High school sports cliche quotes that should remain on the cutting floor...

I see, hear and read these most often with girls

"We all get along better this year."


Anyone, particularly a coach who apparently doesn't want to name names for fear that Paul Peon whose daddy is the school board president won't come after him for leaving him out:

"It was a total team effort."

Guys:

"We were more focused today."

 

After beating bad team by 30 or 40 points:
"You have to admire them for how hard they play."

 

One of these days, I'm going to go back through stories and find where that quote was used in consecutive years about the same team. Hell, I could probably find it used about the same team for many years in a row.

 

College coaches will open their postgamers with something like this in commending the effort of (name the opposing coach)'s squad.

 

About the winless team that's coming up next on the schedule that everyone's been beating by 15 runs/40 points a game: "They're a well-coached team and they'll be ready to play." So well-coached that they've given up more runs/points than any other team in the region? OK.

After a loss late in the season: "We've got to go to practice tomorrow ready to work hard and fix these things." Um, coach, your guys weren't working hard before today?

"We're working on getting better." One of these days, a coach is going to admit that they're working on getting worse.

 

If you don't want cliche answers, ask better questions.

 

well said

 

"We just wanted it more."

 

"We left it all out on the floor/court/field."

"We played within ourselves."

 

"We just have to take it one game at a time."

no coach, I would have thought you were going to play all seven of your remaining games simultaneously.

 

You obviously haven't been around a lot of HS kids who don't know how to talk.

More than "asking better questions," a reporter can get conversational with them in a way to make them feel a little less nervous, which many are.

Moreover, I really don't think you or I or anyone "controls" what they say. A lot of it is coachspeak, etc. Obviously when you get this, you have to dodge it or shift around it to get to better stuff. It doesn't mean it never gets said.

 

I have been around plenty of HS athletes. Most don't have very interesting things to say. Most can't put together complete sentences. Coaches, on the other hand, should be held to a higher standard. If a reporter wants decent quotes and responses, the reporter has to be able to conduct better interviews. Ask specific questions. Ask why a lot. Cliches are part of the game, but a reporter shouldn't accept them happily.
That being said, some HS kids make great interviews. I have met my share of those type of kids too. I don't want to paint with a broad brush, but in my experience, 16 year olds are not very deep or thoughtful.