SBC Through The Years
It’s hard to believe that Play-by-Play Sports Broadcasting Camp is going into our 18th summer. It’s been an incredible run!
The original premise of camp back in 2002 was to introduce every camper to as many skill sets (anchoring, play-by-play, sideline reporting, PTI, reading over highlights, hosting shows, interviewing and introducing sportscasting celebrities, doing mock press conferences with athletes and coaches, making sports talk radio shows, etc) as possible. It still is. Over time, we wanted to help every camper live out their dreams of being a sportscaster or at least learn about the business. We have always stressed that this is camp and not school. We wanted to make this the most fun week of the year for our campers. I feel we have succeeded in that. We are so proud that dozens and dozens of former campers are working full-time and succeeding big time in the sports broadcasting industry. Camp Co-CEO Steve Goldstein, director Adam Balk, and I are personally blown away by Scott Braun (MLB Network), D.J, Sixsmith (CBS Sports), Brian Seltzer (Sixers.com), Courtney Cronin (ESPN), Sarah Barshop (ESPN), Chris Lewis (Voice of BoiseState Sports), Dan Koob (CBS Philadelphia), Adam Lefkoe (Bleacher Report, TNT), Clayton Collier (ABC Memphis), and Morey Hershgordon (CBS Providence, RI) just to name a handful.
The component of Play-by-Play Sports Broadcasting Camps that we didn’t foresee in 2002 was the family that we have become and the culture that we have built. This may be what I am most personally proud of. We call ourselves SBC Nation for a reason. Kids who have come to one of our camps in cities across the country over the past 18 years have bonded with each other in a heartwarming way that is integral to the enjoyment and growth of our programs. We have camp alumni who went to college together, roomed together, became best friends, were in each others’ weddings, etc. There are SBC alumni pipelines at colleges such as Temple, Arizona State, Syracuse, Quinnepeac, Marquette, and Indiana just to name a handful. We are so proud to see our former campers helping and guiding other campers. Approximately, 85 percent of our counselors are former campers who loved the program so much that they wanted to stay involved with us. I love hearing from former campers through conventional means and social media. Writing dozens of letters of recommendations or serving as references for people who were once campers is a total joy. I have always said that in addition to teaching skills in the field, SBC is also about building self-esteem, self respect, respect for others, and gaining the confidence needed to have a great career and become a better person.
Since we started SBC in 2002, we have come a long way and have had the opportunity to work with some great companies and people. On the business side, we are thrilled to have partnered in April 2018 with Seventy-Six Capital Investment Group, led by Wayne Kimmel, Jon Powell, Chad Stender, Jess David, and former Phillies star Ryan Howard who was an amazing guest at two camps last year. We are lucky enough to work closely with former Comcast SportsNet anchor Neil Hartman, who has helped out with our camps over the past few years. We also have partnerships or alliances with the new SportsCastr app, Facebook, Julian Krinsky camps, Brookwood camp, and have reestablished a long time tie-in with Sports Illustrated Kids. We are thrilled with our new director of digital marketing, Jena Polyak, as well. Equally exciting is that we are on a record-setting pace of sign-ups for kids in 2019 and are growing faster than ever in more cities than ever. Can’t wait till June!