Kean students start sports radio show on WKNJ 90.3

By Craig Epstein | Published by November 13, 2019

Both having a passion for watching and calling sports, play-by-play announcer for Kean athletics John Mastice and broadcaster for Kean sports Richard Zeller decided to start their own sports radio show which can be found on WKNJ 90.3 every Thursday from 2-3 p.m.

“We were approached by our great Athletic Communications Assistant Rob Bergman who pitched the idea and then got Athletic Director Matt Caruso involved who was very helpful in getting anything we needed for the show,” Mastice said. “All four of us were very motivated because it allows more exposure for student-athletes to tell their stories as well as the coaches getting involved.”

Mastice credits a lot of the hard work and dedication that goes into making the radio show a reality to Bergman as well.

“Rob Bergman is one of the biggest help in all this,” Mastice said. “He makes everything go, I mean everything. Without him, this show doesn’t start or continue.”

When it comes to the focus of their radio show, the two not only review the week in Kean sports but also look ahead to future matchups for the various squads. Mastice believes it is important that they be open and honest with their opinions so that there is full transparency as well.

“We focus on reviewing the week in Kean sports and looking ahead to big matchups as well as national rankings,” Mastice said. “We give our opinions on how games go, whether we agree or disagree with some coaching decisions, and we really don’t hold many thoughts back. I think it’s important to give our true thoughts on the games so the school is informed.”

Along with being a play-by-play announcer for the school, Mastice enjoys getting to just sit down and interview athletes and coaches alike. He is also appreciative of the fact that they have been so open and available for the show.

“I also love sitting down and doing formal or non-formal interviews with student-athletes and coaches,” Mastice said. “The student-athletes and coaches have been more than helpful in this journey of getting the show off the ground. They are available almost all the time and we’ve now had every fall sport on the show at least once.”

Along with interviewing many athletes and coaches of the fall sports teams, some of their guests include Acting Director of Athletics Matthew Caruso as well as Assistant Director of Recreation Jay Sgaramella. Mastice’s favorite interview, however, was when he got the chance to speak to head field hockey coach Leslie LaFronz as well as three of her players in senior midfielder Jenna Patrone, junior forward/midfielder Melissa Way, and freshman goalkeeper Belly Reynoso.

“Coach LaFronz is one of the greatest people you will ever meet, she is always open to talking field hockey in her office and loves what she does,” Mastice said. “She is everything right about college coaching because she cares for her players, loves the games, loves talking about it, and would do anything for anyone.”

While the focus of the show mainly revolves around Kean athletics, Mastice and Zeller will carve out sometime towards the end to discuss sports on a national level as well.

“We mainly focus on Kean sports but at the end, I have a segment where we give our closing thoughts for about five minutes where we can talk about national sports,” Mastice said. “But for the first 55 minutes, we talk Kean sports.”

As a media/film major that is set to graduate in December, Mastice enjoys getting the time to sit around and talk about Kean athletics with Zeller. For him, reaching out and giving student-athletes the opportunity to express themselves makes it all worthwhile.

“The ultimate goal is to further the outreach for student-athletes and give them a voice,” Mastice said. “Get more support at all sporting events. And, of course, for Richard and I to share our opinions on a variety of subjects in Kean sports.”

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