—Radio skills, including professional vocal skills and presentation, show prep skills, station procedures and equipment knowledge, and
—Industry insider contacts who can recommend you for the job
Without these essential elements, program directors or station managers aren’t likely to let you anywhere near a live mic, no matter how talented an athlete you’ve been.
We Do Sportscaster Training … and Only Sportscaster Training
Here at Sportscasters Mentoring Group (SMG), we can help provide the missing elements for your radio success. And we can do it in six months or less, without you having to leave your present team or job, in just a few hours a week.
In fact, we’re exactly the broadcasting training program you need.
Because while other broadcasting schools may include some sportscaster training, along with DJ, news announcing, and other radio specialties in their programs, SMG is the only broadcasting school in the country devoted exclusively to sports broadcasting through one-on-one mentoring.
That bears repeating: SMG is the ONLY broadcasting school in the country devoted exclusively to sports broadcasting through one-on-one mentoring.
One on One: The Best Way to Learn
SMG has other big differences from traditional brick and mortar and online broadcasting schools. We have no classrooms, no set schedules, no classes of 15 or 20 students vying for the attention of one instructor. And no large graduating class all let loose at once to fight over the jobs available.
And you can forget about learning sportscasting exclusively behind a computer and hoping to be hired, since there is no relationship building with influential industry contacts that way.
Remember, it’s not just what you know, but WHO you know – and who knows you – that makes the difference. Who can you possibly meet, and who can possibly get to know you personally while you’re in your home taking a few sportscasting classes on your computer?
Instead, SMG employs a time-honored system of learning called the mentor-apprentice method, in which you learn one-on-one from a working professional, right in the actual workplace.
Here’s How Our Program Works:
–When you apply, you tell us two things: What sportscasting specialty you wish to learn (sports anchor, color analyst, play-by-play announcer, sidelines reporter, talk show host), and the name or call letters of four or five radio stations, right in your local area.
–We then link you up with a working sportscaster at one of these stations. That person becomes your mentor, and you their apprentice. You meet and decide if you want to work together, and if so, your training begins.
–You meet regularly right in the local station. No need to travel or relocate. And on a schedule you set. So there’s no need to take time away from your team, leave a present job, or otherwise change your lifestyle.
–Between meetings, you complete various exercises, including creating your own sports radio show.
–Your mentor reviews your work and makes suggestions for improvement. Over time, your sportscasting skills get better and better.
–At program completion, you receive an SMG diploma certifying you ready for on-air work. SMG, and its sister company, Broadcasters Mentoring Group (BMG), are well respected in the industry, and our certification carries weight. But you’ll almost certainly also carry with you something even more important to help you land that first gig.
You Develop Insider Contacts!
As you train in an actual radio station, the professionals there will watch your progress. If you do well, they’re likely going to want to help advance your career.
Virtually everyone in radio has contacts at other stations, and these folks have contacts of their own. When a job opens anywhere in this wide network, you’re going to hear about it before any outsider. And you’re going to get a recommendation from your mentor or other contacts you’ve made to take to the manager hiring for that job. Your training station might even hire you.
This process works! Industry studies show that nearly two of every three new radio hires happen through contacts.
Because they’re isolated from the day-to-day world of working radio, traditional schools simply cannot build contacts in the same way.
That’s why ESPN host (and SMG mentor) Steve Kaplowitz says, “SMG offers aspiring sportscasters a real opportunity to learn the business and get hands-on training. [My students] would never get this training anywhere else.”
And NBC Sports Radio show host Rob Buska adds, “I wish SMG was around when I was growing up.”
Job Placement for a Lifetime
If you think once you’re trained, SMG will tell you you’re on your own in finding work, think again. We include a comprehensive four part job placement program that can continue for your working lifetime, at no extra cost. Read about it here.
Best Program, Lower Cost
Because few of us have the financial resources of a franchise player, training costs are important. The good news is that SMG programs are extremely reasonable, especially compared to traditional schools. In fact, SMG training can cost $4.000- $8000 less than traditional schools, and up to 20 times less than when they’re part of a college degree program. And financing is available.
Get the Ball Rolling
What’s your next play? Read the rest of this website, and especially the FAQ page, or simply fill out the form below or call BMG/SMG at (818) 879-0858. Either action will get you a free career consultation with one of our counselors. There’s no cost or obligation to do so.
Who better to get the ball rolling than you, a pro athlete? Start turning your love of sports into a lifetime in sports.
