Written by Judy Womack, NCCU Public Relations

English is said to be the international language of business and commerce. Hence, proper English usage must be considered one essential key to success. Some students at North Carolina Central University are working towards achieving a set of language skills that just might alter their life’s trajectory for the better.

Zaneta Ponton, a speech and language pathologist in the department of communications disorders hit on a winning idea that has excited some NCCU athletes. She has launched a program called Sports Talk in an effort to help athletes improve their communication skills. “We watch sports and many times listen to sportscasters interviewing athletes but by the end of the segment, we are left scratching our heads,” said Ponton. “We want our young people to produce speech sounds correctly and fluently. We want their thoughts and feelings understood based on accepted English usage.”

Ponton thought the Sports Talk program might not get off the ground with coaches, trainers and athletes, but the Eagles and their handlers see several benefits to the program. “I have been working every summer at George Washington University since the 7th grade in athletic training. I am majoring in exercise science. I see the program as something I need to learn,” says William Tisdale, a junior from Landover, Md. The middle linebacker transferred from Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa., and sees Sports Talk as a stepping-stone. “I like it. I need to learn how to articulate and polish my speech,” said Tisdale. “There is life after sports.”

Nineteen-year-old cornerback, Micguel Johnson from Gainesville, Fla., was a little bit skeptical about the program at first until he underwent speech analysis. “I talk too fast and I have an accent which everyone teases me about, but since I am majoring in sports management, I need the tools. Eventually, I want to be a sports commentator,” said Johnson. Johnson is keeping Sports Talk classes a secret from his mom and his younger brother, Chris. But, Johnson will share the information with his sibling eventually because Chris is a track star who is on his way to the Nationals in Florida for the fifth time and could use a little help.

Quarterback Stadford Brown was named the most valuable player at an HBCU in his freshman year in 2006 at the American Urban Radio Network’s Black College Football All-American ceremony. Brown, a junior from Washington, D.C., is a veteran of Sports Talk who encourages his teammates and others to join the program. “I am a mass communication major. I can write a paper for English class, put words on paper, but that is not sufficient,” said Brown. “Sports Talk recorded my voice and played it back. The program has helped me with pronunciation and enunciation.” The 21-year-old knows the NCAA has 380,000 athletes and that he may pursue a career off the grid for one in a radio or TV booth.

Ponton says Sports Talk is designed to work on several things, from breathing to sounds, control, and pronunciation. She emphasizes that the student-athletes are taking advantage of an opportunity to do more than just play sports. Ponton says “communication is the new fitness” and hopes to expand the program to include other students, faculty, staff and the community to the extent that funding becomes available.

The original story was published here: http://nccueaglepride.cstv.com/sports/athletic-dept/spec-rel/073108aaa.html

Tags: black college football, black college track, hbcu football, hbcu track, iaa independent, north carolina central, north carolina central eagles