Do college coaches look at social media?
Social media and college athletic recruitments tend to mix, especially these days. So the question is, do college coaches look at social media? And the answer is, yes! When just about everyone depends on the internet for information dissemination, gathering, and even in recruitment. Through proper use of social media, it is much easier for players to contact coaches and vice-versa, as well as coaches being able to secure the information they need about the player in a much more convenient manner.
Coaches these days started embracing social media as a form of recruitment, and this helps them accomplish key goals. Depending on the size of the sports program, including its resources, coaches have staff and/or recruitment coordinators who scout different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and the like to see which athletes got offers from schools who offer the same program. Coaches do not intend to lose a potential top tier recruit, especially against a long-time rival college.
The Right Way Athletes Use Social Media
Pro tip: If you receive any offers for a collegiate program from any school, you should post about it on social media. Do not over exaggerate in your posts, though, since it can be obvious, but mention how grateful you are for an opportunity like that. You can tag the athlete’s program or the coach himself and make sure what you are saying on the posts are merely facts. These coaches will always attempt to get information about you and will find out whether your posts are legitimate or if you are simply exaggerating everything. Another thing you have to be cautious about is you legitimately being invited to the said school/program. It is a huge embarrassment for you to assume such an opportunity and will get you in trouble.
Coaches Use Social Media to Understand a Player’s Personality
Another key to success in using social media for recruitment is for the coach to better understand the athlete’s personality and overall character. Most coaches now turn to social media to get an overview of the athlete via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Some coaches take into account all posts you have made public. If you’re not careful, these can prevent you from being recruited. But what would cause more stir and more opportunity is to promote positive and honest social media content!
Another tip is to set all your accounts to the public. Though at first, for privacy, it’s always a good idea to set your account to private. But if you are an athlete wishing to grab opportunities far and beyond what you are capable of, then it is high time for you to consider exposing yourself to coaches. Most coaches will have the mindset that you are hiding something if you restrict your profile viewing.
Social Media and Responsible Transparency
Be transparent. Should your coach ask for your social media, simply send it to them with a clean mind. This way, it is much easier to look you up as well as contact you. Additionally, if you idolize that coach and they start to follow you, then that is a huge bonus in itself.
Make sure to keep tabs on your favorite teams and colleges through social media by following and liking their platforms. Make sure to get alerted about everything, such as updated information on team wins, losses, and special awards or anything else noteworthy. As a recruit, you should know everything about the team you want to be in because coaches would like to have players who are genuinely interested in their team as well as school. It will also give them an easier time to skip the formalities and just go over the basics.
You should try checking the program’s strengths and the conditions of coaches, staff, trainers, and athletes. Recruits usually just follow the head coach but better take the extra step by making sure you know about everyone you will be working with. You will also get along with them much easier if you have a good understanding of them as people and as a team.
Social Media and Direct Message
Direct message coaches for a better and swift response. Though there is no guarantee that coaches will message you directly or respond to you quickly, there is a guarantee that they will respond if you are a recruit they are searching for. Think about different messaging tools that they might be using and see what you can use to communicate with them. Some prefer social media, while others prefer to connect through conventional means via emails, phone calls, or even texts.
Be professional. Much like sending an email to the head coach, make sure to keep your message brief and straight to the point. Open the message with your interest in the college’s program and give the coach an insight about yourself.
Try to avoid stats, but focus mainly on your strengths and your weaknesses. Be honest about these aspects because these coaches will be very disappointed if you are not able to back-up what you told them. If they ask for your high school stats, you should send it to them, but you should never use the stats as your basis to get into a college sports team because disappointment will surely follow.
Turning on Your Settings To Allow Messaging
If you have a restricted profile, make sure to allow messaging so coaches can message you. Most college coaches would prefer it if the player is much easier to contact, especially for interviews, training, tryouts, etc. so always make sure to let people view your profile publicly and make contact easier.
Every accomplished athlete has their own bragging rights, so use these to your advantage. Highlight what you think are your greatest accomplishments, but at the same time, be humble about it. Your accomplishments can also be further expanded to academic knowledge other than sports knowledge because your future coach surely knows the game, maybe even moreso than you do.
Cleaning Social Media
Lastly, clean your social media. Do not allow people to post inappropriate content or comments on your platforms. Make sure to monitor your accounts since this is an integral part of your recruiting process. Though you may dedicate your time and effort to post only positive content on all your platforms, some of your friends or followers may not be so keen about them.
Make sure to monitor your profiles and posts on a daily basis. Follow your notifications and rid of your platform of anything damaging to your image, such as hateful content, especially racist content. Be also wary of images people tag you in. You should monitor what they tag and make sure to remove your tag from their posts or go as far as to contact them to take it down because a single post can literally ruin your future career nowadays with how vicious the internet can be.
Conclusion: Do college coaches look at social media?
Yes, college coaches look at social media. Other than being wary of your own social media contacts and/or platforms, it is good to be aware of what you will say to the coach, as well. Always take into account what you post and what you communicate on social media because coaches use social media platforms as part of the reflection of their future player’s personality and character. Social media can surely affect your application. If you aspire to be in the collegiate program, you have to effectively communicate on social media that you can represent yourself and a collegiate program. Coaches use social media to understand your personality and evaluate whether or not you have the type of character makeup and positive image that is worth investing in. If any issues arise, including those in social media, you will have a hard time getting accepted in any collegiate programs.
Our Athlete’s Guide to Social Media Stardom
Other References: Next College Student-Athlete. (n.a.). How to Use Social Media for Recruiting.