenly you realize you forgot to mention that perfect stat that would have captured the moment beautifully. While it's natural that you might only use 5% of your preparation – after all, you're preparing for any possible scenario – you don't want that other 95% to go to waste simply because you couldn't remember it at the right moment. You worked too hard for that.

Note: this will be our final podcast guest interview until after the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s a busy time of year for everyone, but especially so for those in the college sports space who have football and basketball crossing over at this time. We will resume with our normal podcast interviews in December.

On today’s episode, we talk to Joey McMurry, voice of Oregon Ducks men’s basketball about the following:

* (04:22) Career path began after injuring his arm in high school, ending his athletic pursuits

* (05:15) Secured internship at KSEO radio in Santa Cruz through a teacher's connection

* (06:11) Received prophetic advice from "Engineer Bill" about catching the broadcasting bug and career challenges

* (08:12) Details journey to University of Oregon and early career development

* (09:37) Started gaining experience at student radio station KWVA, calling multiple sports

* (10:23) Landed football sideline reporter role under coach Mark Helfrich, becoming youngest FBS reporter

* (19:33) Discusses evolution of modern broadcasting requirements:

* (20:15) Emphasizes need for broadcasters to master multiple technical and creative skills

* (20:55) Explains importance of being versatile in today's media landscape

* (22:17) Balances value of hands-on experience with formal education in broadcasting

* (29:20) Shares key play-by-play insights developed over career:

* (30:34) Discusses importance of managing emotional levels throughout different points in season

* (31:58) Explains how context should influence the intensity of game calls

* (32:51) Shares voice care techniques, including preference for honey lemon and green tea

* (33:57) Details importance of building authentic connections:

* (34:57) Emphasizes value of learning team history and tradition

* (36:11) Describes impact of building genuine relationships with coaches and players

* (37:36) Explains importance of understanding and connecting with the fan base

* (46:35) Provides insights on solo broadcasting:

* (46:51) Announces Luke Jackson joining as first-ever analyst for Oregon home games

* (47:25) Details challenges of calling games alone, including voice preservation

* (48:57) Offers comprehensive tips for solo broadcasting:

* (49:26) Emphasizes maintaining focus on time and score as primary responsibility

* (49:27) Stresses importance of tracking statistics independently

* (50:26) Advises keeping play calls simple and focused on ball location

* (51:31) Warns against trying to over-analyze while calling play-by-play alone

Reminder: Our first Office Hours session is coming up on Monday, November 18 for 60 minutes starting at 4:30 pm PT/7:30 pm ET. To be a part of our group Zoom calls for Office Hours, subscribe at the Office Hours level by clicking the button below.

Making In-Person Professional Connections

Let me continue our discussion about building your professional network. Think of your network like an egg: few mentors at the top, many peers in the middle, and a handful of people you help bring along at the bottom. At PlayByPlayU, I'm trying to reshape this into more of a triangle, making my experience and knowledge accessible to as many as I can through this website. But there's still always going to be a fairly low limit to how many close, personal mentoring relationships any one person can maintain.

Last week we covered best practices for reaching out to industry contact with cold emails. Today, I want to focus on another approach: the cold in-person introduction. As someone who's experienced hundreds of these encounters – some evolving into genuine friendships, others making me dread seeing that person again – I want to share what works and what doesn't when approaching broadcasters at events.

Reminder: our first Office Hours session of the year takes place on Monday, November 18 at 4:30 pm PT/7:30 pm ET. If you’d like to join me for an intimate group Zoom call where we talk all things play-by-play, subscribe at the Office Hours level by clicking the Subscribe button below.

Today’s tape comes in from Mick Tidrow, the voice of the Ball State Cardinals. Give him a follow on X at @MickTidrow and leave a comment with your thoughts in the comments section!

Some basic critique etiquette:

* No fluffy false positives. When you say something positive, it must be sincere. Positive feedback implies that the announcer would be well served to replicate that performance as consistently as possible in the future.

* All criticism should be constructive. When something sounds like it misses the mark, the point is not to demean, but to identify areas for improvement and demonstrate ways to implement positive change.

* Critiques should aim at helping people identify ways to take the next step in their development. It makes no sense to compare a novice to national network announcers who are decades further along in their career.

* Be respectful. Make sure the statements you offer check all three boxes: is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?

