Coaching and Social Media

By: Rainer Martens and Robin S. Vealey

Originally Published in: Sport Coaches' Handbook

Provided by: Human Kinetics

When we think of coaching, we think of faceto-face interaction, but of course coaches communicate by phone, email, text, sports team communication apps, and by appearances on radio and television. Many types of social media are available, which is any type of shared social interaction between individuals, groups, and companies via the Internet. It includes social networking (Facebook, Linkedln), microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr), photo sharing (Instagram, Snaрchat), video sharing (YouTube, Vimeo), and using phone texting and email to send and receive messages. Several team communication apps enable teams to improve communication by creating their own smartphone apps, such as TeamApp, Heja, and TeamSnap.

Coaches can also set up a team website. Companies make it easy by providing the structure to create your own website. Using a provider's templates, you can post your schedules, rosters, player profiles, and team and individual statistics. You can communicate other information to your team such as team policies, playbooks, and athlete codes of conduct. You can and should control the content and access to the site. For examples of these website services, go to www.hometeamsonline.com/sportswebsites/.

Facebook and Twitter have become major ways of communicating with athletes and fans. Coaches are using these social media to

• keep in touch with their fans, seeking to strengthen their fan loyalty;
• keep themselves informed about the public perception of their team;
• communicate with donors, sponsors, and the media;
• recruit athletes to their program; and
• keep members of the team informed.

After several instances of college athletes communicating negative information about their coaches and teammates, sport programs are placing restrictions on student-athletes' use of social media to comment about the team. Because social media are used extensively by young athletes, youth sport coaches should establish policies and educate their athletes about the use of social media.

Here are some guidelines you should consider in developing policies regarding the use of social media for your team.

1. Educate your athletes about appropriate and responsible use of social media and the potential dangers of inappropriate use.
2. Remind your athletes that they represent your team and institution when using social media and that freedom of speech is not unlimited - what they say and post may have repercussions.
3. Keep all electronic communication between you and your athletes professional (used for team information dissemination as opposed to personal conversation).
4. Do not respond to your athletes' social media posts, and ask your athletes to remove you from their lists. In this day and age, coaches need to be aware of behaviors that may be construed as harassment (without their conscious intent to do so).
5. Encourage athletes to set their privacy settings to keep their identity information safe.
6. Require athletes to show the same respect on social media for your team, your institution, and other people that you require of them in person. They should not post offensive or inappropriate comments and photos, disseminate information that is in violation of the team code of conduct, or post content that is in violation of school or club policy.
7. When your social media policies are violated consider the following actions:
1. On the first offense, explain to the athlete what material is offensive and require that it be removed.
2. On the second offense, you as coach or the athletic director should send written notification to the athlete requiring the offending content to be removed or the account to be deactivated
3. If the athlete refuses to comply with (a) or (b), the athlete is temporarily suspended until the athlete complies.
4. On the third offense, the athlete is dismissed from the team.

Your athletes are frequent users of social media, and you need to be prepared to help them use social media wisely when communicating about your team, in the same way you would help them in learning how to talk with the press. Don't overlook the value of social media in helping you fulfill your duties as a coach. If your team relies on parental, corporate, and community support, you need to become informed about the use of social media to help you communicate with your public. Coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks is a skillful user of social media to build fan loyalty, and Coach John Calipari of the University of Kentucky has over a million Twitter followers with whom he communicates.

However, it's important to consider the best uses of electronic communication, as compared to in-person communication. Email, group texting, and texting through communication apps are great ways to communicate directly with your athletes and their parents or guardians. But when you need a more personable connection or when the way you say something is really important, you should prioritize face-to-face or phone discussions. Some people avoid speaking directly with others by using email or instant messaging when they anticipate a difficult conversation, such as a confrontation or conflict. That's almost always a mistake. Face-to-face conversations allow you to see facial expressions and hear tone of voice, important aspects of working through conflict. You need to be not only skillful in what you communicate with your athletes but also
wise in what medium you use to communicate your messages.