Nash Walker: Taking Advantage of Opportunity
The field of sports media is an extremely competitive space and can be almost impossible to break into. Due to the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that come with getting started, an abundance of young journalists are scared away.
Nash Walker, color analyst for the Reno Aces, is a perfect example of someone who did not back down in fear from this difficult path. Instead of being demoralized by all the factors telling him it wasn’t possible, he kept working hard and stayed focused on his goal until he was given the opportunity he had looked for.
Most believe the only way to be given a chance in the sports media world is to have more experience than your peers. Nash, on the other hand, has a different perspective.
“It’s about opportunity, it’s not about experience,” says Walker. In order to get to the place he is at now, he kept prepared for any opportunities coming his way, so when they did he could take full advantage.
He believes that this can be done by anybody, specifically those trying to break into the sports world. One should not be demoralized when the opportunities are not coming, and should always be ready for the moment when they do.
Being only 23 years old, the position Walker has obtained now is not only a testament to the hard work he put in, but also a proof of his mindset on opportunity.
His journey began in Minnesota where he gained his early interest in sports. He became a die hard Twins fan and was encapsulated by the sport of baseball.
His first real opportunity in the industry didn’t come until his college days at Missouri. While he was studying journalism, he was given the chance to host on the podcast, Locked On, where he could talk about his favorite baseball team all while gaining important journalistic experience.
When he was a sophomore in college, Locked On was just getting started, and luckily enough they were in need of a host for Locked On Twins. Being a Twins fan and a journalism student looking for an opportunity to gain experience, it was a match made in heaven.
He ended up taking the job and doing it for 4 years up until just this March where he finally stopped. He amassed almost 1000 episodes and was able to help Locked On grow into a large entity in the podcasting business.
“By the time it was over, Locked On had become a much bigger thing,” stated Nash. “It ended up becoming a real sports journalism job at the end. At the beginning it was just a fun thing to do, but by the end it was paying my rent.”
It was a 5 day per week job where he would just go and talk about the Twins for 25 minutes. The experience he gained during this job was extremely valuable, especially considering the position he would end up doing in his near future.
Towards the end of his tenure on the pod he went to Palm Springs and did summer ball there where he called 40 games in order to get some tape. He also wrote at Twins Daily for a little bit and made some money.
Get Jack Bogda’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
“All of those [jobs] led to [the broadcasting job], so I’m always going to love everything I did,” he expressed.
Circling back to opportunity, the Aces broadcasting job was completely unexpected for Nash but it ended up becoming his biggest break.
Throughout the winter when job searching, nobody was reaching out to him, but he stayed ready.
“All I needed was for someone to say, come do your thing for us,” he asserted. “I didn’t get that for most of the winter. It was really hard. It was sad and difficult for no teams to say ‘we want you to do this for us.’ It was painful, but then the Aces gave me that opportunity.”
He was so grateful for the chance at this position and he made sure to take full advantage of it. He wanted to make them proud and feel like they made the right choice, and he did.
“I saw it as an opportunity to grow in myself and to show myself in the office,” he remarks. “It’s not only about what one has done and their experience. Yes I’ve had some experience, but at the same time, the reason I’m still here is because of what I’ve done when I’ve been here.” This is great advice for anyone trying to acquire any occupation, and this mindset is what allowed him to not only obtain the job, but thrive in the position and influence the higher ups to want him back.
He was specifically the color commentator from innings 1–3 when his partner was there, then play-by-play for innings 4–6, then back to color for the last couple. He got a wide variety of experience throughout the season and was not only commentating for all 75 of the home games, but also writing recaps for all of them, even having to write some of the recaps during the games while broadcasting, which is a true testament to his work ethic.
The busy 150 game season may not be for everyone, but Nash was able to get a set schedule, and enjoy the season thoroughly, even crying when the Aces were knocked out of the triple A playoffs against the Aviators in Vegas, a game he was present for commentating.
Walker would definitely recommend the position to anyone looking to get into sports media, remarking the experience gained as extremely valuable.
When asked about plans for his future and maybe moving up into higher levels of the sport, he brought up advice given to him by Twins radio play by play analyst Cory Provus, which was to “Enjoy the journey that you are on.”
During his first tenure with the Aces he followed this advice and it has led him to a great place. He definitely has big plans for his future and goals he wants to achieve being so young in the business, but for now he is planning to stick with the Aces, do what is asked of him, and stay ready for positive opportunities that may arise.
Nash Walker gives exceptional insight into the mindset one might need when it comes to breaking into the media world, and his success at such a young age is proof that it is great advice that should be followed.
While he continues to grow into a bigger name in the media, the advice he has given and path he has taken should be of great influence to young journalists who are looking to do something similar.
Story by Jack Bogda for the Reynolds School at UNR. Photos by Nash Walker.
