Drake Hanson

Austin Bullock (#8) punts the ball in pregame warmups before the Liberty high school vs. Pleasant valley high school game.

Many high school athletes aspire to continue their career on scholarship at the highest level of competition: division one athletics. The world of college recruiting began with coaches searching for players, but has morphed into players finding coaches. 

The days of answering every call in hopes that it is a college coach are slowly fading away. Social media has taken hold of the recruiting process. Whether it be highlights on the field or in the weight room, coaches no longer have to spend time traveling to see players and their abilities.

X, formally known as twitter, is the main source of recruiting due to its widespread reach and fitting interface. Players and coaches alike post consistently in hopes of being noticed by the other. The reason that Twitter is used far more frequently than others is due to the reach that one can gain using only one post. By tagging coaches and schools, athletes can easily reach hundreds or thousands of other users.

For many athletes, social media has made it possible for them to get noticed if they otherwise would not be able to. For those who cannot afford to go to camps or travel to colleges, they can simply post on social media. 

Twitter has had a large impact on the lives of many aspiring high school athletes, including senior football player, Austin Bullock. “Social media has helped me find more than just coaches but also camps to attend. I have received invitations to camps through Twitter that have helped put my name out there for colleges,” stated Bullock

Pleasant Valley has had many athletes in the past use social media in order to put themselves on the map. A former Pleasant valley football player, Aidan Kilstrom, used Twitter frequently and is now playing football at Harvard. “Twitter was vital to my recruiting success; without it, I would have never been able to connect with such a wide variety of coaches. While going through the recruiting process, I used Twitter as a catalyst to network with coaches across the county. Once I was able to identify the universities I was interested in, Twitter allowed me to individually reach out to the coaches at the programs I wanted to be a part of and market myself free of cost. Without this tool, I would have never been noticed by the coaches I would later receive offers from,” said Kilstrom. 

Social media as a whole has completely changed the game for college recruiting and has allowed for athletes to have a greater chance at continuing their athletic career onto the collegiate level.