When it comes to college soccer recruiting and social media, the perception is that what happens on the field is all that matters. But those who have studied the game know otherwise. While it’s important to look at social media not just as a space where a player can show cool goals and highlights, but also a place where one can show their full personality.
Soccer is just one part of the player and for colleges it’s important to know not just who the player is on the field, but who they are off of it. While one’s athletic prowess is important, so too are academics and life activities.
But how does one capture these items in a social media post?
Here are some quick tips on how to make a college recruitment social media profile standout off the pitch.
- Have a Plan: The most important part of any social media profile is taking the time to plan out what you want to say and organizing your thoughts. When it comes to off-the-field activities, making a list and looking at your schedule to see what you’re doing is a great way to plot your posts over the course of the weeks and months ahead. Especially if you know that your weekends will be chock full of soccer content, it’s good to show items that are a little bit different during the week!
While a player’s GPA is important, recruiters will also want to know what your are studying, what academic or social clubs you’re involved in, what volunteer work or jobs you are currently working, and/or what other sports you are playing. All of these items will give recruiters a fuller picture of who you are as a person and how it impacts you on the playing field.
- Be Creative: Visual content is a great way to show what you are doing and also to make your work standout.
For players that are interested in studying marketing, communications, media, the arts, journalism, and/or graphic design your social media recruiting accounts are a great way to showcase your artistic skills and talent. Showing your GPA is great, but it is only a small snippet of what a player can do.
- Regardless of professional aspirations, examples of good content to show include:
- A photo of you working as an assistant coach at a Soccer Camp or an event like the Special Olympics
- A snippet of a recent musical or theater performance that you were involved in
- Artwork or another creative project that you have done for class or for personal enjoyment
- Photos from a recent volunteering program that you undertook (such as Relay for Life, a 5K/10K for a charitable cause, etc.)
- Awards that you received (these can be either athletic or non-athletic)
College recruiters want the full picture and getting to see a player engaged and involved in other activities is a great way stand out.
- Review Your Post Before You Hit Send: A social media handle is a great way for players to interact with others and to show the world what one can do. While it allows for us to send messages out quickly, it is important to take the time to review each post before the ‘send’ button is hit.
There are two reasons for this. First, it’s important that each piece be read through to make sure that not just grammar and spelling errors are corrected but that it also makes sense. Often, when we are writing things down we often miss little marks here and there and without taking the time to review them, it hurts the overall product. Programs such as Grammarly are great tools to help catch little spelling and grammar issues but the best way to catch them is to take a breather and read through your work.
Second, it is important to always ask oneself is: Is this post the best reflection of myself? Making sure that your thoughts are together and they show the best parts of you are important. Although posts can be deleted, posts can still be screenshotted. So reading through what you write and really thinking about if this is what you want to say is important.
