Special to the Herald

Thunderbolt Sports Media faces an uncertain future following an announcement on Instagram earlier this month. Ken Simone, founder of the high school media outlet and Cranston East teacher, announced he’d be stepping down from his advisor role. This leaves TSM in need of a new faculty advisor for the upcoming school year, but that is just one of the roles that will need to be filled to keep the popular club running.
In the nearly six-minute video Simone stated “Teams are really going to have to pick up covering and dispersing their own results.” This will be a major change and adjustment compared to the near-daily sports updates that TSM provided the Cranston East community. 

Simone’s biggest reason for stepping down? Lack of student involvement. The vast majority of the club’s members were graduating seniors, including President Timothy Yean and Vice President/Lead Writer Charlie Adams. Without underclassmen students willing to step up, Simone would be left with more work than his schedule can accommodate to keep TSM running.

Simone also gave mention to the Sports Media & Management pathway that was never really able to take off. “The thought when we proposed this pathway was that we would be able to at least get anyone in Cranston interested in learning about sports media and management to our pathway at East. Ideally, we’d be able to get students from all over the state. However, once those options were eliminated, I knew we’d be in trouble. There simply isn’t enough interest within the East student population to have the pathway, and I’m unsure if there’s enough for TSM to survive.”

Despite the lack of student involvement, TSM did not lack student support. Thunderbolt Sports Media’s Instagram page reached over 1,000 followers, mostly students who wanted to stay in the loop with their school sports. Students engaged and shared posts, read original articles, and tuned into TSM’s very own podcast, “Thunderbolt Sports Talk.” 

When Simone founded TSM five years ago, he never expected the club to become what it did. “The students involved introduced me to so much that I wouldn›t have been able to come up with myself. The expansion of our social media outreach and the creativity of the content we put out there stands out the most. And with our crew getting a wide array of experience in broadcasting thanks to the Fans Only Sportz Network employing so many of our members, it took our abilities to cover and promote Cranston East athletics to a place I couldn›t have imagined when we began.”

Simone has had many proud moments as the advisor of TSM.

“While I will preface this by saying that the best part of TSM were the relationships I was able to build with students that I wouldn›t have otherwise had a chance to work with, I have to say that the proudest I›ve felt was seeing Tim and Charlie announcing and broadcasting championship events for the Rhode Island Interscholastic League this year. It felt like we had arrived at a different level when that happened. And hearing the praise that league and media members had for them was extremely gratifying.”

As Thunderbolt Sports Media grew, Simone created a new elective course at Cranston East titled “Writing for Sports Media.” Students learned the fundamentals of sports journalism and had the opportunity to meet and learn from local professionals such as Eric Rueb and Bill Koch of the Providence Journal. Under Simone’s advising, TSM members became respected members of the sports media scene and received many networking opportunities throughout Rhode Island.

Two major questions need to be answered for TSM to continue, says Simone. “The future depends on whether a faculty advisor is willing to step forward and guide the group and, most importantly, if there are motivated students who want to build upon what has been created over the last five years. It›s just uncertain at this time if both will happen.”

Despite stepping down from his advisor role, the founder of TSM will make sure that a growing tradition within the club will continue. “The 3rd Annual Cranston Stadium Press Box Turducken will still be served this Thanksgiving Day and will continue to be as long as I am the public address announcer for the East-West Thanksgiving Day football game. Members of TSM, the media, administrators, TSM Athletes and Coaches of the Year, and other invited guests can look forward to that delicious cajun creation being ready at halftime!”

Thunderbolt Sports Media may have seen its final days, or it could return under new leadership. Regardless, Simone’s contributions to the school community and TSM members will certainly be missed, and his impact will continue to be felt as former members of the club progress in their careers thanks to the jumpstart that Mr. Simone and Thunderbolt Sports Media provided them.