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March 25, 2022 4:57 pm | by Samantha Santos
Broadcast teams across the Cape Cod Baseball League teach their members the ins and outs of successful sports commentating, photography, journalism and more.
For the Gatemen, many former broadcasters, writers and photographers have found success in their field after their summer(s) on Cape Cod.
Mike Monaco was one of Wareham’s broadcasters in the summers of 2013 and 2014. Currently he is a play-by-play broadcaster for ESPN, covering various college sports such as basketball and baseball. He’s also a backup broadcaster for NESN Red Sox broadcasts.
Based out of Chicago, Monaco’s filled in on various professional sports broadcasts in the city, including White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks games. He has also called the Little League World Series.
Monaco really enjoyed “the challenge of describing the game and finding different ways to do that. Learning how to conduct myself in the job was something that I took with me and foundationally came from Wareham.”
2017 Gatemen sideline reporter Claudia Chakamian is the weekend sports anchor and reporter at KQDS Fox 21 in Duluth, Minnesota. She is involved in just about every step of production from writing and editing to going on air and anchoring.
“I love learning about these people and creating those really good relationships, and then they trust me to tell their stories,” Chakamian said.
Caroline O’Connor was the Gatemen team photographer in 2018. Now, she works full time for Saks Fifth Avenue, and has also done work with both MLB and the Baltimore Orioles.
During her time with Wareham, she “pushed the boundaries of photography a lot and tried to do a lot of different types of shots – not only action but trying to get advertisers involved and get some personality shots of the players some of the staff, doing staff appreciation posts and trying to give more of a well-rounded view of what baseball is.”
O’Connor was able to gain practical, hands-on experience and knowledge in photography that deepened her understanding of the art during her summer in Wareham. Photography “forces people in front of the camera to be very vulnerable. I think respecting that space is important and respecting people’s boundaries because then you get to see the true version of those people better. Building that trust is important,” O’Connor said.
Ian Vescera is a TV news producer for Spectrum News One in Worcester, MA. He was the Gatemen beat writer in 2018. Vescera attributes
much of his journalism knowledge to his summer with the Gatemen. As their beat writer, he learned how to build relationships within the organization, as well as how to be approachable and formulate interview questions.
“You’re not going to have that access anywhere else than what you have for that time down there in the summer, so it’s a really really special time,” Vescera said.
Former Gatemen broadcaster Matt Feld is a sportswriter for the Boston Herald, covering high school and college sports for the last seven years. In addition, Feld also works for the Nor’Easters baseball program out of Tewsbury, MA as their Operations Coordinator. There, he in involved with social media and marketing, as well as standard operations.
“For the first time I was my own editor, so I had access to go straight to the website. I ran the social media and if I made a mistake, if I made a typo, that was on me. I was the person to correct it,” Feld said.
The most important part of Feld’s time with the Gatemen was “learn[ing] how to develop relationships with people on a more consistent basis. I mean, you’re going to be around those players [and coaches] for 50 days 60 days, whatever it might be.”
Kristin Ostrowski was the team photographer in 2019. Currently she is the marketing coordinator and photographer for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. She is involved in many areas within the organization, having a hand in day-to-day operations, ticket sales and social media.
“Wareham is one of my favorite memories and experiences that I’ve ever had working in sports. You’re going there for the internship and for the college credit or whatever else but you’re going to away with some of the best friends you’re going to have in your entire life.” Ostrowski said.
The Gatemen Broadcast team works together to produce the best media possible each summer! This includes all interns being involved in as many different parts of the process as possible, from podcasting to reporting to posting on Gatemen social media accounts.
