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New Paths Ahead Partnering across competitive levels
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› Sabbaticals for Coaches › Using an Evaluation Rubric
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Contents Aug/Sept 2012
Vol. XXIV, No. 5
WARMUP
4 NCAA Rules
D-III gets more scrutiny
8 Community Relations
Putting on a Victory Day
12 New Research The cost of fees
12 Honors & Awards
New ideas in banquets
14 Strategic Planning An outside audit
43
35
26
COVER STORY
Athletic departments are finding new avenues for collaboration by partnering with those at different competitive levels. High schools with colleges. Colleges with pro teams. Pro teams with high schools. The resulting programs are inspiring.
35
NEW MEDIA
School districts across the country are putting policies in place pertaining to social media. Progressive athletic departments are following suit.
43
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
When the 24-7 life of a coach becomes too much, there are not a lot of solutions. Unless they can take a step back from it all.
51
LEADERSHIP
60
Midnight soccer
New Paths Ahead
8
Strategies for Socializing A Step Back
Defining Success
Are your coaches’ definitions of success the same as yours? This athletic director makes sure everyone is clear on the criteria by using an evaluation rubric.
PRODUCT NEWS
Surfaces & Gymnasiums
A look at the latest products in indoor and outdoor surfaces, floor and field covers, and seating, along with sections focused on the locker room and portable scoring tables.
SPECIAL CENTER SECTION
15 Promotions
Fundraising & Promotions Guide
Q&A
16 Bill Gross Augustana College (S.D.) GAMEPLAN
20 Risk Management By Dr. Richard P. Borkowski 23 A Unique Vision
By Diana Cutaia
Our annual supplement provides case studies and hands-on advice for boosting your fundraising efforts, with a cover story focused on upgrading concession operations.
58 Salute to Champions On the cover The University of Missouri is one of several schools profiled in our cover story that has connected in a unique way with an organization at another competitive level. Story begins on page 26.
COVER PHOTO: PATRICK GREEN/CAL SPORT MEDIA
64 Advertisers Directory 76 Next Stop: Web Site AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 1
Editorial Board VOL. XXIV, NO. 5
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012
Elizabeth “Betsy” A. Alden, PhD, President, Alden & Associates, Inc. Craig Bogar, EdD, Dean of Student Services/Instructor, United States Sports Academy
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WarmUp NCAA Rules
D-III Gets More Scrutiny
But rules compliance is exactly what Josh Whitman, Athletic Director at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, had to deal with shortly after he took the position in August 2010. Just months later, the NCAA began an investigation into the school’s financial aid practices and in April of this year, it placed UW-L on two years of probation. Starting about seven years ago, the NCAA put Division
III schools on notice that financial aid practices would be more closely examined than they were in the past. A bedrock tenet of Division III is that students cannot receive any athletic scholarships, and Bylaw 15.4 requires that financial aid packages for student-athletes be consistent with those received by all students. Complying with that rule can be more complicated than it sounds.
monitor and educate personnel involved in the awarding of scholarships; and having athletic department staff members serve on scholarship selection committees.
In UW-L’s case, there were three activities that violated the bylaw. The school was cited for: allowing the consideration of athletic participation, performance, or leadership when determining the recipients of student scholarships; failing to properly
The University of WisconsinLa Crosse is one of a growing number of NCAA Division III schools to be cited for financial aid violations. UW-L track and field athlete Bailey Sauerwein is at right.
All the scholarships in question were handled by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Foundation and were available to all students. The NCAA identified seven scholarships that raised concerns
On an 11-month contract at Grundy County (Tenn.) High School, Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Jamie Ruehling usually spends July relaxing and recovering from the hectic school year. This past summer, however, he followed his boyhood dreams instead.
Grundy County (Tenn.) High School Athletic Director Jamie Ruehling spent his summer vacation going back in time—and playing baseball.
A production company filming a movie about the life of Jackie Robinson was looking for extras to portray players on opposing teams, and Ruehling decided to try out. To his surprise, he was offered a speaking role. When “42” is released in April, athletic directors everywhere can cheer for Brooklyn Dodgers third baseman Spider Jorgensen, played by Ruehling. “This is a dream come true,” Ruehling says. “I played baseball in college and high school, and I always
Summer Vacation
4 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
wanted to be a major league baseball player. But I also had a love for acting because I used to perform in church plays and things like that. Getting to act as a major league baseball player was just amazing.” To balance his fledgling movie career with his duties at Grundy County, Ruehling was able to shift his “off” month from July to June. And when school opens in August, he believes he has an important message to tell students about his summer experience. “I’ve learned to never give up on a dream,” he says. “I’m 38 years old now, and as a teenager, I would have loved to be a movie star. Living in a small community, I didn’t know how to go about doing that. I also hadn’t played baseball for 15 years. But I went for it and got a chance.”
Star for a Month
D STEVENS (BOTTOM)
If you’re an athletic director at a Division III school, being prepared to respond to an NCAA rules violation is probably not on your radar. That’s something for D-I administrators to worry about.
Circle No. 102
WarmUp NCAA DIV III continued from page 4 Miami University has long been known as the “Cradle of Coaches.” Now it’s the only school that can legally use the phrase. In February, Miami received a trademark on the term, which was coined in 1959 by then Sports Information Direc-
Marketing
oNE CRADLE
tor Bob Kurz. He noticed that the nation’s top two ranked college football teams at the time were coached by Miami graduates, Paul Dietzel at Louisiana State and Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame, while fellow Miami grads Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, and Weeb Ewbank were among the top coaches in professional football. The phrase quickly became associated with the school, and administrators recently decided it was time to protect that connection. “We wanted to give some official standing to the phrase and its association with the university,” says Mike Pearson, Miami’s Assistant Athletic Director for Communication and Technology. “We had thought about applying for the trademark for years and finally got the gears moving. Some other schools have tried similar ideas like The term “Cradle of Coaches” is now the licensed property of Miami University.
‘Cradle of Quarterbacks,’ and we wanted to make sure our phrase was protected.” The application process took almost 18 months to complete, and Pearson estimates he spent more than 100 hours trolling through archives to find examples of the term being used to identify the school. This included newspaper and magazine stories, video and audio clips, and other references. “The lawyers warned us there would be a lot of leg work involved to prove ‘Cradle of Coaches’ did belong to us,” Pearson says. “We also had to include examples of people outside the school using the phrase to describe it.” Miami has developed a logo to go with the term, and it will likely expand its existing offering of “Cradle of Coaches” merchandise. But the current focus is on finishing a project that will place statues of the original “Cradle” members at the football stadium, which will be complete when a statue honoring Paul Brown is unveiled on Sept. 22. “Our bookstore holds the exclusive rights to items that show the phrase and they’ve been particularly well received by our older alumni,” Pearson says. “Getting the trademark may have an economic impact later, but for now, we just wanted to establish that we own the phrase and make it official that Miami University is the ‘Cradle of Coaches.’”
and only a limited number of athletes received them. There was no indication that school personnel deliberately tried to circumvent NCAA rules. However, the Foundation did allow applicants to include experiences related to athletics when applying for awards, and took no explicit steps to ensure that such information would not be considered. “It wasn’t like we had a coach handing out hundred dollar bills to athletes or we were giving huge scholarships to people who weren’t supposed to get them,” Whitman says. “This resulted from a lack of understanding and education on the part of many people on our campus. “We found out that even if the criteria for the scholarship doesn’t specifically mention athletics, that is not good enough,” he continues. “You need to have steps in place so that any information about athletic participation or performance that the student includes is filtered out. And the people evaluating applications must understand what they can and cannot consider when making their decisions.” Whitman explains that the athletic department previously had little, if any, contact with the financial aid office or Foundation office, which may have done more harm than good. “If the financial aid office is providing scholarships to students without understanding the ramifications of them in terms of NCAA rules, then that’s a problem,” he says. “You can’t simply have no relationship with those organizations—you have to have an educated relationship with them. We knew what the rules were, but it never occurred to us to make sure that everybody else on campus knew those rules as well.” The school was also cited for allowing coaches to sit on scholarship selection committees, which resulted from coaches also serving as instructors. “Some of our coaches have a 25 percent coaching and 75 percent lecturer or instructor appointment,” he says. “So when their boss on the teaching side asked them to evaluate applications for scholarships, it never dawned on the coaches that they shouldn’t follow through.” In responding to the NCAA’s findings, the school was forthright with constituents. UW-L was told early in the process that it would be given 24 hours notice before the NCAA report was released, so Whitman had to be ready act fast. School officials prepared a Web site that included details about the rules violations, corrective actions, sanctions from the NCAA, and comments from both Whitman and the school’s chancellor. It also contained links to the report itself, the NCAA Manual, and NCAA financial aid guidelines. “We knew the headlines would be ‘UW-L Commits Financial Aid Violations,’ and that people often don’t read beyond that,” Whitman says. “But these violations were nuanced enough that we wanted a way to fully tell the story, so people who really cared could educate themselves about the case. “We also wanted to be sure that we had a consistent message,” he continues. “Anytime you get into a situation like this you risk different people telling things different ways. So we established a central location to direct people to when they had questions.”
6 AUG/SEPT JUNE/JULY 2012 2009 || AthleticManagement.com AthleticManagement.com
Circle No. 103
WarmUp After Aaron Segedi, Defensive Coordinator for the Trenton (Mich.) High School football team, defeated cancer for the first time in 2005, he emerged with a new outlook on life. His sister had donated 70 percent of her kidney to him and he was extremely grateful both to her and for being alive,
so he decided to respond by giving something back to his community. This led him to implement a character development program with his football players called Victory Day that gives cognitively and physically impaired children an opportunity to be involved in football. Now in its third year, the success
Community Relations
A Clear Victory
of the program is starting to be noticed nationwide. Approximately 50 children are involved in the event at Trenton each year, most of whom go to a local school catering to students with Down syndrome and autism. On Victory Day, each child is paired with a Trenton football player or cheerleader, who works with them. They participate in football or cheer drills, play a mock game, and are surrounded by the hoopla of a traditional high school contest. The highlight of the day is when each participant scores a touchdown against a defense made up of varsity football players. “As the kids run for their touchdowns, our players dive and roll around ‘trying’ to tackle them,” Segedi says. “There’s also a play-by-play guy who does a terrific job. That’s part of the fun for the kids, hearing their names called after they score.”
Trenton (Mich.) High School football players chase after a participant in Victory Day, a special event developed by Assistant Coach Aaron Segedi that gives disabled children the experience of being involved in a football program.
In addition to the events on the field, participants are treated to a lunch cooked and donated by the Trenton Touchdown Club, the school band plays, and a photographer is on hand to capture the memories. The children and their families are also given free admission to the varsity game the night before, and are hon-
NCAA DIV III continued from page 6 The day before the report was made public, Whitman sent separate prepared e-mails to student-athletes, donors, corporate sponsors, and the campus community. “That way nobody would be blindsided by this announcement,” he says. “We wanted to make sure they had the correct information right out of the box and would not have a chance to form false impressions.” Whitman has also been working with upper-level administrators to put changes in place. UW-L and the NCAA agreed that the school will have either the director of financial aid, the director of admissions, or the head of the UW-L Foundation attend an 8 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
NCAA rules seminar and then be responsible for educating staff members in all three offices. In addition, the school will have the athletic director report directly to the chancellor and create a new athletic department position focused on compliance. The two-year probationary period also requires the school to increase staff educational programs and file yearly reports marking its progress. But UW-L teams will remain eligible for postseason play during this time. To comply with the terms of its probation, the athletic department has initiated a seminar on NCAA financial aid rules for those outside its office, and coaches no longer sit on
scholarship review panels. UW-L is also telling studentathletes who apply for scholarships that they cannot include information that is in any way related to athletics. One more step Whitman took was to communicate with his colleagues in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. “A danger from something like this is that other schools might use it to try to gain an advantage in recruiting,” he says. “So I was very open with my colleagues in the conference about what happened. I appreciate them being
›
as supportive as they have been. I also give a lot of credit to our commissioner because he was clear about what would be tolerated in terms of how this information is used from a recruiting standpoint. “The enforcement process is something I wouldn’t wish on anybody,” continues Whitman. “But I think our university and our athletic program is going to be stronger for having gone through it. We’ve been forced to tighten up the way we operate and I think that’s going to benefit us in the long run.”
The UW-L Web page explaining the NCAA rules violations can be viewed by clicking “NCAA case” at: www.uwlathletics.com.
Circle No. 104
WarmUp Academics
Road Less Travelled While NCAA Division I rule changes enacting tougher academic standards for student-athletes have largely been lauded, concerns have been raised over unintended consequences. One such concern is that student-athletes will increasingly cluster in certain academic majors or specific courses that are less challenging.
To combat this, Brown University introduced a three-year pilot program called “One For Me,” prior to the 2010-11 academic year. In the program, incoming freshman student-athletes from four teams—men’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s swimming—were encouraged to select at least one class that none of their teammates were enrolled in. It’s been so successful, the school ended the pilot program a year early and will expand it to all 37 varsity teams for the 2012-13 school year. “One of the things we worry about is student-athletes getting informal ‘peer advising’ about classes from teammates,” says Sarah Fraser, Brown’s Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance and Student-Athlete Enrichment.
“We want to ensure that studentathletes choose their own path and experience a diverse range of academic offerings.” In the months prior to the Fall 2010 semester, head coaches of the four teams in the pilot program sent their incoming freshman athletes a letter emphasizing the benefits of the broad curriculum available at Brown and encouraging them to branch out academically and find a course that was theirs alone. “We wanted to send a clear message to the student-athletes that their coaches believe they should view themselves as students first,” Fraser says. The success of the program is based in its simplicity, Fraser believes. “We’re asking the student-athletes to pick only one course, and it doesn’t need to be unrelated to what they’re studying,” she says. “We’re not pushing an English major to take a math class. We’re just suggesting that they don’t take the most popular Shakespeare class on campus that their teammates might be in, and instead look at another course in the department.”
Women soccer players were some of the first athletes at Brown University to participate in “One For Me,” which encourages academic independence.
Clear Victory continued from page 8 ored on the field prior to the contest. While the event serves as a lifelong memory for the kids involved, it also is a great learning opportunity for the Trenton athletes. The football staff teaches a different virtue to the players each week during the season, and the virtue for Victory Day week is selflessness. “The players really enjoy meeting the kids and working with them,” Segedi says. “When they run for their touchdowns, some of our players will line the sides of the field and go crazy. “It’s also an eye-opening experience for them,” he continues. “Sometimes the players complain about having to 10 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
run in heavy pads, but they see that these kids who come to Victory Day would love to be able to do that.” While Victory Day will have its third running at Trenton this September, it is also starting to be duplicated at other high schools. Segedi says three schools in Michigan will hold their own Victory Days this year, as will one school each in Ohio and Kentucky. “We really want to get a lot of schools involved and turn this into more than just a Trenton thing,” Segedi says. For schools interested in starting their own Victory Day, Segedi says a key is to keep the event moving and the children occupied. He divides the participants into two groups. While one is waiting to score
touchdowns, the other is participating in various football drills or learning cheers. “They’ll learn how to kick extra points through a youth goalpost, and how to tackle using dummies,” Segedi says. “There are six different circuits in all. It’s important to keep the kids active and moving. If you have 50 kids standing in lines it can turn into a nightmare. “We also try to keep the activities to one and a half or two hours,” he continues. “The attention span for the kids just isn’t there for anything longer than that.” Segedi adds that the costs are minimal. “You don’t need to have a big budget,” he says. “We’re in the process now of
getting corporate sponsors to help out—for our own program and also to have seed money to help other schools get started. “Some people have told me they don’t have time to do it,” he continues. “But I would encourage anyone to try, because it’s so rewarding. What you gain far outweighs the time you put into planning it. It’s amazing to see the faces of the parents watching their child run across the goal line, or to see a father pushing his daughter into the end zone in her wheelchair. It’s a very moving day.”
