I started using Twitter two years ago. At first I thought it was a bad decision because I knew it would distract me, like Facebook did, but I made an account anyway. After using Twitter for a while I started to see something, but before I could not really put my finger on it. My coach, Wes Long, said it was taking me off my game and that’s exactly what it was. I didn’t believe it until I wasn’t producing like I should. Once he saw my lack of production, he basically took away my twitter during the season.
The rule he made up was that I couldn’t tweet or retweet anything before practice or before games. So if I had practice at six pm I couldn’t tweet till after. Also once 12am hits, I have to stop tweeting because it’s a new day. This rule really hurt me because our games were usually at 7:30pm and ended at 10. I only had 2 hours to tweet and that pissed me off for a while. I wanted to say something to my coach about it but in the back of my mind I knew this rule would help. After I started obeying the rule, my stats went way up and the team was much better. My coach thought of this saying called “T.I.C.” which means Trust, Integrity and Compete. He was glad I trusted him and the rule. This brought much respect between my coach and I. Once the season was over though, I went straight to tweeting everyday constantly.
Over the summer I tweeted even more until I got back to school. I knew he was going to give me the rule again but I was wrong. This year he made the whole team abide by a twitter rule. No one can tweet between the hours of 9am and 6pm. If someone tweets there will be consequences, which mean a lot of running. No one wants to run because he could have us running until we can’t run anymore. My teammates think this is a dumb rule, but I tell them every time that it worked for me, it will work for you.
Antonio Stabler
Twitter does seem to be a distraction to a lot of people. It also can be bad in the terms of what you say getting you in trouble. I know a few guys that play sports at D1 schools and they have gotten suspended for things they have tweeted. Also I know some places make their players delete their twitters while they are in season. I use twitter myself and granted I wouldn't really care if it was taken away, but i can see how some people would be upset.
ReplyDeleteTim C.
I have heard about other teams having this rule, and that it has made them a lot better by "banning" social media during practice and games. Honestly I think it is a great idea, because I know how addicting you can get to social media. I am on the swim team and we don't have this rule, however, I know a lot of people on my team use twitter and I am pretty sure everyone would be better off, at least when we have practice and meets. Good luck on your season and I'm sure your teammates will do better just like you did without twitter.
ReplyDeleteYour posts are always interesting. I always wondered why you had to stop using twitter and now I know! Its surprising to see how much twitter affected your basketball career. I didn't think it could be that much of a distraction but I guess anything could really be a distraction if not used in moderation! Glad you got it together tone! Good post!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you think my post are interesting and yes i had to stop tweeting so much. However, this rule really worked for me and helped my basketball career. I hope you keep reading and commenting on my post. Thanks
DeleteI haven't really minded our Twitter rule this year because I don't Tweet that much to begin with. I do although find myself about to tweet stuff a lot between 9am and 6 and have to stop before I do. I'll be scrolling on my timeline and want to retweet something but realize that if I do it'll be my fault our whole team is on the baseline about to collapse. I know some guys on our team can't stand it but when you think about it it really is a good rule because I know my phone can be my biggest distraction. It's also smart that we cant have our phones during study hall because if I had mine theres no way that Id be able to get anything done.
ReplyDeleteGriff
I agree, this rule is a good one for everyone even though they don't think so. Not tweeting during class hours keeps me focus in class, then again i get really sleepy when i don't look at my phone. But anyways, thanks for commenting on my blog.
DeleteI think this is a great rule! If anybody in general, athlete or not would take a step back and look at how much social media takes up our time, we could see how much valuable time we are wasting. I know everybody has had a time where we were just going to check twitter or facebook before doing homework and next thing you know its 1 in the morning! I bet it gets easier as the season goes on and you realize how much you don't really need the distraction of social media. This has inspired me to try and put restrictions on my social media use and see how much more productive I can be.
ReplyDelete-Stephanie Y
I just got started using Twitter, but I not that excited about it. However, I do know that some people can become distracted. My question is, what is so important that you spend that much time every day tweeting? I think the coach made a good choice taking this away from you. It appears that it has become a bad habit.
ReplyDeleteYou have got to stay focus with more important things, and tweeting is not that important for this season.
I understand completely as far as the addiction goes. Im not really a Twitter person, but when Facebook started getting popular I was on Facebook for hours at a time (back when "poking" people was cool). Letting go of an addiction like that is very hard. Even though it is temporary, as in no Twitter between this time and that time, I know it still required discipline. The cool part is though, is that there is plenty of benefit to it, as you described. Once I stopped getting on Facebook so much, I was able to get more homework done sooner and go out with friends more (instead of sitting behind a computer).
ReplyDeleteAniyah (Yasmeen) Pendleton
I admire you sticking to the rule even though at times I could understand how addictive Twitter can be. Twitter at large can be either a great way to get breaking news or to better network and share ideas. But at the same time, I can also be a great time suck, if you don't manage your time well at all. Good luck to you and your teammates to keep from overly using and/or abusing twitter this season.
ReplyDeleteTwitter is most definitely a huge distraction so i understand where your coach is coming from. I think we rely to heavily on technology and sometimes it can take away from what is really important in life. I think twitter allows you to know everything about everyone and it makes you concerned in a way. What we should really be concerned about is ourselves and what WE are doing. No surprise that this helped you play well and i think it will work just as well for the rest of your team. props for being able to obey the coaches demands and turn your play around.
ReplyDeleteSocial media can and obviously does have a big weighing on the mind. As we respond and share our personal ideas it is very easy to forget what we really have to focus on. These are the same reasons people spend more time worrying about other peoples lives instead of their own. As we gain access to others thoughts and ideas at the swipe of a finger it becomes harder and harder to leave that world behind and pay our lives and careers the focus they deserve.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your coach's decision and respect you for abiding by his rules. Social Networking sites do present many distractions. Sometimes I wish I was not on certain websites. I feel that I would lead a much more productive life. Time management is a very important aspect of life. Every second counts. It is important to focus on your work. It will help you out more in the grand scheme of life.
ReplyDeleteTwiiter is great and I use it alot, but I agree that it can throw you off at times. The rule Wes gave to you guys will absolutely help you stay focused this year. Its your senior year and you got nothing to hold back. Look forward in following the ride this winter.
ReplyDeleteCJ