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 face-to-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.

  ]]> https://coachesinsider.com/football/coaching-and-social-media-2/feed/ 0 122356 https://coachesinsider.com/football/arguing-is-a-waste-of-time-discussions-are-useful-with-lane-kiffin-univ-of-mississippi-2/ https://coachesinsider.com/football/arguing-is-a-waste-of-time-discussions-are-useful-with-lane-kiffin-univ-of-mississippi-2/#respond Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:41:33 +0000 https://coachesinsider.com/?p=98242 Watch as Coach Lane Kiffin explains the importance of emphasizing being team players to both players and coaches. He states that ego can be a problem and understanding how it can have a negative impact is important. Ego can come into play when communicating with players and coaches and the goal should always be to work for the best answer and not arguing to defend an opinion. Coach recommends discussing ego with your staff and players so that all communications are not based on arguing but with productive discussions.

Lane Kiffin was previously a coach at Univ. of Mississippi.

1. City vs. Country Ball
2. Strip Sack
3. Free vs. Engaged Mirror
4. Hammer vs. Jab

Bob Chesney was previously a coach at James Madison University.

1. It covers B & A gaps and forces the ball outside to the athletes.
2. It protects tacklers allowing inside LBs to scrape freely.
3. Keeps coverage integrity. He will also cover some strategic adjustments for various scenarios.

By: Rainer Martens & Robin S. Vealey

Originally Published in: Successful Coaching

Many coaches find that the most challenging relationship to manage is their relationship with their athletes' parents. This includes guardians, but we will use the term parents to represent both here. Some parents are completely apathetic to their child's participation in sports. Others are overly involved and become overbearing, both with the coach and with their child.

You need to foster appropriate involvement by giving parents clear guidelines on their roles and your expectations of them. In turn, you need to remember that parents are ultimately responsible for their children, and most desire only the best for them. Respect their ultimate responsibility for the well-being of their children by not being threatened when parents inquire about their athlete's participation.

Parents, in turn, need to respect your position. They should not interfere with your coaching unless there is reasonable cause for them to suspect that their child is being exposed to unnecessary physical or psychological risk or is being treated unfairly.

Your relationship with your athletes' parents is almost as important as the relationships you have with the athletes themselves. With a little effort, you can have parents working with you and appreciating your efforts. The key is informing them about your program and listening to their concerns. Many of the traditional problems between parents and coaches can be avoided when coaches hold a preseason parent orientation program, and then communicate clearly with them throughout the season.

Parent (and Guardian) Orientation Program

The purpose of the preseason orientation is to do the following:

• Allow parents to become acquainted with you and your assistants and to learn your coaching philosophy and objectives.
• Inform parents about the nature of the sport and its potential risks.
• Explain to parents the team policies and procedures.
• Let parents know what is expected of the athletes and of them.
• Let parents express their own concerns.
• Obtain help from parents in conducting the season's activities.

When should the meeting be held?
If you have selected your team, schedule the meeting before the team begins practicing; if not, hold the meeting as soon as possible after you've selected your team. Choose a time when most parents can attend, and invite them individually by phone, personal letter, or email.

How long should the meeting be?
We recommend a meeting of about an hour, and no more than 75 minutes. Parents may have additional questions that they can ask of you afterward.

Should the athletes attend the meeting?
You can decide what works best for you. Some think that the presence of athletes inhibits the communication between the coach and parents, whereas others believe that having the athletes present promotes communication among everyone involved. Your coaching philosophy should help you make this decision. We think it's a good idea for athletes to attend.

During the Season

After the preseason meeting, continue to communicate with parents as needed. Here are suggestions for communicating with them throughout the season:

• Keep parents informed by email, a communication app, a blog, or through social media, and encourage them to communicate with you when they have concerns or information of value.
• Involve parents constructively. They can fill many of the support roles outlined earlier.
• Inform parents directly and immediately if a serious problem arises involving their athlete (injury, theft, drugs, ineligibility, or other disciplinary action).
• Not all parents will care about their child's participation, nor will they all respond as you would hope, but you still have a duty to inform them and request their help.

Postseason

At the end of the season, invite each parent to evaluate you and the program. Ask them to point out things that went well and to suggest what might be improved. You can find a Postseason Parent Evaluation Form online on HKPropel. Give copies to all parents and ask them to return them to you. Their feedback can help you become a better coach.