Loudoun County, Va. — After high school coaches, external recruiters and social media bridge the gap between high school student-athlete and college coaches, the recruit and coach must work together to build a relationship and, ultimately, decide if both sides are a good fit for each other. For college coaches in the social media age, the first step in making the final decision is often pre-screening the student-athlete on Twitter to find out if the recruit has the attitude, the character and the personality to fit in with the team’s current chemistry and model. Twitter makes the initial screening easier for…

Leesburg, Va. — In a game dominated by hard-hitting outsides, it was only fitting that the final point of the match came off the hand of a setter. On October 17 in Leesburg, Loudoun County High School junior defensive specialist Rebecca Frey dug a tough hit by Stone Bridge High School late in the fourth game. Lady Raiders’ junior setter Andersen Vaughan knocked it over the net falling between a number of Lady Bulldogs, who felt their kill had touched down and that the point had already been won. However, the officials saw differently awarding the point to the Lady Raiders…

Loudoun County, Va. — Bridging the gap between high school student-athletes and college coaches throughout the recruitment process was historically up to the recruit’s high school coach or an external recruiter whose sole job is connecting athletes and coaches. However, with the introduction of Twitter into the recruiting game, connections are being made in other ways, so high school coaches are having to find new ways to stay involved in the recruitment process. High School Coaches – and Recruiters – Serve as Bridge Builders Between Athletes and Coaches Before Twitter, high school coaches and external recruiters – or bridge builders -…

By Owen Gotimer LoCoSports Editor-in-Chief [twitter-follow screen_name=’BigO_Gotimer’] Ashburn (October 16, 2016) – Facing a 4th-and-long from the Spartans’ 22-yard line, Broad Run High School freshman quarterback Mitch Griffis had the weight of Ashburn on his shoulders as the Spartans trailed rival Stone Bridge High School, 7-3, with just over one minute left in the Battle of the Burn on October 14. The packed Bulldog side of the stadium roared as Griffis took the snap, but the rumble quickly changed sides when Griffis connected with senior running back Meech Hembry at the 50-yard line to convert on the first down.  But…

Loudoun County, Va. — The recruitment process for prospective student-athletes is like a dance between two sides: the high school recruit and the college coach. High school recruits are trying to sell their skills to colleges coaches, while college coaches are trying to sell their programs to high school recruits. Since both sides must come to a mutual agreement if the PSA is to land at the school, both sides must do their homework in screening the other. I sat down with student-athletes during my research, and according to them, Twitter is the easiest way for college coaches to pre-screen a…

Loudoun County, Va. — As the NCAA relaxes recruiting rules and as social media becomes commonplace among high school student-athletes, more and more college coaches turn to social networking sites like Twitter to learn about the character of prospective student-athletes. However, coaches and student-athletes need a mutual understanding of how a PSA’s presence online compares to his offline character and how college coaches are using social media to recruit or stop recruiting PSAs. College Coaches Athletically Dooce Prospective Student-Athletes To dooce someone is to fire her from her job because of her published content online1. On multiple occasions high school student-athletes…