Happy 2025 Athletic Administrators,

I don't know about you, but January flew by for the first time ever. Maybe it was the blast of snow we got that extended our Winter breaks, but January didn't seem to be its usually 87 days long. I wish everyone success as we begin to wrap up our Winter seasons in the coming weeks. It sounds like the girls' wrestling zone qualifiers were successful this weekend. I am excited to see the future growth of girls' wrestling in the years to come.

I know the Spring season can be the most chaotic season with schedule changes due to weather, but I do hope you can find time to attend the State Conference in late April. Our theme this year has been "Better Together." The State Conference will be just that, Better Together, if you are there with us. We have great speakers scheduled, quality breakout PD sessions, and LTI courses ready for all in attendance. Please take advantage of this opportunity to grow yourself and our organization. I truly believe when we grow, they grow. The better we are at our jobs, the better our student-athletes are on the field and in the classroom.

I hope to see you in Richmond!

Jonathan Bukva

Jonathan Bukva, CMAA, CIC

HPE DE Teacher - Assistant Director of Student Activities

VIAAA President

Unity Reed High School

Phone: 703.365.2900

Please Mark Your Calendars!!!!

2025 VIAAA STATE CONFERENCE

RICHMOND SHORT PUMP HILTON HOTEL

APRIL 29 - May 1, 2025

*** REGISTRATION OPENED JANUARY 1, 2025

The VIAAA Officers and Board of Directors are excited to return to The Short Pump Hilton Hot for our 2025 State Conference. After making major changes to the schedule from the past, and completely revamping the conference last year from a 4-5 day conference to a 2 day conference we have tweaked it even more this year so that each and every Athletic Administrator in the State of Virginia can attend and gain valuable knowledge to use in your everyday job description as you support the community in which you serve. The main 2 days of the conference will be Wednesday/Thursday April 30 - May 1, 2025. We will be offering Professional Development ( LTI Classes) on both Tuesday April 29th before the conference and Friday May 2nd after the conference. Also this year we are offering a golf tournament for both Athletic Administrators and our Conference Vendors on Tuesday afternoon to support our Student Scholarships.

Here is the 2 day conference agenda:

Wednesday April 30, 2025

• Registration
• First Time Attendees/New AD Session
• Middle School Opening Session
• Independent School Opening Session
• Opening General Session, Keynote Speaker Phil Rison followed by VIAAA Business
• Meeting ( moved from end of conference to beginning of conference last year )
• Vendors/Athletic Administrator Lunch ( Pig Pickin/Brunswick Stew in Vendor Hall)
• LTI Professional Development Classes
• Workshops ( 6 workshops for you to choose from to attend )
• CAA Exam Prep
• VHSL Staff Presentations
• Exhibitors Gala
• Past Presidents Meeting/Dinner
• Night Out On The Town
• Hospitality Room

Thursday May 1, 2025

• Registration
• Retired AD’s Breakfast
• Opening Morning Speaker
• *** Workshops ( 9 more workshops for you to choose from to attend )
• Awards Luncheon
• CAA Exam
• Independent Schools Closing Session
• Middle School Closing Session
• Outing/Social - Richmond Flying Squirrels Baseball Game

I am both honored and humbled to serve as your Executive Director and NIAAA Liaison. The VIAAA has provided outstanding leaders in the past, and I hope to continue to follow in their footsteps by providing the leadership, vision and expertise as we together move our association forward. The outstanding State and National involvement of our membership is respected throughout the country. I will continue to communicate with Superintendents, Principals and Central Office personnel the role and importance of Athletic Administrators the VIAAA, our schools, communities and student/athletes to which each of you serve. In this time of difficult economic decisions and turnover rate of athletic administrators we must a will continue to promote the crucial importance of extra curricular activities/athletics and allowing Athletic Administrators to attend VIAAA meetings, take professional development classes and to attend our State Conference to grow professionally and better perform the ever-changing role of Athletic Administration.

In closing please do not hesitate to let me know what the VIAAA can do for you. If you need help convincing someone in your school division to let you attend our State Conference let me know and we will reach out on your behalf. We are stronger in numbers and with your involvement and help in communicating our vision and goals to your community, parents and student athletes we will continue to be strong. That will only happen with your involvement and help! The officers and Board of Directors are excited about the year ahead as we continue build upon the Past!

Please contact me at bobstratton21@gmail.com or by phone (804) 347-7528 if we can help in any phase of your job.

THANKS TO EACH OF YOU FOR ALL YOU DO EVERYDAY IN EDUCATIONAL BASED

ATHLETICS!!!

WITH MUCH RESPECT!

BOB STRATTON

2025 – Short Pump Hilton, Richmond – April 29 – May 2, 2025

Conference Registration - Click Here

Golf Tournament Registation Information - Paper copy or online registration

Vendors Registration - Click Here

Conference Information and Itinerary Packet - Click Here

Hotel Registration Link - Click Here

The original article was written by Hannah Catherine Munro, former VHSL Director of Development

Only you can stop your progress. Set your plan and make it happen no matter the obstacles ahead.

Someone wants to see you succeed. Shea Collins

Shea Collins is on a leadership journey—one that her mother recognized in her long before her

mother was in the last stages of cancer and she dubbed Shea with the nickname “Mouth.” Always

looking for ways to improve herself, those around her and the opportunities for her students, Ms.

Collins is a Certified Athletic Administrator and Director of Student Activities (DSA) at Thomas

Jefferson High School in Richmond, Virginia. She is fueled by others who are hardworking and diligent and when you are with her, you feel that same vibrancy and energy. Ms. Collins is an African American female and was the first female of color to hold the title of DSA in a county with 11 high schools. “It’s okay to be the first but I don’t want to be the last.” That was proven when another female of color, whom she mentored, serves as a DSA at another high school in that same county.

