Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: Career Fair

Media Credit: Karyn Gilbert Greg Young Jr., a Sacramento State graduate of communication studies, does the play-by-play of a Major Indoor Soccer League game on Thursday. The California Cougars lost 20-10 to the Chicago Storm in the Stockton Arena. [Click to enlarge]

Greg Young Jr. always wanted to be a professional baseball player when he grew up, but when he recognized he wasn't a stellar athlete, he resigned to re-thinking his future.

"He could play," Young's father, Greg Young Sr. said. "But he probably didn't play at the level of the other kids."

When Young Jr. was about 12 or 13 years old, he dreamed of breaking into broadcasting.

"I thought it would be cool to try to do that in the future," he said.

He never thought he would be doing the play-by-play for the California Cougars, a Major Indoor Soccer League team.

His road to becoming a broadcaster began in college.

Young Jr. said he wanted switch his major to communication studies with an interest in digital video production, but Sonoma State's communication studies program was too impacted. He decided to transfer to Sacramento State for his sophomore year in 2003 and began taking courses to further his career.

During his time at Sac State, Young Jr. said one professor stood out the most - Professor Paul Cahill, of the Communications Studies Department.

"He was a hard teacher, but a good guy and a great person to learn from," he said.

Young Jr. began broadcasting at KSSU 1580 AM. He said he covered baseball, softball, basketball and football, but never soccer.
Young didn't know anything about soccer, but learned he would eventually have to know the sport.

After graduating from Sac State in 2005, Young Jr. landed a job working at FOX 40 as a production assistant and enrolled in a broadcasting course through the College of Continuing Education at Sac State.

Young Jr. found out that students enrolled in the course were able to enter a contest to do the play-by-play for the California Cougars on KSTN 1420 AM.

"I thought he had a good shot at getting the job," said Mark Demsky, a sports anchor for KTXL FOX 40 and the instructor for the sports broadcasting program at Sac State. "It worked out for him and jump-started his career."

Demsky will be teaching the six-week course on play-by-play again from April 10 to May 17.

Young Jr. kept his eye on the prize and won the contest to broadcast for the Cougars, who play in the Stockton Arena in Stockton.
"I've listened to a lot of his work outside the class. He's got a lot of talent," Demsky said.

Young Jr. had one minor hesitation concerning the job of broadcasting Major Indoor Soccer. He didn't know anything about soccer.

He took on the challenge and is now learning about the sport with the help of co-workers, coaches and the players.

"I know enough now to tell a good story - it's my job to tell the story," he said.

Before games, Young Jr. looks at the stats to find out who the top players are and who to watch for on the field. Since MISL is a fast-paced sport, he said it's sometimes hard to follow the game when the teams often change players.

Young Jr. sits down with the Cougars coach to get ideas about his game plan. If there's time, he speaks to some of the players as well.

Young Jr. said the most exciting moment during his time with the Cougars was the Stars of Mexico game on Feb. 10. The Cougars defeated the Stars of Mexico 20-18 in front of a crowd of Stockton Arena-record 8,052.

"To see 8,000-plus people making tons of noise - it was a fun game," he said. "It was like an All-Star game. It was really fun to be a part of it."

He also loves working with fellow Sac State alumnus and color commentator Matt McDougall, who spent time earlier this season as a rookie goalkeeper for the Cougars.

"He's good at breaking down plays," Young Jr. said. "He'll jump in from time to time."

Since he got the job with the Cougars, a few more doors have opened. He has had interviews and was offered a job for a single-A baseball team in Maryland, but Young Jr. said it wasn't a good fit.

"The money was terrible," he said.

His second interview was a win-win situation. He got the job with the Modesto Nuts, a single-A baseball team affiliated with the Colorado Rockies. He will finish out the season with the Cougars and start with the Nuts in April. He hopes to return to the Cougars for their next season.

"I will be doing three innings max, but two are guaranteed," he said.

Young Jr. will begin as the Nuts No. 2 broadcaster. He will work alongside Josh Suchon, who is the lead commentator.

"Baseball is always what he wanted to do," Demsky said. "I'm glad it worked out so close to home. You don't always get to pick and choose where you want to go, but I think he's above that. People want him to work for them."

Looking into the future, Young Jr.'s ideal job would be working for the San Francisco Giants.

"It's farther than 10 years down the road, but that would be the dream situation," he said.

Young Sr. said it is exciting seeing his son achieve something he's always wanted to do.

"I think that very few of us get to wake up and do something we plan to do and truly enjoy doing," he said.

Karyn Gilbert can be reached at
sports@statehornet.com

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