Have you ever watched a football telecast with a former player doing commentary or analysis for the first time? They twitch nervously on screen while words come stammering out of their mouths like volcanic lava. Most former players making the transition to the broadcast booth have little or no broadcast training. For some former players, it can be more intimidating to face a little red light on top of a TV camera than it is facing a 300-lb. linebacker on the football field.
The NFL has introduced a new program that might change that, reports the New York Times. Known as broadcast boot camp, the program is an intensive three-day off-season seminar in which current and former players go through a series of training sessions led by top executives, producers and on-air personalities on how to analyze films and work more comfortably in front of the TV camera. The program is one of several that the league and the players’ union have introduced to help players transition into life after football.
Former Eagles’ QB Ron Jaworski, now with ESPN, said in the Times article, that he wished there was a broadcast boot camp when he retired from football. “The things these guys are going to learn in three days, I learned in three years,” he said.
It’s a great idea and long overdue, not just for the NFL but also for other major sports. Most athletes love the idea of doing broadcast work but don’t have the proper training to succeed. Some do it anyway without any training, and the result is awful. If more sports leagues provided this kind of training, more athletes would be better prepared to provide lively, insightful and entertaining analysis of sports events that would be worth watching.
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