Ms. Collins has been the first at many things. She was the first Black female in school history selected as the Varsity Head Girls Basketball Coach at Prince George High School in Virginia. She then moved to Chesterfield County and after five interviews for five different jobs and five rejection letters—where she saw very few women or men of color in leadership roles—she applied for Director of Student Activities (DSA) in a different school system. After serving in the city of Richmond for five years, she returned to Midlothian High School where she oversaw all of the sports teams and academic and activities advisers. She was the liaison for community and school building use, managed all of the transportation needs for teams and field trips and handled everything else thrown in her direction throughout the day. A primary area where she made huge strides in improvement is reflected by the diversity of her coaching staff. When Ms. Collins started as the DSA, there was only one person of color coaching at a school with 33 sports teams and a minority population of 20%. She set a goal that the percentage of coaches of color would reflect the percentage of students of color in her school.

Four years later, she met that goal and 20% of her coaching staff are people of color. As a previous Varsity Girls Basketball Coach, Collins held high standards for her players. She says her players would always say, “Just do it. The coach is crazy.” However, she knew that they could feel her love for them. By “crazy,” it is easy to see that the standards she set were hard for young girls to imagine as they entered her program but she held their focus and they rose to the challenge. In nine years of coaching, she sent twelve girls to college to play basketball at all levels of play. That was different for a school that had never seen that level of success.

Ms. Collins takes her own professional development to heart and encourages it in those around her. At the beginning of the Covid pandemic, Ms. Collins led a book study for her coaches using InSideOut Coaching by Joe Ehrmann. It was a way for her coaches to connect and think about the future of their teams. It was also a way for them to reflect on loyalty, determination, diligence and improvement—all qualities Collins holds in high regard. She continues to hold those high standards for herself. When asked what advice she gives to others, she reflected about a vow that she made to herself to always strive to be better. She promised herself that she would set up opportunities to put herself in the position to be the best. “You can’t wait for other people to open the doors for you. If you know that you have a passion, you have to take the reins and go for it yourself. You are the best person to write your story.”

Ms. Collins continues to write her own story. Her DSA position is not a stopping point. It is a part of

her story and a part of her journey in leadership. Even as a full-time Director of Student Activities, She finds time to grow her professional development and mentor others in the profession. At the state and national level, Shea Collins is a member of the Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (VIAAA), National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA), the Global Community of Women in High School Sports and the National Organization of Minority Athletic Directors (NOMAD). She currently serves on the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Sportsmanship and Diversity Committee. She also works regional and VHSL state tournaments. She was a chairman the VIAAA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, is Founder of the Huddle Talk with Ms. Collins (now a podcast called LevelupwithShea), and is a regular presenter for the New AD’s Workshop. She is an instructor for the Leadership Training Courses for Athletic Administrators Certification through the NIAAA and a presenter and panelist on various Athletic and Leadership platforms. She is the President-Elect for the VIAAA and will assume the role of President in April.

Derek Farrey, CAA |Director of Athletics and Extracurricular Activities - Loudoun County Public Schools

The VIAAA is excited to announce a variety of professional development opportunities available throughout the year, both online and in person, to fit any schedule. Below are the details of the upcoming courses and events:

Leadership Training Institute (LTI) Classes

LTI classes are listed on the NIAAA website under the learning catalog. The VIAAA offers these classes at the VIAAA State Conference, Summer Institute, and New AD’s workshop. A list of upcoming LTI classes can be found on the VIAAA website.

Certification Incentive

VIAAA members who obtain a certification can be reimbursed 50% of the certification application fee after submitting the required paperwork and proving their certification.

VIAAA OutTeach Grant

The VIAAA OutTeach Grant is an opportunity to bring professional development to your district, region, or geographical location. This grant covers the cost of all course materials. Members can request this grant by providing the following information to the Board of Directors:

• LTI class being offered
• Location
• Date
• Time
• Number of members enrolling in the course

VIAAA State Conference

Course offerings at the State Conference include:

• LTC 601: Athletic Administration: Developing Athletic Department Handbooks (Pending NIAAA Grant to bring in Course Creator) - Instructors: Jeremy Eubank & Michael Whittington
• LTC 603: Building Athletic Program Alignment in K-12 School Communities - Instructors: Jonathan Bukva & Derek Farrey
• LTC 611: Concepts and Strategies for Interscholastic Marketing, Promotions and Fund-Raising - Instructors: Shea Collins & Shani Twyman
• LTC 613: Technology I – Productivity and Collaboration with Google Workspace - Instructors: Matthew Pearman & Rick Lilly
• LTC 615: Athletic Field Management - Instructors: Joe Fowler & Michael Payne
• LTC 701: Leadership and Administration of Middle School Athletic Personnel (Available Online) - Instructors: Jeremy Eubank & Michael Whittington
• LTC 703: Student Centered Educational Athletics Performance Beyond the X’s and O’s - Instructors: Shani Twyman & Scott Morris
• LTC 705: Coach Centered Educational Athletics – A Character Based Coach to Coach Mentoring Program - Instructors: Dan Mullen & Laura Parker
• LTC 707: Improvement of Athletic Programs and Personnel Through Assessment - Instructors: Rick Lilly & Lisa Corprew
• LTC 790: Athletic Administration: Leadership Training Instructional Methods and Techniques - Instructors: Richard Farquharson & Derek Farrey

2025 VIAAA Summer Institute - July 14-15th

The Summer Institute offers a three-day seminar for new athletic administrators or anyone seeking refresher information. The LTI 501, 502 & 503 classes are offered to get you on your way to the RAA certification. This year, the New AD’s workshop, Summer Institute, and CAA exam will be held the same week. Additional LTI classes offered include:

