It’s a familiar feeling for Celia Jiménez Delgado. Her heart is racing and she is full of butterflies. It’s the same anticipation she felt before every game in her soccer career, but the next one will be different.

She won’t be on the pitch; she’ll be in the broadcast booth.

Jiménez Delgado is among those who went through the fourth NWSL Broadcast Bootcamp, presented by e.l.f., and come the 2026 season, she’ll be a rookie all over again. But with nerves comes excitement.

“This is something challenging enough that it makes me excited,” Jiménez Delgado said. “It’s something that is rewarding enough to make me feel nervous.”

Through the NWSL’s Beyond the Field Program, the Broadcast Bootcamp is a chance for current and former players to try their hand at live television production. Meg Buchan, the NWSL’s Senior Director of Broadcast and Production, oversees the annual program where participants can try out every role – from producer to on-air talent.

“This is my favorite thing I get to do all year,” Buchan said. “The participants start out with a really overwhelmed, wide-eyed look. By the end of the second day, they’re calm and much more confident. They’re always amazed at how much goes into creating a live sports broadcast and how forgiving and supportive of an environment it can be.”

For players like Jiménez Delgado, getting into television production wasn’t necessarily the obvious career choice after retiring from the NWSL in 2024, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

The weekend at the NWSL studio in Florida took her by surprise.

In its fourth year, 17 current and former players spent two days trying out the different aspects of a game broadcast. Before the bootcamp started, each participant was given a game to study and prepare for as if they were working a live broadcast.

They sat in the analyst seat, mic’d up and with an earpiece in, learning how to be coached in real time while the cameras were rolling. They practiced pronunciation, research, and learned from Jill Loyden how to break down a play concisely, educating and entertaining the audience. e.l.f. even provided each participant with full glam to make their on-air experience as authentic as possible.

“At e.l.f. Beauty, we show up in unexpected places, empowering our community to believe that anything is e.l.f.ing possible,” said Patrick O’Keefe, Chief Integrated Marketing Officer, e.l.f. Beauty. “Through our partnership with the NWSL, Broadcast Bootcamp equips players with the tools to translate their authority on the field into influence everywhere else. Together, we are fueling a future where women athletes have limitless opportunities to lead the conversation and inspire the next generation."

With the full glam, the participants got professional headshots and reels to use once they graduated the program.

In the mock control room, participants got a chance to try out working as a producer, a director, a replay operator, as well as a member of the graphics team.

It was an eye opening experience for the current and retired athletes.

“When we watch the game [as players], we're focusing on passing or tactics,” Jiménez Delgado said. “When a goal is scored, what is the analyst trying to cover? What are the points that are being talked about? What are the people on production showing on the screen? How fast does it need to be? We definitely gained a new realization and a lot of respect.”

That means changing some habits, too. Jiménez Delgado said when watching film as part of training, it’s typically without audio, without the score, or the clock to limit distractions.

“When we realized how much work goes on behind the scenes, I was like, ‘I am sorry. I'm never watching a soccer game on mute again,’” she said with a laugh.

This idea isn’t new. Other leagues also offer similar programming to help former players join the ranks of on-air experts. The difference for the NWSL is just how quickly players can go from the bootcamp to broadcast.

Soon enough, Jiménez Delgado will be among the graduates of the NWSL’s bootcamp making their analyst debut. With two new expansion teams – the Boston Legacy and Denver Summit – entering the rotation in 2026, there’s an additional 116 broadcasts that Buchan needs to staff.

“I need people,” Buchan said. “If you tell me that you’re interested in doing this, I’ll put you on the schedule and I’ll give you the work.”

But Buchan isn’t sending her bootcamp attendees out to sink or swim. Each is paired with an experienced producer who can act as a coach and a trusted play-by-play caller who can serve as a trusted teammate and collaborator.

A live broadcast is a team sport, too. That was made clear at the bootcamp.

“One of the things that stuck out to me the most was how safe the environment felt. We were all doing something that we had never done before, and it was definitely a fast-paced learning environment, but everyone was gracious,” Jiménez Delgado said. “That made it feel like it was a learning environment and not just high pressure. We could be ourselves and continue to get reps and get better.”

To make it as a professional athlete requires discipline and commitment to the craft. Athletes spend years – decades, even – of their lives as part of a team with rigorous schedules. For many, retirement means stepping into an entirely different world for the first time.

The possibilities are infinite, but that is both freeing and daunting.

“If somebody told me tomorrow that I can’t do TV anymore, it’s not available to you, I would be completely lost,” Buchan said. “When I think of a player who spent their whole lives playing soccer, and then age or injury comes and they’re told you can’t do what you’ve done all your life anymore, I can imagine that feeling of being lost.I love sharing thisc opportunity.”

This is a chance to cultivate a new class of talent while allowing retired professional athletes a chance to stay connected to the game they love.

“Still contributing to the sport, whether it is with our knowledge as commentators, analyst or even production, it makes a difference,” Jiménez Delgado said. “Especially right now, where we are really seriously investing in women's sports and trying to grow at a very fast pace. The people that have the experience, the people that know the sport best, are the ones that can bring something different to the table.”