Shareable Player Profiles: What to Include and How to Share Safely

A shareable player profile is one page, kept in one place, that shows who an athlete is, what they have done and how to reach them, and that can be sent as a single link. The best ones read like a short scouting report: verified numbers, dated results, video and a safe way to make contact. The worst ones read like a social media bio. This guide covers what to put on the page, what to keep off it, and what changes when the athlete is a child.

It is written for athletes, parents, coaches and club administrators in the United States.

TL;DR

• A shareable profile works when it is scannable in seconds: name, position, graduation year or age group, club, verified measurables, highlight video.
• Specific, dated figures beat adjectives. “15 goals in 20 games” tells a coach something. “Hardworking” does not.
• Split the profile into a public layer for visibility and a private layer for contact details, academics and coach evaluations.
• For under-13s, US law (COPPA) requires verifiable parental consent before personal information is collected, so build and share with a parent in control.
• A live, rating-based player card that updates as the athlete develops stays current without anyone re-editing a PDF.

Table of Contents

• What a shareable player profile actually is
• The fields that earn their place
• What to keep off the public page
• Sharing a child’s profile: the rules that apply in the US
• How to build one, step by step
• Common mistakes
• Why live player cards change the picture
• Our perspective: a profile should show development, not just results
• For clubs and academies: what it costs to offer this
• Choosing a profile tool: criteria that matter
• FAQ
• Sources

What a shareable player profile actually is

Think of it as a digital résumé for an athlete. IMG Academy’s guidance on athlete profiles describes the profile as the way coaches evaluate prospective student-athletes remotely, particularly when they cannot watch them in person. That is the core job: let someone who has never seen you play form a fair first impression in under a minute.

“Shareable” adds two requirements:

1. One address. The profile lives at a single link you can put in an email signature, a social bio or a message to a coach. Every update shows up for everyone who has the link.
2. Control over who sees what. Shareable does not mean open to everybody. A profile that can be sent to a scout should still protect a teenager’s phone number and a child’s school.

This is also why a screenshot, a PDF in a group chat or a long social media bio makes a poor substitute. They go stale the day after you send them, and you cannot take back what they contain.

The fields that earn their place

Coaches are short of time. Put the facts they use to decide whether to keep reading at the top.

Identity and context

• Full name, position (and secondary position), dominant foot or hand where relevant
• Graduation year for high school athletes, or age group and birth year for youth players
• Current club, school or academy, and level of competition
• Height and weight, updated regularly for growing athletes

Performance evidence

The research behind this guide is consistent on one point: verified specifics beat self-description. The FieldLevel recruiting guide, for example, points out that generic descriptors like “fast” get ignored, while a measured time or dated game stats carry weight. Good evidence has three parts:

• The number, such as goals, assists, clean sheets, wickets, tries, or a timed sprint
• The context, meaning the date, the competition and the level
• The proof, meaning match footage or a coach’s confirmation

Compare two lines:

The same logic applies in cricket, netball, rugby and any other sport: a figure, a date, a level.

Video

A short highlight reel linked near the top is the single most useful addition. Keep it to your best clips first, label the match and date, and make sure the player can be identified (shirt number, position, a marker at the start).

Academics and references

For US college recruiting, coaches also look for GPA, test status and a coach reference. These sit better in the private layer, discussed below, unless the athlete is an adult who chooses otherwise.

What to keep off the public page

Visibility and safety pull in opposite directions only if you put everything in one place. The sensible answer is tiers.

Public layer (anyone with the link):

• Name or first name and initial, position, club, age group
• Verified stats and ratings
• Highlight video
• A way to request contact

Private layer (authenticated, approved viewers only):

• Phone number, personal email, home address
• Academic transcripts and GPA
• Private coaching evaluations and development notes
• Parent or guardian contact details

The SportsRecruits guidance on cybersecurity for student-athletes advises against publishing details such as a home address, phone number or Social Security number openly, and favours contact routes where only verified coaches see full details. The principle holds regardless of which tool you use: if a stranger can copy it from your link, assume everyone can.

A practical test before sharing: open the link in a private browser window, logged out. Whatever you see is what the world sees.

Sharing a child’s profile: the rules that apply in the US

A 15-year-old’s profile and an 11-year-old’s profile are not the same product, legally or ethically.

Under 13: COPPA

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act applies to online services that collect personal information from children under 13. According to the FTC’s COPPA FAQ, operators must post a clear privacy policy, give direct notice to parents and obtain verifiable parental consent, with limited exceptions.

The rules have also been tightened. The FTC published its final amendments to the COPPA Rule on 22 April 2025, and operators had until 22 April 2026 to comply. In practice, that means any club or platform that publishes under-13 profiles needs a parent in the loop, a clear record of consent and a short list of data it actually needs.

Parents should expect a platform to explain what it collects, who can see it and how to delete it. If it cannot, do not use it for a young child.

Directory information versus enrichment

It helps to split data into two kinds. Basic facts that already appear in a match programme or published results (name, school, event, result) are a different category from enrichment data such as GPA, a personal statement or social handles. The Wisconsin Athlete COPPA notice shows how a results site handles this: under-13 athletes appear only through public meet results, and families can ask for a specific child to be removed. Enrichment data for a minor should need explicit parental authorisation.

Ages 13 to 17

Teenagers can usually take a more active role, but a parent or guardian should still be able to see and manage the account. Good platforms gate sensitive edits, such as adding contact details, behind that oversight.

