Gavin Cote’s excellent adventure

From DRHS to ESPN

By Kim Brawn
Special to the Observer

    Do you believe in destiny?
    Gavin Cote’s life so far makes a pretty good case for it. The 24-year-old Dexter Regional High School graduate is an associate producer at the iconic sports network ESPN, located in Bristol, Conn.

Kim Brawn photo

GAVIN COTE

    He currently works on the flagship show Sports Center and on the long running NFL Live. Not bad for a self-described “nerd” who used to watch Sports Center “three or four times in a row” to learn and memorize all the stats.
    Gavin didn’t just excel at the statistical and broadcasting side of sports, he also proved a formidable high school athlete, playing baseball, basketball and golf. However, his love of sports didn’t seem to point to a big time, high profile career. He felt those jobs were “something kids from the big city did,” not one from a small town in Maine. He planned a more practical approach like becoming a physical therapist.
    But as time passed and college approached, Gavin refocused on his true passion. He decided he wanted to become a sports media relations director. He was accepted at Ithaca College, well known for its impressive (and competitive) sports media program.
    His choice of Ithaca proved very fortuitous since the school has a strong connection to ESPN. Many alumni work at the cable giant and Ithaca even has ESPN Day, where students can learn and get advice by interacting with the pros. Gavin called the alumni network a “valuable resource.”
    These connections definitely helped, but they didn’t just pop up out of nowhere. Gavin took an active role at Ithaca. “I used all the resources available to me,” he explained. It isn’t just the classes that are important; it’s the extracurricular activities too. He sought out mentors like Kyle Woody, one of his professors and a writer for the sports magazine, Stack.
    He and a friend even produced a popular football recap show called the Gridiron Report, which Gavin anchored. “We tried to make it fun for the players,” he told me. After viewing some clips of the show on YouTube, it’s obvious that Gavin’s energy and enthusiasm — and professionalism — helped make it a success.
    Before long, opportunity came knocking and Gavin scored a 10-week internship at ESPN (the summer before his senior year). At first, he admitted to being “incredibly overwhelmed.” When he learned all the steps involved in creating a highlight video, he thought, “oh my god, no way I can do that.” He felt the pressure to fit clips into specific time slots and to make sure the scripts were errorless.
    Fortunately, as he improved, he became more comfortable and at some point it clicked. The process eventually becomes “routine,” leaving room for Gavin to focus on details and come up with a game plan.
    While the internship was a great experience, as his college days neared the end, Gavin made up his mind. He put together a demo reel in hopes of getting a sports anchor job or other on-air position. Yet the realities of starting out in that industry became clear: his sole offer came in the form of a low-paying gig at a small market station in the outer reaches of Michigan. He decided not to take it.
    And then he received the call. The powers that be at ESPN had obviously been impressed with Gavin. They offered him a job. He accepted. “I think I made the right choice,” he laughed.
    Before long, the die-hard Celtics fan would be the content associate for the Miami Heat. In fact, he calls doing highlights for the 2013 NBA finals (Heat vs. Spurs) one of his favorite assignments — right up there with working on the 2014 Super Bowl countdown remote production from Herald Square in New York City.
    His recent promotion to associate producer means he has even more contact with various on-air analysts and hosts, many of whom are big sports celebrities or Hall of Famers. Gavin has gotten used to “playing it cool,” after all these are “his colleagues” so he “can’t be a fanboy.”
    He has nothing but kind words for these colleagues who are willing to answer his questions and help him learn. They want him to do his best because he helps them do better and improves the overall quality of the shows. It’s a collaborative medium and they’re happy to take the time to explain things.
    Now he gets to produce bigger features for NFL Live. He comes up with questions and writes the scripts, working closely with reporters in the field. His associate producer duties require him to be very organized; he coordinates camera crews and deals with team and player public relations reps.
    His work “never gets boring,” it keeps him on his toes. He is always busy with a variety of interesting projects involving sound bites, music montages, games, press conferences, shot selections, highlights, voiceovers, and edits.
    In his two years at ESPN, Gavin seems to have adapted well and likes the culture. “It feels like a close-knit community,” he noted, despite the fact that the number of employees rivals the population of his hometown.
    Gavin said that in Bristol, a city of about 60,000, he has access to so much and it’s within driving distance of even more (NYC, Boston, the ocean, etc.).
    For all the conveniences of a more urban area, there is something to be said for the “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” kind of vibe that a small town can provide. In fact, I spoke with Gavin by phone while he was vacationing in Dexter so it still plays an important role in his life.
    What does he look forward to when he visits? First and foremost, spending time with his family. He also misses “being able to walk in and see people you know and have a conversation with them — like my Uncle Vince at Toots [Deli],” he said. “Or all the people I developed friendships with playing golf and working at Dexter Muni. It’s always great to come back and see them.”
    While he is not sure what the future will bring, he is having fun exploring, still deciding what his ideal position is. For now, he’s excited about the route he’s on and “will see where it leads.”
    Which makes perfect sense when you consider that his childhood obsession seems to have foreshadowed his adult career. According to his mother, Valerie Cote, Gavin would name his toys after Red Sox players, set them up in a “game,” and then proceed to do a play-by-play of the action.  And, like any good sports reporter, he needed to keep track of all the stats. This motivated him to save up his “lucky bucks” to buy a typewriter from his fifth-grade teacher Mrs. LeVasseur’s “store.”
    Assessing his rapid rise, Gavin’s success is a combination of hard work, talent, timing, motivation, passion, resources, and connections.
    And don’t forget luck — the preparation meets opportunity kind.
    Or on a more basic level, he is following the path he was destined to travel.
    Kim Brawn of Dexter is a freelance writer and author of the blog “Mind, Body, Place: Dispatches from Here and There”