Recruits getting dropped because of Social Media

Yappi

Go Buckeyes
Quotes like the one below are very common on Twitter and other social media. Do you think this is a problem or the right way for coaches to recruit their athletes?


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Quotes like the one below are very common on Twitter and other social media. Do you think this is a problem or the right way for coaches to recruit their athletes?


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Life lesson.
This can and does happen in the job world.
Hopefully this is a lesson to them moving forward in life as employers will look at it before hiring..
 
IMO, I think this is a little lazy by the coaches. The one that I take the greatest exception to is the "likes". It is easy to skim something over and quickly like it for something that stood out to you. May have skimmed over something that was more problematic that you never saw. Might even like something because of clumsy "thumbs".

Not to add, this gives a coach the right to determine what is moral and what is not. Ultimately, the coaches will be judged by their wins and losses but some coaches might get some leeway for appearing to be a good man by judging 13-18 year olds social media posts.

I think coaches should also consider their own social media blunders and be careful acting as judges and executioners in HS recruiting.
 
Quotes like the one below are very common on Twitter and other social media. Do you think this is a problem or the right way for coaches to recruit their athletes?


View attachment 14655
Remember, these rare likely possible recruits.
A coach may have a pool of 50 he is looking at. A few at the absolute top and then a lot in the middle ground.
As much as they look for reasons to accept/select someone, they are looking at reason to drop someone.

No different than really watching how a player reacts while he is on the bench supporting his team and teammates.

Just another way to evaluate a persons character I suppose.
 
I don't know about likes and retweets but this social media review is not new information. And the stuff lasts forever. Just as soon not have an account.
 
It’s fair game IMO. You’re evaluating the kid to see if he’s a fit. The social media stuff can be revealing about the attitudes and character of the kid.

I would think it’s a bigger issue for the borderline recruits. We all know the true studs get a lot of free passes in life based on their rare athletic talents.
 
There's a couple of different things to consider on this matter.

A) "Why do coaches care about social media enough to cut a kid from their target list?" -- Because the coach isn't there every single day with the recruit (impossible), and their social media offers the glimpse into what the kid does and is like everyday. A coach may not have even met a kid previously for the recruit to be on their radar. And the coach does, invariably, bear some responsibility for the behavior of the kids they bring onto campus.

B) "What are things that kids post resulting in them getting cut from recruiting?" -- So, I'm not aware of any kids getting dropped from recruiting for 'posting racism.' I'm sure a kid has been dropped for that, but I've never heard of this being a widespread problem with recruits and I'm inclined to think it really does not happen at the frequency the coach quoted is saying that it does.

Things that kids generally get dropped from recruiting for posting: photos of guns (in the context of street violence), photos of drugs (like marijuana), something that suggests the recruit associates with delinquents and/or gangs, photos and videos of fights, airing personal dirty laundry involving other students or women, talking trash to/about opponents, starting social media fights, talking trash about coaches or refs, referring to women as "b*tches", "h*es" or any other derogation, saying that someone should have an act of violence inflicted upon them.

C) "Are there instances or possibilities where a coach goes overboard or is unreasonable about social media reviews" -- Probably! I do recall an instance on Twitter, several years ago, where a hoops coach for some real low level school (may have been a community college) posted something along the lines of "if you receive an offer from a school then you should show your gratitude on it publicly." Took a few minutes for my eyes to roll back from the back of my head.

Like, c'mon... social media and recruiting publicly gets so kitsch & awkward with kids having to pretend that they're "blessed" to receive an 'offer' to play at places like UNOH (no disrespect intended to any alumni) or Bryant & Stratton.
 
There's a couple of different things to consider on this matter.

A) "Why do coaches care about social media enough to cut a kid from their target list?" -- Because the coach isn't there every single day with the recruit (impossible), and their social media offers the glimpse into what the kid does and is like everyday. A coach may not have even met a kid previously for the recruit to be on their radar. And the coach does, invariably, bear some responsibility for the behavior of the kids they bring onto campus.

B) "What are things that kids post resulting in them getting cut from recruiting?" -- So, I'm not aware of any kids getting dropped from recruiting for 'posting racism.' I'm sure a kid has been dropped for that, but I've never heard of this being a widespread problem with recruits and I'm inclined to think it really does not happen at the frequency the coach quoted is saying that it does.

Things that kids generally get dropped from recruiting for posting: photos of guns (in the context of street violence), photos of drugs (like marijuana), something that suggests the recruit associates with delinquents and/or gangs, photos and videos of fights, airing personal dirty laundry involving other students or women, talking trash to/about opponents, starting social media fights, talking trash about coaches or refs, referring to women as "b*tches", "h*es" or any other derogation, saying that someone should have an act of violence inflicted upon them.

C) "Are there instances or possibilities where a coach goes overboard or is unreasonable about social media reviews" -- Probably! I do recall an instance on Twitter, several years ago, where a hoops coach for some real low level school (may have been a community college) posted something along the lines of "if you receive an offer from a school then you should show your gratitude on it publicly." Took a few minutes for my eyes to roll back from the back of my head.

Like, c'mon... social media and recruiting publicly gets so kitsch & awkward with kids having to pretend that they're "blessed" to receive an 'offer' to play at places like UNOH (no disrespect intended to any alumni) or Bryant & Stratton.
Hey, if you get a scholarship offer to be part of Bryant & Stratton’s world class typing team you should be publicly grateful!
 
Happens all the time in the football world. Character matters. If I'm recruiting a kid for 4-5 years I want a kid who is dependable and who I can trust.
 
