By Jackie Thompson
Special to Official Kids Mag
The pandemic has been an incredibly
challenging time for every adult, and
child across the world. It has also
drawn us closer together as it has
called on us to shelter at home but
connect to one another through media
whether it be social or traditional.
Media has helped us to fill in the gaps
in our communication and information,
to share and compare what's going
on. So many kids have likely heard
their parents begging them to 'put
down their phones!' perhaps not fully
realizing that these devices were the
connection to the outside world in
place of school, friends, sports and
activities. The Thompson household
is no exception. In our house, Eli
Thompson, our very energetic almost-
high-schooler used his experiences and
passion for sports (which he wasn't
playing!) to speak out to other kids
AND adults. "It was hard not to be in
school, play sports or hang out with
my friends," he shares. "You can only
talk to your parents and sister for so
long and by mid-summer, that time
period was up!"
Eli's interests pre-dated the
pandemic. Around the time that
he turned 12, we learned (through
a non-descript mailer sent to our
house!) of a nationally syndicated
radio show (which means it
is distributed throughout the
country!) called The Sports Circus
(www.thesportscircus.com) Eli had
already logged interviews with Coach
Mike Ditka and a number of other
athletes and politicians in the world
of sports and news through his
persistence and some sports and news
contacts from Mom. Yes, our family
helped, but Eli sure can talk! That
gift of gab landed him a weekly gig as
the high school prep reporter (and
commentating on anything else he is
asked about!) on The Sports Circus.
Eli's weekly check ins were one of the
few 'normal activities in 2020. "Even
though there weren't much live sports
to discuss, it was still great to connect
with Sal Tuzzolino (the show's host)
each week to check in. It made me
want to do more!"
14-year-old eli thompson
struggled to speak as a baby, but ...
When eli was 11, he interviewed legendary football coach Mike ditka.
"Kids have some of the most
unique opinions out there … for
those who are willing to listen!"
~ eli
BiG way!
fouNd his voicE in a
NBC News Chicago Segment:
https://bit.ly/3hzt2ss
check with your adult, then check out some of eli's broadcasts:
The Sports Circus segments:
www.thesportscircus.com
https://bit.ly/3wfvQ8u
https://ihr.fm/3ynexnm
The Sports Angle segments:
www.thesportsangle.com
https://ihr.fm/3ytY3dc
38 • august 2021 • www.of f icialKidsMag.com
