There’s a version of this I see constantly.
There’s a kid in every class who should be getting more good looks than he is. Good film. Solid stats.
A coach gets interested, pulls up the athlete’s Instagram… and finds 47 posts. All of them are highlights.
Every. Single. One.
No loss reactions. No carousels about life as an athlete off the court. No selfies with teammates.
In other words: no personality.
So, most likely, the coach keeps scrolling, looking for something to connect to.
I just had a conversation with a Top 30 Division I women’s basketball coach about this very thing.
He told me: “If I only see highlights on their social media, I have nothing to talk to them about. It makes it easy to pass over them in favor of another athlete who shares about other interests, or shows personality.”
That athlete may never have known they were even being considered. And certainly not why that consideration stopped.
Coaches aren’t just scouting your game. Remember, they’re trying to build a locker room full of human beings, not just athletic performers.
They’re trying to answer harder questions: Would I want to spend four years with this person? How will they handle adversity? Do they fit our culture?
Highlights don’t answer that. You have to.
I’ve worked with athletes at the high school, college, and pro levels, and spent 17 years as an executive inside NBA and NHL organizations. The athletes who stand out aren’t always the most talented. They’re the ones who feel like a known quantity before anyone picks up the phone.
That can happen through content, but not through the kind most athletes are currently posting.
What do you care about outside your sport? What does a tough loss do to you, and what do you do with it? Who’s in your corner? What’s your story?
One post every week or two that honestly answers any of those questions does more for your recruiting than your next highlight reel. Believe me.
Coaches follow athletes for months before they ever reach out. Give them someone worth following.