• LTC 617: Administration of Interscholastic Sports Medicine Programs
• LTC 619: Enhancing Event Experiences Through Curb Appeal - Instructor: Scott Morris
• LTC 621: Basics of Synthetic Turf Install
• LTC 625: Management of Game and Event Announcing
• LTC 627: Administration of Interscholastic Sports Strength & Conditioning Program
• LTC 715: Appropriate Professional Boundaries: Identifying, Implementing and Maintaining
• LTC 717: Identifying the Need For and Effecting Change in Athletic Administration
• LTC 719: Leadership, Management/Supervision and Decision Making Concepts, Methods and Applications
• LTC 721: Positive Sporting Behavior – For the Love of the Game
• LTC 723: Administration of Professional Growth Programs For Interscholastic Athletic Personnel

Online Course Offerings

The VIAAA will no longer offer foundational courses in person as they are available online, providing flexibility for members to take these courses at their leisure. Each online course is $125 for members and $210 for non-members. Available courses include:

• LTC 501: Guiding Foundations & Philosophies
• LTC 502: Strategies for Organizational Management
• LTC 503: Enhancing Organization Management
• LTC 504: Legal Issues I (Liability for Sports Injuries & Risk Management)
• LTC 506: Legal Issues II (Title IX & Sexual Harassment)
• LTC 508: Athletic Administration: Legal Issues III (Hazing, Constitutional Law, Disabilities Law, & Employment & Labor Law)
• LTC 510: Athletic Administration: Legal Issues IV (Social Media, Transgender Participation, Event Management & Security, Pregnant & Parenting Student-Athletes, & Intellectual Property)
• LTC 901: Introduction to International School Athletic Program Administration
• LTC 902: Principles, Strategies & Methods for Athletic Programs in International Schools
• LTC 903: Concepts of Program Philosophy
• LTC 904: Child Protection Overview for the International School Athletic Administration

LTI Classes via Webinar

For those who cannot attend the national or state conferences, the NIAAA offers selected courses via webinars. This allows members to take Leadership Training courses from the comfort of their office or home while receiving the same quality instruction and interaction with peers.

For more information, visit the VIAAA Professional Development and NIAAA Leadership Training Institute websites.

Section Meeting Minutes

Section: 2 Recorder: Marianne Shultz, CMAA

Sunday, December 15, 2024 – 1:00 pm – 2:15 pm

Austin Convention Center – Austin, Texas

Number of delegates in attendance: 16

Total number in attendance (including Delegates): _66

2025 State Conference Location and Dates:

i. Delaware- October 1, 2025 Del Tech CC, Delaware – No CAA Exam Date

ii. Kentucky- April 22-25, 2025 Louisville, KY; CAA Exam Date - April 25th

iii. Maryland- April 24-27, 2025 Ocean City, Maryland; CAA Exam Date - April 25th

iv. Ohio- November 9-11, 2025 Columbus, OH; CAA Exam Date - June 12th

v. Pennsylvania March 18-22, 2025 Hershey, PA; CAA Exam Date - March 18

vi. Virginia- April 29-May 1, 2025 Richmond, Virginia; CAA Exam Date - April 30th

vii. West Virginia- April 4-6, 2025 Stonewall Resort Roanoke, West Virginia; CAA Exam Date - April 5th

Approval of Summer, 2024 Minutes: Minutes from the summer section meeting are posted on the Section 2 sportsYou page. Motion: Bukva, VA, 2nd: Wesselmann, KY Approval: passed

Recognition of Award Winners from the Section:

· NFHS Citation Award Nomination: Joe Roberts, CMAA – Ohio.

· NFHS Citation Award: Scott Morris, Virginia

· Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Award: Michael Payne, CMAA – Virginia

· Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award: Glen Gillespie, CMAA - Ohio

· Hall of Fame: Michael Hart, CMAA - Delaware

Sectional Representation Review: Jamie Tallman, West Virginia will replace Lisa Corprew, Virginia

Review of At-Large Process for the 2024 national conference.

· Employed by a school district as an active athletic administrator​

· Minimum 5 years’ experience ​

· MS or HS athletic administrator​

· NIAAA members and demonstrated involvement​

· State association member and demonstrated involvement​

· Minimum CAA​

· Not previously served as a member of the Board of Directors

· Board Members taking office December 18, 2024, in Austin, Texas, serving 2025, 2026 & 2027:

Section 2 – Jamie Tallman, CAA* (WV) replacing Lisa Corprew, CMAA

· Board Members taking office December 17, 2025, in Tampa, Florida, serving 2026, 2027 & 2028:

Region B At-Large# - Section 2 & 7 replacing Deren Oshiro, CMAA

States not eligible for Region B At-Large election include West Virginia, Delaware

# Credentials and endorsements must be filed with the office by July 1, 2025.

NIAAA On-Going Business:

A. Professional Development Academy

1. NIAAA U - Cohort Study:

2025 Cohorts​

District AD Cohort – 12 Participants​​

Executive Leadership Cohort – 19 participants​

Mentor Cohort – 11 participants​​

Future Planning​​ – Discussion about potential future cohorts for Middle School Cohort​​, Female AD Cohort​​, and the Coaching Coaches Cohort​

2. Leadership Training Institute:

Revisions will begin in January of 2025:

LTC 501 LTC 502​

LTC 503 LTC 504​

LTC 508 LTC 511​

LTC 628 LTC 630​

LTC 631 LTC 640​

LTC 705 LTC 706​

LTC 707 LTC 715​

LTC 719 LTC 723​

LTC 904

New for 2025 – Launch December 2024​
LTC 635: Supporting the College Bound Student-Athlete​

LTC 718: Leading the Athletic Department Through Tragic Events​

LTC 727: How to Build, Grow, and Sustain a Positive Athletic Culture in Your Program​

New for 2026 – Launch December 2025​

​
LTC 639: Implementing Diversity Management Practices in Athletic Operations​

LTC 708: Split from LTC 706 – Coaching Coaches: Organization, Staff, Personnel, Relationships, and Legacy​

