Aj Mccord Bio

AJ McCord joins the KOIN 6 Game On Sports Team as an anchor and reporter. AJ has worked in television sports since 2010 and has loved every minute of it. Most recently, she worked with the NBC Sports Network, traveling nationwide covering Rally Car races.

She also worked with the NBC/Universal Sports Network Olympic team during their coverage of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. Prior to that, AJ was a digital content contributor at KNSD, the NBC owned & operated a station in San Diego. From the Padres to the Chargers, race tracks to snow slopes; she’s covered it all.

Aj Mccord Age

Details about her age shall be updated.

Aj Mccord Family

AJ grew up in San Diego where she graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism. She loved to be competitive and active when she grew up. Her first love is the ocean, closely followed by gymnastics and football.

She was a competitive gymnast for 16 years and dabbled in almost every other sport at some point growing up. You could discover her running at university or surfing in her free time.

Aj Mccord Husband/Married

A year ago today, I drove away from Arkansas, leaving a job and place I’d lived for three years.
No job, no prospect of one, awaited me in the NorthWest, but it was time to move on, to follow my husband while he chased his dreams. How faithful the Lord is.

One year later, I’ve had adventures I’d never dreamed possible, made friendships I’m so grateful for, and landed a job that lets me tell stories of all kinds, all sports, all passions.

Details about her husband’s name shall be updated.

Aj Mccord Career

Before sports was her career, it was her passion. AJ has played sports for as long as she can remember.

Growing up in San Diego, she divided her time between surfing and gymnastics, devoting most of her childhood and adolescence to gymnastics. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego with a bachelor’s degree.

Aj Mccord Net Worth

Her net worth shall be updated soon.

Aj Mccord Interview

Taylor Shold: Hi AJ, thanks for reaching out to chat with us! Can you tell our readers a little about yourself and what it is you do?

AJ McCord: Hi! West Coast native over here and most of the stereotypes that come with it I suppose I fit in to. I was born and raised in San Diego so yes, I was surfing as soon as I could stand (I’m still halfway convinced my dad is a merman that’s how much time we spent in the water) and I stayed in San Diego for school because, yeah, I wanted to surf.

I was also a competitive gymnast for much of my growing up years, I dabbled in soccer, volleyball, softball and pretty much anything else they’d let me play but gymnastics was my heart and soul until I was about 16 when, as is the nature of the sport, is pretty much past the shelf life to be competitive any longer. I kept going for a couple of years, thinking I may be able to compete in college, but a broken back my senior year ended that dream.

Throughout my childhood, I took in sports as actively as I participated. My mom and grandma were die-hard Chargers fans so I was surrounded by women explaining the game to the men in my family, which certainly had a much bigger impact on my life than I realized at the time.

I couldn’t imagine a life that didn’t revolve around the love of the game and the addition of competition. Which is how I ended up pursuing sports broadcasting, so while I picked Point Loma Nazarene University for the surf, I also picked it for the broadcast program.

During school, I had the honor of interning for Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Enberg and the Padres as well as covering the Chargers, SDSU, and other San Diego sports. During summers I worked as a whitewater rafting guide which gave me this thirst for the outdoors, and endurance sports, that I don’t think will ever be quenched.

So after graduating, I worked for Universal Sports covering all the qualifying events leading up to the Sochi games and a sideline reporter for RallyCar Racing. From there I went to SEC country, working as a weekend sports anchor and reporter for the local ABC station in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In my three years there I learned a ton about the business, honed my delivery, my presence and got a chance to start finding my voice.

Now I’m in Portland, Oregon and it’s like everything I’ve loved is combined. I anchor sports, do feature stories on athletes, and get to cover outdoor sports (because Oregonians love them as much as I do!) for KOIN, the CBS station in town.

Taylor: How has networking helped your career and how can people network effectively?

AJ: Networking is a term I think gets a bad rap. First off, I got my first job through LinkedIn, so it definitely is a very real and useful part of this industry. And I’ve certainly learned from industry professionals who’ve been in it longer than me through reaching out on social media, or going up and introducing myself at games.

The thing about networking to me is, it’s not really a means to an end, I hate the idea that I’m introducing myself to someone just because they’ll help me get where I want to go. I reach out to people because chances are, we have something in common.

If I know someone I’d like to “network” with, I’d probably also enjoy just getting to know them, their journey, the things they’ve learned. That’s how I’ve gotten the majority of friends I have in this business. Women, in particular, who’ve answered my questions and shared things they wish they’d done differently and helped me avoid those mistakes.

Taylor: Landing your 1st job on-air can be tough, how did you land yours and what advice would you have for others looking for theirs?

AJ: I put together a reel by ALWAYS being ready to do stand-up during my internships and behind-the-scenes time at Universal Sports. Anytime we had an extra two minutes I’d ask to get in front of the camera. I was always thinking of what stand-up I would record and most times I would self-regulate, allowing myself only one take, even if the photographer or reporter I was with was willing to give me more.

You only get one chance live, so I got myself in the habit of thinking you have to do it right the first time from the beginning.

My first job on-air was RallyCar and they reached out to me after seeing my YouTube reel. So my advice would be intern, often and everywhere you can. Always dress for the job you want, not the one you have and don’t be annoying, but also before the time comes when you could practice your on-air stuff ask your supervisor if they’d be cool with that.

Most professionals I know what to see people take initiative and if you do that, they’re willing to help you out, but they won’t hand you opportunities.

Taylor: You’ve moved around a little already in your career, what goes into your decision to move from one gig to the next?

AJ: Each of my moves has been caused by different things. Right after college, I moved to Colorado for the Universal job because it was an Olympic gig and I could live with two of my best friends. The Arkansas job I took because I needed more consistent reps if I was going to break through the ceiling and get more work. The Portland job, I actually followed my husband.

He got into med school here and as a believer, I feel like the Lord was watching out for me and the job opened up here at KOIN. So for me, each move has been a pretty obvious next step, most of the time because it was the only option.

Taylor: What is something you wish you could go back and tell your 18-year-old self about this industry?

AJ: I would tell myself to be myself. It sounds so cliche but really for the first five years in this industry, I was listening to what others told me I should look like, sound like, even tell stories like. I doubt my 18-year old self would listen because I was just so desperate to break in, I would’ve done anything, but I wish I’d had the strength than that I have now.

There’s a lot of people who want to work in this business, but YOU are unique and you bring something unique to the table. So find what you love, what really makes you tick and then go back to figure out the small steps that will get you there. And ALWAYS take what consultants say about appearance with a grain of salt, I’ve got naturally curly hair and for years I tried to straighten it to fit news directors’ picture of what I should look like and it was awful. BE YOU.

Taylor: Finally, what is your best piece of advice for someone trying to have a career on-air in broadcasting?

AJ: I think my best piece of advice is wrapped up in what I would’ve told myself. Everyone has a dream job, yours is different than most other people’s and while rarely do you land your dream job without there being several others that help you get there, always keep the dream in mind.

Take jobs, make moves, that line up with your dream and if that dream starts to shift, be open to it. There is no right or wrong answer here, at the end of the day your happiness, your satisfaction with what you’ve achieved and your standard of success is all that matters.

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