BC staff pushing practice facility via social media

For the longest time, the Football staff said they needed an indoor practice facility to compete. There was plenty of hoopla when the announcement came and more during the ground breaking. Addazio said it immediately helped recruiting.

Now as the project nears completion, the staff continues to talk it up on Social Media. Look at this video below from Coach Brian White of Coach Frank Leonard talking about it. I expect more to follow as all the summer recruits and campers will probably be getting hard hat tours.

#BCEagles #NewIndoorFacility #stateoftheArt. #BestintheCountry Will be done soon! pic.twitter.com/v4NG1nU9kq

— Coach Brian White (@coachBwhiteBC) June 5, 2018

BC's problems going viral

Friday was a rough day for BC on the field and on the court. It wasn't much better online.

I don't think BC should overreact to this sort of stuff, but these sorts of wake up calls are valuable to a place like BC. We know Bates is out. Barring a miracle finish, Addazio should be too. Yet if our decisions makers think twice if Addazio finishes 5-7, these sorts of comments can serve as the stark reminder that BC needs a new direction.

The ACC has a Boston College problem. What's the solution? (The ACC went 13-2 in fb and bkb Friday. BC lost both.) https://t.co/w975oEt88f

— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) November 12, 2016

lol Boston College's former coach was trash-talking BC last night and it still wasn't worse than the box score https://t.co/dOxXkA5u0q

— BUFFALO CHILL CODY (@edsbs) November 12, 2016

@BCHysteria @joegrav @MichaelJSully @bcatleagle This is getting big play...supposed large positive reaction by former players (not my pic) pic.twitter.com/evUZg2U2qf

— Seth Andrew (@SethAndrewY) November 13, 2016

Embarrassing. I can't even watch this. Let me know when you want to be relevant again! You deserve better.

— Jeff Jagodzinski (@CoachJags) November 12, 2016

Not bad night for new Nicholls State’s Richie Riley. Gets a win in his coaching debut — and school also got $90K to play at Boston College.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) November 12, 2016

Steve Addazio is focusing on the wrong things

Since he's arrived at BC, Steve Addazio has always been overly sensitive to criticism. Now, as the ACC losing streak continues, he's really losing sight of the big picture. During his radio show this week, Addazio took "social media" and "twitter" to task for the negativity. Much has already been written about this, but I want to hammer any last point home so that the next time Addazio starts ranting to Meter or Cronin or any other BC staffer, they can respond, "let it go, Coach."

A tweet has never made a tackle...

Regardless of what is written or said by me, or any other BC blogger, fan, talking head, whoever, none of it impacts what happens on the field. We don't tackle. We don't call plays. We certainly don't call timeouts. Our impact is nothing. Addazio just needs to focus on football and ignore the chatter. He can't blame us for the negativity. It is purely a response to what is happening on the field, not the other way around. 

Addazio can't have it both ways...

Remember the glory days of #beadude? Or how about when Addazio went viral on Vine? That was all social media. So in those cases is social media okay? You can't delve into that world for your program's benefit and then criticize it with such broad strokes when the tide turns on you. Either Addazio is a hypocrite or he fails to realize that "social media" is just a forum. It can be used for good or bad.

Who are we to criticize, we've never been on the field...

Addazio hasn't said this exactly, but it is often trotted out in the coaching profession. While I do think perspective and experience does validate some criticism, you cannot dismiss all criticism simply because the critic can't or hasn't performed the task being criticized. Addazio criticized plays on national television for ESPN during the Auburn-Florida State National Championship Game a few years ago. He's never been the head coach in a National Championship Game, but that didn't make his comments less insightful. Sometimes that outside perspective is even more valuable. We've all been deep in the weeds with our own problems in life with work or relationships or whatever, and someone will come along and capture the issue so simply and succinctly. Meanwhile you've been pounding your head against the wall trying to fix whatever is wrong. It is hard to admit that the outsider is right, but it happens. 

Opinion and criticism is not unique to sports...

Any business, any school, any work of art, any person (really), is always open to criticism. That is human nature and technology has only made it easier. Does he realize that every professor at BC is exposed to online criticism? Or that the restaurant in which he was whining about social media deals with it every day too? Or that one of BC Football's biggest sponsors deals with it too? Get over yourself, Coach.

