Your Social Media Page Is Part Of Your Recruiting Résumé

Wake Up: Coaches Are Looking!

Wake up.

If you're a high school basketball player trying to get recruited and your social media page tells college coaches absolutely nothing about you, you are making their job harder.

And that's ridiculous.

Stop treating your X or Instagram account like it has nothing to do with recruiting.

It does.

Your social media page has become part of your recruiting résumé. It may be one of the first places a college coach goes after hearing your name, watching you at an event, receiving your film, reading your scouting report, or getting a recommendation from someone they trust.

What happens when they get there?

Can they immediately figure out who you are?

Or do they have to become a private investigator?

College coaches are busy. 

They're evaluating hundreds and sometimes thousands of prospects. 

They're watching film, communicating with recruits, talking with high school and AAU coaches, traveling, running practices, preparing scouting reports, handling their current roster and trying to find their next recruiting class.

They don't have time for your laziness.

If you're serious about recruiting, start acting like it.

 

Your Page Is Your Résumé

Players and parents spend enormous amounts of time worrying about exposure.

"We need more exposure."

"Nobody knows about my son."

"My daughter isn't getting enough attention."

"How do we get coaches to notice?"

Those concerns may be legitimate.

But here's another question:

When somebody finally notices you, what are you giving them to look at?

That's where many families drop the ball.

Your social media biography should immediately provide basic recruiting information.

At minimum, consider including:

• Height and position
• Graduation class
• High school
• AAU program

Your GPA can be valuable information, especially when it's strong.

You can also include a link directing coaches toward your highlights, full-game film, scouting report, player profile, statistics, or another centralized location containing your basketball information.

Don't make people search all over creation trying to figure out whether you're a 2027 point guard or a 2029 power forward.

Make recruiting information ridiculously easy to find.

 

Stop Posting Nothing

Here's another problem.

Some players have accounts that are practically empty.

No highlights.

No game film.

No statistics.

No schedule.

No basketball information.

No updates.

Then everybody wonders why recruiting isn't moving faster.

Come on.

You have a FREE platform sitting in your hands.

Use it.

Years ago, recruiting exposure could become expensive.

Families mailed recruiting packets. 

They produced DVDs. 

They printed résumés. 

They purchased envelopes. 

They paid postage. 

They sent information to dozens or hundreds of schools without knowing whether anybody would ever open the package.

You could spend hundreds of dollars distributing recruiting material.

Today?

You can publish information instantly.

You can post a highlight.

You can share game film.

You can announce your schedule.

You can post updated statistics.

You can share a scouting report.

You can communicate legitimate basketball information without spending money every time you want somebody to see it.

And some players still can't be bothered.

That's not an exposure problem. 

That's an effort problem.

Give Coaches Something Worth Seeing

I'm not telling student-athletes to turn their social media accounts into boring corporate brochures.

You're young. Have a personality.

But understand something extremely important:

People are watching.

Your basketball content should help coaches learn more about you.

Post film consistently.

Not just your greatest crossover followed by a three-pointer.

Show basketball.

Show decision-making.

Show passing.

Show defense.

Show movement without the ball.

Show shooting.

Show athleticism.

Show complete possessions.

And whenever possible, make full-game film accessible.

Highlights can generate interest.

Full-game film helps coaches evaluate.

There's a difference.

 

One Post Can Open A Door

Imagine a college coach receives your name from an AAU coach.

The college coach goes to your X page.

Within seconds, the coach sees:

6'3" Guard | Class of 2027 | Central High School | ABC Elite | 3.7 GPA

The page contains recent highlights.

There's a pinned post with your best recruiting information.

There's a link to additional film.

There's your schedule.

There's a scouting report.

There's updated information about your season.

Now compare that with another player.

The coach visits the page and finds nothing useful.

Which player made the evaluation process easier?

That's the point.

Social media isn't going to magically get you a scholarship.

Basketball ability still matters.

Academics matter.

Character matters.

Fit matters.

Roster needs matter.

Level matters.

But your social media presence can make it easier for coaches to discover, research and evaluate you.

Why would you intentionally make that process harder?

 

Parents, You Need To Wake Up Too

Parents, you're not escaping this conversation.

You don't need to run every aspect of your child's recruiting process.

But you should understand what their public recruiting presence looks like.

Look at the page.

Would you know your child's graduation year?

Would you know their school?

Would you know their AAU program?

Could you quickly find film?

Could you find basketball information?

If you can't figure it out, why should a college coach?

And stop assuming coaches are going to hunt through 300 posts trying to locate one highlight from eight months ago.

Make the important information obvious.

 

Build The Page Correctly

This doesn't require a marketing degree.

Start with the basics:

• Complete your biography
• Pin recruiting information
• Post updated film
• Share useful statistics

Then maintain it.

Your profile shouldn't say you're playing for an AAU organization you left two years ago.

Your pinned highlight shouldn't be from seventh grade when you're entering your senior year.

Your GPA shouldn't be outdated.

Your measurements shouldn't be outdated.

Your film shouldn't disappear for six months.

Recruiting information has an expiration date.

Keep updating it.

 

Don't Destroy Your Own Résumé

Here's the uncomfortable part.

Everything else you're posting matters too.

If you're using social media publicly during recruiting, understand that people can form impressions based on what you choose to publish, repost, like, comment on, and associate yourself with.

That doesn't mean you have to become fake.

It means use some common sense.

Don't spend years developing your basketball ability and then present yourself recklessly online.

Think before you post.

Think before you repost.

Think before you argue.

Think before you attack somebody.

You wouldn't intentionally put foolishness on a traditional résumé and hand it to a college coach.

Why put it on your digital résumé?

 

The Al Woods Perspective

I've been around basketball and recruiting long enough to remember when getting information in front of college coaches was dramatically more difficult.

Today's players have opportunities previous generations couldn't imagine.

You have video.

Social media.

Direct communication.

Digital scouting reports.

Online statistics.

Highlight platforms.

Instant distribution.

That's power.

But technology is worthless when you refuse to use it properly.

I don't want to hear that nobody knows who you are while your social media page contains almost nothing about your basketball career.

I don't want to hear that you need exposure when you're sitting on videos you've never posted.

I don't want to hear that coaches can't find your information when you haven't taken 15 minutes to organize your profile.

Stop waiting to be discovered.

Help people discover you.

Conclusion: Treat Recruiting Like It Matters

Your social media page isn't everything.

But stop pretending it means nothing.

The modern recruiting process happens partly online, and your social media presence can become one piece of the evaluation trail.

A coach hears your name.

The coach searches for you.

The coach finds your page.

What happens next?

That's the question every serious student-athlete and parent should be asking.

Give them accurate information.

Give them updated information.

Give them film.

Give them statistics.

Give them your school.

Give them your AAU program.

Give them something worth remembering.

Because when a college coach finally clicks your name, you've already gotten something every recruit claims they desperately want: attention.

Don't waste it.

Author/Byline

By Al Woods | Woods Recruiting

Al Woods is the founder of Woods Recruiting, an independent basketball scouting and recruiting media platform dedicated to evaluating student-athletes, educating families, covering grassroots basketball, and connecting deserving prospects with greater visibility. 

A former high school, college, and professional basketball player, Woods brings decades of experience to his commentary on recruiting, scouting, player development, and the changing business of basketball.

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