A short checklist for parents

1. Ask who can view the profile by default: only people you approve, or anyone with a link?
2. Check that contact details never show on the public page.
3. Confirm you can edit, export and delete the profile.
4. Make sure your child’s school, home location and daily routine cannot be pieced together from the page.
5. Review the profile again each season, since clubs, ages and photos change.

How to build one, step by step

1. Collect your evidence. Match stats with dates, testing results, coach notes, two or three clips.
2. Write the header. Name, position, age group or graduation year, club, level.
3. Add five to eight verified numbers. Choose the ones that matter for your position. A goalkeeper and a winger need different lines.
4. Link a short highlight reel. Under three minutes, best clips first.
5. Choose the visibility. Decide what is public, what needs approval and what stays private. A parent should decide for any minor.
6. Use a clear headshot. Plain background, kit or neutral shirt, face visible.
7. Share the link everywhere it helps. Email signature, social bios and messages to coaches. FieldLevel’s recruiting team makes the same point in its article on public athlete profiles: a unique profile link can reach coaches who are not on that platform.
8. Update on a schedule. After each season, or after each testing block.

A profile that is two years out of date works against the athlete. Coaches notice.

Common mistakes

• Adjectives instead of data. “Leader”, “technical”, “hard worker” are claims. A stat with a date is evidence.
• Unlabelled video. A coach should not need to guess which player is yours.
• Everything public. Sharing a phone number on an open page invites spam and worse.
• Everything private. A profile nobody can open does nothing for visibility.
• Copy-pasting the same profile for every audience. A college coach wants academics and a graduation year. A youth academy scout wants age-appropriate development data.
• Stale numbers. Last year’s height and last season’s stats read as neglect.

Why live player cards change the picture

A static profile is a snapshot. A live card is a record that keeps moving as the athlete does.

LevelUp360HQ is built around that idea. Each athlete has a FIFA-style player card with real-time ratings and a market value, driven by XP from challenges, tier progression, badges and leaderboards. Because the card reflects ongoing development, whoever opens it sees the athlete as they are now, not as they were when a PDF was exported.

A few things follow from that design:

• Athletes own their development. The card is theirs. They can see exactly what moves it, which is motivating in a way a spreadsheet of stats is not.
• Coaches contribute evidence. Video assessments and approval workflows mean ratings are backed by a coach’s review rather than self-reported.
• Clubs keep it on-brand. Clubs and academies can run it white-labelled, so the profile carries their identity.
• Youth safeguarding is built in. That matters when the people on the page are children.
• It works across sports. Football, cricket, netball and rugby are all supported, so a multi-sport club does not need a different tool for each squad.

No tool fixes weak evidence, though. The same rules apply: dated numbers, context, video, tiered privacy.

Our perspective: a profile should show development, not just results

We talk to a lot of clubs and parents, and the same frustration comes up. A profile is treated as a one-off task before a trial or an application, then forgotten. The result is a page that says what a player was, not what they are becoming.

We think three things matter most.

First, progress is the story. A scout who sees a rating rise over a season, tied to challenges completed and coach-approved assessments, learns more than one who sees a single good stat line. That is why we built the player card to be live and why tiers and XP exist: they turn effort into a visible record.

Second, a coach’s word should carry weight, and a child’s data should carry protection. Verified assessments are more credible than self-description. At the same time, young athletes should not pay for visibility with their privacy. Safeguarding is part of how we build, not an add-on.

Third, clubs deserve the same tools as the players. The page a parent shares is only as good as the club behind it. Session management, CRM, payments and a branded club platform sit next to the player card so administrators are not stitching four systems together.

If you take one thing from this guide, make it this: choose evidence a stranger can trust, then choose who gets to see it.

— Chris

For clubs and academies: what it costs to offer this

If you run a club and want every athlete to have a live, shareable card under your brand, the published pricing on our site is simple:

You can see the details and try the prototype on the LevelUp360HQ demo page. Athletes, coaches and parents can also read more on the LevelUp360HQ homepage.

Choosing a profile tool: criteria that matter

Whether you build on a spreadsheet, a free template or a platform, judge it against these questions.

A free printable sheet is fine for a first conversation with a parent. Once you want the profile to be linked, updated and trusted, you need something live.

FAQ

How do I create my own player profile?

Start with the facts: name, position, age group or graduation year, club and level. Add five to eight dated stats, a short highlight video and a headshot. Then decide what is public and what is private, and share the single link rather than copies.

What is a player profile?

It is a digital résumé for an athlete that gathers athletic information, and for college recruiting often academic and contact details too. IMG Academy notes that coaches use it to evaluate athletes remotely. The more verifiable and current it is, the more useful it is.

Is it safe to make a child’s profile public?

It can be, if the public layer is limited to basics and a parent controls the account. For children under 13, COPPA requires verifiable parental consent before personal information is collected. Never publish a home address, phone number or personal email on an open page.

Which app can I use to create a player profile?

Look for one that offers privacy tiers, parental controls, coach-verified data and easy updates. Our platform, LevelUp360HQ, gives athletes a live player card with ratings, badges and tier progression, and it is run through clubs and academies. Test any option logged out first to see what a stranger can see.

Sources

• Make an Athlete Profile to Get Recruited for College Sports, IMG Academy
• Safeguarding Your Privacy While Enhancing Your Recruiting Process, SportsRecruits Blog
• Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions, Federal Trade Commission
• Unpacking the FTC’s COPPA amendments, White & Case
• COPPA Notice, Wisconsin Athlete
• Find More Opportunities for Your Athletes With Public Profiles, FieldLevel