Twitter feeds
I don't know that there's been a more destructive, distracting headache created than Twitter. We read about it all the time in the media where an athlete - or coach in some cases - has taken to Twitter that ended up being flagged as inappropriate or starting a fire that had to be stamped out either by the coach, or the administration.
I am thankful that thus far, I'm coaching in a sport and at a level where Twitter exists, but I usually don't have reporters or media hounds following my athletes, waiting to pounce on something that an athlete said. I myself don't use Twitter for this exact reason. Electronic media is, can't indicate whether or not you're being serious or sarcastic. And unlike using an eraser on a dry board, once posted, deleting a comment doesn't make it go away.
I've already had to deal with an incident - internal - where an incident happened at a program I was working at, some athletes went Twitter crazy and spread a lot of rumors, and we ended up having to do damage control with the rest of the team, and call in the individuals responsible to explain the consequences to their actions.
Having a Twitter account, in my opinion, runs contrary to one of my golden rules of coaching: A 24 hour cooling off period for every incident unless dire - life threatening, program threatening. Twitter accounts open you up to letting loose with both barrels after an emotional high or low. This is compounded by the fact that nearly everyone has a smartphone or a mobile device with an app or direct link, thus making the time between emotion, and action split second.
Again, in my experience, I've only had one incident where Twitter was an issue, and so I've yet to develop any programmatic rules regarding the use of social media. But it doesn't mean that I've not been keeping an eye on the incidents around the sports world and athletes.
I am thankful that thus far, I'm coaching in a sport and at a level where Twitter exists, but I usually don't have reporters or media hounds following my athletes, waiting to pounce on something that an athlete said. I myself don't use Twitter for this exact reason. Electronic media is, can't indicate whether or not you're being serious or sarcastic. And unlike using an eraser on a dry board, once posted, deleting a comment doesn't make it go away.
I've already had to deal with an incident - internal - where an incident happened at a program I was working at, some athletes went Twitter crazy and spread a lot of rumors, and we ended up having to do damage control with the rest of the team, and call in the individuals responsible to explain the consequences to their actions.
Having a Twitter account, in my opinion, runs contrary to one of my golden rules of coaching: A 24 hour cooling off period for every incident unless dire - life threatening, program threatening. Twitter accounts open you up to letting loose with both barrels after an emotional high or low. This is compounded by the fact that nearly everyone has a smartphone or a mobile device with an app or direct link, thus making the time between emotion, and action split second.
Again, in my experience, I've only had one incident where Twitter was an issue, and so I've yet to develop any programmatic rules regarding the use of social media. But it doesn't mean that I've not been keeping an eye on the incidents around the sports world and athletes.
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