Cedars, April 2019

by Tim Miller T he rise of social media has created a stream of new opportunity in the battle for recruiting and securing coveted high school athletes. The days of personal visits and letters are primarily in the past, and instant pic- tures, posts, tweets and videos provide recruits with a flow of information that makes their commitment decision much easier. Social media has changed the recruiting landscape in two major aspects. Coaches now get to advertise their pro- grams with unlimited posts and nonexistent marketing ex- penses. Players, on the other hand, enjoy premium content and unrestricted access to any university he may be inter- ested in. Additionally, players and coaches can connect through direct messages. Rather than a coach chasing down a high school coach for a player’s contact information, he can sim- ply shoot a quick message to get connected and start a con- versation. All-access pass Cedarville University head volleyball coach Greg Smith recognizes this shift and has taken steps within his program to ride the social media wave. Smith hired Callie Murphy as his assistant this spring, and she’s taken over the team social media accounts in an attempt to give po- tential players a behind-the-scenes look to the Lady Jack- ets program. Smith said pushing out content on a daily basis is crucial because then the account can grab recruits’ atten- tion. The account features a variety of posts, from prac- ticing in the sand to showing offseason workouts. Fur- ther, he wants to drive home the most unique aspect of Cedarville. “The biggest thing is for us to show why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Smith said. “This is an avenue to share our testimony.” Men’s basketball coach Pat Estepp reinforced that posting frequently is important to getting in front of recruits and piquing their interest. Any time new gear comes in or a graphic can be released, he wants it on so- cial media. “In terms of what we can present about our program, it’s given us a huge advantage,” Estepp said. “It’s made it a lot easier in some ways. Fifteen years ago, you had to write letters and print off pictures of your facilities. Now, you can just post stuff and it doesn’t cost you anything.” Knowing the player before knowing the player Coaches can now get a better understanding for a potential commit’s character before even meeting him. Rather than giving a teen a call over the phone or trav- eling to unknown parts to find his house for a meet and greet, coaches can look up a player’s Twitter account to see if a five-hour drive to Nowheresville, West Virginia, is worth it. “You can learn a lot about a kid on social media,” Es- tepp said. “Usually, that’s our first resort when we’re re- cruiting a kid.” Estepp said his program has a system for evaluating potential transfer enrollees that rests solely on the use of social media. Mimicking a traffic light, players can receive either a green, yellow or red grade based only on what is seen on social media. If a player sprinkles Bible verses, worship songs, and the likes throughout his account, Estepp and his assis- tants will give the player a green light. Should a player post no content that displays a Cedarville-esque worl- dview yet he indicates no tendency to go out and get plastered every weekend, the player will receive a yellow light. Estepp said any posts with out-of-line speech about women, profanity or substance abuse will get the player a red grade, which gets them effectively crossed off Es- tepp’s list. Smith echoed Estepp’s take, saying social media has become an important piece of the evaluation process. “Social media will tell us in a lot of ways who they truly are,” Smith said. “Their language, the company they keep, how they dress, all are ingrained in them. We want to make sure we’re getting the right person.” Players can also market themselves to potential scouts. Especially for football and basketball players, posting high- light videos gives players the chance to show off their top plays. However, neither Smith nor Estepp put too much stock into the videos. Smith said he’d much rather see a player on the court, especially in how she conducts herself in between plays. Estepp said that while some videos can be impressive, rarely do the reels show what he needs to see. The two- time NCCAA Coach of the Year said unless a player shows he can score in multiple ways in his videos, the video will have no effect. The upsurge in social media has given coaches and players alike a more streamlined recruiting process. Cycles are shorter and information and program’s energy are easi- er to sort through. It seems most programs are giving their best shot to producing professional and consistent content, and Smith said the biggest focus is on promoting steady, en- tertaining content. “We’re always trying to think of new things about CU and fun facts about our team,” Smith said. “We’re always trying to keep it fresh.” TimMiller is a junior marketing major and sports editor for Cedars. He enjoys having a baby face, knowing too much about supplemental insurance, and striving to perfect the optimal combination of Dwight Schrute and Ron Swanson. April 2019 13 SPORTS Social Media’s Twofold Impact on Recruiting Both coaches and players find it easier to assess each other online Photo taken from Twitter A dunk by freshman Quinton Green made it on Overtime’s Twitter account, which has over 280,000 followers.