LTC 729: Split from LTC 719 – Leadership, Decision-Making, Problem Solving, and Strategic Planning

3. Certifications - Continues to grow, inspire to grow by taking the next level and leading to QPA

B. NIAAA Marketing:

1. TPG -Teall Properties Group – 28 sponsors. Helping to fundraise. Help thank our sponsors.

2. Marketing Campaigns

· National Public Service Announcement Campaign​

· To date: $84 million in free airtime​

· 2023: $7.5 million in free airtime​

· 2024: ​Radio​, Video​

· Superintendents and Principals Email Campaign​

· Membership Email Campaign​

· Leadership Training Email Campaign

C. Royalties for States: Anytime taking courses online we get a percentage toward our state.

o Delaware-$280

o District of Columbia-$222

o Kentucky-$339

o Maryland-$1557

o Ohio-$1887

o Pennsylvania-$1355.98

o Virginia-$1246.15

o West Virginia-$53

D. Upcoming Key Nomination Deadline Dates:

· Student Scholarship/Essay ​- Due to State NIAAA Liaison prior to Spring Section Meeting

· Frank Kovaleski Professional Development Award ​- Due to NIAAA Board Section Rep a minimum of one week prior to Spring Section​- Meeting (varies by section).​

· Bruce D. Whitehead Distinguished Service Award ​-Due to NIAAA by April 1​

· NFHS Citation ​- Due to NIAAA by April 1​

· Hall of Fame - Due to NIAAA by July 1​

· State Award of Merit ​- Due to NIAAA on a rolling basis; Must be in by October 1 for inclusion in Winter IAA Magazine

E. Membership Accomplishments Recognition:

100% - Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia

Increase- District of Columbia

Record year – Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia

Encourage states to become a dual membership.

F. Committee reports presented by committee members:

1. Accreditation- successful meeting with Cognia as we enter our final year for accreditation. Goal is to have all of the data will be done by September to then set up meetings in October. Important piece for NIAAA.

2. Awards- everything on Final Forms. State Award of Merit, please include all details, brag on themselves.

3. Certification-CMAA library launch to share access for projects. Virtual reviews online

4. Coaches Education - no report

5. Credentials - Our Mission is to Outline of the rules and regulations for the candidates in the oversight of the election and explain in detail the expectations for them as committee

members and At-Large Candidates. In addition, we assist at the Delagate meeting to ensure proper voting procedures are upheld. We encourage everyone to vote, our goal is 72%. We are putting forward some suggestions to the Board regarding when campaigning begins, what resources can be used (possible video) and moving the meet and greet time.

6. DEIB- recognized members rolling off and new members. Recommendations to board. A dedicated seat for female. Potential female trailblazer award, something named after Sister Lynn. Continued recruitment of diverse positions.

7. Endowment - pick up pre ordered pins after meeting ​

8. Hall of Fame – All Hall of Fame nominations are now on Final Forms

9. Health & Wellness- seeking state representatives for each state in this roll moving into Tampa.

10. Membership-16, 000 members. Dues will increase as of July

11. Mentoring- will continue to partner with other committees, trying to build relationships. Adding sportsYou groups for each state. Share toolbox for resources to new AD’s

12. NIAN - No report

13. Publications- always solicitating articles to share articles. Need feature articles to place in IAA

14. Resolutions- No report

15. Retired- For the first time Les is not overseeing the committee. At breakfast we will recognize to Les. Plan activities for those that show up. Breakfast and support the NIAAA anyway possible.

16. Sports Facilities-No report

G. Other Sectional Business

o Committee Applications – We are seeking new members from Section 2. Scan the QR code of email lcorprew@vbschools.com for the application.

o Review Plans for 2025 Spring/Summer Section Meeting – Summer Section 2 Meeting ​June 16 – 18, 2025​ Cincinnati, Ohio. Executive directors will receive information after meeting. Everything on Final Forms.

o Recommendations to the Board of Directors- Juneteenth day is a holiday, please consider changing to accommodate

o No questions to be addressed at Delegate Assembly.

o There is a Venmo code available is you would like to contribute to the Endowment Fund. Spend money to @NIAAA-9100.

o We will continue to use sportsYou as a communication tool for the Section.

o Other Section items- Thank you to Lisa Corprew for her service to the NIAAA and guiding Section 2 well done.

H. State Door Prize Drawing -Responses should be limited to less than one minute, no inappropriate language, do not identify any individual by name or criticize any state athletic association or activity association.

Closing: Motion: Carol Satterwhite, Maryland, 2nd”: Jon Bukva, Virginia Approved

By: Rick Lilly

The interview and selection process are critical to the success of any organization, including student activity programs. It ensures the educational goals of the school division are met through the quality staffing of the many athletic and activity programs offered. Research has consistently shown that structuring interviews maximizes the reliability of the interview process through the three phases of the staffing process: recruitment, selection and employment (Delli & Vera, 2003, p. 138). Each stage is critical for athletic administrators to find the right fit for their job opening. In this article, the focus will be placed on the selection and interview process to guide the practices for athletic administrators.

In the recruitment phase of this process, the athletic administrator must work closely with the HR department to make sure the steps of planning, organizing, identifying productive recruitment sources, determining recruitment activities, processing applications, evaluating applications for the recruitment pool and evaluating recruitment results (Delli & Vera, 2003, p. 109). In drawing up this approach, it is suggested that the athletic administrator focus on a clear system and process that is legislative in nature, clearly stating what is to be done regarding the specific administrative procedures required for its implementation and execution (Norton, 2008, p.134). This will create consistency and clarity in the process while helping avoid the pitfalls of the process that can often arise from interpersonal connections or a lack of familiarity with the hiring process.

