Juniors on Social Media

[Bizzle80]

ok, airing my annoyances here, so apologies in advance.

 

Just seeing a slew of posts from junior girls at IMG Worlds last night. We follow a lot of girls that my daughter plays and is friends with... and I think we need to unfollow a lot of these. I really cannot stand when parents are writing as if they were the kids and talking about "I really was grinding today but none of my putts were falling" or "I didnt play my best but I learned what I need to focus on to become a champion" or "So proud of myself for persevering in the heat even though I got some bad bounces"

 

It's always sort of making excuses why they didn't do better or some variation under this guise of 'learning' from this experience. No 10 year old I know ever speaks or even thinks like that about their tournament rounds...so can we please stop posting that BS as parents?

 

If you want to talk about why your kid didn't win or whatever challenges they overcame etc, post it to your IG and in your voice please...or their feed - but not as them ok?

 

I let my kid post with me whenever we post anything, and I never post excuses for what she could have done better etc. Can we all please stop that sh!t? its super annoying - at least for me...

 

Also...maybe just post those tournament highlights to your IG Stories? I dont need to keep getting pushed your posts of grainy footage of your kid making 6' putts at some random tournament. If it's a putt to win Worlds...please share. 4th hole at your local tour event? Put it in on Stories - no need to immortalize that forever.

 

sorry for the rant.

[Medson]

I mean whatever it takes to generate the eyeballs right?

 

#lovethegrind #nodaysoff #skyisthelimit #futurepga (or #futurelpga)

[wildcatden]

Agree some go over the top. I also agree that I am guilty as I have an IG account for my kid. I try to use it as more documentary than anything, but admit that I type the comment to the post in 1st person as my kid.  Lock me up and throw away the key.

 

But seriously, how can I not post my kid getting a hi-fiver from Rose Zhang at last week's US Women's Open? 😀

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuYNEE7gc7F/

 

 

[John119]

There will always be those parents! Unfollow the ones that annoy you.

 

Just know it gets better as the kids get older. Parents will back off and the kids will own their games and take charge of their social media accounts themselves. 

 

It's a learning experience for the parents and the kids. Most parents think they are helping, and mean well. 

[leezer99]

14 hours ago, Medson said:

I mean whatever it takes to generate the eyeballs right?

 

#lovethegrind #nodaysoff #skyisthelimit #futurepga (or #futurelpga)

You forgot #GolfProdigy

[leezer99]

My son has an IG but rarely uses it or posts to it anymore (high schooler). He actually DM'd a pretty famous coach a month ago about a swing and ended up with the coach challenging him to read Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. I didn't think he'd finish it since it's a 650 page autobiography about someone and somewhere very far removed from our sterile life but he did. Cool thing was that this coach encouraged and challenged him outside of golf.

[Movingday]

My advice is to get off of social media or only follow things that you enjoy. 

[jj9000]

Serious question...Is there a reason why a 10YO has access to IG?

 

What are the negatives of a 10YO not being on IG?  Something other than "but...all of their friends have it".

 

Now for my opinion...a 10YO should be far removed from Instagram and all Social Media.  There's far more harm in a 10YO accessing Social Media than there is good.

 

 

[Petethreeput]

Oddly enough, I play golf with a 15 and a 14 year old, and the younger one just got back from a golf camp which primarily focused on how to get noticed by colleges and recruiting.

 

The #1 recommendation was social media about results and how you played.  Apparently, the application and the essay about the most challenging thing you have ever experienced is being usurped by how you played in recognized sanctioned events.  When you contact a school, or vice versa, the first thing they look for is your social media. 

 

The second thing (according to this camp) is to see improvement, so if you are a +1, they want to see you were a 5 as a freshman, to a 3 to the +1 your junior year because it indicates to the coach you are continuously working on your game and interested in improving.

 

This was just his one camp, but I was really surprised to hear social media was #1.

[hangontight]

16 hours ago, Petethreeput said:

Oddly enough, I play golf with a 15 and a 14 year old, and the younger one just got back from a golf camp which primarily focused on how to get noticed by colleges and recruiting.

 

The #1 recommendation was social media about results and how you played.  Apparently, the application and the essay about the most challenging thing you have ever experienced is being usurped by how you played in recognized sanctioned events.  When you contact a school, or vice versa, the first thing they look for is your social media. 

 

The second thing (according to this camp) is to see improvement, so if you are a +1, they want to see you were a 5 as a freshman, to a 3 to the +1 your junior year because it indicates to the coach you are continuously working on your game and interested in improving.

 

This was just his one camp, but I was really surprised to hear social media was #1.

