If you follow sports at St. Joe’s on social media, chances are you have heard of and watched Kevin Gfeller ’20, the athletic department’s sports reporter.
He covers a multitude of sports through post-game interviews and commentating, giving fans more information about players, coaches and teams.
Gfeller started his passion for reporting this year by signing up for a reporting camp with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio in May. The camp gave him ample reporting advice on how to ask the right questions and how to report correctly.
“I’ve always been interested in broadcasting,” Gfeller said. “It hit me last year that I wanted to pursue it and looked for camps from the sports marketing club.”
Gfeller also took a camp with Marc Zumoff, sportscaster for the Philadelphia 76ers, and learned even more about the craft of sports broadcasting.
Gfeller said he learned that he wasn’t very good at all. Zumoff told Gfeller to keep practicing, because he was not going to get better until he did it over and over again.
“I knew I had a lot to practice,” Gfeller said.
Gfeller later took an internship with the Philadelphia Flyers in their sales department, and while learning sales was not for him he was able to stay close to his desired job. On lunch breaks, Gfeller would sneak into a suite and record himself practicing reporting.
Through that internship, Gfeller got in contact with Andrea Helfrich, the in-arena host of the Flyers, and was given a piece of advice.
“She asked me if St. Joe’s had any play by play commentary or post-game interviews,” Gfeller said. “She told me to reach out to the athletics department and see what I could do to start doing those post-game reports.”
Gfeller went on to ask Jack Jumper, the director of athletics communications, in hopes to find a role.
“Kevin reached out to me over the summer inquiring about a chance to potentially do some broadcasting and video content for us,” Jumper said. “With the upward trajectory of social media, and the desire for more inside views about our teams, I was really intrigued as to what Kevin was presenting.”
Since he started reporting for St. Joe’s in August, Gfeller has reported for the men’s and women’s soccer teams, the field hockey team, the women’s basketball team and a multitude of others.
Those close to Gfeller, like Brad Klier ’20, have watched his dream grow.
“Kevin [Gfeller’s] interest began in early 2019,” Klier said. “He was very aggressive with improvements and seeking out opportunities to learn from others to enhance his abilities in reporting. He wasn’t passive. He knew he wanted to improve and got after it.”
Gfeller said his post-graduation plans include applying to news stations and to continue hunting for more reporting opportunities. He said he plans to apply to a handful of minor league baseball teams, and is prepared to pack everything up for a job in reporting.
“I know sometimes you have to move across the country,” Gfeller said. “I’m fully prepared for that.”
With the addition of Gfeller, the athletic department has been able to experiment with different kinds of social media content.
“This year, we have been trying to expand our social media exposure and create more content,” Jumper said. “With Kevin, we’re able to try some new ideas, especially with video content, and help bring exposure to more teams and student athletes.”
