Sports

A bane and a boon

Ever-changing technology can help athletes market themselves and keep up with the competition, but it's not without drawbacks.

By BOB PUTNAM
Published August 31, 2007

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MySpace.com, the Internet social networking site, has gained tens of millions of users in the four short years it has been in business.

The service provides users with the space and tools to create personal Web sites, maintain blogs, post pictures and link their space to that of others users, forming virtual networks of cyberfriends.

Many football players have taken to this form of self-expression.

"MySpace is big," Northeast running back Jeff Brinson said. "It seems like everyone at school has their own page."

Brinson's page is full of personal information. He also has posted videos of track meets and dance routines.

But there are some who take their pages too far with inflammatory comments about opponents.

Clearwater Central Catholic coach Mike Jalazo has gone so far as to create his own MySpace page so he can monitor his players' sites and what they post.

"It's just another thing we have to worry about," Jalazo said.

There is yawning technical divide between generations.

Texting is second nature to many football players. Dixie Hollins quarterback Josh Brown, for example, sends or receives more than 100 text messages a day. Same with Largo's Brynn Harvey and Leonard Johnson.

To coaches, though, texting is often irrelevant if not unfathomable.

Players use the text-messaging function on their cell phones as a way to whisper to friends out of the earshot, so to speak, of coaches who are left wondering what arcane language their players are speaking.

College coaches, though, have found ways to communicate with players at their level, flooding prospective recruits with text messages.

It became too much. The NCAA banned text messages by college coaches.

Some high school coaches are finding ways to use text messaging to their advantage. Jalazo is setting up a group system where he can send his players texts throughout the day on football matters.

The Web has empowered fans in ways unimagined a generation ago. Log on and feed almost any interest. Want to know players' rankings? Dying to watch a big district game? Want to read insider information on your team? You need not leave home. What's more, anyone can join the debate; we are all critics and analysts, joined by broadband connections across states and, more often than not, value systems as in, you may value a player's skills, while your friend may not.

The Web also is rapidly changing the relationships between athletes, fans and journalists, reapportioning access and power, redrawing boundaries and, for better or worse, making everyone a self-appointed expert.

Players and fans are hooked on blogs and message boards where they can voice their opinion, such as flavaristy.com.

Coaches are not always thrilled.

"I tell our players and coaches to stay away from that stuff," Northeast coach Jay Austin said. "There's too much negativity. We're not paid enough to deal with that."

It was days before a big district game and some Keswick Christian players wanted to mess with their rival.

So they logged onto their computers and typed away.

This war of words went undetected by coach Rick Sanson until weeks after the game.

"You never want your players to give opponents bulletin-board material," Sanson said. "But it's hard to keep track of that stuff when it's done through their computer.

"When we said stuff, it's just talk. Nowadays, when you post something, it's there for everybody to see. It's permanent."

Technology has changed high school football.

Players' fingers flash over computer screens. They talk trash on MySpace pages. They post videos of their latest moves on YouTube. They communicate by text messaging.

And it's not just athletes. Coaches break down game tape using high-tech devices. Fans voice their opinion on blogs.

"We're in a different world," East Lake coach Bob Hudson said.

Bob Putnam can be reached at putnam@sptimes.com or(727) 445-4169.

On the Web

Have a question for one of our prep writers? Want to sound off in response to one of our county-by-county writers' blogs? Nominate Top Performers for the month? For this and more, check out our high school sports blog at http://blogs.tampabay.com/preps/.

 

[Last modified August 29, 2007, 14:12:01]

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