Scott Van Pelt’s appearance on ‘New Heights’ full of life lessons from sports: “Be a good teammate and work hard”

Van Pelt shared his experience on ESPN with the Kelce brothers and talked about some real life adventures working in sports and handling difficult situations. The show is a must-watch (on YouTube) or a must-listen on Spotify. The conversation was entertaining and full of life lessons from beginning to end.

Life lesson No. 1 “It’s really easy to be decent to people”

Van Pelt shared a lot of wisdom from his dad, who he lost at a young age. “Treat superstars like normal people and treat normal people like superstars,” his dad used to say. He shared the quote with the Kelce Brothers when Travis thanked him for being so warm and nice when he met him while still in college.

The ESPN commentator went on to explain why he treats people the way he does and of course his dad has a lot to do with that, but also sports broadcasting legend Dick Enberg. “When I was a little kid I went to a Maryland basketball game (shocker) and he couldn’t have been kinder or more present,” Van Pelt said. “He was asking me questions and he was interested and he was present.”

He explained that he gets recognized a lot and empathized with the Kelce brothers, who have to deal with fame as well, but he finished by saying, “Give something good and you’ll probably get it back,” he said

Life lesson No. 2 “I love what I get to do”

In the next segment of the show, he talked about working at the Masters at Augusta National, “By far and away my favorite week of the year,” he said. He tied into the conversation again the idea of “being present and being grateful” when mentioning his father again and his zen moment before beginning to broadcast at the Masters on Thursday: “I think of my father and I think, let me be calm and let me do my job well, let me speak slowly and clearly. And I think of him and I think ‘Man, if my father were here.‘”

It’s just such a heartfelt moment from a highly successful professional who understands how lucky he really is and how much he would like to share the moment with his deceased father. “They say a young man who loses his dad early in life spends the rest of his life trying to make his dad proud,” he went on to say.

Life lesson No. 3: My friend Miss Nadine

Van Pelt and the brothers continue talking about the Masters Tournament and what makes it so special. They agree that it’s not just the course itself or the players; it’s everything combined, especially the people. That’s when we hear about Miss Nadine, who worked security, and her relationship with Van Pelt over the years. “By the end of that week me and Nadine were like this (he puts two fingers together to indicate they were tight),” Van Pelt continues talking about her, “I get Christmas cards from her, she gets Christmas cards from me. We see each other and hug every single day. That’s my girl, Miss Nadine. We’ve been friends for 20 years.”

Life lesson No. 4 “Be a good teammate and work hard”

He goes on to explain his first day at ESPN and his time on Sportscenter after talking about playing golf with Jason Kelce. After giving a master class in how to interview athletes Travis Kelce asks him who gives the best post game interviews. Without hesitation Van Pelt answers, “I think hockey players.”

After talking about how tough hockey players are and how they’re willing to sacrifice themselves for their teammates, the Kelce brothers talk about their recent interview with the Tkachuk brothers and what they took from that interview, “be a good teammate and work hard.”

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We could go on and on, but we’ll let you enjoy the interview yourselves. Towards the end they give another practical life lesson. Pay attention for the “leaves in the gutter” story. And of course, when talking about one of the few TV shows he has seen recently, Van Pelt talks about ‘Ted Lasso’ because of course he does.

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