As a Strength & Conditioning
(S&C) coach, I often wonder what I can do to put each sports team into a
class by itself. How can the work we do in the weight room help the athletes
compete at the highest level possible? How can S&C coaches reset the rules
and redefine the standards in order to transform the game and produce champions
on the field of play?
At any level of S&C,
speed, strength, and agility programs are paramount to the success of the
athletes. The final product of S&C coaches efforts are strong, fit,
well-conditioned athletes that are able to perform to their potential on the
field. Yet how can a S&C coach market the work that occurs in the weight
room? With so much of life now taking place on or via the internet, I believe
social media is the answer.
Most everyone is on some form of social media a few times a day,
so why not take that opportunity to market your program and all the
improvements you are helping your athletes achieve. Establishing a strong
presence on Twitter or Instagram can help your program advertise the
progressing success of your athletes. Twitter has a reported 284 monthly active
users1 and Instagram has around 150 million monthly users.2 Why
not use a free resource, that can reach millions of individuals and that can
help build your public image and reputation? By simply tweeting or posting a
picture or video of an athlete setting or celebrating setting a P.R. (personal
record) it shows the impact your S&C program is having on your athletes. It
can be as simple as posting something along the lines of, “Congrats to
@(TwitterHandle) for setting a P.R. in the weight room today! #PushTheLimits
#WonTheDay.” What this does is helps publicize the success of your athletes who
are partaking in your program. The kicker is that if you are well connected via
social media to various athletes, coaches, universities, scouts, etc. you can
have a meaningful impact on your public image and reputation and individuals
will think, “Wow that schools S&C program is really helping their athletes
set P.R.’s left and right all year long, they must be doing something right!”
Through the constant posting of the success of your athletes, you
can build a reputation and develop the brand of a program that continually
improves athlete’s strength and conditioning. Social media can be used to post
more than success of athletes; it can also be used as an avenue to educate your
athletes, fellow coaches, or programs in all facets of athletic performance.
Many S&C programs
post more than pictures; they post fitness tips, nutrition tips, and daily
motivational quotes. Athletic performance is more than just lifting weights,
and many programs already understand and are being proactive with their
understanding of trying to build the complete athlete, both mentally and physically.
At the end of the day, your reputation is your brand, and the only thing that
will advertise you, is YOU! If you’re not familiar with technology or social
media, or believe it’s a “fad.” Sorry to say it, but social media is here to
stay, so we all need to get with the time. If you haven’t already, use social
media to advertise yourself, your program and “#CreateYourOwnBrand.”
Sources
1.
About
Twitter. (2014, January 1). Retrieved October 30, 2014, from https://about.twitter.com/company
2. Axtell, John. (2014,
March). Retrieved November 21, 2014, from http://www.panhandlepost.com/2014/04/08/eagles-hope-offseason-weight-training-pays-dividends/
3 Davidson, Coy. (2013,
November 9). Retrieved November 21, 2014, from http://www.coydavidson.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/iStock_000017221776Small.jpg
4.
Herman,
J. (2014, February 17). Instagram Statistics for 2014. Retrieved October 30,
2014, from http://jennstrends.com/instagram-statistics-for-2014/
I feel that social medias are a great way to keep contact with athletes and students. The reason all students check their Facebook or Instagram all day but forget about their emails at times. I would like to say even though Twitter may be rated high for students, I am one of many saying that I hate Twitter and never look at that media.
ReplyDeleteThis article shows a whole different out look on athletic support that uses social media. By using social media it can catch the attention of some athletes and inspire them to work out.
ReplyDeleteSocial media is a great way to keep people involved and updated on news and events so why not for S&C as well? Another platform that many conditioning coaches use is YouTube, being able to upload video of workouts and routines really allows the viewer to get a first hand look at what they need to do to further their process.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Cort. I follow a lot of strength and conditioning coaches YouTube channels. Seeing a video first hand is a great way to dial in technique, and to really tell how credible the coach or trainer is!
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ReplyDeleteI agree with this article 100%. It's 2014 and just about everyone uses social media. I feel like social media is the key to get your name out there. Continuously updating with whatever your using, eventually you will gain peoples attention which in turn will help you out in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThis article is a great reason as to why social media is helpful these days. Almost everybody has a twitter or facebook these days, and most check it once, maybe up to ten times a day. I know at my high school we relied on the coaches tweets to make sure we were at the rght places, at the right times.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using social media to broadcast all your workout progress. Its a great way to keep in touch because although a few people don't use social media and large majority of them do.
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea of using social media to your advantage. Why not utilize it when its strongly structures an individuals daily life. Most people cant go a day without checking social medias multiple times a day.
ReplyDeleteThis article is perfect. Almost everything to this days revolves around social media and the more you use it I think the more it puts your name out there. More and more things are going to have to do with social media today. Some people don't like it but as the years go on its going to be used more and more.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all strength and conditioning, I believe, is the main key to having a successful program. Having the social media as a tool to get your name out there is well understood. But having the best interesting and interactive social media is what will get your name out there.
ReplyDeleteThis article is a great way to show how working out can be used in todays technological advances to make people also want to workout without shoving it down their throats I love how this is able to be put to use social media in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this article, it is a great way to get a program or company out there
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