Social Media-- The Recruitment Game Changer

       In the modern age, with companies like Hudl, paired with the vast power of social media, it is easy to see young people who excel in sports, specifically high school football. Never before has recruiting been such a show, a drawn out process where high school students are given celery treatment. They gain hundreds of followers a day from their potential school’s fan bases, who not only like their tweets and posts, but interact with them. Young men have created videos for the school they have chosen, give updates about official visits and offers, and interact with users. 

Universities do the same thing, photoshopping potential players into uniforms and videos, tweeting at them once they sign, and provide individuals with the whole picture of what it would be like to be a student athlete at the university. Rather than coercing students to come to their school, they have to prove why it is the nest fit for the athlete on a public platform— which means you will be fact checked by competing universities. Universities often share videos of the tunnel walk or past professional players to encourage people students to sign. 

         Both sides of the process, but especially the colleges, use lots of emotions to persuade the athlete to come to their school. They will post pictures throughout the recruiting season to remind them of their visits and often have a lot of emotional pull with families. A lot of students turn to parents to help make decisions, so colleges marketing themselves as "parent friendly" is something that colleges take advantage of.

This process has created a lot of change in the recruiting game. Rather than having private meeting and more under the table deals, social media has provided a healthy way for potential student athletes and coaches/colleges to have an outlet to easily share information. Rather than coerce players into signing with them, potential players are now given the ability to see what being a member of the team is all about and can really see themselves in the shoes of a current team member.

Sources: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2016/4/14/11429908/coaches-recruits-twitter-facebook-social-media-rules