Satellite Teen Pursues Sports Broadcasting Dream
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Satellite Teen Pursues Sports Broadcasting Dream

Satellite Teen Pursues Sports Broadcasting Dream

The philosopher Seneca famously wrote that “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” — and Satellite Beach freshman Jackson Robb is living proof. Robb, who turned 14 on Jan. 3, has dreamed of a career in sports broadcasting since he was 5 and is already on the fast-track to making that aspiration a reality.

Robb’s voice can be heard at sporting events throughout Brevard County and online, calling plays and lending his already-advanced expertise to the events. 

It all started with NASCAR races for the young Robb. After attending a race with his family when he was 5, Robb fell in love with the sport. At home, he would look up old NASCAR races and then recreate them with his toy cars and commentate on them.

“It was more than just what little kids do,” his mother, Jennifer Myers Ward, said. “It was a talent.”

Robb then started doing the same with old Super Bowl games, finding video and adding his own commentary. He would also play Madden NFL video games, turning the sound down so he could do his own play-by-play and color commentating.

“We could hear him and it sounded passionate and natural,” Ward said. “So, we thought, how can we do something with that?”

In the summer of 2019, at age 11, Robb went to a play-by-play sports broadcasting camp at Florida Atlantic University. He learned more about broadcasting and the specifics of what he was commenting on by doing staged radio broadcasts, reading sports prompters, and conducting interviews.

That fall, thanks to John Wallace, Robb became the public address (PA) announcer for Satellite Beach's Pop Warner football teams, a gig he’s now had for three seasons. With Robb entering his freshman year of high school this past summer, his mother knew he wanted to do more than PA work and looked for a way to develop his desire to work on a broadcast. 

After a little research, Ward reached out in September to Eau Gallie High’s girls basketball coach Manny Lherisse to see if he could introduce them to Brevard Sports Network owner Alan Zlotorzynski. Within 30 minutes, Zlotorzynski was on the phone, offering Robb an internship.

“I was amazed at his age, but he’s got a passion for it,” Zlotorzynski said. “It’s rare for a 13-year-old to have a passion about anything.”

Brevard Sports Network is a broadcast company that covers sporting events throughout the county, live streaming them on Facebook and YouTube. From day one, Zlotorzynski gave Robb time on the microphone.

“I’m going to throw you to the wolves and let you sink or swim,” Zlotorzynski said.

Robb was a fast learner and eager to do more. In the first few weeks, he covered high school football, youth league football, and volleyball. After a month, he worked his first solo broadcast, a youth football game in New Smyrna Beach. Robb called the game, ran the camera and handled all production on his own.

“He’s open to be taught and is a very teachable young man,” Zlotorzynski said.

Robb takes his job seriously, spending a lot of time researching teams before games so he can be prepared for the broadcast.

“Once I know what I’m doing next, I study the teams,” Robb said. “I look up stats, figure out who to watch for and learn what kind of team they are.”

Robb says that being part of the Brevard Sports Network has already helped him get better and mature into the role.

“I’ve gotten great feedback because of Alan and his expertise,” Robb said. “It’s helped me to be part of a unified organization, they’ve been doing this and they can tell me what to work on.”

Since football season ended, Robb has been improving his craft on winter sports, such as basketball and soccer, and in the spring, he’ll call baseball and softball games.

“The challenge is coming up. Is he able to do other sports — everybody loves football but soccer, basketball, baseball, softball? That's where the learning process comes,” Zlotorzynski said. “If you want to be a broadcaster, you need to be able to do lots of sports.”

Robb is not only ready for the challenge; he's looking forward to it as he’s already gotten a taste of it. When Robb covered volleyball games in the fall, he initially didn’t know much about the sport but he quickly learned it and was able to break down games as he called them.

“I love being able to cover different sports and I’m excited for the sports that I haven’t had the chance to call yet,” Robb said.

Robb still has three-plus years of high school to go and he is looking forward to continuing to learn while working with Brevard Sports Network. He knows that to do this job professionally as an adult, he needs to have a broad skill set and knowledge of many different sports to be an attractive candidate.

Brevard Sports Network is providing him that opportunity.

“I plan to do this for BSN and all the sports I need to do and continue to do what I love to do,” Robb said. “I love where I am at now and as I move on, I just need to keep taking any opportunities I can.”

 

Brevard Sports Network

BrevardSportsNetwork.com

Facebook: /BrevardSportsNet

Instagram: @sportsbrevard

Twitter: @SportsBrevard

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoqrfKAiAB_4Wjj5bb3L-zQ

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