With this in place, the athletic administrator is empowered to use the school and central office staff as a regulatory and support mechanism in the screening process in a coordinated effort to determine exactly what the school is looking for in an applicant, how they will know it when they see it and on what basis the decision will be made. As part of making this decision before the interview takes place, the athletic administrator must collaborate with the school administration to identify the desired professional qualities, determine the job responsibilities, identify who will sit on the interview panel, decide how the structured interview will take place, what experience-based questions will be asked, and what the scoring rubric will look like. These are all key components that must be in place prior to the interview to identify the right fit for a job.

The structured interview should be used during the selection and interview process to make the hiring decisions more predictable and defendable if an issue arises from a candidate (Norton, 2008, p.134). The actual design of the interview should include a clear introduction of everyone present, an explanation of how the interview will proceed including the initial questions and the opportunity for follow up questions from the candidate. The interview should use experience-based questions that are designed to obtain information about the qualifications of the candidate. They also create a structure that provides the interview panel with information to assess the technical skills of the candidate (Norton, 2008) that also helps avoid the pitfalls of interpersonal or physiological influences.

It should be noted that there are potential pitfalls involved in the interviewing and selection process because it is only a snapshot of the candidate and can be misleading and incomplete. The structured interview can limit the interviewer’s ability to see the personality characteristics of the applicant (Delli & Vera, 2003, p. 139). In order to give more insight on the fit of the candidate, and help find the best possible fit for the position, the athletic administrator can use their resume and pre-screening calls that allow the athletic administrator to gain a general foundation about the relevant skills and qualifications of the candidate and look for their certifications, qualification, gaps in their resume or inconsistencies in their job history. The structured interview helps with continuity in the interviews and creates a more stable interview process by using the same questions for each candidate, using a rubric for note taking that helps guide the panel toward the desired characteristics of the applicant.

When conducting the interviews, the panel approach is used to create greater reliability and validity in the process. It provides multiple ratings, greater structure, reduces missed information and minimizes psychological influences like attractiveness (Wiesner and Cronshaw, 1988), likeability (Keenan, 1977), perceived expertness (Atkinson, Poston, Furlong & Mercado, 1989), intelligence (Chaiken, 1986) and competence (Maddux and Rogers, 1980). Such psychological factors can lead to increased probability of getting an interview, getting a higher rating when the interview takes place, or getting a job offer (Norton, 2008). In assessing the qualities of the applicant and whether or not they will be a good fit for the program, the panel must consider their qualifications, the desired characteristics for the job and assess the candidate based on their ability to lay out a plan for their leadership of the team and demonstrate their organizational abilities in the technical, tactical, relational and organizational aspects of the position.

In order to attain this information, the interview questions should be designed around factual, technical, and behavior-based content questions. Questions designed this way are a better predictor of future performance than “what if” questions. The panel should be trained to avoid asking questions that could open the panel, school or division to possible litigation, encouraged to take notes and use a scoring rubric to assess the responses of each candidate. The rubric will increase the inter-rater reliability among multiple interviewers and reduce the many personal influences of appearance and mannerisms that could negatively affect the interview process. The panel should also review other sources of information like the candidate’s resume, teaching experience, teacher preparation program, background check and letters of recommendation. At the end of the interview, the candidate should be allowed to ask questions, the next steps in the process should be shared and it is strongly recommended that the position not be offered in the interview to make sure your due diligence is done.

Once the interview is completed, the panel should reflect on the interview, consider how the interview was conducted, note the positives and discuss areas of concern or that need to be addressed. The final assessment of the candidate should be tallied on an interview matrix that provides a composite reflection of their resume, teaching experience, level of education, written communication, certification, extracurricular activities, technological proficiency and any other tangible pieces of information that will help the panel assess their fit for the position. Reference checks should also be completed as part of this process. The emphasis of the reflection process should be placed on assessing whether the interview process was conducive to gaining the necessary information needed to determine if the applicant will be an effective coach and appropriate fit for the program.

As part of the process of assessing the suitability of a candidate, most new coaches have limited interactions with school-based personnel during the hiring process. So, athletic administrators must be very intentional and deliberate in the process of interviewing and selecting candidates. Additionally, many new coaches can be hired late in the process, which adds additional challenges to the process. It is imperative that the athletic administrator ensure the interview and selection process takes place in a timely fashion to have the largest possible applicant pool to help find the best fit for the position and allow time for proper onboarding into the position. Understanding that sometimes your best applicant is your only applicant, the process outlined above will make the hiring process much more information rich and allow both the applicant and the athletic administrator to determine whether or not it will be the right fit.

Athletic administrators can visit the VIAAA New Athletic Directors Toolbox for sample interview questions, rubrics and resources: https://www.viaaa.org/highlights/new-athletic-directors-toolbox.

Rick Lilly is the Education Specialist for Student Activities in Henrico County Public Schools, Henrico, Va.

By: Denny Ziegler, CAA - Strongsville High School (OH)

Many athletic administrators talk about culture and the importance of culture, but very few know how to recognize culture as the appropriate way to sustain a highly suitable educational based athletic department. In order to obtain "buy-in" from coaches, athletes, boosters, parents and all stakeholders who influence an athletic culture, you have to be able to recognize and reward culture. Below are some simple ways to recognize culture in students within your department:

1. Recognition Board - In our athletic department, we preach multi-sport student athletes like many departments do. We share data about the science of those athletes who play different sports. What better way to recognize this component of our culture more than recognition boards. We have boards outside of the athletic department office recognizing the athletes who play two sports and the athletes who play three sports. The two-sport athletes get their name on a board and the three-sport athletes get their picture on the board. These boards are updated yearly to show the importance of that piece of the culture.




2. Letterman's Club - To recognize those athletes who do play multiple sports, we also implemented a letterman's club. Athletes who have earned at least six letters at the varsity level in their high school career receive a letter in the shape of the number six and it states "letterman's club." Athletes love putting this on their jacket to support the culture.

