With Facebook’s IPO clogging every major news outlet, we thought we might as well jump on board.

Facebook’s IPO closed around $38 a share on Friday, giving the company an estimated value of $16 Billion. This leads us to the questions, how did Facebook become so big and what are the ramifications for college coaches?

A major contribution in Facebook’s rise to prominence are so called “Facebook Addicts,” people who spend every waking moment checking statuses and posting pictures to their cyber-friends. Today’s youth is powered by social networking. Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, etc. are primary outlets for young people to express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. What a lot of student-athletes forget is that they are public figures representing themselves as well as their coaches and universities.

While much of the responsibility should be placed on the student-athlete, their actions affect the entire community. Coaches are now indirectly responsible for the online behaviours of current players. Players can outlet feelings about playing time, teammates, trainers, coaching decisions, and even partying as they feel fit. Many times these posts can leave a program in hot water, but what can a coach do?

With the rise of social networking sites Front Rush has launched the Social Tab. The Social Tab allows coaches to view the information made public on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Coaches can simply go into the Social Tab and see posts, pictures, statuses, and tweets on specific recruits, roster, and alumni members.

The Social Tab provides many capabilities for all aspects of a program; Recruits, Roster, and Alumni. Viewing a Recruit’s Facebook page can give a coach more in-depth information about the psyche of a prospective student-athletes. This information could be beneficial in determining the recruits that would best fit their system. Access to a Roster member’s Twitter account allows the coach to stay in touch with the inner workings of their team. For instance, if a coach views a Tweet about playing time he/she could proactively schedule a meeting with that player. This type of information can allow a coach to remain entrenched with the dynamics of their team off the field. The social tab is also useful for keeping in touch with Alumni. Through LinkedIn coaches can gain insight to an ex-player’s current occupation, living situation, and family information. This can be valuable for staying connected and creating long lasting relationships with former players. By becoming more personally involved with Recruits, Roster, and Alumni coaches can foster an environment that benefits the entire team, athletic department, and university.

Overall, Social Networking has given rise to new facets of recruiting and coaching. As always, Front Rush has been proactive in meeting the needs of coaches. If you would like more information on the Social Tab and its uses please contact our support team:

support@fontrush.com
215-489-2100 Option 2

Written by: Andrew Doyle

Andrew Doyle is an Account Manager at Front Rush. He is a graduate of Arizona State University and a contributing writer to blog.frontrush.com. He can be contacted at: adoyle@frontrush.com.