Happens all the time in the football world. Character matters. If I'm recruiting a kid for 4-5 years I want a kid who is dependable and who I can trust.
And this is especially important (the point of dependability and trust), not just for football purposes but also because you have an iron in the fire as a coach to see to it that you're not bringing a bunch of kids to campus that fizzle out after a semester or freshman year.
 
I would think it’s a bigger issue for the borderline recruits. We all know the true studs get a lot of free passes in life based on their rare athletic talents.
This is probably a good example of why it rubs me the wrong way. The coaches target certain players and would likely suggest in quiet that they delete something offensive or go to bat for them if it was borderline. The rest of the players are the fringe guys that are all one misstep away from being overlooked whether it is bad grades, bad review from HS coach, played at too many high schools, or didn't give the coach the right type of handshake.

When I see coaches make this comment, it just strikes me as a holier than thou type of coach that probably has done some shady things in the past.
 
Quotes like the one below are very common on Twitter and other social media. Do you think this is a problem or the right way for coaches to recruit their athletes?


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I think this quote is true and fair. Coaches and Schools can’t tolerate explicit images and racist language being spewed all over the place.
 
A school, a coach is investing years into the potential of a student athlete. They are going to find out everything they can about that kid. Now I'm not sure coaches use everything on social media to make their recruiting decisions, but there are certain topics that are grounds for immediate reasons to stop contacting a kid. To my knowledge there are no need to disclose why you stop recruiting a kid, you can always pick someone else.
Obviously today's hot button topics include racists posts, violence, drugs, etc.
This is just a great opportunity for a kid to filter their footprint.
 
I find this thread amusing since in essence the country just got through electing a president largely based on social media.
 
The whole "blessed to receive an offer" thing is ridiculous in my mind. I am fine with announcing a commitment, but to announce every offer....especially schools you have no intention of attending unless it was the last school on earth is pretty silly to me. BUT....if you feel the need to announce the offer.....PULLLLLEEEEZE get the name right....lol I have seen:

The University of Ohio State (more than once)
Iowa University
University of Texas Tech

......and a lot more that I can't remember right now.
 
The whole "blessed to receive an offer" thing is ridiculous in my mind. I am fine with announcing a commitment, but to announce every offer....especially schools you have no intention of attending unless it was the last school on earth is pretty silly to me. BUT....if you feel the need to announce the offer.....PULLLLLEEEEZE get the name right....lol I have seen:

The University of Ohio State (more than once)
Iowa University
University of Texas Tech

......and a lot more that I can't remember right now.
The University of West Virginia is also one that I've seen more than a few times.

As a joke, I've told people that I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock. They say "wow, Ivy League" and I say "well no, it is really Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania". Switching the order of words really changes things!
 
The whole "blessed to receive an offer" thing is ridiculous in my mind. I am fine with announcing a commitment, but to announce every offer....especially schools you have no intention of attending unless it was the last school on earth is pretty silly to me. BUT....if you feel the need to announce the offer.....PULLLLLEEEEZE get the name right....lol I have seen:

The University of Ohio State (more than once)
Iowa University
University of Texas Tech

......and a lot more that I can't remember right now.
This is all about the "branding" crap that keeps getting brought up. I thought we finally determined that these universities don't have millions of dollars in their bank just sitting there. The covid pandemic proved that outside of about a dozen schools nationwide, most colleges try to just break even with athletics.

The one that continually gets me is the "signings" of kids going to D3, many D2's and NAIA schools. It's not a letter of intent, you're essentially walking on at all D3 schools.
 
We also live in a society that finds these "mistakes" and go right to the media. Then the media goes straight to the school and coach and ask why they allow this in their program? Which is why everyone now monitors it.
 
The one that continually gets me is the "signings" of kids going to D3, many D2's and NAIA schools. It's not a letter of intent, you're essentially walking on at all D3 schools.
What exactly does a kid sign on "signing day" when going to a D3 school? What does a kid sign as a preferred walk on, whatever the heck that is?
 
What exactly does a kid sign on "signing day" when going to a D3 school? What does a kid sign as a preferred walk on, whatever the heck that is?
My guess is if he's actually signing a piece of paper, it's blank. Now for preferred walk ons, that's normally a D-1 football thing, I'd guess there is some kind of letter of intent, although not sure how binding it is. I mean seriously, "yes we want you, but not that bad to offer you a scholly?"
 
Quotes like the one below are very common on Twitter and other social media. Do you think this is a problem or the right way for coaches to recruit their athletes?


View attachment 14655
My sons HS. Coach Told us in his sophomore year to make sure his social media was squared away. None of the stuff listed plus other things. No explicit songs on highlight videos. No cursing.

This should be treated as a job interview. The majority of us on here didnt grow up on social media. As others have said this gives coaches an insight on a student athlete off the field of play
 
My sons HS. Coach Told us in his sophomore year to make sure his social media was squared away. None of the stuff listed plus other things. No explicit songs on highlight videos. No cursing.

This should be treated as a job interview. The majority of us on here didnt grow up on social media. As others have said this gives coaches an insight on a student athlete off the field of play
Great advice. It's a scary world out there. Of course we have people now who hold others to a higher standard than themselves.
 
My son is 12 and currently has zero social media exposure (he has no accounts at all - my wife and I only let him on a screen to do homework). My wife and I intend to keep him off of/away from social media for as long as possible, as we really don't see any upside to it. If he has no social media presence at all - from a recruiting aspect, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I'm asking more out of curiosity to see other's opinions, as right now it is way too early to talk about him being recruited. Heck, he's not even in high school yet.
 
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