Coming into college, I was not exactly sure what I wanted to do with my life. I entered my first semester as a communications major, mostly because that’s what other people told me I should do.
Sports were always a huge part of my life and were honestly just about the only thing I was ever really passionate about. I was always the kid who knew all the players and stats, watched every game and read every book and article about my favorite teams I could get to. As I entered college, I thought that maybe I could use a communications degree to get a job in sports, although I never really knew exactly what I wanted to do.
November of that first semester rolls around and I’m scrolling on Twitter one day. I see a tweet pop up on my feed. A Philly sports-based website was looking for more writers for their site. I was always a pretty good writer and figured I might want to give it a shot. I gave the owner a direct message. We talked for a bit about my interests and what I could bring to the site. He decided to give an 18-year-old kid with no real sportswriting experience a shot. Little did I know, that Twitter interaction would be one of the more important moments of my life to date.
I started writing articles about Philly sports. I did podcast appearances, talking about what I thought about current events in sports. Slowly but surely, I started to gain a little bit of traction on Twitter as well. According to the University of Florida, 54 percent of all journalists use Twitter regularly, so I figured it was a good place to share my ideas and work.
Although I wasn’t great at first, I started to figure the whole sports media thing out a little bit as I kept going.
I soon got the opportunity to cover actual professional games in person. I got my first shot covering G-League basketball. The G-League is the basketball’s version of a minor league, with players being professionals but still fighting for their shot at the NBA.
I was able to interview Sixers players like Shake Milton while on G-League assignment. The unique opportunity to cover these games was amazing for me. It was real, hands-on learning about both the sports media industry and myself as a reporter and writer.
My next step was being able to cover Minor League baseball throughout the 2019 season. I was on the beat for the Double-A affiliate of the Phillies, the Reading Fightin Phils. Here I was able to cover and interview many top prospects and injured players on rehab assignment like Scott Kingery. Covering games in Reading helped me realize a lot about the direction I wanted to take for my career in sports media. I realized that baseball needed to be my sole focus and what I enjoyed doing most.
As of recently, I have joined another website that is a Phillies/baseball focused outlet. In the year or so I have been writing, I have learned a lot about myself. It is super fulfilling to write about the sport I am passionate about and to have people be interested in the words I put out. It is crazy to me that I have an influence on how certain people take think about and experience their favorite teams.
According to the Global Sports Media Consumption Report of 2014, 57 percent of online fans read sports news online. The current age of journalism, especially sports journalism, is so internet heavy. To some, this is a bad thing. To me, this is one of the greatest things to happen.
The internet and online sports websites gave me the platform to do what I love. I was given the opportunity to have my own voice in the sports world. I was able to figure out what I want to do with my life, and to go pursue that goal as well.
Sports media is something that I wish to do for the rest of my life. I want this to be my career. It has given me so much in the short time I have been a part of it. I am glad that I stumbled upon it that first semester of my freshman year, and that I allowed it to give me more direction in my life.
Scott Kingery discussing playing multiple positions, his role on the Phillies, and how he prepares depending on his spot in the field.
@PFOPhillies @PFOBlue @ScottyJetp4x pic.twitter.com/AmkTG39YH3
— Ty Daubert (@TyDaubert) May 17, 2019
