When your child receives a scholarship offer from a college, it is truly a red-letter day. The excitement in their eyes and their voices is heartwarming. When my oldest daughter received her first offer, I could not hold back my tears. I would like to urge all parents to stop and considered the pros and cons of posting that offer on the various social media sites ((I’ve just got my job at McD’s!!? | Yahoo Answers. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071031132657AA0t2wH)). I am hopeful that this post will serve as a starting point in your decision to go public with the offer or stay silent about it.
Making the Case to Proceed with Posting the Offer
My love and pride for my children is enormous. I am addicted to posting their achievements on my Facebook page and Twitter feed. When I have a piece of news that conveys how awesome my daughter is, I want to scream it from the rooftops. This is natural as a parent. The act of posting the offer on Facebook and Twitter will provide recognition and validation of the time, commitment, and hard work that the child has put into their sport. It also has the effect of separating the child from the rest of the players, both locally and state-wide.
If your son or daughter received a scholarship offer, it is quite likely that their basketball club played a huge role in training them to become a good player and also assisting them in securing the offer from the college ((The Jag -Wire Newsletter. https://d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/5014/documents/2020/1/Jagwire%20Newsletter-2.pdf)). The club has invested time and energy into your child and also deserves recognition for their efforts. Many clubs create a fancy “offer template” that showcases their club and the player for every offer that they receive. This acts as a form of advertising for the club. It shows that their club assists players in getting scholarships. This is a valid reason for sharing the news of the offer.
I believe that when you or your club posts an offer that your child receives, it shows other colleges that you are a bonafide prospect. It may lead other schools in the same athletic conference or similar conference to take notice of you as a player and wonder why or how your child was not on their radar. This could potentially lead to offers from other schools. This is a compelling reason to go public.
The Case for Not Posting the Offer
There are a lot of pressures on kids these days ((iKidPower. http://www.ikidpower.net/)). The last thing that you want to do is to provide teammates and competitors fuel to make your child’s life more difficult. If you go and post the fact that your child has received an offer, they are immediately labeled a scholarship athlete. The players that your child competes against and their fans can find out about the offer and use it to try and get in their head. For example, if your son or daughter has a bad game, the crowd could begin cheers like “She’s not worth it.” The opposing team might step up their game because they are going to play against a college prospect. Even your child’s teammates could use it to bully them out of jealousy during practice or in school. It is truly something to consider.
Another factor to think about is whether the posting could scare away schools that may have an active interest in your child ((The New Angle On Online Casino World Just Released. https://www.mindstick.com/articles/23478/the-new-angle-on-online-casino-world-just-released)). For example, let’s say that your daughter received an offer from Marquette University. Does this scare away UW-Green Bay from feeling that they have a chance to recruit you? This could turn into a big concern for the player and parents, depending on the goals for their selection of a college.
While I was preparing this article, I asked my daughters what they thought about players that post offers? My youngest made light of the language, “I am blessed to receive an offer from….” used in many of the posts. My oldest thought that it made the player “look like they are full of themself.” I do not feel that it shows a lack of humility, but please be aware that these perceptions are out there.
Conclusion
My decision was not to share my children’s offers on social media. I would love to say that it was based on careful thought and research, but it was not. My wife and I did not share the offers on the advice of our daughter’s basketball club coach, who feels it is essential to keep your cards close to your chest regarding the offers they receive. I honestly can see the pros and cons of either side of the decision. I hope that this article begins a conversation in your household on the topic.
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