DENVER — As if high school wasn't hard enough, add the constant scrutiny of a social media microscope.
Skyline High School’s senior quarterback Creighton Trembly is all too familiar with the pitfalls of social media.
And how could you not be? We have numerous examples of athletes ending up in hot water thanks to Twitter.
Just ask Brewers pitcher Josh Hader, who found himself the subject of scrutiny after a reporter uncovered racially-insensitive tweets from when he was in high school.
Or ask quarterback Josh Allen, who ended up in a similar situation just before the 2018 NFL Draft.
Then there’s the case of Donte Divinchenzo. Mere moments after winning the NCAA national basketball championship with Villanova, Divinchenzo faced questions about old tweets.
"It definitely makes you more conscious of what you're putting out there,” said Trembly.
Luckily, the Denver Broncos public relations team was here to help.
The Broncos hosted their second-annual High School Sports Media Day, and part of the event was a brief seminar with each group of student-athletes to teach them tools to navigate media.
"It was definitely super helpful,” says Columbine High School senior Andrew Gentry.
Gentry has dozens of college scholarship offers, and his best advice is to be genuine.
"Something that my parents told me is you have to be the same person you are in the dark that you are in the light,” says Gentry.
Columbine senior running back Adam Harrington understands that representing your team, or yourself, goes far beyond your phone.
“When you put on the Columbine jersey, you not only represent Columbine but yourself and the football team," he said. "We really have to represent ourselves well all the time."
The most important points from the Broncos presentation were as follows: focus on the team, focus on the work, stay in the moment, avoid your ego, and be positive.
