Coaches are well-suited to talk to their student-athletes about social media use because they are in a position to instill athletics guidance as well as life guidance.

Student-athletes are using social media more than ever before and at a younger age, which means that they are learning about real-life consequences on social media faster than they are learning about how to properly use it.

This subject is intricate because coaches cannot restrict their student-athletes from posting on social media because those restrictions infringe on student-athletes’ free speech rights. However, coaches can instill guiding principles for their student-athletes on social media use that can be more effective than stringent rules.

Lists of “social media don’ts” are off-putting to student-athletes

Generally, schools and coaches cannot regulate the types of content student-athletes can share on social media because it is a restriction of free speech.

In lieu of regulations, some programs create long lists of social media “don’ts” for their student-athletes. These lists don’t help student-athletes or their teams. Instead, players view these lists as the coach lecturing his or her team about social media. These lists may be followed when a student-athlete posts publicly, but can be easily ignored when he or she posts privately to an audience of just friends.

Lists of “don’ts” teach student-athletes to be afraid of social media instead of positively leveraging social media as a tool. And more importantly, they don’t teach student-athletes what they should be posting.

Create guiding principles for your program

In my years of social media education and working with athletes at all levels, I have found that it is more effective to share education on the types of content athletes should post as opposed to what they should not.

This is beneficial because it gives athletes concrete answers on the types of content they should share to show their best selves online. To determine these guiding principles, look at the culture you want to create within your team. Do you want your team to be community-oriented? Do you want your team to be supportive of each other and the coaches? Do you want your team to be respectful to others and in the community? How do you want your student-athletes to be perceived by community members? Your social media “do’s” should reflect these values.

Those are some of the types of questions you need to ask yourself before creating your guidelines. I believe student-athletes should be academics-oriented (they are students first), positive role models within their community and share the unique experiences they have in sports.

The social media guidelines I share with athletics programs reflect the type of athlete I want to see offline and teaches them how to show that same person online. Here are some social media guidelines I include in my Student-Athlete Social Media Contract that you can include in yours:

• My online actions are a direct reflection of me. The content I post online is forever connected to my name and I want to people to see the best version of myself.
• I will post positive content about my team, my teammates, coaches, and fellow competitors.
• I will not engage or interact with negative people on social media because I refuse to stoop down to someone else’s level.
• When my teammates do well, I will celebrate with them offline and online.
• I promise not to engage in illegal activities and I promise not to share those activities online. If I see a teammate doing something illegal, I will immediately tell a coach.
• I will use my social media accounts to share the positive aspects of my team, school, and sports career.

When guiding principles are violated

A violation of the team’s guiding principles creates a learning opportunity for the student-athlete that is more valuable than any amount of conditioning punishment. Coaches are in a position of influence with their team and with that comes respect.

Social media mistakes (and/or misuse) opens up a dialogue with the student-athlete whereby coaches can provide social media guidance to their student-athletes similar to how discussions about other life skills are approached.

Coaches should lead the conversation with the misuse and why that misuse is not aligned with the team's values and culture. The conversation then moves to how that mistake can be saved (via screenshots, etc.) and connected to that student-athlete because his or her online actions shape public perception.

Finally, each conversation should end with the lesson learned and the message that the content a student-athlete is posting should reflect her best self. Ending on this note is crucial because a student-athlete is not defined by his or her social media use, but when used properly, social media use can help promote and amplify his or her positive attributes and that of the team and school.

The 2017 USA Football National Conference will feature a session on managing social media for athletes. For more information and to register for the 2017 USA Football National Conference, click here. 

Adam S. Juratovac is a former student-athlete and a social media educator and coach. He is the founder of AthletesLTD, a platform that allows athletes to share their stories for the benefit of their communities. He has worked with over 100 professional athletes to help them use social media to establish their brand for successful partnerships. His book, Student-Athletes And Social Media teaches student-athletes to leverage social media to build their personal brands for collegiate and post-collegiate success. You can contact him at www.AdamJuratovac.com.