The education of Ian Riccaboni

"Be yourself and do your homework."

Those were the words of wisdom passed down to Ian Riccaboni from legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas.

Riccaboni once wrote a letter to Kalas asking for advice on how to become a great sports broadcaster. Much to his surprise, Riccaboni actually received a response from the baseball Hall of Famer. Kalas' words were simple and to the point, Riccaboni has since kept them in the back of his mind.

Following the advice of Kalas and many others has allowed the Allentown native to become a fixture on Ring of Honor television as an announcer -- on top of being a notable analyst and author covering the team Kalas was the voice of for decades, the Phillies.

Although Riccaboni's exploits have garnered him some recognition, he was not fully aware of just how much until he found himself in position to give advice, as he recently received a Facebook message from a high school student inquiring what it took to "make it" in broadcasting.

Flattered by the notion of someone asking him for pointers on how to become a professional broadcaster, Riccaboni passed down Kalas' advice: Be yourself and do your homework.

Riccaboni might have found himself in the position of teacher in that instance, but he is still very much a pupil at this stage of his career.

His mentors today are members of the Ring of Honor locker room, most of whom are veterans to the ins and outs to the sometimes topsy-turvy world of professional wrestling.

When it comes to sharpening his broadcasting skills, he seeks the knowledge of Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino, Ring of Honor's lead announce team. Kelly has done play-by-play in professional wrestling for years, including a lengthy period with WWE.

Riccaboni routinely sits down with Kelly and picks his brain. He also receives constructive criticism. In between learning sessions, Riccaboni is studying and practicing his craft in an effort to improve.

"I think a lot of folks take constructive criticism for granted and Kevin has been gracious with his ability to communicate areas of improvement in a really positive way," Riccaboni said in a phone interview.

Corino is a recently retired wrestler of more than 20 years who has transitioned seamlessly to the booth. During his in-ring career, Corino became a star during the latter days of the original incarnation of Extreme Championship Wrestling. He even won the ECW World Heavyweight championship once.

Because of that, Corino still has fans all around the world. Riccaboni picks up on how both Kelly and Corino have handled their success and how they have not taken it for granted.

"They enjoy it," he said. "They interact with the fans. They pose for photos. I'm not at that level of notoriety. It's neat when someone does ask for a photo with me, but I'm kind of learning through osmosis."

Riccaboni has taken everything that he has learned and has applied it to what he does on screen. Because of that, he has earned a consistent role with Ring of Honor by becoming the voice of Women of Honor.

And because of that role, Riccaboni's voice can be heard on the most-watched match in the history of Ring of Honor's YouTube channel. It was a four-corner survival involving Veda Scott, Kimber Lee, Kelly Klein and Taylor Hendrix that took place in Philadelphia back in December during the pre-show for Final Battle.

The match has garnered more than 600,000 views, topping videos on the channel that include major wrestling names such as CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins.

"We have a number of amazing women that come through the ROH camps, that come to the ROH dojo and that number was growing and growing and growing," Riccaboni said.

"The stories that I've learned in working with these women are almost identical to the men," he added. "All of the women you see on Women of Honor are lifelong fans. This is all they've ever wanted to do. They've been able to work hard at the ROH dojo or work hard where they trained and really put together some incredible matches."

By being himself and doing his homework, Riccaboni has carved out his own niche in one of the top wrestling promotions in the world.

So far, it seems as though Kalas' advice has paid off.

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Riccaboni's Phillies work includes being one of the authors of the book The 100 Greatest Phillies of All Time. He also hosts the Phillies Nation podcast with Corino, a die-hard Phillies fan, and teaches an Introduction to Sports Media course at Holy Family University.