"This job is what you do, not who you are." Amanda Smith's Journey to Sports Reporter/Analyst
Amanda Smith played basketball her whole life and never pictured the day when her basketball career would be over. She underwent three ACL surgeries within four years of her high school, so the vision she had of getting a scholarship and playing in college slowly began to change. “Sports have given me so much and I began trying to find ways that would give me a chance to still be around the games I love most. That decision ultimately helped shape the course of my life.” This decision led her to her position today as Pac-12 Network analyst/reporter, the University of Utahs Women’s Basketball analyst, the Utah Jazz’s broadcast assistant, as well as her own podcast, How She Did it.
Amanda’s favorite part of her job are the people she has met along the way. “Whether it's been a player, a coach, a co-worker, someone that works in the arena — I just hope they know I care about them and the stories they have to share. It is a great privilege to have someone open up to you and trust you with their words.” She believes the most challenging part of her job would be remaining patient through the process. “This business is a climb and I am still on it. There is a lot that is out of my control but as long as I am staying true to my values and working towards excellence I trust that I will end up exactly where I am supposed to be.”
The advice she would give to someone who may aspire to have a career similar to her or even just in the sports world would be to trust yourself, keep going, be kind and never forget why you ant to do this. “You can do this. This job is what you do, not who you are — don't forget that.”
How women are represented in the sports world has changed drastically over the years. Amanda believes representation and diversity are so important. “When younger people can see someone that looks like them in certain roles, it shows them they can be in that position too.” She thinks about all the women that have worked to pave the way for those behind them and the “new normal” we continue to move towards, where when you see women in certain positions, you don't think, “wow that's a woman doing that job!" it's just someone doing their job.
Amandas podcast is called How She Did It and is dedicated to celebrating the careers and journeys of women in sports. “This is a concept I came up with back in 2018 and it actually started as a YouTube series called The Amanda Smith Show before being picked up by a podcast network.” At that time, she didn’t have any steady work and was looking for a way to create more consistent opportunities while doing something with a purpose that she was passionate about. “Kristen Ledlow has become a great friend and mentor of mine and she really guided and encouraged me to pursue this idea to create a show that would celebrate the stories of women in sports. Her support gave me this confidence to just start- and I think that is probably one of the most important, gratifying lessons I have been able to witness firsthand.”
She emphasizes that you have to start somewhere — and just knowing someone is in your corner can sometimes be that extra push you need to take a chance. “Everything you have accomplished up to this point is a ladder someone else could still be trying to climb. I hope that if you listen to my podcast and the stories of the guests that I've had on the show, whether you want to work in sports or not-know that you can accomplish anything you want with hard work, persistence and kindness.”
A couple years ago Amanda was working full-time as a waitress, driving across the country for free to cover high school basketball games just so she could put a reel together. “And while I knew those were steps I had to take to get more experience and put myself in a position to get more work in the industry, there were these moments during that stretch of time where I would think to myself, “What are you doing?” I am living out these dreams that once seemed so far out of reach and as I continue to work towards achieving some of the goals I've set for myself and create new ones my greatest hope is to build a career that has longevity.” So in five years, Amanda isn’t sure where she sees herself. “I don’t think any of us really are. And while I used to think of the unknown as scary, I'm learning to enjoy the journey rather being so focused on the destination.”