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Get Scouted Scouting CareersWest Virginia University coach Sean Covich laid down the law to his men’s golf recruits in a recent tweet:
“Dear recruits: If I research your social media and find multiple uses of profanity/pics of alcohol, will likely cost you a scholarship,” he tweeted.
Get the point, college prospects?
Social media is a wonderful tool used by National Scouting Report to promote prospects to college coaches. In fact, NSR area directors and scouts have enjoyed great success using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
However, if used inappropriately, social media can cause disaster for NSR prospects, who hope to be recruited and receive offers.
Most NSR scouts warn prospects during in-home meetings about the dangers of social media. NSR’s advice to high school athletes: “If you have anything posted on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram that you wouldn’t want your mother to read or see, make sure you delete it.”
You don’t even have to be guilty of anything. You can be guilty by association.
Let’s say one of your “friends” posts a picture on your timeline of you and your buddies holding red plastic cups on the beach. Do you think college coaches will assume there’s water in those cups?
Let’s say another “friend” posts profanity on your timeline. “Hey, mother ——, how the —- are you doing?” Don’t you think college coaches can fill in the blanks? Don’t you think they will associate you with that kind of language?
You bet.
In fact, many college athletic departments assign graduate assistants to “snoop” on potential prospects. If they find something inappropriate on their social media pages, they immediately raise a red flag and report it to the coaches and/or recruiting coordinators.
It’s no different than company executives or human resource managers “snooping” on potential employees. Don’t you think they check out applicants on LinkedIn and other social media sites before inviting them to interview?
It’s perfectly legal … and smart.
Recruiting is highly competitive. If college coaches want to establish and maintain successful programs, they can’t afford to make mistakes. They want to recruit and, ultimately, sign prospects who fit into their teams’ cultures. They can’t afford to take chances on those with questionable character. As the saying goes: “One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.”
Knowing that, college prospects must be smart, too.
You can have fun on social media – college coaches expect that — but keep your pages clean. Make sure they don’t contain inappropriate photos or language. If they do, delete those posts immediately.
You also can use social media to promote your academic and athletic accomplishments. College coaches will read that. It could prompt them to start recruiting you.
Isn’t that what you really want?
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.