›
For more information on Victory Day, visit:
victorydayfootball.com.
Circle No. 105
As more and more high schools implement athletic participation fees, a lingering question remains: Does pay-to-play reduce participation among middle- and lower-income students? A new study says it does. A survey of parents with children in middle and high school conducted by the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found that, of families earning less than $60,000 annually, 19 percent said their children’s participation in athletics had decreased due to costs. Of those families earning $60,000 or New Research more, five percent reported reduced participation.
The cost of Fees
The poll also discovered that while 51 percent of students in the over-$60,000 income bracket played sports, only 34 percent did in the below-$60,000 income category. Only six percent of respondents indicated they received a waiver of fees. Parents said that the fees, which averaged $93, were just one part of the overall price tag. Equipment, uniforms, and additional team fees were adding up to an average of $381 per sport. In Newark, Ohio, the school district eliminated its student activity fee this year after seeing declining participation numbers. It had been charging $165 per sport, which brought in $200,000 a year.
“Some of the athletic kids are afraid to come forward and tell ... their coaches that they can’t afford to [play].”
On the red There are many ways to honor student-athletes for their accomplishments on the field or court. This past spring, Oberlin College and George Washington University were two schools that decided to revamp their traditional postseason student-athlete award ceremonies—with great success. At Oberlin, the event was called the “OBIEs,” and its goal was to bring the entire athletic department together. In previous years, the school hosted a senior awards luncheon during commencement weekend and some teams held their own cookouts. But Natalie Winkelfoos, the school’s Associate Athletic Director, felt it was important to do more. “We always tell our our student-athletes that the athletic department is a family,” she says. “The OBIEs was a chance to create one big family instead of having two dozen smaller ones. We also wanted to do something classy to create a buzz.”
Flying in the face of the school’s laid-back reputation, all 300 or so attendees, which included administrators, coaches, and student-athletes, were asked to don dresses, suits, and ties for the May 12 event. There was also an 80-foot red carpet for student-athletes to walk on as they entered the gym, and student photographers flanked it, snapping photos of the athletes as they strolled by. “There was some grumbling about the formal attire, because Oberlin is a place where even the president doesn’t wear a tie everyday,” Winkelfoos says. “But once the student-athletes got to the event, I think they appreciated why we wanted them to dress up.” The school took the traditional senior ceremony and made it part of the new event, adding in awards for male and female athlete and first-year athlete of the year, as well as program of the year, which went to the women’s tennis team. Voting was done online by student-
Brighton Area (Mich.) Schools is also doing away with fees, which were $175 per sport at the high school level and $100 for middle schoolers, phasing them out over a two-year period. One main concern was that its waiver for low-income families may not have been effective. “Some of the athletic kids are afraid to come forward and tell Mr. Thompson [Brighton Schools Athletic Director] or their coaches that they can’t afford to [play],” School Trustee Miles Vieau said during a meeting reported on by BrightonPatch.com. “It’s not cool to let everybody know. I don’t think we should be putting kids in that type of situation. It’s not fair to them. They’re losing out.”
12 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
Oberlin College implemented the OBIEs last May to honor its student-athletes in a more formal way and bring all teams together at the end of the year. Above, tennis player Ariel Lewis accepts her award for Female Athlete of the Year.
WarmUp Honors & Awards
carpet athletes via a hidden link on the school’s Web site that was e-mailed to them. In order to break up the repetitiveness of the award presentations, the ceremony featured a rock-paper-scissors tournament, which everyone took part in and was the highlight of the night, according to Winkelfoos. “One of the members of the planning committee had seen it used as an icebreaker at a conference,” she says. “So we tried it, and created a rule that if you lost, you cheered for the person who beat you. By the end, half the gym was cheering for one person, and half for the other. It was great.” At George Washington, the “Georgeys” were the brainchild of Alex Dadds, who is the school’s Student-Athlete Advi-
sory Committee (SAAC) President for 2012-13. “Previously, we just had a senior awards function and some teams held informal events,” Dadds says. “I felt like a school-wide ceremony for athletes was something missing from the student-athlete experience here.”
year. The school also named a “Mr. and Mrs. Colonial,” which was given to the two studentathletes who best embodied leadership, academic success, and athletic success. Players were nominated by their coaches, and finalists were culled from that list by the SAAC executive board and school administrators. Winners were chosen by the entire SAAC.
Held on May 3 in the school’s theater, the event was mainly organized by the SAAC. “We made it formal, and I had female friends telling me they bought their dresses weeks in advance,” Dadds says.
During the ceremony, a different female and male athlete presented each award, and a member of the men’s tennis team played the piano. Additionally, a video put together by the SAAC about what it means to be a George Washington student-athlete was shown.
In addition to standard awards like rookie of the year, team of the year, and athlete of the year, the school honored the top male and female athletes “in a supporting role,” and the student supporter of the
Although only student-athletes and the few fans who were nominated for an award could attend the event, the school made sure the D.C. community was involved as well. Fans voted for the “Best Moment
of the Year” award, and the event was streamed live on George Washington All-Access. “We felt that by opening it up to a larger group of people, it would feel more like an award show,” Dadds says. “Parents and friends of nominees also appreciated being able to watch it.” Both Dadds and Winkelfoos say their respective events were well-received by student-athletes, and although small details may change— Oberlin may give out more awards next year—the ceremonies will continue in 201213. “The OBIEs got two big thumbs up from the athletes,” Winkelfoos says. “We’re already looking forward to planning next year’s event.”
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To view a video of the Georgeys, go to: www.gwsports.com/ allaccess/?media=318261.
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Circle No. 106 AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 13
Strategic Planning
From the Outside In To some people, audit is a fourletter word. It conjures up visions of
frowning men with green visors poring over financial records in search of unaccounted pennies. For others, though, audits are an indispensable evaluation tool, which is the reason Steven Wrobleski, Superintendent of La SallePeru (Ill.) Township High School District 120, hired a consultant to conduct one of the his athletic department. “I’ve been in the district for several years, but last year was my first as superintendent,” Wrobleski says. “We recently developed a formal strategic plan for the district as a whole and updated our mission
Miller met with head coaches in both group and individual settings, groups of students, and groups of parents. He also talked with non-coaching members of the faculty, community members, and former athletes and their parents. In addition, Miller asked for feedback from principals and athletic directors at the other 11 member schools of the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference. The final report found the positives of the program included its operations, success in certain sports, and the opportunities it provides to students. As for areas of improvement, it revealed a philosophical inequality between the value of coaches’
other schools said La Salle-Peru athletes were talented and hard working, but the department was hurt by its facilities, problems with parents, and over-involvement in athletics by the Board of Education. The report enumerated five priority issues for the program to address: no clear vision, a coaching-based philosophy instead of an athlete-based philosophy, lack of connections to feeder programs, no clear and supportive communication guidelines, and limited support facilities for female athletes. Miller suggested 20 steps the school could take to address these issues, including creating a student-athlete advisory committee, working more with feeder programs to make sure athletes are ready for and know what to expect when starting high school, and increasing the emphasis placed on character- and education-based coaching. “Using the audit’s suggestions, we will now work with our staff members, both coaches and non-coaches, along with students, parents, and community members to craft our vision and mission for the athletic department,” Wrobleski says. “Overall, we want to shift from a coachingbased philosophy to a student-centered philosophy.”
To discover the perceived strengths and weaknesses of its athletic department, La Salle-Peru (Ill.) High School hired an outside consultant to conduct an audit. Above, the school’s baseball team competes in the Class 3A state championship game. and vision, so we decided this would be a good time to do a review of our athletic department. We wanted to find its perceived strengths and weaknesses and get recommendations on what we could do to enhance the overall program.” Rob Miller, of the Miller Consulting Group in Liberty, Mo., conducted the audit, interviewing more than 100 people in February 2012. “It was important to use someone who had no connection to our school so that everyone involved would be as open and honest as possible,” Wrobleski says. “We were also transparent about the process. We had several meetings with our coaches to share why were doing this, we used our all-call phone system to get the same message to staff members and parents, and we even sent out a press release to the newspaper.” 14 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
priorities and students’ needs, inconsistent relationships with feeder programs, unclear policies for multi-sport participation and parent communication, and a lack of vision. Athletes were especially concerned about certain players being given “the cold shoulder” by coaches based on whether the coach knew about them before starting high school. They also reported that although coaches said they supported multi-sport participation, their actions often discouraged it. Coaches, for their part, felt there was a lack of facilities, support when dealing with parents, and in-service programs. Administrators at
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Greg Sarver was Athletic Director when the review process started and has since been replaced—for reasons unrelated to the audit, according to Wrobleski— by D’Wayne Bates, who is now tasked with putting the recommendations into action. “We’re going to use the report as a tool for our new director of athletics to reshape and renew the department,” Wrobleski says. “As we involve more of our staff members and community in the process, I think other ideas will emerge.” Wrobleski has two main pieces of advice for athletic directors who might be interested in a similar review of their program. “You need to give yourself several months of planning time—you’re dealing with a lot of schedules and it takes time to get everything coordinated,” he says. “Also, you need the principal and superintendent to be involved. Having key district leaders advocating and promoting the project sends a very strong message about how important it is, not just to the athletic department, but to the district as a whole.”
To view the audit’s report, go to: www.AthleticManagement.com/LPHSAudit.
WarmUp Few towns are lucky enough to have two colleges with good teams in the same sport. Prescott, Ariz., is one of
those towns, yet the men’s soccer squads at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), and Yavapai Junior College had never competed against each other.
The Daily Courier
That changed on Saturday, March 31, when the squads met at ERAU for a contest called “The Mayor’s Cup,” which started at midnight. Despite the unconventional start time and chilly temperatures, the game was a great promotional tool for the schools, which are separated by just eight miles. “Over the years, soccer fans in town would constantly talk about how great it would be if the two schools played,” says Yavapai Athletic Director Scott Farnsworth. “So the coaches got
Promotions
together to discuss a way that their teams could build a cross-town rivalry.” When the idea of a midnight scrimmage was suggested, both schools saw a lot of potential. “Our students are night owls by trade,” Farnsworth says. “So we knew they would be excited for a midnight game. Additionally, because NJCAA rules limit the number of dates we can schedule exhibitions on, starting this game at 12:01 a.m. enabled us to get in another scrimmage later in the day against a different school.” Likewise, Embry Riddle saw the contest as a way to get its student body fired up. “We knew a lot of them would be drawn to it,” says ERAU Athletic Director Ted Blake. “Midnight Madness is a popular basketball event at a lot of schools, and we thought we could capitalize on that idea for soccer.”
Prior to the kickoff, the schools held tailgate parties, complete with soda, pizza, burgers, and hot chocolate. Admission to the game was free, and Blake estimates about 500 people, including Prescott Mayor Marlin Kuykendall, attended at least part of the contest, which ERAU won, 2-1. Blake and Farnsworth plan to continue the series, which may be used as a fundraiser in the future. “The community loved it, and they’d want nothing more than for a rivalry to develop,” Blake says. “But we’re going to let our coaches decide if they want to keep it at midnight.”
MIDNIGHT SOCCER
Circle No. 107 AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 15
Q & A
Bill Gross AUGUSTANA COLLEGE (S.D.)
AM: What’s behind the changes in the Augustana athletic department?
Augustana College (S.D.) has always had a solid athletic department. In the last three years, however, the Vikings have become an NCAA Division II powerhouse, thanks to the leadership of Athletic Director Bill Gross. Augustana finished fourth in the 201112 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, led by a Division II national title in women’s cross country and a trip to the women’s softball championships. This came on the heels of a third-place cup finish in 2010-11, and an 11th place finish in 2009-10. Previously, Augustana spent most of the 21st century ranked around 70th. After two decades as Athletic Director, Gross was charged with taking the Vikings to a new level five years ago. In that time, he has raised over $16 million for new facilities, including an $11 million football stadium, and increased the number of corporate sponsors from 22 to nearly 50 while doubling annual fundraising revenue to $1.8 million. A 1973 Augustana graduate, Gross began his professional tenure at the school as an assistant basketball coach in 1979, became the Head Men’s Basketball Coach in 1983, and assumed Athletic Director duties in 1986. He relinquished his coaching job in 1992. In this interview, he talks about raising funds, the most important quality he looks for in a coach, and the impetus to Augustana’s recent success.
Augustana’s women’s cross country squad celebrates its 2011 NCAA Division II national title.
16 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
Gross: For many years, we had been a member of the North Central Conference, a very strong NCAA Division II conference that began to break up when some members moved to NCAA Division I, including our nearest competitors, South Dakota State and the University of South Dakota. We looked at joining them in Division I, but from a financial and cultural standpoint we were not in a position where we would have enough support from all entities to make the move. So when we decided to remain in Division II, we knew we needed a new plan. Although we would no longer be competing with South Dakota and South Dakota State on the field, we would still be competing with them in terms of garnering public attention. We put a new strategic plan into place about five years ago with its primary goals being to compete at a national level in NCAA Division II in all of our sports programs while paying strict attention to maintaining our strong academic standards and graduation rates. We felt it was critically important to bring our programs to the absolute maximum level we could in order to be competitive in the marketplace for fans, corporate sponsors, recruits, and everything else.
How did you make that happen? Fundraising was certainly a big part of it, but you can raise all the funds in the world, and if you don’t have a quality coaching staff, you’re not going to meet your goals. We feel our coaches are premier coaches in NCAA Division II. About half of them were here when we started our new plan and the other half have joined us since. We also recognized at the time that we needed to make some administrative changes to better support our coaches.
How do you find the right coaches for Augustana? Obviously they need to have a knowledge of the Xs and Os, but it really boils down to finding very strong leaders. I’m looking for someone who is going to be a positive representative of the institution as the face of their program. The number one skill to being a great leader is communication. Coaches have to be able to communicate with so many different people—student-athletes and their parents, recruits and their parents, booster club members, corporate sponsors, the media, fans, and it just goes on and on. So I look for a blend of leadership, experience, positive personality traits, strong communication skills, and technical ability.
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What kind of administrative changes did you make to help support your coaches? We doubled our administrative staff and restructured responsibilities. I’ve been the athletic director here for 26 years and until about five years ago, we usually operated with three administrators—myself, a sports information director, and an assistant athletic director who was responsible for fundraising and compliance. Under the new plan, we added two assistant athletic directors along with a marketing and promotions person. We had to fund those positions from the increased revenue that we brought in, so it was somewhat a leap of faith for us to put them into place.
How did your job change with the increase in administrative staff? The two new assistant athletic directors are basically in charge of day-to-day operations of the department, which includes game management, facilities, compliance, eligibility, and supervising almost all of the sports and coaches. That has freed me up to become mainly a fundraiser. I oversee our corporate sponsorship team, capital fundraising for new projects, and athletic endowments.
a lot of time on what the business world calls customer service. You can’t forget about the small donors because a lot of times that grassroots campaign will lead to your bigger donations. The folks that join may either have the capability themselves or they can help you get acquainted with someone else who has the means.
What kinds of things do you do for your donors? People are looking to be connected when they join our athletic club, so we do things to help them feel they are part of our family. That includes a lot of pre- and post-game events for our club members at many of our games. We try to find a sponsor to cover the cost or we take it out of our budget. It helps establish our relationships with the members and it also allows them to get to know other people in the club.
How have you marketed the athletic program? At the beginning of implementing our strategic plan, we focused on our image, developing a new mascot and logo. That helped establish our identity. We bought some
“Sometimes you have to spend money to make sure you’re out there. For example, we took a full-page, four-color ad on the back page of our local newspaper’s sports section ... to show people what we have accomplished in the last few years.” We also have a full-time Director of Athletic Development who works with our booster club.
