It happens more often than it should: A student-athlete makes a foolish post on social media, a college coach sees it and suddenly that athlete is crossed off a list of potential recruits.
Athletes don’t see it happening, but coaches and administrators constantly monitor social media feeds to see if those stars on players’ recruiting profiles translate to digital responsibility. Ideally this shouldn’t be an issue for the athletes in question. And as the role of social media in sports continues to grow at all levels, young athletes are consistently drilled with the same directions. To name a few: Don’t use foul language in your posts, don’t engage in fights on social media and hold off on letting everyone know how much you partied last weekend.
There is certainly a lot of truth there. And there’s lots of smaller things athletes can do to make their profiles as presentable and professional as possible. I take note of these things as I see high school and college athletes make posts every day — posts about the most recent scholarship offer they received, or their most recent accomplishment in the weight room, among other things.
Here’s one major piece of advice for athletes that often gets overlooked: Don’t be afraid to have someone proofread your longer posts. This is especially important if you’re announcing a college decision, a transfer or any other turning point in your career. Nothing is worse than publishing a tweet about your commitment to a college team, only to notice days later that you misspelled a word or a name. And if you mention any schools in your posts, always make sure you are using the appropriate name. It’s Duke University, not the University of Duke. It’s UNC-Pembroke, not Pembroke College.
And another big thing: If you’re going to post videos of you lifting weights or doing any other type of workout, make sure you are doing it correctly and safely. Make sure your form is strong before you post that video of you setting a personal record on the squat rack. That approach makes you look good on social media. More importantly, it helps keep you off of the injured list.
Many individuals check out your profiles every now and then. Coaches, parents, teammates, opponents and members of the media are all a click away from seeing how you represent yourself on the internet. Give them something good to look at.