Not surprising.  So curious if they said at what age its important?  My son is 12....no Social Media.  He hasn't asked, but most of his (golf) peers have IG accounts...some parent managed, some not.   The journey is about far more than free clubs and swag, but now that I think about it every junior golfer I know that is sponsored/supported/helped (call it whatever you want) DOES have an IG account.    A Titleist rep a few years ago told me it wasnt that important....who knows, maybe its brand dependent.  Obv, some brands are far more media driven than others.   

[kekoa]

17 hours ago, Petethreeput said:

Oddly enough, I play golf with a 15 and a 14 year old, and the younger one just got back from a golf camp which primarily focused on how to get noticed by colleges and recruiting.

 

The #1 recommendation was social media about results and how you played.  Apparently, the application and the essay about the most challenging thing you have ever experienced is being usurped by how you played in recognized sanctioned events.  When you contact a school, or vice versa, the first thing they look for is your social media. 

 

The second thing (according to this camp) is to see improvement, so if you are a +1, they want to see you were a 5 as a freshman, to a 3 to the +1 your junior year because it indicates to the coach you are continuously working on your game and interested in improving.

 

This was just his one camp, but I was really surprised to hear social media was #1.

 

If you look at any kid's IG account who is about to or just got recruited, you will see their IG posts diminish to maybe just a hand full of random posts.  Nothing swing or tournament related.  This is something I've noticed.

[Petethreeput]

1 hour ago, hangontight said:

Not surprising.  So curious if they said at what age its important?  My son is 12....no Social Media.  He hasn't asked, but most of his (golf) peers have IG accounts...some parent managed, some not.   The journey is about far more than free clubs and swag, but now that I think about it every junior golfer I know that is sponsored/supported/helped (call it whatever you want) DOES have an IG account.    A Titleist rep a few years ago told me it wasnt that important....who knows, maybe its brand dependent.  Obv, some brands are far more media driven than others.   

I don't know, he is 14 now.  And I just got the 14 year old rendition of the things they felt were important to improve one's chances after the letter to the coach is sent.  Coaches aren't allowed to speak with the kids until they are Jrs in high school, so I think (and this is an I think) he was being encouraged as a freshman/sophomore to send a letter to a coach and then if he has good IG/FB or whatever the hot medium is now the coach will take notice assuming the handicap is where they want it.

 

The 15 year old who is a + cap said it made him feel better because no coaches had contacted him, but he is just a sophomore now.

[John119]

7 hours ago, kekoa said:

 

If you look at any kid's IG account who is about to or just got recruited, you will see their IG posts diminish to maybe just a hand full of random posts.  Nothing swing or tournament related.  This is something I've noticed.

Disagree. The 2025's seem to be posting more than ever and they should be. It's a great way to communicate with coaches and show some personality. It's go time for those Top 2025's right now.  It will be interesting to see when they all commit in the next few months. So far I've only seen 2 boys from 2025 commit and maybe 6 or seven girls on NCAA commits on IG. Maybe there is other you know that have committed and just not posted yet. 

 

[John119]

7 hours ago, Petethreeput said:

I don't know, he is 14 now.  And I just got the 14 year old rendition of the things they felt were important to improve one's chances after the letter to the coach is sent.  Coaches aren't allowed to speak with the kids until they are Jrs in high school, so I think (and this is an I think) he was being encouraged as a freshman/sophomore to send a letter to a coach and then if he has good IG/FB or whatever the hot medium is now the coach will take notice assuming the handicap is where they want it.

 

The 15 year old who is a + cap said it made him feel better because no coaches had contacted him, but he is just a sophomore now.

He's doing it right. Start contacting coaches and programs he is interested in now. But he won't hear from them (other than a like on IG) until June 15th after Sophomore year. It's never too early to show interest. If he's a good player, he'll be surprised which coaches do and do not reach out when the time comes. Hard to know exactly what every coach sees in certain kids or what they are looking for. Just do you, be a good kid, play well, keep an open mind and the kid will end up in the right place. 

 

[Llortamaisey]

I agree with most of what the OP posted. There’s one account I follow of a young junior golfer, and the mom and dad state on the profile page right away that they’re the ones posting, not the kid. All of the posts just have the facts, where it was, the date, what was shot, what place was finished. Nothing is ever posted about about how the player played and they never post as if they are the player. That’s how it should be. 
 

The only thing I would disagree with from the OP is people posting highlights from a random little tournament. I’ve been on social media for about 17 years and it has served as a central location where I can catalogue my life for myself. It’s great at capturing and remembering those little moments. I wish it had been around when I was a junior golfer to go back and revisit that greasy downhill slider I snuck in the side door at some no name tournament. 
 

