A seventh-grade Sandy Springs student fuels his passion for the NBA by producing a regular podcast that he hopes will help him land his dream job working as a game broadcaster.
Teddy Foster, 13, and his dad, Jim, produce the No Cap NBA Wrap podcast. It streams on Spotify weekly to bring NBA basketball to a casual audience not caught up in analytics.
“It’s always been my dream to be an NBA broadcaster or announcer for one of my favorite teams. So, my parents had the idea that we should start a podcast. I was skeptical at first but I’m very happy that we made the choice because I have a lot of fun,” Teddy said.
Teddy spends time each morning going over the previous night’s box scores. He and his dad spend up to two hours on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday preparing for the next podcast. Then they record it on Tuesday nights from their Sandy Springs home.
Dad serves as the emcee of the show. He tries to bring humor to the podcast, which often takes the form of the two trading barbs at each other’s favorite NBA team. Dad likes the Philadelphia 76ers, while Teddy is a New Orleans Pelicans fan, and a “lifelong 76ers hater.”
Teddy said friends he’s told about the podcast found it hilarious how he ribs his dad about his favorite team.
Each show usually starts with a theme, such as a holiday or mid-season awards. They devote the second half of the podcast to the latest happenings around the NBA. Teddy presents this part of the podcast, reporting on player performances for the past week, with a look at the teams, games, and trends. Regular features include Fan Favorites, MVP Leaders, and Hot Take, You Debate.
“The tendency these days is to go way down the rabbit hole of analytics and it kind of cuts out the casual fan. And we’re trying to keep things informative, but also try to keep things like fun,” Jim said.
Jim has devoted more time to the podcast since his retirement in February as an investment strategist for a large wealth management firm. Part of the reason Jim retired was because his wife, Jody, runs a very successful business. She’s the founder and CEO of Symphony Consulting.
Jim said the couple ran in every direction with their children in three different schools. Daughter Maggie is a junior at Marist High School; their son, J.D, is a sophomore at St. Pius High School; and Teddy attends at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School.
“It made sense to kind of step out and focus on them. And as part of that, I told Teddy, I would focus more time on trying to build the audience for our podcast,” Jim said.
He said working on the podcast in the last month kept him busier than he had been with his job.
Teddy said when they started the podcast, he didn’t understand the grind it would be to reach and grow an audience.
He said they’ve upgraded the equipment since their first episode last October.
Teddy said at first, he thought it would be a lot of hard work. But he realized that while it does take preparation, it’s worth it because recording an episode is fun.
Teddy said he’s considering going to Syracuse for college as it has a great sports communications school. That could help him on his journey to become an NBA broadcaster.
For now, he’ll continue to record the podcast with his dad and watch basketball, which he also enjoys playing. Lacrosse is another sport he enjoys playing. And he’ll hang out with friends, watch TV, and play video games.