For high school athletic directors, navigating the world of social media can be something of a minefield.
Across the country, student athletes are involved in social media catastrophes on what seems like a daily basis, damaging not only their own reputations and their futures, but often, those of the schools they attend.
As one of the adults most responsible for the potential of your student athletes, there’s a lot to be afraid of, but the following three things should be at the top of any high school athletic director’s list of what to avoid.
Student athletes who don’t know what to do and get no guidance on social media.
When it comes to dealing with student athletes and social media, many athletic programs take a “don’t do this” approach. They spend all their energy telling kids what they shouldn’t do, and think that somehow, the problem has been addressed.
Imagine trying to teach someone how to drive a car by telling them all of the road rules they shouldn’t break. The idea alone is ridiculous.
Across the country, student athletes are involved in social media catastrophes on what seems like a daily basis, damaging not only their own reputations and their futures, but often, those of the schools they attend.
So why would you treat social media any differently—especially when a few misguided social media posts could potentially destroy the reputations of your student athletes, coaches, athletic department and ultimately, your school?
Student athletes need to know how to properly use social media.
Coaches and administrators who keep their heads in the sand.
Many coaches, administrators and athletic departments decide that they don’t want anything to do with their student athletes’ use of social media. The less they know about what’s happening, they figure, the less they’ll be blamed if something goes wrong.
Unfortunately, that’s not what happens when social media disasters strike.
When it’s time to hold people accountable, it’s not just the student athlete who gets blamed for things that go wrong. If the culture of an athletic team or department is seen as problematic and a cause of social media issues, everyone—from that student’s coach to the athletic director to the administration—will pay the price.
Running from social media ensures only that eventually, problems will catch up with you.
An athletic department that doesn’t have an all-encompassing plan in place.
Every coach, athletic director and administrator in a high school athletic program knows that every single student athlete is using social media.
Yet most athletic departments have no system-wide protocols in place to handle how teams or coaches use social media.
Think about that for a second. Every athlete is a potential social media super-promoter, or disaster waiting to happen, and there’s no plan to do anything to prevent them from wreaking havoc.
If your athletic department doesn’t have a set of social media guidelines in place, the reputation of your school is at risk at this very moment.