Can Social Media Be an Advantage for Athletes Training

As the athletic director of Serra Catholic High School, I would not ban social media all together. Now, there are certainly downsides of student athletes using social media such as inappropriate content being displayed about other teams and inappropriate content being displayed about players on other teams. However, there are many more positives for the athletes to use social media such as notifying others through social media about the upcoming games, post about how well the team is doing, upload videos and pictures at the sporting event to feel significant. All these positives listed above make the athlete feel important.

Another positive is if an athlete feels like they want to move on to the college level, they can post their statistics on social media to get noticed by college coaches (7 Steps, 2018). Also, social media is a way for players to keep in touch with other players on their teams. Yes. I would get the parents involved by alerting them about how cautious their child needs to be when posting on social media and make sure that the parent reinforces the dangers of social media. To educate my players on the appropriate social media behavior, I would tell them stories about other student athletes about who did not use social media in good faith. According to Santovec, “When seeking to educate, real stories with real people and real consequences capture their attention (Santovec, 2014). By telling my players about other student athletes who did not use social media appropriately and the actions that had been taken against them, they may think twice about what they post. Also, every student athlete should have to attend course related to social media and it would teach the dangers such as sexting, bullying, and impersonating others.

Another guideline is that they would have to maintain a C in the course to be able to continue playing. My policy would be to allow cell phones after games on the way back to the school because then the goal of focusing on the game has passed; however, no cell phones before games. There will be no cell phones once everyone boards the bus. According to the article should we ask our athletes to give up their phones, “I believe it’s healthy to establish phone free periods, where teammates know they must be fully focused on who and what is in front of them in the moment”. The athletes must understand that they should have their entire focus on the game before it has started. Social media can be an advantage in teaching the players.

By teaching the players, the proper use of social media, it could strengthen the relationship between teammates. By using the sites properly and conversing online together, they may build a better relationship. They can create discussion boards and private chats to keep in close contact with one another. I would create a social media page for the Serra Catholic Eagles on various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and every player who is a part of an Eagles team will have access to the accounts. They can post videos, pictures, and statuses related to the Serra Eagles organization whether it is pictures of a play during a soccer game or a video of one of the practices. The statuses can include game times or highlights. I believe this would be a great way for the Serra Eagles community, especially the athletes to feel important and promote their team on social media.