What’s the secret to success in capital campaigns? The main thing is to first convince people to share in your vision. Then you have to get them to invest in your product. There’s also some luck involved in finding donors who have the means to help in big ways. But that luck doesn’t come without establishing good relationships. We have two major donors we developed good relationships with who then found themselves in a position to give us seven-figure gifts.
How much effort do you put into annual giving? It’s our bread and butter—without it we couldn’t operate at the level we do. We have about 800 members in the Augustana Athletic Club, which includes folks who give six figures all the way down to $250. We appreciate each and every gift that we get and we let our donors know that. We spend Circle No. 109 18 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
billboards, which we had never done before in athletics, to let people know who we were. We also spent money on print, television, and radio advertising and have recently done more with online ads. We usually try to find the best bang for our buck—to reach the most people at the most affordable price. But sometimes you have to spend more money to make sure you’re out there. For example, we took a full-page, four-color ad on the back page of our local newspaper’s sports section, which was not cheap. We didn’t ask anyone to give us money or join our athletic club in the advertisement. We just wanted to show people what we have accomplished in the last few years and that we’re a good place to come see a game.
You host a weekly television show about Augustana athletics. How did that come about? When I was young, I always wanted to be a radio or TV sportscaster, but I moved in a different direction with coaching and adminis-
Q&A tration. When we looked at our new strategic plan, I thought an Augustana TV show could generate some interest and I was excited to host it. We do 26 shows a year featuring highlights from our games and interviews with the student-athletes and coaches. We reach cable systems in over 1,000 communities in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Illinois, which is our primary recruiting territory. We also post the episodes on our Web site. I write the script, and get the questions ready for the interviews, which I usually conduct. I also schedule everything with the production people. The show first runs at 10:30 on Monday nights, so we put pieces of the show together throughout the previous week, then film some interviews right after our weekend home games or on Sunday morning if a team has been on the road.
What do you do when your successful coaches draw attention from Division I programs? We would never stand in the way of someone moving to what they feel is a better position. We’ll certainly make every effort we can to keep them, but we encourage our coaches to have big goals and sometimes those goals are about working in Division I. It’s actually a feather in our cap if they move to a better position because that says other people think our program is pretty good. When someone leaves, we wish them well and look for the next strong leader.
You have been at Augustana for nearly four decades. Have you ever thought of working somewhere else? Over the years, there have been some opportunities elsewhere both in coaching and administration. Particularly when I was younger, I looked at the next level. But I discovered I really love the atmosphere both at this school and in this community. My family enjoys it here and this is a great place to work. So I just couldn’t leave the place.
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What do you think are the pros and cons of being at one place for so long? I have gotten to know the school very well— its strengths and its selling points. I have also gotten to know so many people, from those I went to school with to all the athletes who have come through here to community members. That is a tremendous benefit when it comes to trying to raise funds or garner community support. There were some times along the way when things got a little bit stale, but fortunately for me, whenever that happened, I changed positions and got new energy. Even though I’ve been here a long time, I’ve moved into different roles five or six times and that’s kept things fresh.
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Circle No. 111 AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 19
GamePlan Risk Management
Step By Step
It’s not the glory part of coaching, but teaching athletes skills is critical for reducing injury risk. By Dr. Richard P. Borkowski To be successful, coaches need to teach skills. For example, how to throw a perfect spiral pass that leads to a touchdown. How to score off a corner kick. How to place a bunt that advances the runner. That’s fairly obvious. Less obvious is that coaches also need to teach skills in a way that helps lower the chance of injury. How to catch a pass while maintaining balance. How to slide into bases safely. How to attempt a lay-up with a defender on your tail. Sometimes coaches assume their athletes have learned these skills at the youth level. Other times, they are too busy with the Xs and Os and forget to teach the basics. And there are some coaches who simply do not do a good job in their instruction. Here’s how to ensure
your coaches are teaching skills that help reduce the risk of injury on all teams.
Know How The first step in making sure your coaches are properly teaching skills is to check that they know how to do so. This begins with the hiring process. When we are desperate to find a coach for a lower level program, we will sometimes hire a “warm body” who doesn’t really know how to offer proper instruction in that sport. This is not okay. Coaches must be well versed in teaching the sport they are in charge of. When interviewing candidates, be sure to question them about instruction. Ask the coach about how he or she would teach a specific skill. The answer should include
| AthleticManagement.com 20 AUG/SEPT JUNE/JULY2012 2007 ATHLETIC MANAGEMENT.COM
Just as important is to evaluate all coaches on staff to see how effective they are at delivering instruction. Look to see if the coach has arranged the athletes so they can all observe the demonstration. Does the coach make sure all are paying attention? Does the coach speak clearly and make points in an organized manner? Does the coach demonstrate the skill or have advanced players demonstrate it? Oral instruction should be short, with the focus on the visual. Another key to good instruction is knowing the student-athletes you are teaching. People learn in various ways, so the better a coach understands the background, prior athletic experience, and personality of their players, the faster and better the instruction will be. In addition, a player who knows the coach cares about him or her will work harder to learn the skills. Also check to see if your coaches teach injury prevention techniques. For example, does the basketball coach teach how to take a charge? Does the ice hockey coach teach how to absorb a check safely? Does the wrestling coach instruct on how to fall? Do field hockey players know how to avoid another player’s back swing? Richard P. Borkowski, EdD, CMAA, is a sport and recreation safety consultant and the former Director of Physical Education and Athletics at the Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa. He recently authored the book, Game Plan for Sport Safety, and can be reached at: drbork@nc.rr.com.
GARY HOVLAND
a demonstration of the skill, followed by breaking it down into parts, and practicing those parts until the player is ready to work on the entire skill in a progressive manner. Once the individual can perform the skill, the coach should have him or her practice it against limited and controlled competition. When he or she can do this successfully, the individual is ready for full competition.
Circle No. 112
GamePlan Risk Management Assess if the coach adds safety precautions when introducing a new skill. An example would be placing a mat on the court when teaching a new volleyball player how to barrel roll after a dig. I would also suggest that coaches keep notes on what they’ve taught their athletes. A few weeks into a high school weight lifting program, a boy received a serious injury when an overhead bench press bar landed on his chest. During the debriefing, it was learned that the boy was absent the days instructions were given regarding the use of this piece of equipment. If the coach had kept a record of attendance and what he covered on what day, the likelihood of this accident would have been appreciably diminished.
Football Safety One of the most important skill instructions is tackling in football. Keeping the head out of tackling and blocking will lower the chance of catastrophic injuries. Concussions are big deal today. They should have been a long time ago.
experienced players going half speed. 2. Review what is an illegal and dangerous tackle. 3. Review the potential dangers of leading with the helmet while tackling. 4. Break the skill down into parts such as: head up, eyes on the hip area, approach and make contact by wrapping the hands and placing the head on a hip of the ball carrier. Everything is done in slow motion, or what most coaches call form practice. 5. Some coaches first use a blocking bag instead of a live, but inactive, ball carrier. Also consider starting with the players on their knees. 6. Practice the skill with both the ball carrier and tackler facing each other a foot apart. Perform the action by having the tackler lift the ball carrier. 7. Move the tackler back two yards and perform the form tackle at walking speed.
The following is a progressive instruction example for teaching tackling:
8. Increase from walking to a half speed run. Emphasize the technique. Remind the players to keep their head up.
1. Demonstrate a good tackle using
9. Move to a controlled live tackling drill.
Once the concept of tackling is taught, little, if anything, is gained by live tackling drills during the season. Working on form, reaction, and speed will be more beneficial—and decrease practice injuries.
Change of Pace In western Pennsylvania, a well-meaning athletic director permitted his football coach to insert a wrestling-type game into the off-season weight-training program. It was supposed to be fun and teach toughness. Two names were called out and the goal was for one player to get the other’s back on the mat—any way he could. A senior lineman lifted a much smaller wide receiver and dropped him on his head, causing a serious injury. Depositions indicated, among other failures, that no wrestling instructions were ever given, and the case was settled. The lesson here is that even when you want to do something fun and different, you can’t let athletes compete without knowing how. Hire knowledgeable coaches, evaluate them on their instruction, and remind them of their duty to teach their studentathletes well. When an athletic director emphasizes safety, so will coaches.
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GamePlan Leadership
And we are proving that focusing on the educational mission of athletics can lead to a strong program—six of our teams have recently participated in conference postseason play.
Developing The Vision In constructing our program vision, we looked at the NCAA Division III philosophy, which places priority on “the overall quality of the educational experience and on the successful completion of all students’ academic programs.” Division III also seeks to foster an environment in which athletics plays a part in the educational experience.
Recasting Victory In developing a new vision statement, this NCAA Division III athletic department decided to measure success in a unique way. By Diana Cutaia When I became Director of Athletics at Wheelock College seven years ago, I was given a chance to nurture a very small athletic program. At that time, Wheelock only had five sports, all for women, but was looking to expand, including adding men’s teams to ensure gender equity. While this move required hiring coaches, finding more facility space, and everything else that accompanies growth, it also provided an opportunity to redefine the department’s philosophy. To do this, like most schools, we looked at the mission of our institution and of our sports governing body, NCAA Division III. But the philosophy we came up with was different than most schools.
Our mission is to complement and enhance the academic experience and measure our success not by the outcomes of games but by the goals set by players and teams. The first part of that statement is pretty standard, but the second part takes us into new territory. While we strive to win, it is not an overriding goal. Winning percentage is not how we determine a team’s success or how we evaluate our coaches. We have stuck with our philosophy through thick and thin. That hasn’t always been easy, but it has been worth it. We are developing student-athletes into amazing young professionals who graduate ready to take the world by storm.
We then examined the mission of the institution, which is to “improve the lives of children and families.” While this speaks to the school’s academic focus on developing teachers and those who work in social services, it also relates to what professors and administrators strive for daily. We have a 125-year history of advocating for programs, policies, and laws that enhance the quality of life for families. Students come here because they have a strong passion to impact communities through servant leadership. Constructing the athletics mission also required me to take a step back and give thought to my own experiences as an athlete and coach. As I began to think about my playing days, I looked at newspaper clippings about my teams. Stats from my high school volleyball team revealed we went 36-2 over two seasons and won the league championship three years in a row. Surprisingly, I can not remember one of those wins. Not even the championships. But here is what I do remember: n
My coach had two sayings she drilled into us: “You are only as strong as the
Diana Cutaia has been Director of Athletics at Wheelock College since 2005. Her teams have earned 17 league sportsmanship awards and a Jostens community service award. The former Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Curry College, she can be reached at: dcutaia@wheelock.edu. AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 23
n
weakest link,” and “It’s not enough to believe in yourself, you have to believe in those around you.”
mitment, balance, teamwork, integrity, and communication.
Sometimes you can make a save at the last second with just one hand, falling out of bounds if you give yourself one last push. Learning about perseverance has been critical for me.
Behind The Words
The best way to deal with a ball being spiked at you is to absorb the hit and then use its energy to push it away from you. Taking negative energy and turning it into something positive has helped me through many tough situations.
The current model of collegiate sports makes the outcome of a contest the headline and the process and experience of the athlete the back-story. But at Wheelock, our student-athletes understand that the process is why we play and the meaning is found in the experience. Their goal is to continually improve in their athletic endeavors without a defined end point.
With those ideas in mind, we constructed a mission for Wheelock athletics that focuses on the learning experience. Here are some highlights: The goal of Wheelock College’s Department of Athletics is to create an environment that fosters athletic success, enhances the academic experience, and empowers our athletes to strive for excellence in all they do … Our coaches are dedicated, enthusiastic, and well-qualified professionals who focus on teaching the skills of the game and instilling in our students the core values of our department: respect, com-
When we say that we don’t measure success by wins and losses we get odd stares at first. People ask why we can’t have both goals—to win and have a great experience. I’ve found that some coaches who focus on the outcome of a contest forget about the process and the experience of the student-athletes. They may make decisions that have a negative effect on their athletes, in the hopes it has a positive effect on the final score. We don’t want our coaches having to choose between those two, sometimes competing, mandates.
n
We tie our sport programs to our educational systems in this country for a reason. We believe there is an inherent educational value in participation. Some argue that collegiate sports have moved away from that core value and I agree. Our vision at Wheelock is unique because we are staying absolutely true to the Division III philosophy and the value that fields and courts are additional classrooms that help foster personal growth and development. Our teams still want to win. But I believe no athletes are better off because they scored more points than the other. They are made better by the lessons they learned in their pursuit. Our teams strive for excellence, but they don’t let losing be anything more than another tool they use to improve.
Into Action Following a unique philosophy takes some extra work. It requires asking coaches, athletes, and fans to do things differently than other schools, along with discussion. Here are some of the specific things we’ve done to make the ideas behind our program philosophy come alive:
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GamePlan Leadership Make actions complement words: Several years ago the NCAA sent banners for our gyms with the following phrase: Be Loud Be Proud Be Positive. When we received them, my staff and I talked about how we would ensure this was something we adhered to at games. The culture of collegiate sports is so much about cheering against opposing players and officials that asking fans to “be positive” seemed almost impossible. But we felt it was important, so we worked hard to teach our students how to cheer as a way to motivate our own team and not to intimidate or degrade the other teams. Motivate athletes in a positive manner: We have an expectation that our coaches will not motivate by fear and punishment. We want our athletes to be inspired—to be so excited about what they learned in practice that they want to work hard. Yes, it’s harder that way. I coached for more than 15 years and there were days that making a team get on the line and run was a much simpler way of getting them
to perform as I wished. But what I realized was that they didn’t sufficiently learn the skill—they only learned it enough to not get punished. We want coaches to create an environment where athletes are developing their own internal drive, as well as learning the value of teamwork and accountability. Make connections: We believe that community service is something more than a photo opportunity. We want our student-athletes to have a connection and a relationship to their service. We recently had athletes take part in a three-year commitment to the relief efforts in Haiti, during which they were able to raise enough funds to purchase critical medical equipment for a pediatric hospital in Port Au Prince. Throughout the work, they learned that service is not something we give, but it is something that helps us grow and learn. Four mottos: It often helps people to follow a philosophy by having some key
phrases in front of them. Here are four we use: n n
n
n
Develop core values and live by them. Integrate the mission of the college into the department. Don’t be afraid to go against the grain if it’s best for your athletes. Don’t just talk the talk; make your actions complement your words.
Today at Wheelock we have more than 120 student-athletes and offer 11 total sports for men and women. Our athletes have an average GPA of 3.24 and we have had more than 100 academic all-conference members. In the last five years our men’s basketball, women’s soccer, swimming, cross country, field hockey, and tennis teams have advanced to postseason conference play with three earning top seeds. Our de-emphasis on the outcome has improved the process, and if you’re still keeping score the old fashioned way, we’ve also been winning more.
A look at Wheelock’s full mission can be found here: www.wheelockwildcats.com/information/mission.
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Circle No. 115 AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 25
NEW PATHS AHEAD
COVER STORY
Athletic departments are finding new avenues for collaboration by partnering with those at different competitive levels. High schools with colleges. Colleges with pro teams. Pro teams with high schools. The resulting programs are inspiring.
By Mike Phelps att Wszolek knew he wanted to do something different to promote the Illini brand when he became Associate Director of Development and Corporate Partnerships for the University of Illinois athletic department in August 2011. In reviewing market research, he learned that one in five people in the Chicago metropolitan area had attended an Illinois athletic contest, watched one on television, or listened to one on the radio. When Wszolek dug deeper and cross referenced the data, he found there was a very high correlation between that group and people who attend Chicago’s professional sporting events. For Wszolek, the next step was obvious: establish cross-marketing relationships with Chicago pro sports teams and form a
bond that would benefit both parties. But he wanted the partnerships to go beyond simply promoting another team and instead focus on appealing to a specific audience. “The idea was to do something revolutionary and start marketing each other’s products and services,” he says. “It’s a matter of telling our supporters, ‘Because you’re an Illini fan, you have the opportunity to go to specific White Sox games throughout the season and receive perks,’ for example. These perks can include discounts on tickets, participation in an on-field parade before the game, or an opportunity to throw out the first pitch. Then the White Sox do the same thing with their fans at our events.” Thus far, Illinois has established crossmarketing relationships with the White Sox, Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire, and the Kane County Cougars, a Class A affiliate of
Top left: University of Missouri quarterback James Franklin charges ahead during a game last year. Mizzou Athletic Director Mike Alden has teamed up with high schools in the state to deliver an academic message to students. PHOTO BY Patrick Green/Cal Sport Media Far left: New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill., hosted a WNBA preseason game this spring. Left: Boston Scholar Athletes were recognized at a Boston Celtics game last season.
AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 27
COVER STORY
the Kansas City Royals. While the three franchises are very different in size and scope, they have one thing in common—they play at a different competitive level than the University of Illinois. Across the country, arrangements between teams across competitive levels are becoming more and more prevalent. Whether it’s a college working with a pro team, a high school and college teaming up, or even a high school partnering with the pros, the relationships are yielding great results. In this article, we look at five different partnerships and the keys to their success. CROSS MARKETING
Illinois’s first meeting with the White Sox began with a blank piece of paper. Before
such as the conference room that can be rented, and many of the premium seating areas. Meanwhile, we were able to entertain our biggest donors.” Illinois has experienced similar success with the Fire and Cougars. The Fire’s main goal is to reach non-soccer fans and showcase the sport to them. Illini fans, therefore, have opportunities to go on the field before the game or take a stadium tour, and the school receives 20 percent of any season ticket purchases made by Illinois supporters. “The Fire can say to our fans, ‘Come out to the game and we’ll give you some special access,’” Wszolek says. “And why wouldn’t we want our fans to go to a Chicago Fire game? A portion of that money will go right back to the school.”
“We’ve been able to establish a great relationship because of the diversity of support that we’re looking for,” says Boston Scholar Athletes (BSA) Executive Director Rebekah Splaine. “I think pro teams are used to having people ask them for dollars, but we’re really flexible in terms of what we’re looking for. There are so many things the teams can give other than money.” BSA was started three years ago by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish in response to a Boston Globe series detailing the rundown state of the Boston Public Schools athletics program. The goal of BSA is to increase academic achievement through athletics in Boston Public high schools. The program aims to improve the student-athlete
“We wanted to promote Illinois athletics in the Chicago area, and they wanted to promote White Sox baseball to Illini fans ... We talked about premium areas, group tickets, and getting our brands out there.” talking about specific ideas, the two sides discussed their current initiatives and what they were trying to do from a branding standpoint. “It started off very macro,” Wszolek says. “We wanted to promote Illinois athletics in the Chicago area, and they wanted to promote White Sox baseball to Illini fans. Then we dove into different micro goals based on that macro statement. We talked about premium areas, group tickets, and getting our brands out there. “The great thing was, because we were in it together, there was a built-in trust that allowed the relationship to be ever-changing,” he continues. “That enabled ideas to evolve in a way that was really dynamic.” One of those ideas had the White Sox providing Illinois with a 100-person skybox during a game early in their season, which the university used to entertain some of its largest Chicago-based donors. For the school, it was a chance to interact with an influential population that might not always have the opportunity to travel to the campus in Champaign-Urbana. For the White Sox, the benefit was just as great. “The club got to know these people and show them there’s a lot of fun to be had at a White Sox game,” Wszolek says. “They were able to showcase their products and services, Mike Phelps is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management. He can be reached at: mp@MomentumMedia.com.
28 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
With the Cougars, Illinois hosted an “Illini Day” at a Kane County game in late June that raised money for the school through an auction and a portion of ticket sales. For the Cougars, the promotion served as a great way to expand their fan base. The school is now broadening its involvement with its pro team partners beyond game night events. “We did an Illini caravan that traveled all over the state, visiting nine cities in three weeks,” Wszolek says. “At one of the events in Chicago, our partners had the chance to give away merchandise and interact with Illini fans. It was an opportunity to reinforce to the public that we’re doing business with a lot of different people.” Wszolek believes the key to the successful relationships he’s managed so far has been remembering that the pro teams are partners in the process. “Both parties need to understand it’s two groups working as one,” he says. “We can’t ask the White Sox to market the heck out of our products while we sit back and reap the benefits. It’s a twoway street. If we’re doing an event, we think about our partner, because there might be an opportunity to work together.” IN THE ZONE
Professional sports franchises are used to being approached by community members in search of financial backing. That’s why when the Boston Scholar Athletes program sought a partnership with the city’s pro teams, it asked for something else: support.
experience on the field by providing new equipment and uniforms, skills training, and overall support, and boost academic performance and eligibility rates through mentoring, tutoring, and special programs. Today, the BSA operates, manages, and staffs 19 zone learning centers—school-based resource areas for student-athletes in 19 Boston public high schools. Boston’s pro teams—the Celtics, Bruins, Patriots, Red Sox, and Revolution—have been involved with the program from the very start. “When John [Fish] helped found the program, he was very thoughtful about establishing an advisory board,” Splaine says. “He approached the heads of all the local professional teams with the concept, mission, and ideas for the program, and they all signed on to our advisory board.” Their involvement has led to numerous opportunities for the BSA. “For example, we rely on them for venues. We just had our fundraising gala at the TD Garden and we held a soccer clinic at Gillette Stadium,” Splaine says. “We sometimes ask the teams if players and coaches can work on professional development with the Boston public high school coaches.” What may be the most important, though, is the BSA’s ability to obtain player appearances through the teams. For example, members of the Celtics have appeared at local schools, generating a lot of excitement among the student body. “A player will run through some drills and play basketball with
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Circle No. 116
the kids, but significant time is also dedicated to that player addressing the students on the importance of academics,” Splaine says. “Yes, this person is a successful athlete, but he tells the students he couldn’t have got there without hard work in school.” The Boston teams have also come up with their own ideas to help. In the spring, unprompted, the Celtics offered a set of tickets to be given out to the winning teams in a BSA basketball all-star event. “Not only were the high school players able to attend the game, they were also rec-
Since it’s inception, the BSA program has experienced great success and continues to expand. For example, its newly implemented SAT prep program for 400 high school juniors in 16 schools has yielded tangible results. “We’re teaching an hour a day, three to five days a week, how to take the SAT,” Splaine says. “We’re tracking success through practice tests. Over the first three, we’ve already seen an average of a 190-point increase for the students taking this class.” While the tireless effort of the BSA administrators and teachers working in the
help has been,” Splaine says. “It is always a benefit to have unique incentives to drive academic performance. Whether that’s tickets to a game or an appearance by a player that all the kids know, it’s invaluable to be able to utilize the popularity of pro sports to push academic excellence.” HEADING OFF-CAMPUS
NCAA Division I spring football practices are generally an uneventful routine, especially outside the die-hard fan base. So when Larry Fedora took over as Head Football
“It’s always a benefit to have unique incentives ... Whether it’s tickets to a game or an appearance by a player that all the kids know, it’s invaluable to be able to utilize the popularity of pro sports to push academic excellence.” ognized on the court at halftime,” Splaine says. “The students couldn’t play in the game unless they were academically eligible, so we were rewarding kids who were keeping their grades up.”
zone centers is the heart of the program, the partnership with Boston’s professional sports industry has been a key component to the program’s early success. “I don’t know if you can truly quantify how valuable their
Coach at the University of North Carolina following the 2011 season, he decided to do something that may slowly be turning into a trend in college football: he took a practice off campus.
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30 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
Circle No. 117
11/22/11 7:09 PM
COVER STORY
To help generate interest in the team beyond Chapel Hill, Fedora moved one of the Tar Heels’s spring practices to Mallard Creek High School, which is located about
Holliday says the school chose Mallard Creek because of its facilities and convenient location, right off a major highway from Chapel Hill to Charlotte. Leading up
Despite making sure every “i” was dotted and every “t” was crossed, there was one thing Holliday couldn’t prepare for. Just as the practice was set to begin, a lightning
UNC chose Mallard Creek High School because of its facilities and location ... “It was a chance for the UNC football program to show itself to Charlotte, and for people in Charlotte to get a closer look at Mallard Creek and what it can do.” two and a half hours away in Charlotte. “He’s really trying to generate a buzz about UNC football,” says Corey Holliday, Associate Athletic Director at North Carolina. “The more people who get to see us practice and see what we’re doing, the better. It’s onthe-road advertising.” Fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member University of Virginia has also begun taking select spring practices off campus. The NCAA permits such a move as long as the site is located within the state or no more than 100 miles from the institution’s campus.
to the event, Holliday frequently communicated with Mallard Creek administrators to make sure everything would be ready to go. “Because of NCAA rules, we had to cover all the school’s expenses,” Holliday says. “Mallard Creek couldn’t make a profit off it, so we had to run concessions. We also paid for cleanup, police officers, parking officials, and things like that. But the high school still had a lot of organizing to do. There was quite a bit of communication going back and forth making sure we would have the space we needed and that everything was in line.”
storm hit, forcing the session to end before the first pass was thrown. Administrators from both schools had to think fast so fans wouldn’t be sent home disappointed. “We quickly moved inside and set up an autograph session,” Holliday says. “It wasn’t exactly what we had planned, but it wasn’t a total waste either. People still came out, got to see the Heels, took home some autographs, and had a good time.” Also successful was a pre-practice tailgate set up by the university’s marketing department and donors club, which went off without a hitch before the storm came. “We had
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Circle No. 118
Circle No. 119 AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 31
a chance to bring in some Charlotte-area alumni and meet with them before the practice,” Holliday says. “It was very beneficial.” Despite the poor weather, Holliday believes the event was a positive experience for Mallard Creek, as well. “It was helpful to them because many people in Charlotte who may not have attended a game at Mallard Creek or been to the school got to see what type of facilities they have and how professional they were in running an event,”
cine and ticketing staffs, New Trier helped out in many ways. “We learned the extensive amount of detail involved in the management side of an event like this,” Oberembt says. “It was a great opportunity for us to see how things are done several levels above a standard high school contest. For example, we ordinarily provide about 12 feet of press row space. But for this game, there was at least twice that amount. We also had to figure
After the contest, the entire Sky team stayed in the gym to sign autographs for upwards of 200 people. “That was a great way for them to put an exclamation point on the excitement that was generated by them coming to our school and giving people a chance to see them play,” Oberembt says. “We were able to get good numbers in the stands and the commitment of our girls’ teams was great. The Sky believed the contest had value beyond the financial considerations, and that
Alden uses examples from the Tigers program to drive points home. “I might bring up Marcus Denmon, an All-American basketball player for us. These kids see him on television being a great athlete. I tell them that Marcus Denmon is also trying to live out all those other things I talked about. Every day, he’s focusing on going to class, being a better man, and being a competitor.” he says. “It was a chance for the UNC football program to show itself to Charlotte, and for people in Charlotte to get a closer look at Mallard Creek and what it can do.” HIGH SCHOOL HOSTS
Like Mallard Creek, New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill., was handed an opportunity to host a team outside its competitive level this past spring. To his surprise, Athletic Director Randy Oberembt was approached by the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, which wanted to play a preseason game in the New Trier gymnasium. While the Sky was hoping to expose the residents of Chicago’s northern suburbs to the team, the benefits for New Trier were even greater. “There were three themes that led to our decision to approve the request from the Sky,” Oberembt says. “First, it was a great fundraising opportunity for our booster club. Second, we viewed it as a way to support and promote the concepts of Title IX on its 40th anniversary by giving our student-athletes and girls in the area exposure to the highest level of performance for their gender. The third aspect was providing our sports marketing class with a real-world learning experience.” Oberembt believes the Sky was interested in playing a game at New Trier because of the school’s geographic location and its historic gym, which was built in 1927. To prepare for the event, there were a multitude of meetings between the Sky front office and New Trier administrators, which Oberembt describes as “eye-opening and illuminating.” Although the Sky administered the game, including bringing their own set-up and sports medi32 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
out resources for power and Web access for those people.” New Trier helped promote the game, with coaches publicizing it to their teams and beyond. “Several of our girls’ teams, including basketball, soccer, and lacrosse, agreed to support ticket sales by attending the game,” Oberembt says. “Then, for example, our girls’ basketball coach contacted all the youth basketball programs and feeder schools in the area to let them know we were doing this. We wanted to develop a critical mass of fans.” While many New Trier student-athletes sat in the stands to watch the game, some played a hands-on role. Girls’ basketball players served as hosts for the Sky and visiting Washington Mystics, meeting the players when they arrived at the school and leading them to the locker room and athletic training room. The sports marketing class, meanwhile, turned the game into a class project. “The class was very involved in the internal marketing of this event, working the game itself, and providing administrative support,” Oberembt says. “The Sky was supportive of the class and provided those students with meaningful assignments for game day. “For example, the marketing kids helped staff the ticket lines,” he continues. “The students also gave other support wherever they could throughout the game. It’s not something your standard curriculum would be able to provide.” Around 900 fans attended the early May event, which was a boon for the New Trier booster club. Boosters received $10 from every $15 ticket purchased and also ran concessions.
made us all feel we were doing something that was meaningful for our female studentathletes.” HITTING THE ROAD
Some partnerships are less about marketing and more about simply making connections. Mike Alden, Athletic Director at the University of Missouri, has been visiting high schools across the state throughout his tenure to deliver an educational message and promote the state’s flagship institution. Every few weeks, he leaves campus and is welcomed by a high school, which receives a free motivational speech by a respected leader in athletics. “The goal is to go out at least once a month, every month,” Alden says. “Some folks were skeptical initially, thinking I’d burn out quickly or something else would require my attention on campus. But it never has. I’ve been doing this for 14 years, and it’s been a great opportunity to provide exposure to the University of Missouri and connect with people on their home turf in a positive way.” Initially, he was hoping to visit one school in each of Missouri’s 114 counties. To date, he’s been to each county at least twice. And in the past few years, other campus leaders, including the chancellor, several vice chancellors, and deans have begun accompanying Alden on the trips. The presentations are delivered in an assembly format, to either the entire school or just the senior class, depending on school size. Alden speaks for about 20 minutes before offering the students an opportu-
COVER STORY
nity to ask questions. He says his talk has remained grounded in the same three pillars since he began the program in 1998: academic integrity, social responsibility, and competitive excellence. “What I mean by academic integrity is, if you’re going to spend eight hours a day at your high school, why wouldn’t you want to be productive?” Alden says. “Make sure you’re going to class, paying attention, and doing the things necessary so you can get your diploma and matriculate to a good job or college. The second thing we talk about is social responsibility. On Friday night after a football game, where are you going, who are you hanging out with, and what are you doing? Understand that you want to be responsible so someday you can grow up to be good fathers, mothers, co-workers, or whatever it may be. “The final thing is making sure they’re focused on excellence,” he continues. “We’re a competitive society. People are competing for jobs, grades, and other things all the time. I tell the students that to have success and do different types of things, we have to sharpen our saw as competitors.”
