Are club coaches taking their message too far on social media?

[Unregistered]

FC Stars is bringing their crusade against High School soccer to social media. ating the high school players and praising the non high school players for training with the club this fall.

OK, finally the clarification. Another Stars attack thread. They should sue this guy for all he is worth. The guy is a cancer. And still not a single person in 7+ years has come to his defense.

[Unregistered]

I think that most of the coaches have a single account that is used for personal and professional. There are posts about their babies and their soccer teams. Some just post soccer stuff. It can be great to show your players good plays or interesting links in the world of soccer. The problem is that it can get out of hand. We teach our children to think before clicking. These coaches need the same lesson.

Just scrolled down through one coach's feed. Here are examples of posts/retweets that I find unprofessional:

"Great turnout from the 17 NPL Today. 19 of 21 in HS season. Shows they mean business. 18s - not so much. 2 players (jh&cd) Seriously?????"

- I find this unprofessional to call out players for missing practice. Were any of them sick? Have school committments? On a college visit? Seems like a bit much. Does a player have to worry that they are going to be called out on twitter each time they miss a practice? Attach initials to those that miss and we have some bullying on our hands.

"Made a big mistake going to a cheerleading competition today...Oh wait, it was actually a HS soccer game #pleasestopshoutingnonsense #killme"

- Okay, we get it. You don't like High School soccer. Why go to the game then? This is just a poor example to his players who are or aren't playing High School soccer.

"3 games vs Elite competition at a great facility, or 4 awful games per week coached by your math teacher? Is that a real question? #NoMoreHS"

- Again, we get it. But I would like to thank that math teacher who is making next to nothing and takes the time away from his family to coach a sport. And I would also like to say that math teacher has a day job that is much more admirable than this soccer coach. Why is this necessary?

Wait. "His?"

You mean to tell me an adult male man coach wrote those posts (and goofy hashtags)???

Good grief.

[Unregistered]

They should sue this guy for all he is worth.

One of the dumbest comments I've read on TS in a while. That's a special category.

[Unregistered]

FC Stars is bringing their crusade against High School soccer to social media. ating the high school players and praising the non high school players for training with the club this fall.

This is a Stars example, but in general, I think following your players' social lives is creepy. I also think it is inappropriate for a young player to be following a coach unless, like an earlier poster said, it is strictly a coaching account. Do clubs require this? I think they do at the college level, but I don't now why I have that idea in my mind.

[Unregistered]

OK, finally the clarification. Another Stars attack thread. They should sue this guy for all he is worth. The guy is a cancer. And still not a single person in 7+ years has come to his defense.

Better just to ignore. The anti-stars agenda is boring.

[Unregistered]

This is a Stars example, but in general, I think following your players' social lives is creepy. I also think it is inappropriate for a young player to be following a coach unless, like an earlier poster said, it is strictly a coaching account. Do clubs require this? I think they do at the college level, but I don't now why I have that idea in my mind.

Nothing wrong with players and coach communicating through group chats related to soccer.

[Unregistered]

There are an awful lot of bikini shots in my teenager's accounts. I am sure her soccer coach would love a peek at that. Gross.

"Don't stand, don't stand, don't stand so close to me"

[Unregistered]

Nothing wrong with players and coach communicating through group chats related to soccer.

Great idea. My kid does that with his Science teacher. That is different than posting/following on Twitter though.

[Unregistered]

Wait. "His?"

You mean to tell me an adult male man coach wrote those posts (and goofy hashtags)???

Good grief.

BB carrying the water for JD. What else is new?

[Unregistered]

BB carrying the water for JD. What else is new?

Not BB, its BR.

And not so shockingly, since that post his twitter profile has gone private.

What was posted earlier appears to be the OP's selection of the "best of" or "worst of" recent tweets if you will.

Having searched and reading it myself before #starsnation decided to protect the brand, my only response would be - what an 'effing tool-bag. Someone should be testing the water up there in Lancaster. Good grief.

[Unregistered]

OK, finally the clarification. Another Stars attack thread. They should sue this guy for all he is worth. The guy is a cancer. And still not a single person in 7+ years has come to his defense.

I am the person you are trying to pin this whole thread on, but I did not start it nor have I posted anything in it prior to this post. I am quite interested in the topic of social media which is why I opened this thread and wish to comment on the topic. As far as I am concerned the issue isn't about the Stars specifically (they are just part of the example and you could find other examples from other clubs) but more about how all these clubs use social media. It is a very worthwhile discussion.

I do have actually see the problem with the tweets and feel that the issue should be discussed but I really think the problem actually rests with the parents and not the club. I think it is a mistake for anyone to think that any business ISN'T trying to convey a bigger message when they are using tools like Facebook and Twitter so the Stars shouldn't be criticized for doing that. That is what those tools are for and clubs like the Stars ARE a business with a message. They definitely are not the only club out there using social media to brand themselves.

The real issue is parents really need to understand the power of social media tools like Twitter. They do represent a direct link to your child and are quite influential in shaping their opinions so you might want to look objectively at the messages that they are receiving and decide whether or not you agree with them. For example, if you feel similarly about high school soccer they are just reinforcing a message you agree with. There is no harm in that at all.

