We’ve all heard them a million times.
Football is an emotional sport.
Legendary manager Bill Shankly once said: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death.
“I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”
Whether playing, watching or coaching, we can feel euphoria, frustration, joy, sadness, anxiety and passion.
And we may well experience all these emotions and feelings in the same 90 minutes.
But the details of what happened often become blurred.
Instead, we remember how we felt at key moments, and most of all, how we felt at full time.
The same is also true of when we watch, hear and read players media interviews.
We remember little of what was said. But we do recall how they made us feel.
Maya Angelou is not known for her football wisdom. But she famously once said:
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
And this is something we stress during our media training lessons – which you can access for your academy players through the Premier League Lifeskills programme.
Whether your young players go on to enjoy careers as professional footballers or have success in other sectors and industries, her words provide inspiration for everyone.
How can we put this in more perspective for your young players?
Here’s what Peter Crouch (yep, we are finally quoting someone your young players are likely to have heard of) said about media interviews in his book How to be a footballer:
“Be a robot after scoring goals but not in interviews. Be yourself, not someone else’s idea of who you should be. You don’t want players to trip up but you want them to be honest and you don’t want them to be scared to say something.”
And we like this quote.
Journalists are not out to trip young players up. And they understand that footballers give little thought to being role models when they start out.
But they also know that fans want their players to take them on a journey.
They want to see their personality.
They want to know more of their backstory.
They want a peak of what goes on behind closed doors.
And they want to understand how they felt at those critical moments and whether they shared their pain or joy.
This is why our media training encourages players to share their personal stories and feelings, show emotion and be authentic rather than offer bland, clichéd responses.
These ingredients help make them relatable and build connections with supporters and other football fans.
The other great benefit of telling personal and sharing feelings is that it makes the uncomfortable environment of having a camera or microphone thrust in front of you much more comfortable.
What could be easier than telling your own story?
Our training sessions will show academy players how to do it properly.
Speak to us about the Premier League Lifeskills courses and other training options for your academy players.
