Social media can bring many benefits to young athletes when used correctly. It can also be a great detriment to young athletes if not used the right way or managed effectively. In Staying Humble in a Social Media Society, we address managing our attitudes in the face of positive social media attention. In this article, we’ll provide advice on how to use social media to capture the benefits while mitigating the negative consequences.
Benefits of Social Media
An athletes greatest benefits from social media are how it connects them to training and recruiting opportunities. Athletes who actively seek ways to improve are often the same ones looking to get recruited. Making this relationship a perfect match.
Training – Social media has made it possible to share training ideas, tips and drills effortlessly. Athletes can also use social media to interact directly with trainers that could live essentially anywhere. Trainers and athletes can now connect remotely. They can receive advice or programs to improve from some of the greatest coaches and trainers from anywhere. If you want to get better, social media or specific trainers online platforms are at your finger tips.
Recruiting – Social media has completely changed the game for athletes who want to play beyond high school. It really was not that long ago that sharing a highlight tape with a coach literally meant a VHS tape or a CD/DVD. Editing was painful! Locating a coaches mailing address was painful! Today, with video editing software and the advent of YouTube, an athlete only needs to acquire an email address. From there, they’re well on their way.
Social media has also made it easy for athletes to communicate with potential coaches and to follow the programs they are interested in. It’s a win – win for both the athlete and the college program. They are able to follow each other and get to know one another through their social media presence.
Manage your Social Media Presence with Care
The interactive nature of an athletes online presence is what makes it so important to effectively manage your activity with great care. This includes thinking twice about sharing a questionable post or making a questionable comment on another post. Your online presence can and will follow you no matter where you go or what you do.
Anything that you interact with online or connect yourself to, make sure that it holds up to the standards that you have set for yourself. Make sure that your online trail is indicative of who you are as a person, as a community member and as an athlete.
Keep your Interactions and Mindset Positive
Refrain from getting into online arguments or engaging in efforts to attack or tear down another person or entity. At the same time, don’t let somebody else come in and try to tear you down by their comments or interactions. Delete the comments, unfriend/unfollow them or whatever you need to do to avoid the interaction. A person that would try to tear you down doesn’t belong in your circle. Remember, you likely have more to lose than they do, don’t let them bait you.
So, before you respond or interact in any way with negativity online, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons and you can achieve a positive outcome. If there is no positive outcome possible, move on, let them look like the fool.
Don’t Let it Rule your Life
Social media addiction is a real thing! There are now helplines and addiction centers focused on this very topic. Do not fall into the trap! Control your use of all online tools. Use them for what they are intended which is not as a primary source of entertainment. Use them for information and creating connections with limited entertainment use.
I promise you, breaking into the starting lineup or getting an offer to play ball at the next level is not going to happen because you are on your phone looking at social media. In fact, the best way to limit your potential in sports is to spend your days online instead of putting in the work to get better! So, get off your phone and get to work!
BtL
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