While the focus is not athletics, Alden uses examples from the Tigers program to drive points home. “I might bring up Marcus Denmon, an All-American basketball player for us,” Alden says. “These kids see him on television being a great athlete. I tell them that Marcus Denmon is also trying to live out all those other things I talked about. Every day, he’s focusing on going to class, being a better man, and being a competitor. “When we talk about individuals like that, whether it’s Marcus or Blaine Gabbert, who’s now with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL, the kids get it,” he continues. “If athletes themselves are available, we’ll even bring them on the trips. We did that with William Moore, now with the Atlanta Falcons, when we visited Hayti High School, because that was his alma mater. It’s an entertaining way to be able to deliver a solid message from the university.” When setting up visits, Alden remains cognizant of NCAA rules, working closely with his compliance staff and being careful to never target a high school because it has outstanding athletes. “When we’re dealing with the superintendent of schools or
principal, we make sure they know it’s an inclusive assembly and not geared toward athletics,” he says. “Also, when we go out on the road, I’m not just stopping at a high school. I’m also going to a rotary club, a Kiwanis club, or meeting with donors. We really maximize our time.” In addition to spreading goodwill for the university throughout the state and delivering a valuable message to young students, the outreach program has had some tangible benefits for the university. When Alden arrived on campus 14 years ago, the University of Missouri was not the number one choice of college for the state’s high school seniors. Today it is, and Alden believes his outreach program has played a role in this. “It can be hard for admissions officers to trek up to northwest Missouri,” Alden says. “When we’re in there talking about the university, there are high school counselors learning about what we’re doing as an institution. It’s a little sales piece for those counselors so when they have students interested in going to college, Missouri is right in the forefront.” n
Circle No. 120 AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 33
Circle No. 121
NEW MEDIA
O
n the one hand, social media is an amazing tool that makes our jobs easier. We can send a quick message to the entire coaching staff at the same time we are watching a j.v. soccer game. We can relay information to the media while on the
team bus. We can reach out to a group of parents without leaving our office. On the other hand, this new way of communicating has handed us complicated issues to deal with, many of which have no existing guidelines. Is it okay for coaches and athletes to text each other? What should we do if someone anonymously forwards us a negative photo of an athlete or coach? Do I need to figure out how to use Instagram?
Strategies for Socializing
By Steve Trifone
School districts across the country are putting policies in place pertaining to social media. Progressive athletic departments are following suit.
JAMES F. KRAUS
The explosion of social media is not new, but its increasing presence means we need to think more deeply about its use and misuse. For many years, school districts tried to ban cell phones and student use of social media while at school. That has become unrealistic. Instead, the trend is to develop policies and procedures on social media behavior, along with educating students about using it properly.
AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 35
In athletics, we need to do the same. While following our schools’ rules, athletic departments should consider outlining additional specific policies on social media for coaches, student-athletes, and parents. We also need to educate everyone involved about the capabilities and hazards of these communication tools. And we have to be ready for the next technology trend that’s around the corner. EMBRACING CHANGE
If you do not text, are not on Facebook, or have never checked out Twitter, you need to revamp your communications toolbox. Social media has become such a huge part
an important tool for communication with and among our parents. You can also encourage coaches to set up Facebook groups for their teams as a way to quickly and easily communicate important information to their squads and parents. Items such as practice schedules, team outings, upcoming events, and parent information make these sites a worthwhile tool. A group can be set up to include parents, coaches, and athletes by invitation only, thereby restricting access by others. One rule to follow is that whenever you allow access by athletes, you need to give their parents access, too. Never let anyone involved with a team operate a site that is
High school coaches should never use their formal name (which is easy to find) for their Facebook account and should be very careful what they post, even if they are using enhanced privacy settings. It can work well to have one Facebook account for your personal life, and one that is more public to use with school groups. of American society that you risk being perceived as out of touch—especially among students—if you don’t embrace it. You will also be missing out on tools that can help you do your job. For example, texting can streamline communications with coaches because it is so quick and easy to do. Today’s cell phone technology also allows multiple people to receive the same text message simultaneously, which I’ve found to be a great time-saver. Our busy lives do not always allow for phone conversations, so a quick text has become a helpful resource. In addition, I find younger coaches are more apt to use texting for almost every kind of conversation, so it is important for me to employ this mode of communication when talking with them. Using Facebook to reach out to constituents is also a time-saver. You do not need to use Facebook in your personal life to set up Facebook groups that keep you easily connected to others in your professional life. This could include a Facebook group for parents of student-athletes, or another for alumni athletes. Our school booster club has started its own Facebook account, which has received a great response and become Steve Trifone, CAA, is Director of Athletics and Department Leader in Applied Technology at Cheshire (Conn.) High School. He can be reached at: strifone@cheshire.k12.ct.us.
36 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
strictly for students. Twitter is one of the fastest growing electronic messaging tools used today. A Pew Research Center study released in May found that 31 percent of 18-24 year olds use Twitter, a 13 percent increase from a year
prior. I have set up a Twitter account for our athletic department, which updates followers on game results, changes in schedules, and general information. Today’s parents want to be in the know and the need for upto-date information is important to them. Posting on Twitter is fast and easy and has been fun to do. However, this doesn’t mean you need to be an expert or even spend a lot of time keeping up with social media. Most school districts have a technology coordinator who can be a resource for helping you learn new programs. You can also ask a coach on staff who is aware of the latest social media trends to be your department expert. And I have turned to my own teenage kids for help at times. (With three of them now in college, social media has become my lifeline to them.) EDUCATING OTHERS
Along with all the wonderful things social media can do, it’s no secret that it can be destructive. It’s a rare athletic department that hasn’t experienced at least one problem involving Facebook or Twitter. From trash talking opponents to the posting of inappropriate materials that violate codes of conduct, online communication can lead to problems, both minor and major. To help keep headaches to a minimum, it’s critical to put education programs in place. The three different groups to address are coaches, student-athletes, and parents.
HERE AT CHESIRE (CONN.) HIGH SCHOOL, the board of education and the athletic department have recently instituted a policy regarding the proper use of electronic communication and social media. It focuses on two areas: n
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Coaches will not use any type of social media for personal communication with student-athletes. Coaches will not use any type of social media to voice their opinion on game officials, opposing coaches, opposing teams, or anyone associated with the athletic program.
I review the policy every preseason with my coaching staff, letting them know that failure to follow these regulations could lead to disciplinary action, and can include dismissal as a coach. I remind them that what a coach says in cyberspace is a reflection of the entire athletic program and explain that the policy is put in place to protect the coach, athletes, and the department. Coaches put the reputation of their team and the school at risk if they use social media to voice their opinion.
formal policy
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A class offered by our state athletic association here in Connecticut for athletic directors helped me get the ball rolling. The class brought athletic directors up to speed so that, in turn, we could educate our coaches. Major topics included the types of media available, proper use of social media, and, most importantly, the consequences of misuse. This class is part of the continuing education offered through our statewide coaching certification program, and I recently presented it to my coaching staff. It was well attended and the topic stimulated great dialog among the attendees. Here are some of the things we discussed: Privacy: I explained to our coaches that the most important thing for everyone to understand is that nothing on the Internet is private. Once you send or post something, you have relinquished control over it. That picture you only wanted friends to see can easily be forwarded to others, either intentionally or inadvertently, by anyone who received it. Pictures and messages can be easily saved or copied, and the privacy controls used by social media sites are not
foolproof. Plus, a defense based on, “I never thought anyone else would see it,” isn’t likely to carry much weight. Proper use: We talked a lot about how to use social media responsibly, and why it’s a bad idea to communicate with students
can then appear on the coach’s page, creating tension. Another problem is if a coach went to a player’s Facebook page and saw innappropriate photos of the player or teammates. Ideally, athletes never do anything wrong,
I ask all of my athletes to look at the photos on their accounts. I then ask them if they would show those same photos to their grandparents. If they answer, “No,” it is time to remove the picture. While I do get some laughter from the audience, many realize a few of their photos are not grandma-appropriate. through these tools unless it’s a formal team Facebook page that includes parents. If a coach friends an athlete on Facebook then the athlete’s posts can appear on the coach’s page. If the coach needs to discipline that same player, it’s easy to imagine the athlete posting something negative on his or her page about the coach. This post
but in reality they do, and post things they shouldn’t. We don’t want our coaches to become Facebook police officers. We also discussed the use of our personal Facebook accounts and how “secure” they truly are. Students will seek out Facebook accounts and often find a way to view personal accounts that you think are protected.
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High school coaches should never use their formal name (which is easy to find) for their Facebook account and should be very careful what they post, even if they are using enhanced privacy settings. It can work well to have one Facebook account for your personal life, and one that is more public to use with school groups. Properly using social media also means not posting anything negative about the athletic program. This includes refraining from talking about opponents, officials, or student-athletes. Coaching is such a high-
profile job, it’s easy for even a casual comment to blow up into a social media crisis. Know your audience: All too often people will send a message without fully thinking about the content. Even worse, sometimes we are careless about who will receive the message. Before hitting send, make sure you know who your words are going to. The “Reply All” button can cause huge difficulties when unintended recipients are included. Keep it simple: I also tell coaches that less is more when replying to messages from
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The next target in social media education is the student-athlete. I cover the topic in my annual preseason meeting with them. Along with a discussion on privacy, similar to what I relay to coaches, here are some areas we discuss: Blogs and electronic chat rooms: Student-athletes need to be educated on the potential pitfalls of using these sites. Many times athletes will post comments hoping to stimulate conversation with another school. Most, if not all, comments posted on blogs and chats are based on emotion, not a thoughtful expression of ideas. People can hide behind fictitious names, and there are usually no boundaries. Student-athletes can be quickly lured into replying to comments on such sites. My advice to athletes is to stay away from the temptation by simply not reading them. Texting: The main message here is to think before you send. A hasty negative message by one athlete can cause dissention among teammates. In addition, studentathletes need to be reminded that once sent, text messages cannot be taken back. Some students also need instruction on when it is not appropriate to text. Last spring, my freshman baseball coach caught a player texting a friend in the dugout during a contest. Needless to say, that athlete spent the remainder of the game on the bench without his cell phone. Online photos: Most high school students have a Facebook or Instagram account. I ask all of my athletes to look at their photos on these accounts. I then ask them if they would show those same photos to their grandparents. If they answer, “No,” it is time to remove the picture. While I do get some laughter from the audience, there are also some rumblings from those who realize a few of their photos are not grandma-appropriate.
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When athletes counter that their Facebook page is private and they only “friend” people they know, I remind them that in reality nothing on the Internet is completely private. Once one other person has access, there is no way for you to control who can and cannot view it.
While the main focus of our education is for coaches and athletes, I also talk about social media to parents during our preseason parents’ meeting. I tell them that negative postings from them on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform can be just as damaging to an athletic pro-
The main point we try to get across to parents is to stop and think before they express opinions about their children’s sports teams. Being the parent of a studentathlete can stir strong emotions and when something doesn’t go right, it’s easy to vent on Facebook. We ask them to refrain from doing so. In discussing photos, we also talk about how camera phones are prevalent. Students take pictures wherever they are, and it’s easy to unknowingly be in a photo posted on someone’s Facebook page or a photosharing Web site. If you are doing anything that might be seen as negative, it can very easily end up in a photo for the world to see. These can be found by a college coach or employer or used as evidence of illegal activity. We stress two things: most important, do not attend events that could endanger your reputation; and don’t jump into every picture being taken without thinking about what it shows. Twitter: Similar rules apply for Twitter accounts. We explain to student-athletes that the world does not need to know about every minute of your life. Overuse of a media tool will most likely lead to something you did not want people to know (a recent romance, sneaking out of your parents’ house after curfew, etc.). In addition, when faced with the 140 character limit, it can be difficult to convey exactly the meaning you intend, and tweets are often misinterpreted because of this. Bullying: Kids are accustomed to posting comments about others without a lot of thought. Student-athletes should understand that negative comments towards others can be hurtful, and even seen as cyber-bullying, which is not tolerated in most schools. The ramifications of bullying can be destructive for the victim, and for the one doing the bullying. Remind students that once a comment is in writing, it becomes proof the statement was made and the digital footprint will always be in existence.
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gram as those from an athlete. The main point we try to get across to parents is to stop and think before they express opinions about their children’s sports teams. Being the parent of a studentathlete can stir strong emotions and when something doesn’t go right, it’s easy to vent on Facebook. We ask them to refrain from doing so. We also require parents to abide by a “24-hour rule” when communicating with a coach. If a parent has an issue with a coach, I ask them not to send a message to that coach within the first 24 hours. The tone of an e-mail or text written one hour after a game is going to be quite different from one addressing the same issue 24 hours later. Give yourself a day to process your thoughts. RULES & GUIDELINES
More and more school districts are putting social media policies in place, which is a great way to set expectations for students and staff. Whether or not your school has done this, you should consider coming up with some policies that apply specifically to athletics. One rule we have is that coaches and student-athletes may not friend each other on Facebook. Under no circumstances should a coach provide a student-athlete access to their social media accounts. And a coach should also never have access to a student’s Facebook account. The one exception is for team pages. Another policy we’ve implemented is to restrict use of cell phones in locker rooms. All school districts disallow security cameras in locker rooms since their presence
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would be an invasion of privacy. Yet when a team enters the locker room, the athletes are most likely carrying cell phones with built-in cameras. A quick shot of someone undressing could become problematic. A copy of that photo sent to a Facebook or Twitter account can suddenly put indecent pictures of your players all over the Internet. Our policy states that all cell phones need to be turned off in a locker room. Calls to home must be made in the parking lot or hallway. Anyone found using a cell phone in a locker room faces disciplinary action. While we don’t have a formal policy on texting between coaches and athletes, I discourage the practice. Some coaches feel texting players about basic information will get the word out quicker than a phone tree. While this may be true, I do not like the practice of coaches having personal cell phone numbers of athletes—or athletes having the coach’s cell number. It can easily lead to conversations that should never happen. Any message to an athlete should take the conventional avenue: phone call at home or personal conversation. As an alternative way to get information such as schedule changes out quickly to the team, the coach can speak with the team captain, who then disseminates it via text. For example, one of my coaches will ask his captains to send a text to the team as the weekend approaches that reads, “Do the right thing.” A little reminder to your athletes from their captains can never hurt.
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The social media craze is here to stay, and one thing we can be sure of is that it will continue to change. As administrators of programs involving students, we need to be in tune with the communication tools they are using right now. Some of the latest social media platforms are already old news (remember MySpace?) and the Facebook explosion may be replaced by something else before we know it. We need to be ready to help our coaches and student-athletes navigate any hazards the latest craze may bring. Because of the reach and immediacy of social media, making sure we communicate properly is more important than ever. We can’t forget about the importance of face-to-face conversation while at the same time keeping up on how our students are communicating through electronic devices. Know what’s out there now and be ready for what will come next. n
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WORK-LIFE BALANCE
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ROBERT NEUBECKER/THEISPOT.COM
At Arizona State University, Head Women’s Basketball Coach Charli Turner Thorne took a nine-month sabbatical from coaching with the goal of becoming a better coach.
A Step Back
can’t say for sure when I came up with the idea to take a sabbatical from coaching. But it started to emerge after completing my 23rd season on the basketball sidelines, following the 2010-11 season. Like most coaches, at the end of every season I evaluate the state of our program and myself on both a professional and personal level. Going through this process a year and a half ago, I realized I had to do something different. I had gotten to the point in my life where I was never truly unplugging. I loved my job and my team, but I didn’t like that work had become an all-consuming way of life. As an NCAA Division I women’s basketball head coach, I work almost every day of the year. We all do because recruiting is constant, players are on campus year-round, and we continually manage hundreds of relationships with different groups—players and staff, recruits, club coaches, university faculty, donors, media, and fans, among others. And there is always one more thing we can do to make our programs better.
By Charli Turner Thorne
When the 24-7 life of a coach becomes too much, there are not a lot of solutions. Unless they can take a step back from it all.
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You think you are aware and intelligent enough to know how to balance it all. And for a long time I told myself I had to “readjust.” But for whatever reason I could not.
be the best person and best coach I could be. Given that I had been coaching basketball for 23 straight years, I came to the conclusion that I would not be able to truly change until I took a step back. I approached my administration with the idea, unsure of whether they would be open to it, but having faith in them. I stepped away from a job I treasured but had engulfed me. I began my journey for perspective, balance, and new ideas.
