In today’s digital world, your online presence is more than just a profile-it’s your personal brand. For athletes aiming to play in college or pursue a professional career, what you share online can open doors to new opportunities. College recruiters, coaches, and even sponsors often look beyond the field, evaluating your character and reputation through your digital footprint.
A polished “athlete profile” is a great start, but it’s not enough. Everything you post, like, or comment on-across all your social channels-contributes to how others see you. Your personal posts, photos, and interactions can have a lasting impact, creating a “halo effect” that shapes your reputation, both positively and negatively. Remember, your digital footprint is permanent; even deleted content can be saved or screenshotted and resurface later.
As you build your presence online, think carefully about the image you want to project. Use your platforms to highlight your achievements, sportsmanship, and personality, but always be mindful that your actions online reflect on you, your team, and your future opportunities. Being intentional and cautious with your digital activity isn’t just about protecting yourself-it’s about setting yourself up for success, on and off the field.
Create a profile (it’s free). Spend time creating your “About” description. Add a profile picture (phone selfie in a uniform or headshot) is perfect.
For “experiences” add the teams you played on (with dates for chronology)
Add any volunteer work they do
Ask coaches for recommendations, or teachers.
Follow/Engage:
Follow clubs and players yes – but also organizations, businesses in sports.
For example:
Once you start adding and following accounts, your athlete can ask to connect with relevant people. This ties back to the importance of Networking which is (in our opinion) what LinkedIn is really good at.
If your athlete already has an account, then the decision is whether you want to create a separate account that is tailored only to your Athlete and soccer. We recommend separating the two.
How to create and build:
Create a profile. Do not create a business account – make it a personal account. This will give you a lot more control over it. Create it on your mobile phone as it is 99% a mobile app.
Private or Public: This is a very personal decision. Private means only people you allow to follow you will see it. This is recommended for younger players. Public means anyone can follow you etc.
There are pros and cons to both, hence it is a personal decision. We recommend private for younger players who use Instagram teen accounts and College Bound – or pro track athletes may want to go public for discoverability.
Take time to curate content. Post:
Highlights
Team pics, games
Interesting things you have come across – other players, trainers or team news that your athlete follows.
Follow reputable accounts.
When posting use proper hashtags.
YouTube is great for housing long-form videos. We recommend your athlete create a channel that people subscribe to. This is especially helpful for college recruitment. You won’t be able to travel to every I.D. Camp or college campus – video will be your best friend.
Perfect place to put highlight reels.
Add game footage.
If you volunteer with younger kids clubs (as a coach, ref or assistant coach), add highlights of those experience.
Record short videos of you training.
You can even interview your current coach – talk about what he looks for in a player and more.
You can send links to your videos to coaches for college recruitment via your NCAA account which is a really good way to engage with coaches.
