Hockey Jobs: Meet Courtney Welch, manager of social media and communications for Fox Sports Detroit
By Josh Paulisin –
Courtney Welch was just another 7-year-old looking for a friend.
After her family moved from Royal Oak to Lake Orion in the summer of 1987, Welch was forced to leave everything behind. Her house, her school, her friends. Her home.
It’s never easy being the new kid on the block, especially as a young kid searching for a new batch of buddies. But Welch wasn’t willing to sit back and wait. She took matters into her own hands.
One day as her quest for a new companion continued, she noticed a man washing his car and asked him if he knew someone she could play with. Fortunately for Welch, the gentleman had a granddaughter her age. But that was only the first part of her good fortune.
The man washing his car?
Mr. Hockey.
“Meeting Gordie Howe was the first thing I remember related to hockey,” Welch said. “He is such a great guy. When I met him he asked me if I wanted to go on a walk with him and his granddaughter. I went to go ask my dad and of course he wanted to go too.”
Welch’s ambitious nature as a 7-year-old that day engineered her love for hockey. That love continues to grow today as she is now the manager of social media and communications for Fox Sports Detroit, the sports television network that broadcasts Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Pistons and Detroit Tigers games.
At her position with Fox Sports Detroit, Welch oversees a variety of different projects and has multiple duties. She writes press releases, helps handle the network’s social media accounts and promotes both Fox Sports Detroit and the Detroit sports brand as a whole.
Even if games are picked up by a national network, it’s Welch’s responsibility to keep Detroit sports fans updated by publicizing the necessary details related to future broadcasts, and how the teams are doing via FSD social media accounts.
“Most games are on Fox Sports Detroit, but some may be picked up by Fox or ESPN for example,” Welch said during a recent Tigers home stand, which included a Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN. “Even if we aren’t broadcasting the games, we still keep people informed because they’re Detroit sports fans and we’re Detroit sports fans as well.”
Welch uses the ever-expanding world of social media to provide Detroit diehards with everything they need to know about their teams. And thanks to the habitual development of today’s technology and social media platforms, fans are now closer than ever to members of their favorite sports organizations.
For certain Red Wings games last season, Welch would bring different FSD analysts, including former Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood, into her office to take over the network’s Twitter account during intermissions.
“We would bring in someone like Chris Osgood and he would respond to questions from the fans. For people to have access and get perspectives from a former player or from someone who had worked with the team previously, it’s unreal.”
Being able to work on various projects and having the power to interact with a number of different people are two of Welch’s favorite aspects of her job. But with that great power comes great spontaneity.
“It’s never the same thing over and over again,” Welch said when asked about her daily routine. “You may have a plan for the day but it always changes. We have relationships with all the teams. Not only is it the Red Wings, Tigers and Pistons but we also have programs for Michigan and Michigan State as well as high school sports.”
Much like Fox Sports Detroit, Welch has plenty of experience covering and working with different organizations and leagues. After earning her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University in 2002, Welch worked seven years for the CCHA before moving out to Colorado Springs, Colo., to join USA Hockey.
During her time with USA Hockey, Welch was involved with the Program Services Department, which specializes in expanding the game at the youth level across in the nation. After three years with Program Services, Welch spent one year managing social media and public relations for the U.S. Women’s National Team before accepting her current position with FSD in June 2012.
It can be easy for students to believe that Welch’s career path may be the only avenue that leads them to a future revolving around hockey, but she will be the first to tell people that there’s always another way.
Outside of her duties with FSD, Welch is also a certified yoga instructor and founder of Inspired by Movement, a business she runs that provides yoga classes as well as life coaching. Since opening Inspired by Movement in May 2012, Welch has had the luxury of combining her passion for hockey and yoga to benefit local youth hockey players and teams.
“Last year I worked with Compuware’s midget major team coached by John Vigilante. I also went to Oakland University’s prospect camp and taught two sessions and recently I’ve started working with the 2002 Royal Oak Eagles. For hockey players, yoga can help with flexibility, balance, and working up strength and focus. It can also help prevent injuries.”
As for the near future, Welch will head back to Oakland University to help the team prepare for the upcoming season.
With the Tigers about to start the 2014 MLB postseason and the Red Wings opening up their regular season shortly, Welch’s duties with FSD will keep her occupied. For those interested and willing to take on a career similar to Welch’s, she harps on the two things that helped her get to where she is today – experience and keeping an open mind.
“Get as much experience as you can,” Welch said. “I feel like I’ve done so many internships and so much freelancing. All the different experiences brought me to where I am today. And I was always open too. Being open to try other things is important because you never know what you want to do until you try it.”
With Welch’s background and knowledge within the hockey and media industry, take her word for it. After all, not too many people get to meet hockey legends who are out washing their car.