I approached my administration with the idea, unsure of whether they would be open to it, but having faith in them ... I began my journey for perspective, balance, and new ideas. The same coach who constantly reminded her team about the importance of recovery—that you can’t eat, sleep, and breathe basketball—was the same one who was watching film at all hours of the day and trying to find time to make one more phone call. That’s the unhealthy point where I was when I finally realized I didn’t have the balance in my life, as a wife and as a mom, to
MAKING THE MOVE
It was a difficult day when I relayed my desire to take a break from coaching to my supervisors. I was cautiously optimistic but also apprehensive about how they would react. I met with our athletic director at the time, Lisa Love, and our sport administrator and senior associate athletic director, Don Bocchi. We talked through everything—from my goals to the team’s needs to logistics— and Lisa proposed a nine-month window,
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which I thought was perfect. The ninemonth, unpaid leave of absence would be effective July 1, 2011 and would go through the end of March, 2012. I definitely caught Lisa off-guard, but she was incredible in how she processed it all and went right into the logistics. We talked through how we would inform the media, let the team know, and handle the staffing dynamics. Once we got approval from University President Michael Crow, we scheduled a team meeting, followed immediately by a press conference to control the message. While I’ve always valued the incredible support I’ve had during my time at Arizona State, this gave me an even greater appreciation for our administration. Affording me this kind of opportunity was, to my knowledge, unprecedented in major Division I
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Charli Turner Thorne has been the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Arizona State University since 1996, taking her team to the NCAA Division I Tournament six times in seven years from 2005-11. The current President of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, she served as Head Coach at Northern Arizona University from 1993-96 and can be reached at: asuhoop@asu.edu.
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WORK-LIFE BALANCE
athletics. It said that they valued me not only for results on the court, but everything else I had done in my 15 years—being active in the community, graduating players, and mentoring student-athletes. The toughest thing about the decision was telling my team. I felt guilty and it was incredibly hard to communicate the news to them. Obviously we commit to each other, and everything in this world is about relationships. I have great relationships with my players and invest a lot of time in them, as do they in me, so I felt like I was letting them down by taking this nine-month break. But I also made sure I was very clear with the team on what was going to happen. My sabbatical would take me away completely. While I wanted the players to know that I loved and cared for them, I was not going to be a mama bear hovering over the program during my absence. At the same time, I knew they would be in great hands with associate head coaches Joseph Anders, who had been on my staff for 10 years, and Meg Sanders, who had been with me for eight years and also was an assistant on my staff at Northern Arizona. Joseph
and Meg both had prior head coaching experience and their contributions had been integral in the greatest accomplishments in the history of our program, which included appearances in the NCAA Elite Eight in 2007 and 2009. Deciding which one of them would fill the head coaching role was also easy because Joseph wanted to do it and Meg did not. They took over all my duties, including recruiting, which may have been the toughest aspect of my leave. Even though we tried to make it crystal clear that I would be returning within a year and nothing was changing, many people did not hear this and made up their own reasons for why I was not coaching. Subsequently, recruiting was challenging for my staff because there was a lot of inaccurate information floating about, which led to speculation I was not coming back.  
I watched DVDs of other coaches. I set up meetings with people I really respected, not just in coaching, but in various other fields. My focus was not simply on furthering my knowledge of Xs and Os, but rather
I connected with a lot of my former players, which helped me really review the tradition of the program. I asked them what they learned and what they got out of being on the basketball team.
BETTER COACH
The focus of my time away was learning how I could be a better coach. I read a lot.
on examining how I could help the young women in our program have a better overall experience and develop them into strong, caring leaders. I spent the most time on that because I feel it is an invaluable part of what we should do as mentors. I did a couple of coaching clinics overseas and some speaking engagements. I
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was also able to devote more time to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association in my role as president. Another thing I did was to start a leadership academy at my son’s middle school in addition to coaching some of my kids’ teams. The opportunity to work with the neighborhood boys at the gym was very enjoyable and challenged me to simplify how I saw the game. Even more important was seeing them play for the love of it. With little kids there is never any agenda and there is never any pressure. They are playing because they enjoy it and that was wonderful to be a part of. I connected with a lot of my former players, which helped me really review the tradition of the program. I asked them what they learned and what they got out of being on the basketball team. They told me stories about how their experiences at ASU had helped them be successful in life. That was fun and I thought valuable to bring back to the program.
The times I met with Lisa during my sabbatical were fantastic because we both got to take a big-picture look at everything. I was also fortunate to meet a couple of times with President Crow. He is a great mentor and directed me to some developmental opportunities early in my sabbatical, in particular going to an ashram for a week. He also provided me with very useful advice, helping me to think about how I see myself as a professional and to evaluate the areas where I could grow. On the personal side, I needed to get my balance back, so I took up yoga, worked on meditation, and allowed myself to be mentored. I went around asking everybody, “How do you stay present?” That was the million-dollar question during my sabbatical: How do other people stay in the now? It was amazing how many smart people struggled to answer it. Answers ranged from prayer, to listening, to even breathing. I have adopted a few good techniques from
Kim Barnes Arico will not be asking for a sabbatical anytime soon. Hired in April as the
So husband Larry Arico will be taking a sabbatical instead. The former Athletic Director at Marist High School in Bayonne, N.J., he will move the family this summer and be an at-home parent for at least a year. “This wasn’t a difficult decision at all,” says Arico, who also served as Marist’s Head Football Coach from 2005 to 2010. “Our youngest is going to need a lot of attention, and the other two will be moving to new schools. Kim’s schedule will be hectic, so taking care of the kids is going to be my full-time job for now. “Our kids are our number one priority, and they need to have as stable a family environment as possible,” he continues. “As a coach, you’re taking care of other people’s kids, but in the process you can’t forget about taking care of your own. This is what’s best for them.” Balancing the demands of coaching and raising a family has been a constant for the couple, who met when they both coached at Farleigh Dickinson University-Madison (now known as FDU-Florham). But the move to Michigan will require a whole new level of balance, as they will leave the New York metropolitan area and nearby family members for the first time.
46 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
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NEW TREND?
Coaching is not a healthy profession by nature. It’s not so much a job as it is a lifestyle
“The biggest change is that our family is not going to be around the corner,” Arico says. “Although we expect many visits and extended stays, it’s not the same as when you have family members who can help out with the kids for a weekend or drive over on short notice. We’re going to have to handle any emergencies ourselves, so it would be very hard for me to tie myself to a job at this point.” Arico says that the demands of coaching were part of the reason he resigned as football coach at Marist following the 2010 season. The move allowed him to focus on his administrative duties and free up time to spend with his family. He expects that experience will make it a little easier to step away from work completely. “I’ve already had a year to get used to being away from the sidelines,” Arico says. “It certainly gives you a chance to reflect and think beyond the Xs and Os about how you should manage your team.” At this point, Arico plans to return to the athletics world once his family is settled in Michigan, although he’s not sure if he will look for a job in coaching or administration. For now, though, he’s focused on his family. “You have to follow your heart, and you have to be happy with your decision,” he says. “And like anything else, you have to commit to it 100 percent to be successful.” — Dennis Read
D A D AT H O M E
new Head Women’s Basketball Coach at the University of Michigan, Barnes Arico will be immersed in taking the NCAA Division I program to the next level for the foreseeable future. But she is also moving her three children—ages 4, 6, and 10—more than 600 miles from family and friends, a difficult transition for any kid.
others to quiet my mind and hopefully my players’ as well. As a coach it is very powerful to help your players be “in the now,” which can lead to peak performance. Of course, the biggest personal fulfillment was being able to reconnect with my family—my husband Will and our three boys, Conor, Liam, and Quinn. We had the opportunity to spend our first Thanksgiving together. We took a trip to Flagstaff and had fun in the snow, which included building a snowman, sledding and snowball fights. I went boogie boarding with my kids, which is something I had never done before. We had some fun “firsts” but mainly I just worked to be more present with all of them. Lastly, I definitely had time to really think. I was able to reflect on changes I wanted to make as a coach and as a person.
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full of daily demands. Because of this, I feel sabbaticals should be strongly considered for all coaches, particularly to promote longevity. Many of my peers who have been coaching longer than me have not necessarily
many coaches who could greatly benefit from some type of sabbatical. For those coaches who would like to do it, I encourage them to have the courage and conviction to talk to their administrators. Certainly everybody’s situation is different in terms of how long they have been at a program and what kind of staff they have. It’s also important to honestly assess your value to your institution and in the community. For administrators open to the idea, I encourage them to offer the option to their coaches. You can ask coaches to come up with a specific plan for their time away and possibly extend the offer to only those who reach certain standards. Upper-level administrators may need to be convinced this is a positive move. I think the more coaches work to add value to their
Before taking the sabbatical I knew deep down that I wasn’t taking care of myself ... When you are constantly working, it is hard to have clarity and generate really substantive new ideas. I know I am a better coach and mentor because of this opportunity. felt the need to take time off and I applaud them. They have done things better than I have in regards to balancing their lives and being able to unplug. But there are also
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institution and their community beyond coaching, the more they are earning the right to have that time. Administrators see the off-the-court work and they want the coach to build on it. At the very least, coaches and administrators may want to engage in discussion about the possibility of sabbaticals. Such leaves can certainly take different forms at different schools, and there may be creative solutions that come from a meaningful discussion. While I took a little less than nine months off, I think that shorter sabbaticals make a lot more sense. That would probably be a better model because it’s hard for us to take a large chunk of time away. I think the key is for coaches not to wait until they are 20-plus years into their career, but maybe take two to three months every seven to 10 years. The coaching profession needs more built-in time off because there are a lot of unhealthy things about it. At a minimum, we need strategies to manage our time and energy better. Earlier this year, two outstanding coaches—Gail Goestenkors, Head Women’s Coach at the University of Texas, and Nell
WORK-LIFE BALANCE
BACK ON THE SIDELINES
The nine months went by in a blink, but it was everything that I needed it to be. Before taking the sabbatical I knew deep down that I wasn’t taking care of myself. Trying to squeeze every drop of juice out of every waking hour in the day wasn’t ideal, but it was all that I knew. The time away gave me the perspective of knowing what “balance” really is. It enabled me to equip myself with the tools and strategies I’ll need to make sure I don’t become overwhelmed by my job again. A few of the ways I’ve been able to do that is by organizing my days to allow time for contemplation and staying consistent with prayer and yoga.
I think when you have time to step back and look at everything—if you are really honest about things and you want to learn and grow—you are able to return with a much healthier disposition. When you are constantly working, it is hard to have clarity and generate really substantive new ideas. I know I am a better coach and mentor because of this opportunity. For example, it did not take long on returning from my sabbatical for significant challenges to emerge. The clarity,
knowledge, and balance gained from my time away allowed me to process things in tremendously efficient and effective ways. Simply put, it’s amazing the myriad of positives that can come from a head coach being able to step away and spend time learning and growing. Obviously it benefits the coach but, if done right, it also helps the program overall. I know our administration believed that would happen in my case and I plan to prove them right. n
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Fortner, Head Women’s Coach at Auburn University—resigned. I know both women poured their heart and soul into their job and like me, they may have had difficulty keeping balance in their lives. With that in mind, I think it’s important for athletic directors and sport administrators to be in tune with their coaches to make sure they are finding windows for recovery and are able to maintain proper work-life balance. The coaching community talks about work-life balance all the time, but we really don’t come up with any solutions to achieving it. All we keep doing is building in legislation that allows us to recruit even more because we want to win. We have a passion for our institutions and for our programs and somehow we have to juggle that with not turning into robotic workaholic coaches— because that doesn’t help anyone. This absolutely trickles down to the student-athletes and impacts the quality of their experience. If coaches are overworked and feeling too much pressure, then invariably the athletes are going to feel the effects of it. I hope that athletic directors around the country will take notice of how the administration at ASU handled my situation. Opportunities like the one I was fortunate to have will help retain quality coaches and lengthen their careers. I believe the ability for a head coach to empower someone on their staff to be in charge during their absence is another benefit that comes from a sabbatical. It gives assistant coaches extra responsibilities and allows for great professional development. This will only occur, of course, if the head coach on leave does not hover over the program. I had confidence in my staff and let them take over and run the program the way they wanted to while I stepped away. And I think that is the only way a head coach is truly going to get the most out of a sabbatical experience.
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LEADERSHIP
Defining Success
Are your coaches’ definitions of success the same as yours? This athletic director makes sure everyone is clear on the criteria by using an evaluation rubric.
©ISTOCKPHOTOS.COM/ Mats Persson
By Dr. Philip J. Willenbrock As athletic directors, we often stress to our coaches the importance of outlining expectations. Problems can quickly arise when coaches don’t spell out rules to student-athletes and parents at the start of the season. From behavior guidelines to what it takes to earn a letter, team members must be clear on what will be rewarded and what won’t be.
To practice what we preach, it’s just as important for athletic directors to make it clear to coaches how they will be evaluated. Before they develop their first practice plan, coaches should know exactly what they are expected to achieve. The criteria for the end-of-season review need to be outlined if we hope for coaches to embrace and fulfill them.
But what type of evaluation system can clearly spell out expectations when there are so many nuances to coaching? A structure I’ve implemented in our athletic program is an evaluation rubric, which outlines very specific criteria and what it takes to meet them. Recently, many school districts have adopted rubrics to serve as a checklist AthleticManagement.com | AUG/SEPT 2012 51
for defining good classroom instruction. Administrators have found it to be an effective tool for assessing how closely a teacher’s lesson plans align with the district approved curriculum. The same can be done with coaching evaluations. While coaching presents different challenges than classroom teaching, using a coaching evaluation rubric provides administrators and coaches a consistent road map for review. In the classroom, teacher performance isn’t evaluated solely on test scores, and in similar fashion, coaching effectiveness should not be judged only on wins and losses.
ing standard, meeting standard, and exceeding standard. The coaching essentials included in the rubric are: team cohesion, creating a culture, player development, and role modeling. I believe that coaches in all sports must be proficient in all four of these areas to be successful. Below, I detail the specific criteria outlined in each coaching essential and provide a definition of what “meeting the standard” entails. TEAM COHESION
This coaching essential focuses on ensuring the team has direction and runs smoothly. Coaches must have a team structure and rules that work well, and there must be a sense that everyone involved with the program works together. Does the coach truly have a team or just a collection of individuals? Here are the criteria we use and how we define meeting the standard. Clear direction: The coach has a publicly posted program statement, as well as clearly communicated long- and shortterm objectives. Daily practice plans relate directly to the stated objectives by teaching skills in an effective and efficient manner. The selection of team members and playing time is done thoughtfully and based on team goals. Rules and policies: The coach has rules in place for student-athletes that are clear to all and follow school, district, and state guidelines. There is also opportunity for team members to collaboratively develop additional policies they feel are important. If an athlete breaks a rule, the coach addresses the issue immediately, communicating with administrators and parents. Explicit authority: Through his or her actions, the coach gains the respect of team members and parents. Athletes exhibit positive body language, listen well, consistently do as instructed, and maintain eye contact with coaches when being spoken to. Stability: Player retention is above 90 percent after cuts have been made. Team members are rarely ineligible for contests and rarely miss practices or games whether excused or not. Student-athletes want to be at practices and games. There is also continuity among assistant coaches.
While coaches do need sport-specific knowledge to be effective, I believe leadership qualities remain the most critical factor in determining success. To construct our rubric, I researched texts covering many fields, focusing on those that included leadership, athletics, coaching, and management. One key thing I wanted to evaluate was the coach’s leadership skills, and I relied heavily on the book Leading Teams by J. Richard Hackman to develop this aspect of the rubric. His approach to team leadership aligns closely with what we ask of our head coaches and adds to the validity of the rubric. While coaches do need sport-specific knowledge to be effective, I believe leadership qualities remain the most critical factor in determining long-term program success. Thus, our rubric focuses more on leadership than the athletic performance of the team. The rubric should be reviewed with coaches before the season starts, and perhaps even during the hiring process. It is our duty to inform, and clearly explaining how we will evaluate both prospective hires and current staff clarifies our expectations. It also makes the end of the season evaluation meeting scripted, systematized, and a more effective learning opportunity. The coaching rubric we use includes a four-level scale of below standard, approachPhilip J. Willenbrock, EdD, is Athletic Director at the Evergreen Campus, a high school within Highline Public Schools near Seattle, Wash. He has served as a head football coach at both the high school and college levels, as well as an adjunct faculty member at Seattle University. He also acts as a consultant, providing leadership curriculum, team leadership assessments, and team leader seminars. He can be reached at: philwillenbrock@sharedteamleadership.com.