To build on department culture, there has to be "buy-in" from those directly involved with the culture, which are our coaches. When people think about athletics, they usually equate athletics to a game and in all games you keep score. Applying that rationale within a department is something that I think has helped build culture, standards, and unity in our athletic department.

In any school district, schools are given a scorecard on measurables and in most cases, it relates to graduation rates, closing the GAP, and more. At Strongsville, we took that same principle and created an athletic scorecard in which we measure four pillars that we feel are most important to our culture. We used pillars such as Academics, Communication, Collaboration and Continuing the Excellence.

These pillars are then defined and given benchmarks. We color code the benchmarks into green, red and orange. Each season, we meet with the in-season coaches and go through the scorecard. At the beginning of the season, we give each coach a color per pillar on how we view their program. We then provide them with feedback on how to achieve a higher level and then we re-measure those pillars at the end of the season to hopefully see improvement. This exercise not only gets "buy-in" from the coaches, but it also holds the coaches accountable for things we value in the department and keeps every coach working towards the same goals.

Another approach to coach accountability is the evaluation aspect. In our athletic department, we never judge a program based off of wins and losses alone. We measure programs based off of growth and off of process-based items.

To reiterate this during an evaluation cycle, we changed and modeled our evaluation off of a teacher evaluation. In most cases, many coaches are also teachers, so to make the process similar and for coaches to understand evaluations more thoroughly, we created an evaluation that includes:

• Ineffective
• Developing
• Skilled
• Accomplish

These are key terms for our teacher evaluations. Once again, we incorporated areas of the scorecard that were mentioned above into the evaluation process, but really we wanted to outline the important items of an educational based coach. We included categories on the evaluation that include:

• Professionalism
• Relationship with Students
• Knowledge
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Continuing the Excellence, which includes youth development, promoting multiple sport student athletes, booster club involvement, and process-based practices

These are just a few areas to touch on within the process, but it allows us to measure programs as a whole and not just what they are doing on and off the playing surface. These new evaluation tools allow for more engagement opportunities with coaches, but also more informative feedback for growth opportunities. The new process allows coaches to provide evidence of things they are doing within their program that many people do not always see. Finally, this allows us to place more value on other items besides just wins and losses.

No matter what method you use to build student recognition and coach accountability, you have to make sure it's a system that works for you and your district. In our district, we meet monthly as a district admin team and as an athletic administrator, being part of those meetings gives me a deeper understanding and meaning to what is happening on the academic side. Yet, it also gives me the opportunity to take what is being done academically and align it with athletics. Anything you do in athletics should align with the core values within the district and also the mission and vision of the district. If those items do not align, you can't expect the "buy-in" from the coaches.

By: Trish Betthauser, CMAA - Director of Athletics, Adlai E Stevenson High School (IL)

The challenge of finding quality coaches and then keeping them in the position for several years is a daunting task for any athletic administrator. With evolving responsibilities and increasing pressure to succeed, less and less teachers are stepping forward for increased opportunities to impact student lives through co-curricular activities. I believe the place to start when working to devise a plan to recruit and retain female (or any) coaches is with the "why."

I try to offer opportunities for coaches to have lunch and come together for a stress-free time period. I may frame the conversation around a specific topic that is relevant to the profession, but I often come back to the questions, "Why do you coach high school sports?" Here's a sampling of the most common answers.

• Coaches want to give back
• Coaches love being with kids
• Coaches want to teach kids the same life skills they learned from the sport
• Coaches feel they can be a positive role model for young people
• Coaches want to help grow the game
• Coaches want to develop their leadership skills
• Coaches love competition and the satisfaction of working towards a common goal

My role as an athletic administrator is to take this knowledge of why coaches enter the profession and do all I can to ensure this is where they are spending the majority of their time. We all know how the administrivia of the position can “wear” on coaches and take them away from the primary reasons they started coaching in the first place. Here are a few things that athletic administrators can do to make the coaching profession more appealing to applicants.

1. Offer flexible work times and locations, if possible. This can be the case especially at the lower level, e.g., freshman level. According to the October 16, 2019 article published by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association, “Youth Sports Specialization Recommendations” by Beth Sitzler, “Adolescent and young athletes should not participate in organized sport and/or activity more hours per week than their age.” This means a 12-year-old athlete should not participate in more than 12 hours per week of organized sport. Likewise, a 14-15 year-old student-athlete on a lower level team should not practice more than 2 hours/day for seven days. In addition, Sitzler said “Adolescent and young athletes should have a minimum of two days off per week from organized training and competition. Athletes should not participate in other organized team sports, competitions and/or training on rest and recovery days.” Convincing these coaches that it’s okay to have two scheduled days off per week can be a difficult sell, but it’s better in the long run in regards to physical performance and mental wellness.




2. Integrate family activities into the position. Plan events for the athletic department that are family friendly and allow for your coach to be visible and serve the community, while enjoying time with their own family.




3. Cultivate a supportive and collaborative environment. Give head coaches, in particular, permission to empower their assistants to assume more responsibilities and provide support in areas where they have strengths. Head coaches have a tendency to feel like they must do it all, or it could appear like they don’t have everything “under control.” Reinforce the message with them that by asking more of their assistant coaches, they are modeling the teamwork behavior they expect from their athletes.

While there may be some high school coaches who coach a sport in a state where salaries can creep into six figures, like Texas, the pay for most high school coaches is a stipend, or compensation for a short term. Regardless of the stipend amount, this compensation is typically not enough for support a person or a family financially. What are some ways that athletic administrators can recruit experienced and knowledgeable candidates?

Recruitment

• Form partnerships with colleges and universities in your area. Utilizing university connections, speaking to college classes, sending your coaches to speak to college classes, and reaching out to college students to help with youth leagues are ways the leader of an athletic department can increase the visibility of their programs and find valuable prospective coaches.




