Social media in college recruiting

Upon browsing through the Women Talk Sports blog network, I found this post about social media and recruiting. The blogger cites a number of coaches who talk about the issue of TMI (too much information) on recruits' Facebook and Twitter accounts.

This is, to me, quite a fascinating topic as social media sites have become an issue only in the past few years and I am not sure if institutions and coaches -- let alone the NCAA -- quite know how to deal with them.

At my undergraduate institution, we had a strict Facebook policy and at other programs coaches (or other staff) often monitor their student-athletes' Facebook pages to make sure that they are not making complete fools out of themselves or their universities.

But recruits are a completely different category. They are not under direct supervision of the school (yet) and they might not have "friends" or "followers" who would tell them "hey, don't post that." I only spent two years recruiting and even after such a short time, I can certainly say that seeing inappropriate content on Facebook definitely made me question the value system of the recruit.

For some coaches quoted in the above mentioned blog post, social media "drama" was even a deal-breaker. I completely understand that. As a coach, you have to be certain before you commit to mentoring, educating, supervising and being overall responsible for a young athlete for four years.

However, I am concerned that kids are written off based on the goofy things they post when they are 16 years old. The recruiting process starts early (seems like it's starting earlier and earlier.). And I am not quite sure if the kid's high school "mediated" self-presentation is the best predictor of their future success in college.

How about the noble idea that people -- especially college-aged people -- change?

First year students, especially student-athletes, are exposed to an overwhelming number of trainings, orientations, meetings with coaches, meetings with administrators, hours with academic advisors to ensure that they understand the university policies and the responsibilities of being a student-athlete.

It is unfortunate that coaches (or whichever staff members) have to spend time browsing their student-athletes Facebook accounts. It's a complete waste of time that could be spent on other more important aspects of team development, but it is absolutely necessary. I believed that as a student-athlete and I believed it as a coach -- and my former players would tell you that I had no issue with telling them to get the inappropriate postings off of their walls.

But the passive-aggressive approach to recruiting whereby the coach follows the prospective student-athlete's social media sites and determines, as one coach in the blog post said, that they "don't need that kind of person in [their] school" without addressing the problem might not be the way to go.

Rather, coaches need to make sure that the recruit understands that the institution disapproves of the social media "mess" and that they would have to comply with the rules if they want to play for the team.

If kids know that, they might reconsider what they advertise on their "walls." And, perhaps, they will even warn their friends about it. At least, they will still have a chance.

-- Dunja Antunovic

Curley Center Chat Evaluates Coverage of Youth Sports

Some basic sports rules—including three strikes and you’re out in baseball or 10 yards for a first down in football—apply whether a game is contested among professionals or pre-teens, but accepted and expected conduct of the media when covering those competitions often differs according to the age and experience of participants.

The challenges, ethics and responsibilities for journalists covering youth sports will be discussed at 1 p.m. Monday, March 21, during an online chat conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

"Ethical Issues in the Coverage of Youth Sports" is free, and people may access and participate in the session by visiting http://sportsjourn.psu.edu/live-chats online.

Participants include:
--Steve Barr, director of media relations for Little League Baseball and Softball;
--George Dohrmann, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who writes for Sports Illustrated and authored “Play Their Hearts Out,” which examines grassroots basketball, in 2010;
--Tracy Greer, online editor of the North County Times in Escondido, Calif.; and
--Malcolm Moran, the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center.

Marie Hardin, an associate professor of communications at Penn State and associate director of the Curley Center, will serve as moderator for the hour-long session, which will focus on journalism coverage of youth sports and how the age of the participants can and should shape how media outlets cover those activities.

The Curley Center explores issues and trends in sports journalism through instruction, outreach, programming and research. The Center's undergraduate curricular emphasis includes courses in sports writing, sports broadcasting, sports information, sports, media and society, and sports and public policy, which is cross-listed with the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

- Curley Center for Sports Journalism

Curley Center chat to address issues in covering recruiting

Sports fans across the country often follow the recruiting of potential college student-athletes as closely as any on-field action, and that coverage of high school students about to make major life decisions comes with many challenges for sports journalists.

The competing agendas, ethics, influences and impact of recruiting coverage will be discussed at 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 14, during an online chat conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

"Issues in Covering Recruiting" is free, and people may access and participate in the session by visiting http://sportsjourn.psu.edu/live-chats online.

Participants include:

-- Sean Fitz, a recruiting expert who focuses on Penn State for 247sports.com, which operates program-specific web sites for major college athletic programs across the nation;

-- Rachel George, who covers college sports and recruiting for the Orlando Sentinel; and

-- Malcolm Moran, the Knight Chair in Spoors Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center.

Marie Hardin, an associate professor of communications at Penn State and associate director of the Curley Center, will serve as moderator for the hourlong session, which will also include a coach or recruiting coordinator from a Division I-A football program. Because coaches and recruiting coordinators are finalizing their classes of incoming student-athletes in advance of national signing day this week, the participation of a specific coach or coordinator will not been determined until later.

The Curley Center explores issues and trends in sports journalism through instruction, outreach, programming and research. The Center's undergraduate curricular emphasis includes courses in sports writing, sports broadcasting, sports information, sports, media and society, and sports and public policy, which is cross-listed with the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

- Curley Center for Sports Journalism