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Appropriate traditions: The coach initiates at least two team events that include family members and promote positive team bonding. Coaches provide appropriate supervision during all team functions and work with team members to ensure there is no hazing or inappropriate initiations. Communication: The coach listens well to players and parents and responds to concerns in a professional manner. In addition, he or she informs administrators of any parent or player meetings that involve potentially explosive issues. Annual, seasonal, and monthly schedules are developed six months in advance. In-season weekly schedules are presented six weeks in advance. Daily schedules are updated one week in advance. The coach works hard to communicate changes to avoid scheduling conflicts for athletes and their families. CREATING A CULTURE
I feel it’s important to evaluate the coach’s ability to create a positive culture on the team. This ensures coaches are working on their motivational skills and teaching both respect and responsibility. It also addresses underlying themes of player expectations and interpersonal relationships. Culture of motivation: The coach communicates the desired team direction and keeps athletes energized on a daily basis. Athletes are motivated through individual and team goals that are attainable. Players are energetic, excited, and focused on reaching their full potential. Practice and training sessions have limited down time and display variety and adaptability to keep team members fully engaged. Culture of respect: There is a clear understanding of the roles of every team member and all are valued equally. Players
The rubric should be reviewed with coaches before the season starts, which makes the end of the season evaluation meeting more effective. are treated fairly regardless of talent level and there are no “put-downs” of teammates. The coach reinforces anti-hazing and anti-trash talking themes or respect themes weekly. Culture of responsibility: Players turn in grade checks, equipment, eligibility forms and any other required items on schedule. Coaches complete their paperwork on time
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and respond in a timely manner to questions or requests from administrators. Culture of safety: The coach embraces the responsibility to provide supervision of athletes at all times. There is a focus on safety first and the coach watches for anything that could possibly lead to injury.
full potential collectively and individually. He or she maximizes student-athlete effort while providing an appropriate level of performance strategies. The coach is able to see the gap between where a team/player is currently and where that team/player can
become. Strategy, motivational tactics, and approach are adjusted as needed. Support systems: There are auxiliary systems in place that help student-athletes be the best they can on and off the field. These include:
Developing student-athletes is the heart of what a good coach does. The rubric covers several different areas that define how individual players and the team as a whole should progress. Progressive teaching: Practices and drills are designed in a progressive format to help team members develop and improve. All assistants teach basic drills in a consistent manner. Coaches use a drill sheet in practice to make sure they don’t leave out important parts of the lesson plan. Film of practices and games are watched with players to help them understand what they are being asked to do and to stimulate learning. Fulfilling potential: The coach is able to effectively develop a team to reach its
Below is a quick look at the criteria we evaluate coaches on for each of the four Coaching Essentials. > Team Cohesion Clear direction Rules and policies Explicit authority Stability Appropriate traditions Communication > Creating a Culture Culture of motivation Culture of respect Culture of responsibility Culture of safety
> Player Development Progressive teaching Fulfilling potential Support systems Feedback Rewards > Role Modeling Sportsmanship Ethics Cultural competency Authenticity Positive nature Working with assistants
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Four areas
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
LEADERSHIP
> Strength and conditioning programs that include speed, agility, and quickness training and testing procedures > Leadership development > Academic support > Post graduation opportunities and college recruiting. The coach makes sure that players avail themselves of these services. Systems are in place to reward athletes who utilize the tools. Feedback: The coach meets one on one with each player at least twice a year for a minimum of 10 minutes. Players are informed honestly regarding needed areas
resist negative impulses. The administration never hears of inappropriate treatment of students because the coach values his or her role as an educator. He or she takes the time at each practice to teach life lessons and always communicates in a respectful manner. Cultural competency: The coach understands how bias can affect relationships on a team and within a community. He or she works on developing cultural competency and teaches athletes how to be
respectful of people from different backgrounds. Authenticity: An authentic coach is honest in communicating and interacting with both players and parents while being sensitive to the needs of the individuals in the program. Team members feel the coach is concerned about their development and that their individual talents are recognized and nurtured. Positive nature: The coach brings a passionate, optimistic, and enthusiastic
To begin the annual evaluation meeting, I ask the coach for his or her thoughts about the season. A key leading question is, “If you had the season to do over again, what is one thing you would have done differently?” of improvement and steps they can take to perform better. The coach is available every day to offer feedback after practice and is perceived as being approachable by players and parents. Rewards: All team members are recognized individually at least once per season and there is a weekly and annual system of athlete awards. The coach communicates well with the media so that players get recognition locally, always reporting game statistics accurately and welcoming interviews. ROLE MODELING
We expect our coaches to be role models to our student-athletes. This requires them to be aware of their words and actions and committed to setting a high standard. Sportsmanship: The coach treats officials with respect and has thorough knowledge of the rules of fair play. Team members exhibit excellent sportsmanship and citizenship and never play out of control or disrespect officials or the game at any time. Ethics: Even outside of athletics the coach is beyond reproach. He or she has the maturity to keep emotions in check and
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Circle No. 138 RHC Competitor 2011 GoldStand-4.625x7.indd 1
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leadership
approach to his or her work each day. He or she does not hesitate to ask for administrative guidance when needed and takes constructive criticism well. Working with assistants: Assistant coaches are an integral part of the team. The head coach provides helpful feedback to assistant coaches and completes assistant coach evaluations within two weeks of the season’s end. RUBRIC IN ACTION
The above criteria are the centerpiece of every coach’s annual postseason evaluation meeting with me. Upon the completion of the season, I review all the notes I’ve made about the program, then fill in the rubric, determining if the coach is below standard, approaching standard, meeting standard, or exceeding standard for each criteria. I give a copy of the completed rubric to the coach. To begin the meeting, I ask the coach for his or her thoughts about the season. A key leading question is, “If you had the season to do over again, what is one thing you would have done differently?” This opens the dialogue and puts the coach at ease in what can be a taxing event, even for the most confident coaches. Ideally, you want
the coach to recognize his or her strengths and weaknesses—having him or her talk first sets this in motion. Next, I choose one of the coaching essentials that I feel the coach excels at and invite him or her to talk about it. I ask the coach what he or she does to maximize the effectiveness of this element. If there is one criteria within the coaching essential that did not meet or exceed standards, I’ll provide my ideas on how the coach can improve. The meeting progresses with the two of us talking about each coaching essential and the criteria within it. I ask questions and clarify any problem areas. The key is to get the coach to articulate why he or she did not do well in a certain performance area, so I can better mentor him or her to improvement. I’ll ask the coach what steps he or she will take to develop weaker areas and how I can help them. From there, I have coaches who are good in one area mentor others who are weak in that area. This mentoring helps build a
I have coaches who are good in one area mentor others who are weak in that area. This mentoring helps build a culture of trust and openness within the athletic department.
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culture of trust and openness within the athletic department. Sometimes the mentoring can be a formal program, but often it simply entails having one coach observing the other for a limited time or one coach speaking at a staff meeting about an area he or she excels at.
As an athletic director, I try to develop and mentor coaches in the same way a principal develops and mentors teachers. A rubric helps achieve that by clarifying standard expectations in the essential elements of the job. Not only will your coaches appreciate the clarity of this process, but the end-of-the-season evaluation will be a true developmental tool for the coach and the entire athletic program. n
th e s o u r c e f o r spor ts b ooster club s and teams
Vol. 8
AUG 2012
No. 1
guide
Fun with Food
Getting the most out of your concession stand l
wear it proud The secrets to successful apparel sales l
Also: case studies of unique and profitable fundraisers
www.fundr ais i n g for s p ort s .c om
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2012 fun d ra i si ng & promo t i o n s g u i d e
www . f u n d r a i s i n g f o r s p o r t s . c o m
CONTENTS Featured Companies.................................... FR2 Products and services to assist in your fundraising endeavors
Fun with Food.............................................. FR7
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If your concession stand has sold the same snacks and meals year after year, it may be time for an upgrade.
In the Books............................................... FR10 In Bethesda, Md., this booster club raises about $15,000 through its annual used book sale
Wear It Proud............................................ FR13 The secrets to successful apparel sales are a streamlined purchasing process and knowing what your customers want..
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Go Dog Go!............................................... FR16 Although dogs may not be welcomed at most 5K races, they’re specifically invited to the Decatur (Ga.) Bulldog Booster Club’s run.
Trivia Success............................................. FR18 In McHenry, Ill., about 100 people participated in the high school booster club’s 2nd Annual Trivia and Game Night.
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Going Cold Turkey..................................... FR20 The annual Turkey Dip in Griswold, Conn., starts with several brave souls jumping in a pond.
Granted Repairs......................................... FR22
When disaster struck, leaving a school gym in need of repair, a Vienna (Mo.) Eagles Booster Club member landed a grant.
Positive Cycle............................................. FR24
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About 60 cyclists participated in the Willows (Calif.) High School Booster Club’s third annual Farm to Forest fundraiser.
On Par with Profits..................................... FR26 After holding a golf tournament for several years, the Fountain Lake (Hot Springs, Ark.) Booster Club turned to miniature golf instead. All articles written by Kristin Maki, Editorial Assistant Cover photo: © istockphoto.com/hammondovi The Fundraising and Promotions Guide is published by MAG, Inc. and is distributed free to college and high school athletic directors and booster clubs in the United States and Canada. Copyright © 2012 by MAG, Inc. All rights reserved. Text may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
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FEATURED C OMPANIES
Badge-A-Minit
The StadiumChair Company
Badge-A-Minit buttons are great for fundraising and boosting school spirit. Fire up fans with buttons featuring your school’s mascot or name, ID event staff, and turn dance, sport, and class photos into keepsakes. Free ground shipping on all orders.
StadiumChair products are perfect for imprinting team mascots, making them ideal fundraisers. The chairs and cushions can be printed on both sides for sponsors who will pay to advertise their business. Fans will love the comfort and durability of these products.
Unique advantages of Badge-A-Minit’s fundraising products and services: • Buttons motivate students, boost support, and raise funds for your school and sports programs. • The Badge-A-Minit button maker can be used every year and pays for itself quickly. • Lifetime guarantee Web site includes: • Ways to use buttons • Customer stories • Hot Button Contest • Monthly specials
800-223-4103 • www.badgeaminit.com
Circle No. 625 | See ad on page FR19
Unique advantages of StadiumChair’s fundraising products and services: • The chair can be printed with the team mascot on one side, and the other side is open to sell to companies to advertise their business and show their support. • Booster clubs and schools can easily earn high returns for minimal efforts—the products almost sell themselves. • The popular StadiumChair is the most comfortable, highest-quality product on the market, giving the fan years of support and use.
800-242-7757 • www.stadiumchair.com
Circle No. 626 | See ad on page FR17
Gold Medal Products Co.
Sherwood Forest Farms
For 80-plus years, Gold Medal has led the concession industry with innovations and cost-saving equipment to help fundraisers keep more profits. Gold Medal is the one-stop source for equipment and supplies for the foods people can’t resist and profits you can bank on.
Sherwood Forest Farms has been providing quality wreaths and evergreens fundraising for almost sixty years. The evergreens are 100-percent guaranteed to be fresh. You decide your profit margin, your catalogs are complimentary, and your fundraiser is supported by Sherwood Forest’s customer-service team.
Unique advantages of Gold Medal’s fundraising products and services: • The foods are universally craved and make 75-percent or more profits. • The durable machines are a cinch to clean and run. • One-stop shopping to save you time and money.
Unique advantages of Sherwood Forest Farms’ fundraising products and services: • You decide the profit margin for the items you sell • All wreaths and evergreens are guaranteed to be fresh • Shipping and handling are included in the prices
Web site includes: • Online catalog and profit calculator • Support documents to increase profits/overall sales • Videos, webinars, and practical success stories • Additional profitable fundraising suggestions
800-543-0862 • www.gmpopcorn.com
Circle No. 627 | See ad on page FR9
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Web site includes: • Access to online tools for organizing your sale • Create your own flyers and forms online • Beautiful color photos of the products • Sales tips and testimonials from customers
800-767-7778 • www.sherwoodforestfarms.com Circle No. 628 | See ad on page FR19
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FEATURED C OMPANIES
JustFundraising.com
Diamond Yards Engraved Bricks
With $1 and $2 premium chocolate bars, cookie dough, reusable cloth bags, and gourmet lollipops, teams will find JustFundraising.com’s fast service, nationwide distribution, onecase minimum ordering, and easy-to-sell fundraising solutions a good fit for their needs.
Diamond Yards Engraved Bricks helps schools of all sizes raise the funds they need over and over again. Prices never increase once a program starts, and customers can take advantage of free delivery, free order form design, no minimum orders, and special incentive programs for all paver projects.
Unique advantages of JustFundraising.com’s fundraising products and services: • Up to 90-percent profit • No upfront cost on most fundraisers • Price-match guarantee • Easy-to-distribute, dry-mix cookie dough requires no refrigeration • Enviro-friendly, eco-chic reusable cloth bags are now available
Unique advantages of Diamond Yards’ fundraising products and services: • 10/10 program—for every 10 big bricks (4” x 8” or 8” x 8” bricks) ordered, the company donates one free brick • Rebate system for referrals • Everyone in the community has a chance to participate in fundraisers
Web site includes: • 25 proven fundraisers to choose from • Free gift for new customers • Free information kit
888-440-4114 • www.justfundraising.com Circle No. 629 | See ad on page FR26
812-430-2725 • www.diamondyardsbricks.com Circle No. 630 | See ad on page FR25
Registry for Excellence
Strapworks, LLC
When it comes to fundraising, choosing the right product to sell can be tough. Try a new approach with custom pewter items. They make a popular and profitable fundraiser for schools, churches, clubs, community projects, and more.
Strapworks provides a new approach to fundraising that includes a great profit margin for your fundraising efforts with unique products such as lanyards, wristbands, belts, bag straps, and mousepads that use your school colors and logos. Strapworks products are unique, collectable, and profitable.
Unique advantages of Registry for Excellence’s fundraising products and services: • Customizable to the specific event or project • Provides lifetime memento • Opportunity to produce substantial profits Web site includes: • Downloadable literature • Contact information • Testimonials • Product search feature
800-395-3551 x 490 • www.reg4ex.com
Circle No. 631 | See ad on page FR11
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Unique advantages of Strapworks’ fundraising products and services: • Unique, collectable products • Made in the USA • No order minimums Web site includes: • Easy navigation • Wide variety • Complete customization available • 10 product lines
541-741-0658 • www.moosepetwear.com Circle No. 632 | See ad on page FR11
F EATURED COMPANIES
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2012 fu n d ra i si ng & p ro m o t i o n s
Gone Logo
BigSigns.com
Gone Logo provides custom embroidery and screen-printing for high school and college fundraising projects. The company’s offerings include stadium chairs, T-shirts, hoodies, and hats. Gone Logo offers nationwide distribution along with online graphic design to help with any artwork needs.
As a national leader in stadium branding and sponsor signage, BigSigns.com is helping schools across the country drive new revenues with its unique products. Simple and cost-effective, BigSigns.com makes it easy for you to increase your corporate sponsorship.
