SE: That’s the Tweet – How K-State Soccer is Raising their Social Media Game
Sep 04, 2020 | Soccer, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
There are so many perfect moments in a K-State soccer video.
Christina Baxter explaining the dangers of chopping jalapeños in a cooking video or grabbing Brookelynn Entz and Shelby Lierz for a TikTok set to a Drake song.
There's Avery Green slapping a plate out of Bailey Nemechek's hands and Maddie Souder jumping in to "vacuum" it up like a defensive midfielder.
These videos are, to use a highly technical term, very good content.
"The fact that our players want to be engaged, because they know what's current, it's been nice to have that mix of what's on brand for K-State Soccer and the personality of our team," assistant coach Kat Benton-Laezza said. "Having a lot of banter also makes it really easy."
No program in Manhattan has committed to the content game quite like K-State Soccer, where scripted videos, bloopers from practice and TikToks capture the life of a D1 student-athlete.
Think of these videos as the defensive midfielder of any successful soccer program: When they're working, you don't even notice how much they impact almost every aspect of a match.
It also makes Souder the perfect person to ask about the vision behind the vacuums.
"I would say a lot of it is about recruiting, girls see that on social media and it's a program they want to be a part of, because we know how to have fun off the field and do business on the field," Souder said. "But it also brings a light atmosphere to practice, because we're all talking about the vacuum video or Cooking with Tina."
Unlike other sports, college soccer programs like K-State routinely offer scholarships to recruits early in their high school careers. Before SATs and choosing a major are even in the picture, teenager soccer players with D1 dreams are getting a sense of the culture at every program.
Maybe they're reading stories like this one, but far more likely, these future Wildcats will get their first impression of the K-State soccer team from videos on Twitter or TikTok.
"Our coaches have that fun, goofy personality and they bring that energy to the team where they come up with all of these creative ideas," Souder said. "The vacuum video, I think that came from Kat. She called me a couple weeks ago and told me this genius idea, like an ESPN spin-off. Of course, I was down."
The vacuum video is a textbook example of how K-State soccer content gets made.
Take something from real life – Souder and Green clean things up at defensive midfielder and center back for the Wildcats – and spotlight the personalities behind every tackle or clearance.
"We went into my apartment, because we're all roommates and we were thinking of ideas," Souder said. "Something about how we like to make a mess on purpose just so we can clean it up. And then we just went into the middle of Manhattan and started vacuuming."
When it came out on Twitter, the video was full of slow-mo shots of both players holding vacuum cleaners, fake interviews with their teammates and lots of bloopers. It blew up.
"At first, we were like, 'Is it going to be funny?' but Alec [Handlin], our videographer, did a great job," Souder said.
Benton-Laezza and Souder both gave credit to the team behind the videos, including K-State social media directors Jay Moline and Kevin McCarty. She called Handlin the team's "secret transfer" who's there to capture can't-miss moments and shoot videos at practice that help build the brand of the Wildcats.
The philosophy behind the videos is simple and something Moline remembered from former creative director Chris Kutz: Emotion is Undefeated.
"You can put what you want on social media, but a lot of the time, you can tell when it's forced or cheesy," Benton-Laezza said. "Tina also did a TikTok video that was really clean with her cleats. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, so it's been cool to see other teams follow suit."
Cameos from Baxter and Nemechek were a highlight of the vacuum video, after Green and Souder showed up in another K-State soccer production, Cooking with Tina.
On National Avocado Day, Baxter and her teammates shared their recipe for salsa and guac – a video that was shot and released before the Wildcats even had a 2020 schedule.
For all the positive impact that content like this might have on recruiting, these videos are also about the K-State soccer players who are already on the team.
During a summer when they had to quarantine after returning to campus and practice without knowing if they would even have a season, the videos are a celebration of the team's culture.
"You can't really fake that," Benton-Laezza said. "Our whole brand is that if you come here, we're going to make you feel like you're part of a family. We're always joking with each other, and if you've got a sarcastic or witty comeback, you're going to feel like a part of this team."
There are so many perfect moments in a K-State soccer video.
Christina Baxter explaining the dangers of chopping jalapeños in a cooking video or grabbing Brookelynn Entz and Shelby Lierz for a TikTok set to a Drake song.
There's Avery Green slapping a plate out of Bailey Nemechek's hands and Maddie Souder jumping in to "vacuum" it up like a defensive midfielder.
These videos are, to use a highly technical term, very good content.
