Whether via Twitter, on Facebook or other venues, trash talk is the new normal for many high school athletes and fans in Fairfield County -- yes, including some in Westport. The Westport News and its sister paper, the Fairfield Citizen, conducted a comprehensive, four-month review of how social media is used in high school sports in the area. [...] coaches and athletic directors worry that -- because athletes have greater visibility than the general student population and directly represent schools -- such material is damaging to the reputations of their schools, their towns and the athletes themselves. An athlete at an area high school this past fall tweeted, "My volleyball team is f****** amazing and yours suck!" Other athletes and fans have disparaged foes with racial and homophobic slurs. Staples athletic director Marty Lisevick is outspoken on the topic, and its coaches each year have the option of taking a two- to three-hour class on the do's and don'ts of social media. [...] the issue comes back to parents -- many of whom encourage their kids to participate in sports because of they believe athletics develop the habits of hard work, persistence, teamwork -- oh, yeah, and sportsmanship.