I want to rant about social media today. It’s something that many people debate about. Not me, because social media is here to stay…like it or not. When it comes to sports it is a powerful weapon and if used correctly can be a real asset.There is most likely not a college team in America that does not have a social media account of some type. Some schools have mastered the art of its usage and others have failed. I know this, it’s almost impossible to be a successful recruiter without social media. It’s a way to bring attention to your program and educate players about your team culture and schools education.
I tell trainers and coaches to please use all the social media platforms you can to promote your kids. But when talking about your players always be positive. Social media is not the place to critique a players game. Point out there weakness or question there ability. It’s a place to help your player gain the most important thing in recruiting… name recognition. Once a player has name recognition, the rest is up to them. Now they must get in the gym and develop there game. Hype is great but game is better and is always the determining factor if a player moves on to college or receives a scholarship. Post videos, tweet about there personal and team accomplishments. All these things will help your player or child. Folks it’s the way it is now…like it or not.
I get E mails, texts and letters complaining everyday about social media. They go something like this. SUZIE IS SO OVERRATED or Tiny why do you only hype the kids who train with you. I heard a new one yesterday, any kid Tiny trains he puts on Twitter and proclaims there going to be a star. Now you must understand, I have heard this nonsense for 17 years, so I just laugh. Recently Sara Olson was opening my mail while working for me. She was shocked by the jealousy and anger directed at kids, coaches and me. I just laughed and told her, it’s par for the course. When you talk, hype or praise others on social media you are sure to upset people…good people. When you brag about kids, others will be upset. So be prepared for the backlash. If you understand this, you will be successful in you use social media and it will be your friend.
Now folks get angry because I only basically cover Shore kids and players that train with me. They say I favor these kids…HELLO. These are the kids giving me there blood, sweat and tears. I say to those folks, follow in my footsteps, start a blog, while time consuming it’s free. Tweet about your hard workers, promote your dedicated kids. I get e mails and texts all the time, telling me I could increase my Twitter followers, if I tweeted about players across the state. What they don’t understand is…I don’t care about followers. I care deeply about the kids from my area, who love basketball. I tell parents all the time outside and in the area, you know where I am; if you want me to see your kid. But I am not traveling across the east coast watching games. I want my kids to have every opportunity to make there dreams come true…IF I DONT BELIEVE IN THEM…WHO THE HELL WILL…you should feel as strongly about your kids.
I’ve had people say you only do this for money. Nothing turns me off more than this statement. Nobody who love kids is doing this solely for money… at least the way I do it. People say I call everyone who trains with me a D1 player. This is the other thing that makes me end a relationship or a conversation. I can honestly say in 17 years my projections have been wrong 3/4 times at MOST. It’s just a fact that about 80% of the D1 players do train with me, so it appears that way. Why the hell do you think coaches call and text me. Here is why, they know I train these kids sometimes starting as as young as 3rd grade. They know I was a very successful college coach and my TRACK RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. So if you are a trainer or a coach, do not let others prevent you from doing what’s right. Be an advocate for your kids. Convince them they can do big things and make dreams come true. Give them your time and energy. Be relentless in your teaching, but don’t forget to tell them ..YOU LOVE THEM. Know, you will make more than your fair of mistakes. But if they know what’s in your heart, they will forgive you. But most importantly to those who criticize you from a distance…TELL THEM TO GO KICK ROCKS…and continue to advocate for your kids anyway you can…..Including on social media…Including on social media