"The fact that our players want to be engaged, because they know what's current, it's been nice to have that mix of what's on brand for K-State Soccer and the personality of our team," assistant coach Kat Benton-Laezza said. "Having a lot of banter also makes it really easy."
✅ First uniformed intra-squad scrimmage this morning ... Purple and White 😈#KStateSOC x #OnTheRise2020 pic.twitter.com/kxk5oyi8GA
— K-State Soccer (@KStateSOC) August 15, 2020
No program in Manhattan has committed to the content game quite like K-State Soccer, where scripted videos, bloopers from practice and TikToks capture the life of a D1 student-athlete.
Think of these videos as the defensive midfielder of any successful soccer program: When they're working, you don't even notice how much they impact almost every aspect of a match.
It also makes Souder the perfect person to ask about the vision behind the vacuums.
"I would say a lot of it is about recruiting, girls see that on social media and it's a program they want to be a part of, because we know how to have fun off the field and do business on the field," Souder said. "But it also brings a light atmosphere to practice, because we're all talking about the vacuum video or Cooking with Tina."
Unlike other sports, college soccer programs like K-State routinely offer scholarships to recruits early in their high school careers. Before SATs and choosing a major are even in the picture, teenager soccer players with D1 dreams are getting a sense of the culture at every program.
Maybe they're reading stories like this one, but far more likely, these future Wildcats will get their first impression of the K-State soccer team from videos on Twitter or TikTok.
"Our coaches have that fun, goofy personality and they bring that energy to the team where they come up with all of these creative ideas," Souder said. "The vacuum video, I think that came from Kat. She called me a couple weeks ago and told me this genius idea, like an ESPN spin-off. Of course, I was down."
The vacuum video is a textbook example of how K-State soccer content gets made.
"I think they took the name a little too seriously." 😂@maddiesouder1 x @averygreen33#KStateSOC pic.twitter.com/R5ymfdAuFz
— K-State Soccer (@KStateSOC) August 20, 2020
Take something from real life – Souder and Green clean things up at defensive midfielder and center back for the Wildcats – and spotlight the personalities behind every tackle or clearance.
"We went into my apartment, because we're all roommates and we were thinking of ideas," Souder said. "Something about how we like to make a mess on purpose just so we can clean it up. And then we just went into the middle of Manhattan and started vacuuming."
When it came out on Twitter, the video was full of slow-mo shots of both players holding vacuum cleaners, fake interviews with their teammates and lots of bloopers. It blew up.
"At first, we were like, 'Is it going to be funny?' but Alec [Handlin], our videographer, did a great job," Souder said.
Benton-Laezza and Souder both gave credit to the team behind the videos, including K-State social media directors Jay Moline and Kevin McCarty. She called Handlin the team's "secret transfer" who's there to capture can't-miss moments and shoot videos at practice that help build the brand of the Wildcats.
Springing forward got us like...
— K-State Soccer (@KStateSOC) March 9, 2020
Happy National Nap Day to you and yours, may you get the rest you need and deserve. #KStateSOC pic.twitter.com/LiPOqqoDTC
The philosophy behind the videos is simple and something Moline remembered from former creative director Chris Kutz: Emotion is Undefeated.
"You can put what you want on social media, but a lot of the time, you can tell when it's forced or cheesy," Benton-Laezza said. "Tina also did a TikTok video that was really clean with her cleats. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, so it's been cool to see other teams follow suit."
Cameos from Baxter and Nemechek were a highlight of the vacuum video, after Green and Souder showed up in another K-State soccer production, Cooking with Tina.
On National Avocado Day, Baxter and her teammates shared their recipe for salsa and guac – a video that was shot and released before the Wildcats even had a 2020 schedule.
When life hands you avocados, make guacamole (and salsa).
— K-State Soccer (@KStateSOC) July 31, 2020
👩🍳 Cooking With Tina 👩🍳#KStateSOC 🥑 National Avocado Day pic.twitter.com/2ndlsyn2Kr
For all the positive impact that content like this might have on recruiting, these videos are also about the K-State soccer players who are already on the team.
During a summer when they had to quarantine after returning to campus and practice without knowing if they would even have a season, the videos are a celebration of the team's culture.
"You can't really fake that," Benton-Laezza said. "Our whole brand is that if you come here, we're going to make you feel like you're part of a family. We're always joking with each other, and if you've got a sarcastic or witty comeback, you're going to feel like a part of this team."
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