ValleyGirl

A friend of mine shared the message below with me that he was considering posting. I liked it so much that I decided to go ahead and share (with his permission) these thoughts: Full disclosure, I’m not a message board guy. I’ve worked in Division 1 Sports in many different capacities for 50 years, and these boards didn’t exist for most of that time. I have never posted on any message board. I look at them now and then when something major happens at schools I have an interest in, just to see the reactions which range from informative to entertaining to disgusting and disturbing. I am a very proud alumnus of one school, but a fan of many institutions where I have worked and/or have friends. Certainly everyone is entitled to have and to share their opinions (and I’m sure many will take issue with mine), but everyone should consider the impact of their POV. One issue that seems to illicit particularly strong, and sometimes nonsensical, feelings is a coaching change, voluntary or otherwise. While I understand my thoughts won’t necessarily change anyone’s actions, maybe it will give someone pause before posting something that could be detrimental to their school. While I am specifically talking about and posting this on message boards, all of this obviously applies to social media as well. Those platforms probably reach many more and a wider range of fans. One thought that many (most) posters don’t take into consideration is who might read their opinion and what will be their reaction to it. While there is a limited group of folks who might read your message board or social media posts, how many times will it be shared or repeated or responded to? When you post something emotional and negative, how will a student-athlete react and what will a prospect think? Will your “take” cause a potential (or present) donor/season ticket holder to rethink their decision. In this day, the NIL, the Transfer Portal, and the competition for disposable income are all challenges for every institution. What will potential coaches or administrative staff or their families think about your school? How will you expressing your opinion affect any, or all, of these potential groups and issues? Isn’t the goal to have a school and athletics department and teams we can all be proud of, and did your post, take, or opinion make your school better or worse? Some posters are obsessed with the coaches. The coaches are human and make mistakes and poor decisions. They also make those decisions with way more information than you can ever have. They could still be wrong, but it’s way more informed and professional than yours. In particular, coaches who have had long term success deserve the benefit of the doubt. You can’t possibly know all the variables that go into coaches’ decisions that are based on years’ of experience. There are posters still referencing mistakes made by coaches that were fired or left years ago. You could be right—congratulations. How does that benefit your school? If a coach leaves or gets fired, move on. How can you help the new coach? How can you help the new roster? How can you help the program going forward? Whether it’s buying tickets and attending games and screaming your lungs out, or donating in whatever way you can or just being positive about the direction of the department/program, focus on the future. Think about the legendary coaches who would never have gotten a chance at success if message boards and social media had existed “back in the day”. And while decision makers don’t necessarily listen to the noise, the momentum of public opinion is very impactful. Your actions have consequences. You can’t control what other people do, but you can control what opinions you share with the masses. Please think about the ramifications of what you are saying can have on all the different parties involved. Maybe right before you hit that return button, think about whether what you are saying is personal and petty or does it help your school become what you want it to be.

A friend of mine shared the message below with me that he was considering posting. I liked it so much that I decided to go ahead and share (with his permission) these thoughts: Full disclosure, I’m not a message board guy. I’ve worked in Division 1 Sports in many different capacities for 50 years, and these boards didn’t exist for most of that time. I have never posted on any message board. I look at them now and then when something major happens at schools I have an interest in, just to see the reactions which range from informative to entertaining to disgusting and disturbing. I am a very proud alumnus of one school, but a fan of many institutions where I have worked and/or have friends. Certainly everyone is entitled to have and to share their opinions (and I’m sure many will take issue with mine), but everyone should consider the impact of their POV. One issue that seems to illicit particularly strong, and sometimes nonsensical, feelings is a coaching change, voluntary or otherwise. While I understand my thoughts won’t necessarily change anyone’s actions, maybe it will give someone pause before posting something that could be detrimental to their school. While I am specifically talking about and posting this on message boards, all of this obviously applies to social media as well. Those platforms probably reach many more and a wider range of fans. One thought that many (most) posters don’t take into consideration is who might read their opinion and what will be their reaction to it. While there is a limited group of folks who might read your message board or social media posts, how many times will it be shared or repeated or responded to? When you post something emotional and negative, how will a student-athlete react and what will a prospect think? Will your “take” cause a potential (or present) donor/season ticket holder to rethink their decision. In this day, the NIL, the Transfer Portal, and the competition for disposable income are all challenges for every