A look back at 2022 and looking forward to 2023 for personal life and sports broadcasting career

2022 was a good year to start off and it had some ups-and-downs, but it was a good year after all in both personal lives and sports broadcasting career. Let's take a look back at the year it was 2022:

In January, I have called my first basketball game when Lawerence Tech Women's Basketball Team taking on Indiana Tech and it was a nail-biter to the end and if you don't believe me, watch the clip and I promise you, you know what I mean. Throughout the first few months of 2022, I have called two different sports, lacrosse and softball (well, technically more lacrosse and only one game of softball, but no means necessary). My advice is to get better and better throughout my sports broadcasting career by watching as many games as possible and hoping to learn from the best.

Meanwhile, I got a message from Sean McCabe, Media Operations for MLS NEXT Pro, the new league affiliated with Major League Soccer, wanting to look for new talent to call matches for the inaugural season, so I sent Sean my information including my resume and my demo reel. Things are going well for me to call MLS NEXT Pro matches and then I was scheduled for a practice game, but unfortunately I didn't make the Final Cut for the opening matches despite doing so well calling a practice match, but the good news is that I get to work with my critiques with none other then legendary MLS commentator Steve Cangialosi.

Cangialosi called soccer for ESPN and was the voice of the New York Red Bulls (although I won't be surprised if he call MLS matches for Apple TV next year) and he called hockey for the New Jersey Devils for 11 seasons before stepping down a few months ago. He helped me trying to become a better soccer commentator that I can be and he helps me improve day after day, game after game and keep working on my reps. One review that Steve gave me with the calls in soccer is that my energy and passion remain the strengths of my broadcast and I punctuate the excitement every time a ball is in the back of the net.

As time goes by, I send the whole college soccer game footage and my demo reel for this year to both Steve and Sean, but unfortunately before that happened, Sean emailed me about the crewed announcers for the remaining matches of the MLS NEXT Pro regular season and it didn't work out as planned, but he told me to keep working and getting reps and I followed his advice very well, so it was worth it to call college soccer once again at Lawrence Tech University.

During the summer, I was joined by the Michigan Soccer Network to call some of the games this summer. I called the Girls CHSL Semifinal between Everest Collegiate and Orchard Lake St. Mary's, where the game went through two overtimes before the golden goal was scored by Everest to advance to the CHSL Final. Then I get to call the UPSL Playoffs between Hamtramck City and Nationals Soccer Club as an analyst, which is not my best role in sports broadcasting and it was worth it. Unfortunately, my time at the Michigan Soccer Network was short-lived because of the on-air mistake about the injury of the Hamtramck City player and I apologize to the network, but I was let go (thanks a lot, Jonathan Turner! I hope your network's better without me!!).

But that doesn't stop me for continuing my momentum of calling soccer and become a soccer commentator and I'm looking forward to 2023 and hopefully calling MLS NEXT Pro matches including Huntsville City FC, who will make their debut with home matches playing at the renovated Joe Davis Stadium.

Meanwhile on the personal side of things, I had a side job working at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, which unfortunately was also short-lived, as I was hoping to save some money for not only to buy a car, but a place to live on my own like an apartment, but as of right now, I'm hoping to get a side job to save some money, but anyways, I hope that a job can not only benefit my personal life, but also for my sports broadcasting career as well.

As we are days away to the end of 2022 and looking ahead to 2023, there are some go the goals that I want to achieve and accomplish:

• Continuing calling basketball games and start calling lacrosse games for LTU

• Calling professional local soccer and MLS NEXT Pro matches

• Save money enough to have a car and an apartment for my own

• Creating my own soccer podcast

• Other things that will benefit of my personal life and sports broadcasting career

Well, that's it for my blog! I hope you enjoy your holidays and get your New Year's Resolution ready because once we hit 2023, it's time for new beginnings in life and broadcasting.

As I promised, here's the clips of my work from 2022: