Athletic teams around Townsend Harris have started creating social media accounts to promote themselves. Teams such as track and baseball looked to Instagram as their primary platform. The teams tend to highlight specific players or encourage others to support them during their upcoming matches. 

One of the first teams to make an Instagram account, the girls’ track team, uses social media as a way to feature their teammates. “The account is meant to showcase the track team’s accomplishments and encourage our runners,” said co-captain senior Emily Tan. “We go to meets to compete, but if there are pictures, we like to post them on our account. Sometimes if we have time, we’ll take pictures or videos with our own phones or cameras.”

Recently, the boys’ baseball team also made their own Instagram page. The team says that they took inspiration from other similar accounts, like the track team. Junior and second-year member Gopalkrishna Baliga said, “We saw other teams with social media accounts and thought it would be a great way to promote ourselves.” Gopalkrishna also believes the team has grown closer through the Instagram account. He said, “It helps us build team chemistry because we decide on what to post as a team. It’s great we can communicate and showcase ourselves through social media.

Athletic Director Lauren Caiaccia also commented on the recent wave of social media accounts for teams. She said, “I think social media is a great way for organizations to spread their brand and promote themselves.” However, Ms. Caiaccia also stressed her belief that the organization itself should be in charge of running the account. Coaches should also play a role of how the account is managed.”

Regardless, with a rise in social media accounts for teams, Townsend Harris athletics looks to be more exposed and featured. Through social media, the teams can connect with other schools and communities. Through this connection, the athletes hope to increase their support for each other. As Emily said,  “It’s an easy way to stay in touch and hype each other up.”

Photo by Joshua Vieira, Photography Editor.