Jason Guarente’s goal in life was to somehow make a living in sports. Since he couldn’t hit a curve ball and had a vertical jump of about 10 inches, the only pathway to the playing field was through writing. He could, on occasion, put an entire sentence together with the approval of Dan Rudloff — his 11th grade English teacher.
Guarente went to Hofstra University to improve this skill. He teamed up with Brad Barth, a fellow Communications major, to develop The Communicator, a media magazine published by the school. All these years later, it remains the most fun Guarente ever had in journalism.
Following graduation, living in a spare room at his mom’s house, Guarente landed his first sportswriting gig. It was for 7 bucks an hour at the Daily Local News in West Chester. It was the first time he realized his childhood dream was within grasp. Guarente was terrible at first. He couldn’t conduct an interview worth a lick and he wrote like a Grantland Rice wannabe. But he tried hard and he loved it.
Guarente’s career quickly took him away from his hometown. No one can live on 7 bucks an hour, after all. He moved to Connecticut to work for the Bristol Press and spent his days covering high school sports and American Legion baseball. Shortly thereafter he moved up in the world to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, covering some bigger things. There was a little UConn, a little New England Patriots and a lot more high school sports.
By 2002, Guarente was ready to return to Pennsylvania. He was tired of the traffic and the mediocre prep sports scene in the Nutmeg State. In December of that year he was hired by the New Era, where he has been ever since. Today, he is the Assistant Sports Editor and Lancaster Barnstormers beat writer.
Guarente has won three Keystone Press Awards for his coverage of the Barnstormers. He has written features, broken some news stories and managed to stand close to his dream. He spends his summer evenings at Clipper Magazine Stadium. Covering indy ball isn’t glamorous, but it sure beats sitting in an office.
There are plenty of people for Guarente to thank. John DeSanto gave an underqualified rookie his first job. Keith Freeman made those quiet Friday nights in Bristol so memorable. Brian Coyne was just an all-around great person. Ernie Schreiber took Guarente’s resume from a stack of 70 and brought him here.
Barnstormin’ debuted on Jan. 12, 2007 and it has slowly grown in readership. During the season, this site generates roughly 2,000 hits a day, and is the hangout for some of the most passionate minor-league baseball fans you’ll find. It’s Guarente’s pleasure to hang out with them.
E-mail Jason at jguarente@lnpnews.com.