As others have stated, if someone posts something you do not prefer, just unfollow. 

[Bizzle80]

Great responses...thanks for allowing me to vent. I definitely just stopped following a bunch of kids. It has been nice for my daughter and I to see what people are up to, and for her to post with me together. I look at "her" IG account as a way to slowly teach her how to utilize social media responsibly and hopefully she can see how fake most of peoples feeds are - ideally this alleviates some of the anxiety as she matures and eventually takes over her own feeds.

 

Again, my issue isn't with kids having accounts about their lives and sports journey's - just when parents write in as if it's the Childs voice. Feel free to post about your kid as a parent, but in a parents voice. If parents tried to write the same drivel in an adult voice, they would probably realize how ridiculous they sound and cut it out - "My little Jenny played really poorly today but its because the wind was up and she got so many unlucky breaks. But now she learned what it will take for her to be number one!" 

 

[MahalNeneng]

21 hours ago, John119 said:

Disagree. The 2025's seem to be posting more than ever and they should be. It's a great way to communicate with coaches and show some personality. It's go time for those Top 2025's right now.  It will be interesting to see when they all commit in the next few months. So far I've only seen 2 boys from 2025 commit and maybe 6 or seven girls on NCAA commits on IG. Maybe there is other you know that have committed and just not posted yet. 

 

Official visits start very soon…..

[kekoa]

On 7/18/2023 at 5:12 PM, John119 said:

Disagree. The 2025's seem to be posting more than ever and they should be. It's a great way to communicate with coaches and show some personality. It's go time for those Top 2025's right now.  It will be interesting to see when they all commit in the next few months. So far I've only seen 2 boys from 2025 commit and maybe 6 or seven girls on NCAA commits on IG. Maybe there is other you know that have committed and just not posted yet. 

 

take a snap shot of those IG's now and once they commit.  Let me know if you see a difference in posts.  I bet you will.  

[John119]

10 minutes ago, kekoa said:

take a snap shot of those IG's now and once they commit.  Let me know if you see a difference in posts.  I bet you will.  

In what way do you think the posts will change?  

 

[leezer99]

2 minutes ago, John119 said:

In what way do you think the posts will change?  

 

They’ll delete everything except for their commit photo and maybe a couple recent good finishes. 

[kekoa]

15 minutes ago, leezer99 said:

They’ll delete everything except for their commit photo and maybe a couple recent good finishes. 

Correct.  By this point the coach has already observed the player on the course and seeing first hand what kind of personality and attitude they have.  We all know IG life and real life are night and day for most. 

Edited July 23, 2023 by kekoa

[John119]

58 minutes ago, leezer99 said:

They’ll delete everything except for their commit photo and maybe a couple recent good finishes. 

A

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by John119

[John119]

38 minutes ago, kekoa said:

Correct.  By this point the coach has already observed the player on the course and seeing first hand what kind of personality and attitude they have.  We all know IG life and real life are night and day for most. 

B

Edited July 23, 2023 by John119

[leezer99]

28 minutes ago, John119 said:

Do coaches make you delete everything? I hope not. The kids and I enjoy following all the kids on IG. 

Do you keep sending our resumes after you get a job?

[John119]

Just now, leezer99 said:

Do you keep sending our resumes after you get a job?

Doesn't look like the 2025's that commited have deleted anything. I think lots of kids use it for more than college coaches to see. It's a great way to follow each other and interact with their golf friends. 

[leezer99]

3 hours ago, John119 said:

Doesn't look like the 2025's that commited have deleted anything. I think lots of kids use it for more than college coaches to see. It's a great way to follow each other and interact with their golf friends. 

Instagram is an advertising platform for SA's. 

[kekoa]

2 hours ago, Neverstop said:

I  miss @HeavyHitter comments seems like no one posts anymore because the gods got angry.

Heavy and Tiger are off somewhere having a picnic.  I do miss them both. 🙂

[leezer99]

9 hours ago, kekoa said:

Heavy and Tiger are off somewhere having a picnic.  I do miss them both. 🙂

 

I don't miss either of them. I only miss TigerMom and CTgolf. 

[John119]

On 7/31/2023 at 6:18 AM, Neverstop said:

 

You can still join them on social

media.  That where the party is at these days!!!

I

Edited August 1, 2023 by John119

[leezer99]

2 hours ago, John119 said:

Is the another place more convo is taking place regarding junior golf? Like a FB page? Or do I need to know their IG or FB to find them?

Meet parents from different tournaments and start a group chat.

Edited August 1, 2023 by leezer99