Whether for the school newsletter or local media, it can be difficult to get good answers to interview questions from kid athletes. Depending upon the age of the child or where and when the interview takes place, the young athlete might become easily distracted. Youngsters often don’t like to elaborate, and they tend to prefer to give short, one-word answers.
How do I talk to my athlete?
Youngsters often don’t like to elaborate, and they tend to prefer to give short, one-word answers. Extra care must be taken to design questions that will elicit a full response.
Inspirations and Aspirations?
Most kids like to talk about the heroes they look up to. Ask who are their sports heroes and what they admire most about them. Get them talking about their coaches. What do all good coaches have in common? Who was their favorite coach, and why? Ask when they first got interested in the sport. Ask about records they’ve broken. Have them describe their highlights of playing sports. If it’s a team sport, ask them to tell about a particularly close or exciting game; for solo performances ask about their proudest moments. Find out about their future aspirations — Major League Baseball or the Olympics? Do they have a plan to help them fulfill their dreams?
What Challenges do they face?
Kids enjoy discussing the drama of a disaster that was overcome. Ask them to talk about nail-biting incidents that had happy endings. Have they had any serious injuries? How did they deal with these and overcome the obstacles? Do they have time management issues? Is it difficult to balance sports with school work? Does the school administration support them? How? Ask their opinion about judges’ or referees’ decisions. If they disagreed with an official, how did they handle it? For team sports, how do they or their teammates feel about time on the bench? Ask about their fans. Are there any issues with friends being jealous? Do they feel they’ve missed out on other things their friends might be doing, and how do they handle those feelings?