Are sportspeople coached on what to say in their post-match interviews?
For a while, I thought so. I’m certain most of them have media training. They all say the same thing:
Yes — we’re very pleased/disappointed with the win/loss.
What’s important is that we worked hard as a team.
Sometimes things happen we can’t control.
We have to play our best and play for each other.
That victory/defeat is in the past now. Our job is to focus on the next game.
We have to put that game behind us and get back on the training ground.
We must prepare for the next game.
Maybe there are PR people behind the scenes telling them what to say. Perhaps they learned it from watching other top performers speak. It might just be how they all think.
But, whether they believe it or not, they all say these things because that’s the mindset it takes to compete at the top,
And saying is believing.