23 Players to Participate in Sixth Annual Broadcast Boot Camp

By Samantha Kleinman
Coordinator of Player Engagement

Player Engagement’s popular Broadcast Boot Camp will enter its sixth year when 23 current and former players descend on NFL Films headquarters in Mt. Laurel, NJ. The program, taking place on June 18^th – 21^st, will provide participants with an inside look at the broadcasting industry, mentoring from some of the top professionals in the industry, and the training needed to start – or, in some cases, continue – their broadcasting careers.

20 of the participants will be attending Boot Camp for the first time. Selected from a pool of over 100 applicants, they will gain experience in studio analysis, radio broadcasting, field reporting, and play-by-play and color commentary. As current and former professional athletes, the participants know the importance of “reps,” and they will get just that at the Boot Camp. The long days – training runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day – allow the players to get plenty of practice in all of the broadcast disciplines covered and to build lasting relationships with the broadcasting talent and network executives, such as NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, CBS Sports’ James Brown, and ESPN’s Gerry Matalon. The participants come into the program with varying degrees of experience – some, such as David Anderson (Washington Redskins) and Brady Poppinga (St. Louis Rams) have hosted local radio shows in their team cities; while others, such as Troy Brown (former New England Patriot) and Kris Jenkins (former New York Jet and Carolina Panther) already hold full-time broadcasting jobs, at Comcast Sports Net New England/WEEI Radio and SportsNet New York/CBS/Showtime, respectively. However, by the end of the week everyone leaves with a better understanding of which broadcasting area they’re best suited for, increased comfort in front of the camera, and a demo reel documenting all of their hard work.

In addition to the 20 new participants, for the first time this year we have invited three past Boot Camp graduates – Adam Archuleta (2010 Broadcast Boot Camp class), John Fina (2011 Broadcast Boot Camp class), and Micheal Young (2010 Broadcast Boot Camp class) – to return for advanced training. “Boot Camp Advanced” will provide Adam, John, and Micheal with one-one-one training with faculty members. They will receive extensive training in speech and vocal techniques, the intricacies of a production meeting, studio analysis, and play-by-play calling. The advanced curriculum is designed to help Adam, John, and Micheal further progress in their chosen areas of broadcasting, which they have already made great strides in since their first time attending Broadcast Boot Camp.

Player Engagement congratulates the 2012 Broadcast Boot Camp class and looks forward to another successful program!

2012 Broadcast Boot Camp Class

 *Denotes “advanced” participant