Exploring the use of social media among PK-12 public school athletics coaches

The aim of the research was to gain an understanding of how public-school athletics coaches use social media professionally and to address a gap in the literature. The investigation compared survey responses from an array of demographic groups on the professional use of social media by public-school athletics coaches, and differences between professional and personal social media use. Significant differences in type of social media used, application of professional social media use, and number of sports coached were found between male and female respondents. Similarities between genders were also found in their application of professional social media and overall average rating of professional social media use. Years of experience were also analyzed revealing significant differences in professional social media application and type of platform used. Social media has the potential to help coaches and provide better resources to athletes. Implications, limitations of the research, and future research are also discussed.