• Have a strong social media presence. This doesn’t mean the athletic administrator needs to be on social media all the time, but it does help if the social posts express the vision and values of the school and athletic department.




• Reach out to coaches’ associations and utilize your colleagues. They may have interviewed a great candidate, but that individual wasn’t a great fit for their organization. Some of my best coaches interviewed for another school and weren’t offered a position. Timing and environment are interesting factors in athletics, at any level.




• Work with the curriculum chair/directors/principal at your school to select candidates. Be proactive and persistent in sharing your list of coaching vacancies with your colleagues who are looking to fill faculty positions. Maybe there are opportunities at your school for a coach to start as an aid or a paraprofessional and work into a full-time faculty/staff position. If you believe a coaching candidate is great for kids, advocate for that individual with your peers.




• Recruit the Human First. Sometimes, we need to reimagine who a “coach” is and recruit great people in our building that may have little to no experience in a sport, but they have a genuine interest in being a part of the lives of young athletes and are willing to learn the sport.

Retention

• Be flexible. Accommodate and support coaches as they transition through life phases and changes. A coach’s commitment may look different when they’re in their 20s and single versus a coach who is well established in a family rhythm, balancing life and work responsibilities. An awareness of this and an acknowledgment on your part will be meaningful for them to continue the positive impact they have on the young people in the program.




• Be Observant. Take the time to conduct informal observations of your coaches’ practices and send notes of encouragement the next day. Coaches, like athletes, crave feedback and a positive note can inspire your coach to stay energized.




• Reach out to coaches’ associations and utilize your colleagues. They may have interviewed a great candidate, but that individual wasn’t a great fit for their organization. Some of my best coaches interviewed for another school and weren’t offered a position. Timing and environment are interesting factors in athletics, at any level.




• Be Creative. Look for ways to provide professional development in alternative modes: podcasts, virtual meetings, and lunch chats are a few ideas. Respecting their time away from work as personal and family time is important.




• Be Resourceful. Invest time and energy into creating a strong Booster club that can support the fundraising efforts of all of your programs. Create a strong line of communication with parents who want to assist the program with team meals, senior gifts, etc. Being able to remove some of these tasks from your coach’s list of responsibilities will free up more time for your coach to do what they were hired to do – work with student-athletes!




• Be a Mentor. It may be physically and emotionally impossible for an athletic administrator to mentor each and every new coach. It may be vital for the head coach and athletic director to meet on a frequent basis, but new assistant coaches can be mentored by veteran assistant coaches in your division. Pair up individuals on your staff and encourage them to create a connection. Virtual meetings and phone calls are a great way for these mentorships to grow.




• Be Inclusive. Create an environment where people of all cultural orientations can freely express who they are and share their own opinions and points of view.

By: Dr. Mark Rerick, CMAA - University of North Dakota

What should I be doing right now?

Most athletic directors ask themselves this question multiple times in their first year on the job despite knowing there aren't enough hours in each day to complete their full checklist.

Organizing and prioritizing those many tasks can be difficult, and new athletic administrators lack the experience to know which duties can be ignored for a while and which duties need to be completed before becoming real problems. As a result, when new ADs ask for help, they're often asking for advice regarding what to do or how to do it.

Ask any veteran athletic director to give advice to new ADs, and they'll rapidly generate a long list of character traits and task-management suggestions. Those new athletic administrator tips and tricks lists will usually include great suggestions about organization, communication, delegation of tasks, stress management, mentorship, preparation, and others.

The number of things a director of athletics needs to become good at can quickly be overwhelming, so I think it's also important to share some advice about how to approach every day in the office.

I love a good top ten List, but I've always preferred to have a quote that could be hung up as a reminder of how to approach situations throughout the day. Rather than suggesting an "athletic direct like a champion today" sign above the office door, I'm offering these four quotes to new athletic directors as suggestions to apply to tasks and interactions throughout each day.

"Borrow from the good; steal from the great."

- Paraphrased from many potential sources

Tracking down an original source for this quote has proven to be impossible, so attempting to decipher a summarized intent and meaning for the many variations of these words is also impossible. For the purposes of our profession, though, I interpret the best usage of this quote in its literal form: borrow suggestions and materials from the good; steal suggestions and materials from the great.

During the first year, particularly in a new school or area, athletic directors may not have a large enough network to know whose content and methods are worth using. This is made worse if they take over from a previous administrator who wasn't good at their job. There may not be many effective policies and procedures already in place.

If athletic directors find themselves starting from scratch, the thought of creating multiple procedures all at once can be overwhelming, both in time and in effort. In those cases, using methods that have already been established by others can be a good practice for quick implementation.

Instead of simply grabbing anyone's information, it's best to try to understand which athletic programs in the area are well run. While new athletic directors may not be getting the best possible policy and procedures, they can find solid, workable methods by borrowing from those good athletic administrators in the area.

As new athletic directors learn more about their school, conference, and surrounding athletic programs, they will learn more about which other directors of athletics in the area are the most respected. Once those great athletic administrators are identified, it's time to steal their methods for implementation into the new program.

Making changes from one method to another will require athletic directors to admit that the current system isn't the best system for the school. In order to admit changes need to be made, this next quote could be helpful.

"…I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps."

- Mahatma Gandhi, Indian spiritual and political leader

"No one should be ashamed to admit he is wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday."

- Alexander Pope, English poet

The full quote from Gandhi is a little bit longer but provides more context to his thoughts. "I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps."

Gandhi's acceptance of being human alongside understanding the need to admit to mistakes meshes well with Pope's recognition that mistakes lead to knowledge and growth.