The only problem is if you don't share the same point of view, then you have to realize that there is pressure being applied to conform and have to decide how you feel about that. If you have problem with the message then it is up to the individual to decide what to do about it. Again though, if as a Stars parent, that pressure doesn't bother you, then there should be no problem. A lot of people ignore these sorts of messages from their clubs all the time so sending them out does not really make the Stars bad or anything like that.

One parallel issue to that though is that social media carries messages quite far. Everyone should recognize that the messages are getting to people outside their clubs and not everyone on the outside is going to look at them as favorably as those on the inside. This is precisely why you have a thread like this. Those tweets are out there for others to see and their message is fairly controversial so criticism should almost be expected. I would simply say to the Stars people, don't make your communication public if you don't want others to comment on them.

The only place I personally would be critical of the Stars in this instance is I do think that because they are broadcasting their message rather indiscriminately for others to view, that it was a mistake for that message to be too personal. Calling out a couple of kids for missing practice was an improper use of the technology in my opinion. There are other forms of technology (ie direct text) where you could call out individual players instead of using Twitter to do it. Using Twitter like they did, they effectively put a couple of kids up on a billboard for everyone to essentially mock. As a coach that is not really a cool thing to do because it does border on cyber bullying. The thing is the kids intuitively know this.

If I were one of the parents I wouldn't stand for that if I thought it was anything more than a simple mistake. In any event, I would have had a discussion and asked that the Tweet be deleted, then forgotten about it. Personally I just think that whomever sent the Tweet made an error in judgment coupled with an incomplete understanding of the power of Twitter. Everybody who is using social media makes a similar mistake at one point or another. It should be chalked off as a lesson learned and hopefully because of threads like this where the issue was called out you will never see that kind of stuff again on another club's Twitter feed.

[Unregistered]

I am the person you are trying to pin this whole thread on, but I did not start it nor have I posted anything in it prior to this post. I am quite interested in the topic of social media which is why I opened this thread and wish to comment on the topic. As far as I am concerned the issue isn't about the Stars specifically (they are just part of the example and you could find other examples from other clubs) but more about how all these clubs use social media. It is a very worthwhile discussion.

I do have actually see the problem with the tweets and feel that the issue should be discussed but I really think the problem actually rests with the parents and not the club. I think it is a mistake for anyone to think that any business ISN'T trying to convey a bigger message when they are using tools like Facebook and Twitter so the Stars shouldn't be criticized for doing that. That is what those tools are for and clubs like the Stars ARE a business with a message. They definitely are not the only club out there using social media to brand themselves.

The real issue is parents really need to understand the power of social media tools like Twitter. They do represent a direct link to your child and are quite influential in shaping their opinions so you might want to look objectively at the messages that they are receiving and decide whether or not you agree with them. For example, if you feel similarly about high school soccer they are just reinforcing a message you agree with. There is no harm in that at all.

The only problem is if you don't share the same point of view, then you have to realize that there is pressure being applied to conform and have to decide how you feel about that. If you have problem with the message then it is up to the individual to decide what to do about it. Again though, if as a Stars parent, that pressure doesn't bother you, then there should be no problem. A lot of people ignore these sorts of messages from their clubs all the time so sending them out does not really make the Stars bad or anything like that.

One parallel issue to that though is that social media carries messages quite far. Everyone should recognize that the messages are getting to people outside their clubs and not everyone on the outside is going to look at them as favorably as those on the inside. This is precisely why you have a thread like this. Those tweets are out there for others to see and their message is fairly controversial so criticism should almost be expected. I would simply say to the Stars people, don't make your communication public if you don't want others to comment on them.

The only place I personally would be critical of the Stars in this instance is I do think that because they are broadcasting their message rather indiscriminately for others to view, that it was a mistake for that message to be too personal. Calling out a couple of kids for missing practice was an improper use of the technology in my opinion. There are other forms of technology (ie direct text) where you could call out individual players instead of using Twitter to do it. Using Twitter like they did, they effectively put a couple of kids up on a billboard for everyone to essentially mock. As a coach that is not really a cool thing to do because it does border on cyber bullying. The thing is the kids intuitively know this.

If I were one of the parents I wouldn't stand for that if I thought it was anything more than a simple mistake. In any event, I would have had a discussion and asked that the Tweet be deleted, then forgotten about it. Personally I just think that whomever sent the Tweet made an error in judgment coupled with an incomplete understanding of the power of Twitter. Everybody who is using social media makes a similar mistake at one point or another. It should be chalked off as a lesson learned and hopefully because of threads like this where the issue was called out you will never see that kind of stuff again on another club's Twitter feed.

Where was the reference to calling out individual kids on Twitter? I don't think that happened.

[Unregistered]

Not BB, its BR.

And not so shockingly, since that post his twitter profile has gone private.

What was posted earlier appears to be the OP's selection of the "best of" or "worst of" recent tweets if you will.