We are now taking submissions for our next critique! Send an email to [email protected] with the subject “Critique” and include a link to 5-10 minutes of audio or video, and you might be next on Tell the Truth Tuesday. We will choose from subscribers first, so make sure you click the button below to get more content like this delivered straight to your inbox.

Remember, our first Office Hours session with a group Zoom call will be coming up on Monday, November 18 at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT. If you’d like to connect with me and other broadcasters once a month on Zoom, upgrade your subscription to the Office Hours level by clicking the button below.

The Art of Spotting: Your Gateway to the Broadcasting Booth

I want to focus on something specific to football broadcasting: the art of spotting. While statisticians help with basketball and baseball, football uniquely requires someone to quickly spot what's happening on the field. (Soccer and hockey might use spotters too, but I can't speak to that since I haven't called either professionally.)

There’s two reasons it’s important to talk about using a spotter for our purposes of making the most out of a broadcast:

This week’s podcast is with Big Ten Network host/reporter Ashley Adamson, who has won three Emmy Awards in her coverage of college sports.

Ashley is an experienced sideline reporter, game host and storyteller, and her ability to connect with sources and dig up great insight to relay to her audience makes her one of the best reporters I’ve come across in my time calling games.

In this episode:

* Ashley describes her roles: studio host, sideline reporter, feature producer (02:05)

* Early career challenge: entry-level jobs requiring experience (04:39)

* Starting salary realities in broadcasting (05:02)

* Importance of taking lower-paying jobs to start (05:49)

* Missing social events early in career due to work schedule (07:20)

* Value of learning at lower levels (08:52)

* Dealing with jealousy of others' early success (10:20)

* Everyone's path in broadcasting is unique (13:01)

* Broadcasting career isn't linear like other professions (14:03)

* Key story: Wrong demo reel leads to first sports job (16:56)

* Importance of putting yourself out there (18:32)

* Value of serendipitous moments in career (19:34)

* Building peer relationships vs seeking mentors (30:57)

* Special challenges for women in sports broadcasting (33:56)

* Making connections with athletes' families (37:57)

* Tips for remembering personal details about sources (36:28)

* Importance of proper name pronunciation (40:02)

* Peyton Manning's media relations approach (42:15)

* Storytelling in limited time frames (49:01)

* Preparing multiple stories but rarely using them all (50:18)

* Strategy for fitting stories into broadcasts (54:36)

* Origin of "Your Mom" podcast during COVID (57:51)

* Creating content that's yours, not employer's (58:43)

* Balancing podcast and work with family life (01:02:02)

* Value of trying new things without perfectionism (01:02:02)

* Legacy aspect of creating content (01:06:01)

I want to talk about the art of cold email, cold call, and cold reach out – particularly for those trying to make connections early in their careers. Recently, someone reached out to me, and while I believe they meant well, I was unsure why they contacted me. When we got on the phone, the conversation's direction wasn't clear, and it happened during an …

We got another strong submission for Tell the Truth Tuesday this week. Jonah Krell subscribed to the website and submitted some basketball highlights and a demo of last March’s Pac-12 Tournament championship game.

This is really good tape, Jonah! I appreciate you sending this in and your submission. Leave Jonah a comment and give some feedback in the comments section below!

Some basic critique etiquette:

* No fluffy false positives. When you say something positive, it must be sincere. Positive feedback implies that the announcer would be well served to replicate that performance as consistently as possible in the future.

* All criticism should be constructive. When something sounds like it misses the mark, the point is not to demean, but to identify areas for improvement and demonstrate ways to implement positive change.

* Critiques should aim at helping people identify ways to take the next step in their development. It makes no sense to compare a novice to national network announcers who are decades further along in their career.

* Be respectful. Make sure the statements you offer check all three boxes: is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?

We are now taking submissions for our next critique! Send an email to [email protected] with the subject “Critique” and include a link to 5-10 minutes of audio or video, and you might be next on Tell the Truth Tuesday. We will choose from subscribers first, so make sure you click the button below to get more content like this delivered straight to your inbox.

Our first Office Hours session for folks subscribing at that level will be coming up on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18 at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT. This gives anyone the opportunity to meet me and others via Zoom and participate in an intimate, 60-minute conversation about making a career out of play-by-play. To upgrade your subscription to the Office Hours tier, just click the subscribe button below.

Now, on to today’s Monday Mailbag…

Vance writes in with a question about how to make a demo and get it out there after calling his first couple of college football games. Click the video above to listen to our full answer, or leave a question or comment in the comments section below!