Athletic directors tend to be the lone administrator in charge of the athletic landscape. As such, there is an unreasonable expectation that the athletic director will know everything, have every answer, and be able to operate without fail all day, every day. Communities place a high level of importance on the competitive success of their sports teams, and the competitive success of individuals has much to do with the perceived worth of student-athletes on the team. Any negative consequence administered to a team or individual will be met with resistance, so athletic directors feel the need to always be correct.

Unfortunately, feeling the need to be correct alongside having no one else to assist in decision-making can lead to athletic directors instinctively defending their actions. To not appear weak or indecisive, it may be simpler to continue supporting an initial decision rather than admitting an error, and if an error is never admitted, no growth can take place.

New athletic directors need to remember that they are human. Just because an athletic administrator works on an island doesn't mean he or she is always correct, and that's OK. Admitting mistakes not only provides space for new knowledge and continued growth, but it can also help build rapport with external stakeholders. Instead of being an infallible, untouchable persona on a pedestal, leaders can show they are people, too.

The key to being able to admit mistakes, however, is not making many of them in the first place. Generally, there are two main reasons why mistakes are made by leaders: a lack of knowledge or a lack of process.

A lack of knowledge on any topic or decision can be delayed by one simple response: "I don't have an answer for you right now, but I'm going to find it as soon as possible." Instead of making a best guess at a correct answer, leaders can delay their response by promising to dig deeper into the question.

As new athletic directors can gain experience, the instances of completely unknown circumstances will gradually be reduced. Of course, those who have been in the profession for a long time can recount instances that didn't ever seem possible, but eventually, most questions can be answered by using past precedent.

A lack of process for decision-making is, by far, the bigger danger for any administrator. Making decisions without any rationale will quickly lose the trust and forgiveness of stakeholders. The reasoning of "because I said so" doesn't work with our own children at home, and it definitely won't work for athletes, coaches, or parents who want to know why something was done the way it was done.

As covered in LTC 719, athletic directors need to have an intentional process for decision-making. If a process is followed, and if the appropriate information is gathered, administrators should be able to reasonably explain why a decision is made. That obviously doesn't ensure that everyone will agree with the decision but being able to explain the decision-making process goes a long way towards building bridges between the athletic office and its stakeholders.

Related to the process of decision-making and problem-solving as it pertains to conversations with various stakeholders, this next quote is an excellent one to place by the phone.

"As long as you have the final say, give up the last word."

- Marc Davis, veteran NBA official

Early in my athletic director career, I was certain that part of my job was to make sure that everyone not only knew what I knew but also agreed with the direction we were heading. Contentious conversations with parents or coaches often seemed to never end because I would continue to repeat my position while they continued to repeat theirs, and nobody changed their minds. I was convinced that as long as I continued to enforce my position and explain my reasoning, whoever I was talking to would eventually see the light and join me. One incident finally highlighted the power structure inherent in an administrator's role.

I had met with a student who was starting a suspension for a rule violation. The student wanted a meeting with me to question the philosophy behind the rule. The student, his parents, and I were all in agreement that the rule had been violated, but the family wanted to know more about the "why" for the rule. The family initially indicated that my meeting just with the student would suffice, so I called him into my office. This is an overly simplified summary of our discussion:

Me: *explains the why for the rule*

Student: "That's dumb. Here's why." *offers me his opinion*

Me: "Ok. Well, thanks for coming in to see me."

When speaking to the student, we both understood that the student's opinion about the philosophy behind the rule wasn't going to change anything. Whether we spoke for a couple of minutes or for a couple of hours, the student was still going to be suspended for violating the rule. Beyond that, this particular rule had been discussed and debated multiple times by a group of administrators, and we were solid in continuing to do what we were doing. The student's viewpoint wasn't going to change that.

After the student contacted his parents, I received a follow-up call from them. The reality of the situation is that his parents' opinion wasn't going to change our rule any more than his opinion did, but I still allowed the conversation to look more like this:

Me: *explains the why for the rule*

Parents: "That's dumb. Here's why." *offers me their opinion*

Me: "I understand that you may not agree, but there's a reason we're doing what we're doing." *re-explains the why for the rule*

Parents: "That's dumb. Here's why." *gives me their opinion again, but with stronger language*

Me: "I understand, but…"

On and on we went. By the end of the conversation, I hadn't changed my mind; they hadn't changed their minds; the student was still suspended for the rule violation; the parents were still mad at me; and I had lost close to an hour of my day. Most likely because I was speaking with adults, I tried to keep the conversation going until the parents agreed with me even though I had recognized early in the conversation that it wasn't going to happen. The end result was the same, but I had wasted an hour of our day trying to prove how smart I am.

The quote from Marc Davis is great advice in these situations. The parents wanted to vent their frustration and disagreement, so the best thing I could have done was to allow them to vent, confirm that we weren't going to agree on this topic, then end the conversation to move on with the day. Athletic directors have the final say in most conversations throughout the day. As long as we're solid with our own reasoning, we don't have to get in the last word.

Having solid reasoning for problem solving leads me to my last quote for new athletic directors.

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

- Maya Angelou, American author

The worst reason for doing something is because you've always done it that way. When I've moved from one school to another in the past, few things frustrated me more than when nobody in the organization could explain why a certain policy or procedure was done the way it was. I would use these instances as opportunities to explore our current methods and compare them to alternate methods to see what might fit our school best. Sometimes, we'd land back on our current policy, but now everyone knew why we were doing what we were doing.

It's important that we don't fall into the trap of thinking that our way is the best solely because it's our way. New athletic directors will inherit their policies and procedures, but they aren't infinitely stuck with them. As knowledge and experience is gained, new ADs should spark conversations towards improving the department. You don't know what you don't know, but once you know it, you'd better use it appropriately.

Leadership positions can be isolated at times, but that isolation doesn't have to affect a leader's humanity. Those four quotes can provide excellent philosophical guidelines for new athletic directors as they learn more about their schools and positions.

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