Players added me on Facebook?

I have several players friended. It's a great way to spy on them and see what they're doing and what they're thinking. Be careful what you post but you were going to do that anyway.

Thanks Phantom,

I read a lot of your posts and really respect your opinion so knowing you have players as friends speaks some volumes.

Also, do you think I should get my Head Coaches opinion first? Or don't even bother him?

This is Need To Know and he doesn't need to know.

Thanks, BTW.

Someone in Idaho is under investigation, because he friended some of his students and then one of his adult friends put pictures of said teacher playing beer pong at an adult party. Parents were upset that their kids saw pictures of the teacher playing beer pong with his shirt off on the Internet. It is a crazy world we live in.

i usually agree with phantom. In this case, I absolutely disagree. DO NOT have electronic communication with players. Period.

Now...if you have a "teampage"...that might be something different. But your personal page should in no way, shape, form mingle. WAY to risky. All it takes is one nutty parent... and there are plenty.

As coach orr mentioned, parents are upset that kids saw a picture of their teacher that HE didn't even put up. Keep in mind that parents like to complain, and in our world (education) they have so much more weight. The parents who are upset might spend their weekend snorting cocaine off of the backs of children who were sold as a part of underground human trafficking...but the school board will respect their opinion over that of a quality teacher who was hot one night at a legal party.

Also disagree about not telling the header. ESPECIALLY because you are a volunteer. Many districts may have a policy against such things... and you might not be aware.

I graduated college in 07 when facebook was only around for a few years and was mainly college kids. We were explicitly told by the college's education department to get rid of our facebooks or myspaces and I did, I just don't think it is worth the risk. Now if I started a coaching page or team page then maybe it wouldn't be so bad (probably a good idea) but at the time I just didn't want anything to get in the way of me getting a job. Most schools STRONGLY caution against "friending" kids, just be very careful if you choose to add.

I am also a volunteer coach in college. This topic has crossed my mind, and if any of my players friend request me, I will ignore it. I make an effort to keep my coaching life separate from my personal life and vice versa.

Never. This is the quickest way to get in trouble. If you want to get hired one day ... delete them tonight.

I will not "friend" anyone currently in school. Once they graduate fine.

Thanks for the input everyone. I didn't 'accept' or 'ignore' anyone last night but I did change my 'privacy settings' to a very more controlled profile. I talked to the 2 kids who tried to friend me today and I basically told them the predicament they put me in, and it's not their fault and not to be offended. They understood what I was saying, so it seems to be all smooth.

Thanks again.

Next year I would talk to the team in your first meeting and say that as a coach you cannot accept friend requests from current players. Heck, you could even do it now. By doing that you should prevent some 98% of friend requests from your guys until after they've graduated.

Facebook is a great web site as long as you use it correctly. I got mine this past summer to keep in touch with high school friends... I will not be accepting friend requests from future players. I've learned that through other peoples' mistakes.

I will and have never friended a player/student. The way I see it is this..... how would it look for a, in my case, 39 year old having a bunch of teenagers as friends on their profile? I think that it may make them look like a pedofile.....

If they are in school and are students, they need to be ignored. We are not technically their "friend," we are supposed to be their mentors. Their is absolutely no reason to add them, and if you do, it just makes it look like you're trying to be a friend rather than that mentor. --No matter your intention, most other adults see it as inappropriate. Until the pkayers have graduated, and are now in most ways adults, you have to click the ignore button.

Also, make sure you up your privacy settings to "Friends Only." Otherwise anyone and their brother will be able to rifle through your entire page even without having befriended you.

same. wait until they graduate the football program. When i become a teacher, it will be once they graduate period.