Down…Set…Mic: Are you ready for the media game?

You own the option, you get back on your feet after taking a hit from a 6-3, 265 pound DE named “Crush,” and fourth quarter comebacks are your specialty. Yep. You’re a real superstar – on the field. But how are you in that other game, the one without a playbook or a man in stretchy pants making sure everybody follows the rules? Can you handle the microphone and the pack of reporters who will demand to know not just the details of your game, but of your life, too?

It’s tough out there. Ask Kobe. Ask Terrell. Ask Barry.

The same press who today will charm you with “Who loves ya, baby?” (thank you, Telly Savalas), will throw your athlete butt under the Goodyear Blimp tomorrow if it it’ll sell. And nothing sells like celebrity screw ups. You know it’s true because, admit it, you’ve fed on them, too.

That’s why more and more athletes are turning to people like me, message trainers, to help them manage their talk game as tightly as they manage everything else. As a coach off the field, a message trainer will develop your message, safeguard your image, and manage media crisis when it comes, so that when you get your 15 minutes in the spotlight – you stay out of the sports hall of shame.

Amy Jones, Message Trainer
The Russo Group