Having searched and reading it myself before #starsnation decided to protect the brand, my only response would be - what an 'effing tool-bag. Someone should be testing the water up there in Lancaster. Good grief.

In the world of club soccer, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting an effing tool bag, can you?

[Unregistered]

I think that most of the coaches have a single account that is used for personal and professional. There are posts about their babies and their soccer teams. Some just post soccer stuff. It can be great to show your players good plays or interesting links in the world of soccer. The problem is that it can get out of hand. We teach our children to think before clicking. These coaches need the same lesson.

Just scrolled down through one coach's feed. Here are examples of posts/retweets that I find unprofessional:

"Great turnout from the 17 NPL Today. 19 of 21 in HS season. Shows they mean business. 18s - not so much. 2 players (jh&cd) Seriously?????"

- I find this unprofessional to call out players for missing practice. Were any of them sick? Have school committments? On a college visit? Seems like a bit much. Does a player have to worry that they are going to be called out on twitter each time they miss a practice? Attach initials to those that miss and we have some bullying on our hands.

"Made a big mistake going to a cheerleading competition today...Oh wait, it was actually a HS soccer game #pleasestopshoutingnonsense #killme"

- Okay, we get it. You don't like High School soccer. Why go to the game then? This is just a poor example to his players who are or aren't playing High School soccer.

"3 games vs Elite competition at a great facility, or 4 awful games per week coached by your math teacher? Is that a real question? #NoMoreHS"

- Again, we get it. But I would like to thank that math teacher who is making next to nothing and takes the time away from his family to coach a sport. And I would also like to say that math teacher has a day job that is much more admirable than this soccer coach. Why is this necessary?

Here is the post that contained the reference to kids. Just listening to a whole discussion on cyber bullying on TV relative to a case down in GA as I am writing this. The topic is very topical.

[Unregistered]

I am the person you are trying to pin this whole thread on, but I did not start it nor have I posted anything in it prior to this post. I am quite interested in the topic of social media which is why I opened this thread and wish to comment on the topic. As far as I am concerned the issue isn't about the Stars specifically (they are just part of the example and you could find other examples from other clubs) but more about how all these clubs use social media. It is a very worthwhile discussion.

I do have actually see the problem with the tweets and feel that the issue should be discussed but I really think the problem actually rests with the parents and not the club. I think it is a mistake for anyone to think that any business ISN'T trying to convey a bigger message when they are using tools like Facebook and Twitter so the Stars shouldn't be criticized for doing that. That is what those tools are for and clubs like the Stars ARE a business with a message. They definitely are not the only club out there using social media to brand themselves.

The real issue is parents really need to understand the power of social media tools like Twitter. They do represent a direct link to your child and are quite influential in shaping their opinions so you might want to look objectively at the messages that they are receiving and decide whether or not you agree with them. For example, if you feel similarly about high school soccer they are just reinforcing a message you agree with. There is no harm in that at all.

The only problem is if you don't share the same point of view, then you have to realize that there is pressure being applied to conform and have to decide how you feel about that. If you have problem with the message then it is up to the individual to decide what to do about it. Again though, if as a Stars parent, that pressure doesn't bother you, then there should be no problem. A lot of people ignore these sorts of messages from their clubs all the time so sending them out does not really make the Stars bad or anything like that.

One parallel issue to that though is that social media carries messages quite far. Everyone should recognize that the messages are getting to people outside their clubs and not everyone on the outside is going to look at them as favorably as those on the inside. This is precisely why you have a thread like this. Those tweets are out there for others to see and their message is fairly controversial so criticism should almost be expected. I would simply say to the Stars people, don't make your communication public if you don't want others to comment on them.

The only place I personally would be critical of the Stars in this instance is I do think that because they are broadcasting their message rather indiscriminately for others to view, that it was a mistake for that message to be too personal. Calling out a couple of kids for missing practice was an improper use of the technology in my opinion. There are other forms of technology (ie direct text) where you could call out individual players instead of using Twitter to do it. Using Twitter like they did, they effectively put a couple of kids up on a billboard for everyone to essentially mock. As a coach that is not really a cool thing to do because it does border on cyber bullying. The thing is the kids intuitively know this.

If I were one of the parents I wouldn't stand for that if I thought it was anything more than a simple mistake. In any event, I would have had a discussion and asked that the Tweet be deleted, then forgotten about it. Personally I just think that whomever sent the Tweet made an error in judgment coupled with an incomplete understanding of the power of Twitter. Everybody who is using social media makes a similar mistake at one point or another. It should be chalked off as a lesson learned and hopefully because of threads like this where the issue was called out you will never see that kind of stuff again on another club's Twitter feed.

You're a cold-stoned liar. Just happened to open the thread because you have an interest, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, right? This thread just accidentally happens to show up today after all of your other most recent shenanigans. And of course just happens to be the Stars. Of course now that you've done your damage you can write something saying it applies to all clubs but of course you round your way back to Stars in the end. And just like all the other times, if it really wasn't you, you would be outraged that someone is mimicking you like this and ruining your reputation. You NEVER get upset about that because, in fact, you know exactly how it got there.