Basketball standout Isis Young provides media insights to young hoopers

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

This summer, New Jersey native Isis Young is using her talents in diverse areas. The former Division I college player and graduate of Syracuse University is working at basketball camps, doing commentary gigs and moving forward with her company, Your World Media, to provide media training to athletes.

“Middle school, high school, collegiate, and professional,” Young said. “We also offer broadcast coaching services for those just getting into broadcasting or those who are in the industry looking to get more feedback and get better.”

Young said her own experiences showed her how important it is to be articulate, get a point across, and be confident in the spotlight. By the eighth grade, she started being interviewed, as well as receiving attention from college coaches.

“Different avenues have stemmed from me being able to articulate my thoughts and feelings correctly, being able to retain information, and just to have great conversations,” said Young, who earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse (the first women’s basketball player to be accepted into the program) and a master’s in media management from Fordham. “I really wanted to make sure that I could give other athletes the same ability to be confident in themselves, and be able to advocate for themselves.

“When you know how to talk, what to say, and how to get your point across in a way where others can receive it, it’s a very powerful tool,” she added. “With the media now and how high school athletes specifically are getting more media attention and more social media attention, how you handle the spotlight is so important right now.”

Today’s student-athletes have new demands, given social media and name, image, and likeness opportunities. Young said the media at times asks questions that make athletes uncomfortable, so she hopes to help them build the skills to handle such situations. As someone with broadcast experience, she said she is also able to enlighten athletes about how the media thinks.

Over the months ahead, Young will be traveling, working at camps, picking up commentary work, and preparing for the fall. She also does soccer analysis. As soccer season ends, college basketball season begins. When college hoops are done, she’ll head overseas to play some pro ball.

“Another thing that I teach in my media training program is how to create opportunities for yourself,” said Young, who created the show “The Ice Box” while a student at Syracuse. “I truly understand and have lived that out.”