The pandemic affected the world of athletics in so many ways that the rules have definitely changed to accomodate the times. One big change has affected the recruiting process: in-person, overnight trips to establish a better relationship with teams and campuses were moved to an online platform. Although it is an upsetting reality, you need to make the most of the situation and get your name out there in the best way you can.
Two years into the pandemic, the athletic world has had time to adjust to these new circumstances. At the beginning of the pandemic, most recruiting processes were explicitly through online channels. Social media profiles, websites with your stats, or any other online athletic exposure have become the new norm. With many restrictions lifted, the rules of the game have changed, but coaches have learned to make that online aspect a crucial part of their recruiting process. This combination of in-person opportunities and online engagement allows for prospective recruits to get a more accurate and complete impression of the school, and to portray the best version of themselves to coaches.
The biggest tool that coaches have adapted to these days is social media. Social media has played a role in recruiting for a long time, but it became much more relevant with games and visits canceled. Finding athletes on Instagram, YouTube, or any website has been a great help to coaches looking to recruit from their phone. With heavy dependency on this form of discovery, it is crucial that aspiring athletes control their social media imprint. We're here to give you some tips on how to make sure you make an impact in a good way.
Related: Social Media Rules for Athletic Recruits
Make Your Account Searchable
None of the following advice will be helpful if your account isn't first getting seen by college coaches. You need to create an account that will come up either on a coach's For You page, or when they search key terms. Adding a lot hashtags related to your sport, or tagging some schools and teams will make it more likely that your account will come across a fyp or get reshared by some other accounts. Hint, if you tag 2aDays, we will share your highlights to our socials.
Another great resource is to find trending search words. You can use Google's Trends tool to test out different key terms, and see what people are searching most. If you work these key search terms into your account, bio, and posts, you're more likely to pop up on a search!
Make your account enticing
Once your account comes up in a search, we need to make sure your social media is clear and enticing for coaches to want to click on your name. The easiest way to do this is to show how far you throw, how heavy you lift, and how dedicated you are to the sport (or whatever stats are relevant to your sport).
Related: Tips on Marketing a Recruiting Video
Create a separate account
If you want to make a seperate account that focuses on your athletic career, that is also a great way to keep your account based on your sport.
Include athletic achievements
That being said, what should you include on your account? Include your athletic highlights: any top performances, high-level appearances, awards, medals, or recognitions that you have accumulated in your career.
Include training milestones
Your training is another great aspect to focus on as well. You want to show your work ethic, form, lifting highlights, flexibility, or dedication to put the work in outside of competition.
Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities and Campus Visits
Include Highlight Clips
You don't need a whole game film or complete highlight videos, but a few good clips could give recruiters something to scroll through. As a thrower, it is important to include your personal bests. Any videos you have where you threw your furthest or your technique was really good, a coach wants to see that. Another really good highlight to add, if you have experience in it, is olympic weightlifting. Things such as cleaning, snatching, jerks, or squatting and bench can give a coach a great look at how strong you are in the gym.
Related: Dos and Don'ts of Making Highlight Videos for Athletes
Include academic accomplishments
If you don't think your academic career can help you in getting recruited for collegiate athletics, you are way off. Coaches want to see that you are dedicated in the classroom. This shows you're more than just an athlete, and it helps the coaches advocate for you to get a better scholarship package if your grades are great. Any honor roll, extracurricular activities, or achievements can really boost your profile. The main point to be made is that you are more than your athletic capability and can provide a great addition to their program as a whole.
Keep it clean
With all of this in mind to catch the attention of college coaches, it is extremely important you take your role on social media seriously. As helpful as it can be to give you the exposure you need, it can also be dangerous if you are not careful with what you post. That means partying or any indecent or uncharacteristic posts can be received in any way by coaches, programs, or directors. Keep your profile clean and responsible so they know that you are an exemplary candidate.
Related: Keeping Your Social Media Clean as a College Recruit
All of this goes to say: focus on how you would want to be perceived. If you are second-guessing a post, your gut feeling is most likely right. Check with someone who has your best interest in mind before posting. This is not to say you can't post random things, but make sure your profiles reflect who you really are and what you stand for.
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* Originally published on March 9, 2022, by Catherine Light
