When Athletes Use Social Media
October 2nd, 2009
The people that are putting this pressure on the athletes are not aware of the huge safety risk this may pose. Most people have never reached that level of competition that a professional or college athlete has reached. They cannot possibly understand the level of focus requiredjust before and during each game. There seems to be a great deal of pressure on athletes to use social media such as twitter and Facebook during games.
Yes, athletes and teams should be using social media, but the players and coaches SHOULD NOT be using anything of the sort immediately before or during games for SAFETY reasons. Maybe they can have an administrative person from the team keeping fans happy with real time updates. After the games and on days the athletes do not play the athletes and coaches should use social media to keep fans interested, informed, and up to date.
I’ve been coaching since 1978 and have seen athletes get distracted and then injured. After seeing distractions and minor bumps and bruises, I had parents agree they will not call for their child’s attention during practice or competition for SAFETY reasons.The reason is because it takes away from their concentration. Anything that causes an athlete to lose focus can cause an accident.
