Want a College Scholarship? Get Some Media Training!

It's Friday night and the star running back for the area high school team has just scored six (!) touchdowns in a shootout win over a city rival.

"Have you ever had a game like that before?" I ask.

"No, not at all," he said. "I have to give credit to my offensive line. They made it easy for me to get to the end zone. It was a great game plan."

Excuse me?

The guy just had the game of his life, he'll be a high school hero as long as the school is around, he'll never have to pay for his own dinner again, and in the middle of all the celebration he gives credit to everyone else?

That, my friends, is good planning for a college scholarship.

You don't need me to tell you that high school sports, especially high school football and basketball, are becoming big business. You can watch a high school football game just about every week on national television. Rivalries are no longer measured by geographical proximity, but by national competition. Lakeland, Florida, playing De La Salle, California, isn't a tournament, but just another game on the schedule. National champions are crowned by a poll instead of a playoff (gee, that sounds familiar).

The point is, high schools are using their sports programs as much as a marketing tool as a revenue generator. To that end, they want their facilities to be top notch, their programs to be winners and their players and coaches to be good representatives.

That's why more and more high school programs are looking at media training as another tool to get ready for the season. And if the high schools aren't paying for it, the booster clubs-or parents-are.

And here is the reason: If I, as an interviewer, know that a particular player is articulate, thoughtful, and can explain the game experience in 15 seconds or less, I'll go to him or her for my post-game interview. More exposure on television gives mom, dad, and the coaches more video to send to colleges. College coaches see these young players as great representatives for their high school, know that they also will be great representatives for their universities, and, given a close scholarship call between two athletes, will prefer the well-spoken player to one who may not be so trained.

Now, let's face it, if your son is 6'5" and has a cannon for an arm, you don't have to worry too much about how well he does a post-game interview. College coaches will be drooling over the prospect of having him lead their football team. But that's the exception.

The rule in high school sports is that most kids play for the love of the game, they want to play at the next level, but aren't necessarily that physically gifted to have coaches beating down their doors. No, most of them have to write countless letters and send countless videos to schools and hope for a scholarship to pay for the ever-increasing costs of college.

Preparing for games takes long hours of work in the weight room and on the field or court. More and more young athletes are including media training in that preparation as well. The competition is fierce for those scholarship dollars. Why wouldn't you be as prepared as you can be to talk about that six-touchdown game? You never know when you're going to have the game of your life. Preparing for the interviews that come afterward, starts months before.

Parents pay for offseason camps for their players. It's time to look at media training as just another tool to prepare for a college scholarship.