Recruits read this stuff...

Like my first argument, the kids you are recruiting will respond to wins, losses and the relationship they build with their recruiters before the pay attention to random social media. If recruiting is suffering, it is not because of negative tweets. It is because our team is losing and looks lost and unprepared. Nothing that is said or written online even compares to what rival coaches are saying to our recruits right now. They are saying "Addazio is done," "he can't win" and "why would you want to play there?" Addazio can pretend to take the high road, but our staff uses negative recruiting too. Everyone does.

Coaching has changed, fans have changed, blah blah blah...

You know what's changed in coaching between now and when Addazio started back at Chesire High? His paycheck. I don't know Addazio's exact experience coaching high school thirty years ago, but I know enough about youth sports to know that he faced criticism then. "Johnny should be starting" or "why can't you beat _____" or "your behavior on the sidelines is a bit much." He didn't have twitter then, but there are always armchair quarterbacks and parents and fans who think they know better. Always. At every stop. At every level. 

Pressuring the critics won't stop them...

Addazio has indirectly sent messages to media outlets who call him out. It is a waste of his time and BC's time. Even if you silence one, it doesn't take much for someone else to fill the void. The only way Addazio can silence anyone is with better play. That should be his focus. He needs to stop wasting his own time and those around him.

BC Coaches don't overreact to NCAA‬ Proposal 2015-48

Did your social media feed feel different Monday? If you are a fan of a major football power it probably did. Starting August 1, coaches are now allowed new levels of interaction with recruits in various social networks. The minutia of what the coaches can and cannot do is hysterical in its triviality, yet there were guys who've Rose Bowls like Gary Patterson furiously retweeting the most banal stuff from recruits he wants at TCU. One Power 5 team that didn't go all in on the new rule was Boston College.

Based on the Twitter feeds of Addazio, Al Washington, Anthony Campanile and Rich Gunnell, it seems like they treated Monday like any old day. Gunnell retweeted a few recruits who posted their BC offers, but that was about it. The team that once embraced Vines, was basically uninterested in the changes. Should BC fans be concerned? I don't think so.

While Social Networks and Social Media are important communication tools, they are only one part of the sales pitch. You still have to text and call and visit the players and their parents. If anything, social media provides greater insight into the recruits for the coaches, then the other way around. A social network account can give glimpses into a player's attitude and maturity.

BC also remains a niche product to most recruits. Location and the admission requirements will always make it so. That leaves BC coaches to spend more time finding the right guys as opposed to shotguning all the top recruits and retweeting their morning activities.

Maybe Addazio and company will become more engaged in the months ahead. If they start losing recruits due to lack of attention, they will have to react. But for now, I am glad they are taking their time and not overreacting.

Donahue can become a personality if he uses Twitter right

Steve Donahue has been a breath of fresh air around BC basketball. However, that didn't translate into increased interest. With his transitional year now becoming a full rebuilding year, ticket sales and excitement is not likely to grow this season. That has a chance to change via his new foray into Twitter.

The nascent social media platform still doesn't have the power of Facebook, but Twitter is a better avenue to two important constituencies -- the media and college students.

The media loves a good quote or a good angle. A major conference coach who "gets" twitter and can provide them with some good sound bites will get a lot of play. Just look at former BC assistant and current Hofstra head coach Mo Cassara. In a crowded media market and from a midmajor school, the new coach has used Twitter to make a name for himself. He regularly interacts with the media via his tweets and retweets things that he likes. It shows he's engaged and the media and bloggers following his team eat it up. Donahue could do the same and since he is at a higher profile school, he could reach an even bigger audience.

The other group that has the potential to react to his tweets are students. One way to get some of the bandwagon SuperFans caring about losingrebuilding basketball might be to build a cult of personality around the coach. Think Bruce Pearl (minus the rule breaking). If Donahue is interacting and engaging BC students on Twitter, they may show a little more passion and loyalty to him during the season.

I don't think Twitter is going to change the face of BC basketball, but it is another path. We've tried other things without success. Maybe Donahue can do it himself in 140 characters or less.