Pursuing her dreams on the sidelines: Miley Lenzen of CHS Sportscast
CANTON, Ga. — Miley Lenzen has grown up watching sports, primarily football. Both of her parents, Brandon and Ashley, are avid sports fans. As Miley explains, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the people yelling on the sidelines.鈥� Having watched sportscaster Erin Andrews on tv for many years, she always thought, 鈥淣ow this is a job that I could see myself doing. It鈥檚 a whole lot of things that I love all rolled into one: sports, traveling, high energy, conversations.鈥� With that seed planted, Miley decided to pursue sportscasting at her own Cherokee High School as a rising freshman. In the summer of 2023, she began laying the groundwork for what is now CHS Sportscast where she interviews athletes and coaches as well as covers various sports events for the Warriors. Her interviews are shared on her Instagram page where she has amassed more than 1400 followers in just a year. As a student-athlete herself, Miley has cheered for the past four years and will be courtside again for the CHS Warriors basketball team this winter.
Miley shares, 鈥淚鈥檝e learned a ton and it鈥檚 only been a year. The biggest thing I鈥檝e learned is, it鈥檚 hard! And it鈥檚 super time consuming.鈥� During certain seasons of sports, she finds herself after school every day waiting to interview one or more people. Since they are doing her a favor and allowing her to interview them, Miley does her best to work on their time鈥攁nd sometimes it can be a lot of waiting around or hurrying to catch them. She has also learned that the people she is interviewing are often far more nervous than her! Some of her interviewees will ask what questions to prepare for ahead of time because they want to prepare an answer.
Always coming up with questions to ask has proven to be Miley鈥檚 biggest challenge. Typically, she will ask basic questions to get to know an athlete, but she also comes up with one or two that are specific to them鈥攚hether about a big play they made at a previous game or maybe why they decided to sign with the college that they did. Keeping the questions straight in her head and memorizing everything can be tricky sometimes, especially on days when she conducts two or three interviews in one day.
The best advice she has received is just to 鈥渇ind what you love to do, and love doing it.鈥� And to enjoy the process along the way鈥攅ven the hard times or the times where you may doubt yourself. Miley鈥檚 mom, Ashley, tells her to 鈥渆njoy the speed bumps as well as the triumphs.鈥�
When asked what she loves about broadcasting, Miley easily shares, 鈥淚 love being able to hear what it takes for these incredible athletes to become who they want to be on the field. I don鈥檛 think some people realize how hard some of these players work, day in and day out. There鈥檚 no off season. And I love hearing about that. Just like I鈥檓 striving to accomplish a goal, they are reaching for that end game as well. I love being on the sidelines watching their dreams come true too.鈥�
As a one-man team, Miley says, 鈥淚 think the biggest thing I鈥檝e learned it to be prepared. When I think I have everything together, I check again. And really, I guess it鈥檚 a two-man team because if I didn鈥檛 have the opportunities that the athletes give me, I wouldn鈥檛 be here. I have learned to always be respectful of their time and their sport, and to always be encouraging.鈥� Before each interview, she makes sure that her mics are charged and ready to go. Then she goes over the questions with her mom to make sure they sound right before she hops on camera and knocks it out!
When she鈥檚 not in front of the camera or preparing for her next interview, Miley loves to travel or be with friends. She shares, 鈥淚t makes me really excited to go somewhere I haven鈥檛 been before. Going back to how much I love hearing people鈥檚 海角社区鈥擨 think the same thing happens when I travel. I can meet people who live very differently from me and learn all about their way of life. And that鈥檚 really cool.鈥�
One thing she learned specifically from watching Erin Andrews is that she always thanks the athletes for their time and tells them how much she appreciates them. Miley is always sure to do the same because they are taking the time out of their day, and she truly is grateful for that. She continues, 鈥淚 also love that she says to never want to make a name for yourself so bad that you chase a story that could bring an athlete down鈥攖o remember they鈥檙e human and to highlight all the good spots about them. I love that. She says treating athletes like individuals will take you further than treating them like a story. I always keep that close.鈥�
When it comes to recovering from mistakes, Miley says, 鈥淚鈥檓 a little lucky because I can cut the film and start over if I say the wrong thing. And that happens. If I鈥檓 interviewing a coach after the game, I can鈥檛 redo it鈥攕o honestly, I try my best to remember everything and if for some reason a question slips my mind, I improvise.鈥� She is sure to keep some easy questions handy in her mind just in case she needs a filler question.
Already planning for her future, Miley鈥檚 goal is to attend college for sportscasting鈥攁t University of Florida, in particular. University of Floria admissions is highly competitive and with only a 19% acceptance rate, Miley knew she needed to do something to stand out. She shares, 鈥淚 can play sports and make good grades, but majority of the people applying will have similar statistics. By starting CHS Sportscast, my hope is that the things I鈥檝e already done to work towards this career will make them see me on a different level鈥� In just a year鈥檚 time, she has already conducted over 100+ interviews.
Last fall, Miley was invited on Georgia Public Broadcasting where she was able to be on the sidelines with their sportscasters. She was also featured in a segment on their podcast. Recently, the Major League Pickleball Association had her attend the first weekend of the Atlanta Bouncers to interview their athletes which was a really neat experience. Last summer, Miley attended University of Alabama鈥檚 sports broadcasting camp where she took home the award for best overall group. This summer she is attending a similar camp at University of Florida鈥攈opeful to make connections there, saying, 鈥淚鈥檓 really trying to grab any opportunities that come my way and just keep building my resume.鈥�
Miley鈥檚 dream job is to be standing on the sidelines interviewing incredible athletes, where she would love to focus on either college or professional football. She adds, 鈥淚鈥檝e loved Erin Andrews for years (who also went to University of Florida) and she鈥檚 who I look up to career wise. I hope someday you guys can see me broadcasting at the Super Bowl. How fun would that be?鈥�
Offering advice to fellow students in pursuing their own goals, Miley shares, 鈥淚 think, as a high schooler, one thing that we all have to realize is not everyone is going to have the same dream as you and not everyone is going to care about your dreams. You鈥檒l have many people rooting for you, but you鈥檒l also have many people waiting for you to fail. Sometimes it鈥檚 hard to ignore the people hating on you. Just keep going鈥攆ocus on what you want long term and not so much on what other peers think about what you鈥檙e doing right now.鈥� Her parents remind her that other driven people are going to understand her motivation and hard work and will applaud it, and just not to worry about the others. So that鈥檚 what she would share with her peers鈥攄o what you love and don鈥檛 let others bring you down for it. Work hard and give it your all; that鈥檚 all you can do. She concludes, 鈥淚 know I will be proud of all the time I鈥檝e put into this regardless of whether I get accepted into University of Florida or not (but please let me get in).鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny because I can be quieter in person, but for some reason in front of a camera, I can get out of my head and just focus on what someone is telling me. I鈥檝e always thought about how everyone around me has a story and how neat it is that reporters are able to be gifted just a tiny bit of information about someone鈥檚 life. Anytime I interview someone, I truly am grateful that they gave me the time and the tidbits of information that make them the athletes that they are.鈥� Miley Lenzen, CHS Sportscast
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