West Virginia University student-athletes will have a chance to brush up on their speaking skills and offer sage advice to the community as part of”Students Athletes Speak Out”at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8. The talks will be in Verizon Room 114 in Allen Hall.


For the first time ever, the motivational speeches will be broadcast live via videoconferencing to students at CapitalHigh School in Charleston. A question and answer period will follow in which the speakers, the live audience (members of the Athletic Council and invited guests), and the audience at CapitolHigh School will have an opportunity to interact.


Its all a part of Professor Carolyn Atkins Speech Pathology and Audiology 170: Speaking to Communities class, or”Jock Talk,”as it has been nicknamed.. Its a popular course with WVU athletes who are often the subject of media interviews. It also prepares them for job interviews and other professional presentations.


“Student athletes who are comfortable in the sports arena are often, like others, fearful of speaking in public,”Atkins said.”Although they have confidence in their athletic abilities, they may lack confidence when being interviewed or speaking before groups.”


The speeches are based on student-athletes’life experiences. Common themes have focused on family relationships and responsibilities, peer pressure and life-changing or inspirational events, Atkins said.


This years student presentations will be made by football players Michael Page,”My Destiny;”Kelvin Dubouse,”Living in Welch;”Jermaine Thaxton,”Changing Perspective;”Aaron Neal,”Help and Confidence;”and Eric Daugherty,”Controlling THIS Stress.”


The presentations are being made to the WVU Athletic Council.