It has become almost impossible to spend longer than five minutes on doom-scrolling apps like Instagram and TikTok without seeing a sports highlight or sports opinion reel. Content related to athletics has exploded across all platforms as teams and entire sports source engagement and brand recognition from social media. Examples are everywhere: Real Madrid, a singular soccer club, has 182 million followers on Instagram; The NBA has 90 million followers; the most followed person in the world is an athlete, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 580 million followers.
On the professional level, social media has expanded sports into a world beyond the game itself. Teams post live updates, behind-the-scenes content and interact directly with fans through their platforms. Athletes build personal brands by gaining followers and attracting large endorsement deals based on their online presence. Due to this, sports organizations have begun to function not only as professional teams, but also as commercial brands.
However, the influence of social media is not limited to professional athletics. College programs actively use these platforms to promote their teams, connect with fans and attract potential recruits. For many athletes, social media plays an important role in gaining attention and opportunities from collegiate coaches.
At the high school level, social media is becoming more common in athletic programs. Teams use their platforms to share game schedules, post scores and occasionally post highlights.
Creating a whole new outlet for creativity and involvement, many students now have a place to show off their hobbies like photography, videography and editing while also pursuing an interest in sports. Some teams even now have their own designated social media manager.
Senior Michael O’Neil has helped produce content for numerous high school teams through his passion for photography. Although still participating on the school’s track and field team, O’Neil has pursued growing the sport he loves through volunteering to run his team’s Instagram account this year.
“I make mostly every post: from the meet days, results and honors. It’s all done on Photoshop, basically just graphic design that I’ve learned to do pretty much on my own.”
Social media has also become an important part of recruiting. Many high school athletes now post their personal schedules, highlights, statistics and awards on their accounts to showcase their ability and widen their exposure.
In some cases, athletes create specific profiles dedicated to recruiting. College coaches often use social media to discover prospective players, especially those who may not have gained attention through the traditional scouting methods.
Senior Riley Carr, former field hockey co-captain and Franklin and Marshall commit, said she had used social media as a key recruiting tool. “A lot of recruiting starts online now,” she said. “Posting highlights and tournament schedules gives you a chance to be seen by coaches you wouldn’t normally reach.”
This allows for athletes’ online presence to act as a digital resume, allowing them to reach an audience and potentially create more opportunities.
“Most people, especially high school aged kids, get their information for sports from team and fan-run accounts on Instagram,” explained senior lacrosse co-captain Ben Seward. “It’s become a huge part of raising support for sports.”
For student-athletes, these platforms come with both benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, posting highlights and game clips can help to gain recognition and attract the attention of coaches at the next level. But on the other hand, social media can become a distraction to athletes as it can create pressure to perform well publicly.
Coaches are also adapting to this growing attraction towards social media in athletics. Many use common platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X to promote their programs and athletes and celebrate their achievements, while using them responsibly.
Over the past few years, an increase in social media use can be seen in WHS athletic programs. Most notably, the WHS field hockey program and girls lacrosse program are the most active accounts of all.
Head coaches Corrine Varhley and Katie DaSilva use their Instagram accounts mainly to promote their teams and attract potential athletes. The accounts feature a variety of content, ranging from highlight clips to game scores to off-field team bonding moments, showcasing the different aspects of their programs. In the off-season, the accounts are still keeping their online presence alive, promoting clinics as well as supporting other successful WHS teams.
“We want to show the fun side of what we are doing at practice. These girls work really hard every day, so we want to show the balance of the athletes keeping the program fun,” said DaSilva. “Coming off of a state championship, I think it’s good to show how we can coexist.”
For students, this may create a stronger connection to their own programs or allow them to better support others. As these platforms continue to grow, coaches and players all throughout the country are learning to better navigate them in a way that supports, rather than distracts from, their goals.
As social media continues to grow, its influence on athletics shows no signs of slowing down. What started as a way to share highlights has quickly grown to become a central part of how athletes build their identities and how teams can promote their programs. At WHS, the team no longer ends at the final whistle — it continues on your page.