institution. What will potential coaches or administrative staff or their families think about your school? How will you expressing your opinion affect any, or all, of these potential groups and issues? Isn’t the goal to have a school and athletics department and teams we can all be proud of, and did your post, take, or opinion make your school better or worse? Some posters are obsessed with the coaches. The coaches are human and make mistakes and poor decisions. They also make those decisions with way more information than you can ever have. They could still be wrong, but it’s way more informed and professional than yours. In particular, coaches who have had long term success deserve the benefit of the doubt. You can’t possibly know all the variables that go into coaches’ decisions that are based on years’ of experience. There are posters still referencing mistakes made by coaches that were fired or left years ago. You could be right—congratulations. How does that benefit your school? If a coach leaves or gets fired, move on. How can you help the new coach? How can you help the new roster? How can you help the program going forward? Whether it’s buying tickets and attending games and screaming your lungs out, or donating in whatever way you can or just being positive about the direction of the department/program, focus on the future. Think about the legendary coaches who would never have gotten a chance at success if message boards and social media had existed “back in the day”. And while decision makers don’t necessarily listen to the noise, the momentum of public opinion is very impactful. Your actions have consequences. You can’t control what other people do, but you can control what opinions you share with the masses. Please think about the ramifications of what you are saying can have on all the different parties involved. Maybe right before you hit that return button, think about whether what you are saying is personal and petty or does it help your school become what you want it to be. A friend of mine shared the message below with me that he was considering posting. I liked it so much that I decided to go ahead and share (with his permission) these thoughts: Full disclosure, I’m not a message board guy. I’ve worked in Division 1 Sports in many different capacities for 50 years, and these boards didn’t exist for most of that time. I have never posted on any message board. I look at them now and then when something major happens at schools I have an interest in, just to see the reactions which range from informative to entertaining to disgusting and disturbing. I am a very proud alumnus of one school, but a fan of many institutions where I have worked and/or have friends. Certainly everyone is entitled to have and to share their opinions (and I’m sure many will take issue with mine), but everyone should consider the impact of their POV. One issue that seems to illicit particularly strong, and sometimes nonsensical, feelings is a coaching change, voluntary or otherwise. While I understand my thoughts won’t necessarily change anyone’s actions, maybe it will give someone pause before posting something that could be detrimental to their school. While I am specifically talking about and posting this on message boards, all of this obviously applies to social media as well. Those platforms probably reach many more and a wider range of fans. One thought that many (most) posters don’t take into consideration is who might read their opinion and what will be their reaction to it. While there is a limited group of folks who might read your message board or social media posts, how many times will it be shared or repeated or responded to? When you post something emotional and negative, how will a student-athlete react and what will a prospect think? Will your “take” cause a potential (or present) donor/season ticket holder to rethink their decision. In this day, the NIL, the Transfer Portal, and the competition for disposable income are all challenges for every institution. What will potential coaches or administrative staff or their families think about your school? How will you expressing your opinion affect any, or all, of these potential groups and issues? Isn’t the goal to have a school and athletics department and teams we can all be proud of, and did your post, take, or opinion make your school better or worse? Some posters are obsessed with the coaches. The coaches are human and make mistakes and poor decisions. They also make those decisions with way more information than you can ever have. They could still be wrong, but it’s way more informed and professional than yours. In particular, coaches who have had long term success deserve the benefit of the doubt. You can’t possibly know all the variables that go into coaches’ decisions that are based on years’ of experience. There are posters still referencing mistakes made by coaches that were fired or left years ago. You could be right—congratulations. How does that benefit your school? If a coach leaves or gets fired, move on. How can you help the new coach? How can you help the new roster? How can you help the program going forward? Whether it’s buying tickets and attending games and screaming your lungs out, or donating in whatever way you can or just being positive about the direction of the department/program, focus on the future. Think about the legendary coaches who would never have gotten a chance at success if message boards and social media had existed “back in the day”. And while decision makers don’t necessarily listen to the noise, the momentum of public opinion is very impactful. Your actions have consequences. You can’t control what other people do, but you can control what opinions you share with the masses. Please think about the ramifications of what you are saying can have on all the different parties involved. Maybe right before you hit that return button, think about whether what you are saying is personal and petty or does it help your school become what you want it to be.