Cold early mornings gave light to an ESPN SportsCenter desk positioned on the Spring Training facilities of 10 out of the 15 teams whom participate in the Arizona Cactus League. Day 1 started in Scottsdale following the San Francisco Giants as they began preparing for the 2015 season and Day 10 ended in Surprise with the Kansas City Royals who faced off against the Texas Rangers for their first spring training game. As the ten day, ten team run commenced I soon found myself in the heart of the production action actively engaged. The experience not only taught me what is was like waking up before the rest of the world but what it takes for an ESPN production to go live from field (no pun intended). Unloading trucks full of equipment, building the SportsCenter desk, setting the HMIs and building 4×4, 6×6 and 12×12 silks were just a few of the hands-on experiences I was able to enjoy. The most rewarding aspect though gained from this experience was the ability to ask questions and to receive meaningful feedback in return from everyone on the crew and from ESPN. Here’s to many more early mornings and home runs.
-written by ASU intern Johnathan Rugg