Unique advantages of Gone Logo’s fundraising products and services: • Quick turnarounds • Combination pricing to maximize profits • Multiple color capabilities and combination discounts available
Unique advantages of BigSign.com’s fundraising products and services: • Cost-effective products to maximize your profits • Expertise from years working with pro, college, and major event sponsors • Free custom mock-ups provide you with visual aids to approach potential sponsors with confidence Web site includes: • Stadium branding and sponsorship signage product details • Completed project profiles • Online design proofing • Product info request with a quick quote
800-430-3875 • www.gonelogo.com
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800-790-7611 • www.bigsigns.com
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High School Blanket
SMi Awards
GroupRateIt now powers HighSchoolBlanket.com, creator of the popular Nubay Plush™ Spirit Wrap™ blankets. Group discounts combined with social media create a simple automated risk-free way to bring mascot themed blankets to your school at no cost.
To serve your recognition needs, SMi Awards offers fast delivery and prompt, dependable customer service that is backed by 25 years of business experience. The company’s in-house graphics department allows for unique and appropriate customization of awards to ensure quality, and SMi Awards stands 100-percent behind its products with an unparalleled satisfaction guarantee. SMi Awards now offers more than 300,000 unique fundraising and promotional products, all available on its Web site with easy search and filtering options.
Unique advantages of High School Blanket’s fundraising products and services: • Custom designs generate excitement and team pride • High profits and excellent value • No up-front payment requirement • Social media fundraising platform • Rich Participation Rewards Program • Free registration Web site includes: • Free online fundraising portal with a pre-sale shopping cart • Student voting section for custom school blanket design selection • Social media integration tools allow instant exposure through Facebook, Twitter, and Google+
877-747-1011 • www.highschoolblanket.com
Circle No. 635 | See ad on page FR-Inside Front Cover
Unique advantages of SMi Awards’ fundraising products and services: • Customized products allow boosters to generate funds and increase school and community morale • More than 300,000 fundraising and promotional products available on the company’s Web site • The company stands behind its products, answers customers’ phone calls and questions, and guarantees satisfaction.
800-326-8463 • www.smiawards.com
Circle No. 636 | See ad on page FR21
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FEATURED C OMPANIES
Aer-Flo, Inc.
Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program
Aer-Flo manufactures baseball, football, and track tarps used by major colleges and the NFL. The company’s custom multi-color imprinting capabilities allow booster clubs and organizations to sell vivid advertising that is highly visible at every game.
The Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program is a profitable, easy, and fun way to raise the money you need and earn big dough.The more you sell, the more profit you earn per item—from $5-$7 for every kit sold.
Unique advantages of Aer-Flo’s fundraising products and services: • Ad-imprinted tarps and protectors can be used at every game • Imprinted windscreens are highly visible to spectators • Large, vivid imprinted advertising is easy to sell • Large ads, plus large companies, equals large ad-income • Fewer sales calls to produce large income • Permanent imprinted ads result in repeat income
Unique advantages of Little Caesars’ fundraising products and services: • Big profit • Big brand means big sales • Quality and value
800-823-7356 • www.aerflo.com
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Web site includes: • Run your sale from start to finish online • Download announcement letters, reminder messages, and more • View products, ingredients, and nutritional information • Buy Pizza Kits online with home delivery
888-4-LC-KITS • www.PizzaKit.com Circle No. 638 | See ad on page FR21
Wenger Corp.
Athletic Management Program Services
The GearBoss family of products offers innovative solutions for athletic facilities and equipment, including the Mobile Kiosk for selling school-spirit items. The family-owned Wenger Corporation is headquartered in Owatonna, Minn., where the company was founded in 1946.
Introducing a new service from Athletic Management magazine…Let us help you design and print game programs—and yearbooks—at an affordable price so you can make money from selling local ads. We can do all the work or save you money by working with your existing materials and staff—it’s up to you.
Unique advantages of Wenger’s fundraising products and services: • Mobile Kiosk offers indoor/outdoor versatility and professional-looking display • Mobility enables daily use around school • Removable bins organize merchandise • Selling branded apparel and souvenirs feeds self-supporting cycle by raising funds and visibility
We’ve produced custom publications in the following areas: • Championship Season Celebration • Anniversary of a Special Team or Event • Athletics Department Year-in-Review • Event Program • Charitable Causes • Athletics Department Magazine
Web site includes: • Fundraising guide with branding and merchandising tips • Facilities planning guide with guidelines and worksheets • Ordering information • Information request form
800-4WENGER (493-6437) www.wengercorp.com/GearBoss Circle No. 639 | See ad on page IFC
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Contact Publisher Mark Goldberg at (607) 257-6970 ext. 11 or mg@MomentumMedia.com
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with food If your concession stand has sold the same snacks and meals year after year, it may be time for an upgrade.
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or community members in Mattoon, Ill., the Friday night decision—should we go to the high school football game or out to dinner?—is a no brainer. They can do both at the same time, thanks to a great concession stand run by the Mattoon Athletic Booster Club. At the first game of the year, there is a pork chop dinner that Mattoon fans anticipate all summer long. The subsequent contests feature steak sandwiches containing grilled rib-eye steaks, and every game has pulled pork barbeque sandwiches, and quarter-pound all-beef hot dogs. Mattoon doesn’t just have great food, but also a well-run stand—the two keys to success in concession operations. If what you offer is appealing and service is fast and friendly, there is no limit to how much revenue a booster club can bring in with its concession stand.
BEYOND HOT DOGS Conventional wisdom says high school concession stands should offer standard fare—hot dogs and hamburgers—that appeals to the masses. However, some schools are having success introducing new or different items. “The lines at our Popcorn Shed are amazingly long,” says booster club secretary Kathy Crawford. “We usually make popcorn from the minute we open until we close. We’ve been told that we have the best popcorn in our conference.”
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At Mattoon, the booster club gets parent help by sharing profits with student groups. Any group interested enters a lottery, and the order in which names are drawn determines the order of parent-volunteers.
At Glenbrook (Ill.) North High School, the booster club usually introduces something new annually. “We like to try things that might be interesting for the kids—even if it’s just a new type of candy each year,” says concession stand co-chair Julie Lerman. “A couple of years ago, we decided to try nachos. They have sold well at some of the games, and were a nice addition. “We added hot pretzels last year,” she continues. “We buy them frozen at Sam’s Club and heat them in our microwave. When we’re adding new things, we look for items that have a reasonably long shelf life. Then if they don’t sell like hot cakes, we can still have them available and prepare them when they’re requested.” Glenbrook North has also realized success by adding a gourmet touch now and then. “We often buy skirt steaks a few days before our home football games and then one of our volunteer grillers, who is a great cook, takes them home and marinates them,” says Lerman. “At the game, we’ll sell grilled skirt steak sandwiches on big French bread rolls. Even though we price them at eight or nine dollars, they sell out almost every time.”
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At Mattoon, along with the upscale meat offerings, selling popcorn is a huge hit. The club set up a “Popcorn Shed,” where fresh popcorn pops all game long and cold beverages are sold.
SMOOTH OPERATIONS Great ideas in food offerings will go flat, however, if service is slow. Since most clubs use parent volunteers to staff the concession booth, there must be a system in place to ensure everything runs smoothly. The first rule is to have enough people at the booth. “If I see a concession stand with only two people working, and 25 people standing in a single-file line, I think, ‘Are you people crazy?’” says Lerman. “Customers will decide to just forget it, because they don’t want to stand in that kind of line. “We’ll have eight to 12 people working a football game,” she continues. “Usually one person makes popcorn, two people wrap sandwiches, four or five people are at the counter, and someone is covering the drinks. We also have the stations set up so we aren’t all bumping into each other.” The Mattoon club has developed a
specific plan to help lines move fast. “We have two windows in the stand, and each window has two stations, so we put a money box in the middle of each window,” Crawford says. “If two people are at each window, we have a third person who listens to the order and gets the food that was requested,” she continues. “We have a lot of little tricks like that to make it go more smoothly.” Also important is simple pricing. “We round off the price to an easy amount for the parents who work at the stand to deal with,” Crawford says. “We try to keep everything ending in a zero— like one dollar, two dollars, or fifty cents.” To ensure enough parent volunteers are at the stand, Glenbrook North and Mattoon have different strategies. The Glenbrook North booster club supports all of the athletic teams at its school, and all of the money made at its concession stand goes back to a central fund. Student-athletes’ parents are assigned work shifts, based on the athletic seasons. For example, during the basketball season, the parents of the j.v. team members may be assigned to work at the varsity team’s games. “It’s hard to explain it to other schools sometimes, because they don’t know how we get all the parents to work,” says Lerman. “But it’s just part of our school’s culture, so it’s normal for people to help out. I think parents enjoy participating
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with their kids’ sports. And they know that it helps all of the teams, so they appreciate that, too.” At Mattoon, the booster club gets parent help by sharing profits with student groups. Any group interested enters a lottery, and the order in which names are drawn determines the order of parent-volunteers for the concession stand at the home football games. “We don’t have enough booster club volunteers to do it, so we have to get help,” Crawford explains. “We share some of the profits with the group, which helps them raise money. So at every home football game, we have a different group of parents working in the concession stand, whether they’re from an athletic team or an academic club. We’re still there to answer questions and help out, but most of the workers are from a specific club.”
STOCKING UP Another important ingredient to a successful stand is having the right amount of product. The two main considerations are the popularity and shelf life of items, while clubs also weigh the convenience of restocking against the amount of storage space available. For the Mattoon booster club, which purchases most of its stock through a local supplier, receiving frequent deliveries works well. “We have limited storage, so we reorder all of the meat supplies and things like nachos and cheese frequently,” Crawford says. “We get delivery a day or two after ordering, and it’s very simple.” The Glenbrook North booster club shops in bulk at Costco and Sam’s Club, and keeps an eye on the amount of inventory that is in stock. “My co-
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chair and I have a good idea of how much to buy,” Lerman says. “This is the fourth year that we’ve been doing it, so we know from our experience, and we also talked to the people who did it before us. “We try to gauge the cooking based on what’s been selling,” she continues. “And if we do have things that are left over, and haven’t been cooked, we can keep them in the freezer for our next event.” One final piece of advice from Crawford is to work hand-in-hand with your athletic director. “Along with having a core group of hard-working parent volunteers, it helps if you have an awesome athletic director, like we do,” she says. “He helps with communication, cooperation, and information from the department. It makes everything else that we do so much easier.” l
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in the
books In Bethesda, Md., this booster club raises about $15,000 through its annual used book sale, which attracts both book enthusiasts and dealers from far and wide.
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he Walter Johnson All School Booster Club has been holding its annual used book sale for eight years, which has taken off in a big way over the last few years. The idea is simple: Local community members donate books, and the boosters organize and sell them through a two-day event in the spring. “It’s grown nicely every year,” says book sale Co-Chair Lisa Weed. “We’ve put more effort into promoting the sale, and we’ve also recruited a lot more volunteers every year.” During the first day, books are priced between $1 and $3, although there is some variation based on size and content. For example, small board books for babies and toddlers are typically four for $1, while a large coffeetable book may be priced higher than $3. On the second day, attendees fill a bag of books for $10 or a box for $15. On the first day of the sale, there is a $5 entry fee for the first hour, which was a new addition to this year’s sale. “We get a lot of book dealers from a 100-mile radius,” Weed explains. “They’re highly motivated to be one of the first people in the sale, and they start lining up about an hour before the event opens in the morning. They were happy to pay $5 to get the best access to the books, and we found that it’s a great way to boost our revenue—we made about $700 just from that.” Getting everything set for the sale takes about three months. Right before the school goes on its winter break,
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“We use volunteerspace.com, which allows people to directly sign up to volunteer for particular work sites and tasks ... Once you register your event, the Web site helps with coordinating the volunteers’ schedules.”
Weed puts a notice about the sale on the school’s list-serve. “In December, I let people know that we will begin collecting donations of used books right after the school’s break, so maybe they’ll gather up their used books over the holidays,” she says. “Then we collect those books at the school from the beginning of January through the end of February.” During the same timeframe, the other co-chair of the event starts recruiting volunteers. “A used book sale includes a lot of physical work,” Weed says. “You’re slinging books around. We collect about 25,000 books, and we’ve found that you’ll kill yourself if you try to do it on your own. While I work on advertising and soliciting books, my co-chair recruits and manages the volunteers. By the time the whole thing is done, we have over 100 volunteers enlisted.
“There are probably 20-25 parent volunteers who make up our core group,” she continues. “Once we’ve been collecting books for three or four weeks, we get together with that group once a week and start sorting through the books and categorizing them into genres.” The club also uses the Internet to recruit and schedule volunteers for the sale. “We use volunteerspace.com, which allows people to directly sign
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up to volunteer for particular work sites and tasks,” Weed says. “Once you register your event, the Web site helps with coordinating the volunteers’ schedules. Using this mechanism has been essential for us, since we have so many volunteers.” The books are dropped off and stored at the school, which has been valuable for the club—both in having the ability to accept donations during school hours, and in reducing the amount of moving required for the
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wear it proud
The secrets to successful apparel sales are a streamlined purchasing process and knowing what your customers want.
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t’s a great way to spread school spirit.”
That’s how Kim Solomon, spirit-wear chairperson for the Glenbrook (Ill.) North High School Booster Club, sums up her work overseeing apparel sales for the group. Of course, spirit wear can also bring in a good amount of revenue. So how do you make this endeavor a boon for your booster club? First, the purchasing process must be simple for customers. “We try to make it easy for people to buy our spirit wear,” Solomon says. “We are at the home football games and we come to the school during the day at least a few times each year—when we do that, we’ll come and set up one day, so students can see what we have. Then we’ll come back the next day, in case any of them want to buy something and need to bring cash from home. We also allow our customers to order online.” Although the club doesn’t have an online store, a PDF version of its order sheet is available on its Web site. Customers simply fill the form out on their computers and e-mail it to Solomon. “We put the form online last year to make ordering easier,” she says. “This year, we added a Facebook page that includes photos of our items and we’ve been sending e-mail blasts to our mailing list. “For example, during our last holiday sale, we took our $38 sweatshirt and put it on sale for $30,” Solomon continues. “I sent an e-mail message saying the hoodies were $8 off the regular price and would make a great holiday gift. I attached a flyer and an order form to that message, and it ended up being a very profitable sale.” Another option is setting up an online store, which has been successful for the booster club at Churchill High School in Potomac, Md. “Our
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“I pick a new vendor based on their professionalism and merchandise... I have two that are affiliated with national brands, one who can get things done on-the-fly, and then one who deals with everything from pajama pants to sweatshirts.” for both the Glenbrook North and Churchill clubs are hooded sweatshirts and T-shirts. “A high quality hoodie is always our most popular item,” says Solomon. “But since those are a little more expensive, we also try to have some other products that everyone can afford, such as T-shirts.”
only upfront cost in creating the store was paying for our logos to be added to the site,” says Churchill booster club member Allyson Bergman. “Our online store sells many clothing and novelty items, as well as season passes for each sport season. “The company we contracted with maintains the inventory and orders are shipped directly to the purchaser,” she continues. “I will periodically check the items that are offered or ask for items to be added if students are looking for something special.” The second key to achieving great sales is offering apparel that appeals to your audience. The biggest sellers
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Solomon also scopes out what colleges are selling when weighing Glenbrook North’s options. “There’s nothing a high school student likes more than the items that look like collegiate merchandise,” Solomon says. “When I’m visiting colleges with my daughter, I’ll go in their book stores and take pictures with my phone and show them to my suppliers when I get back. Then we work together to come up with something similar for our items. It’s a great way to see what the kids will want to wear—and you can do it just by visiting. You can also view it by going on Web sites, but I like actually seeing the merchandise in front of me.” When it comes to adding new items, there is some risk, however. “You have to be willing to pay the price of adding a new screen or a new logo, which adds up quickly,” Solomon says. “I try to do that over the summer, when I’m reordering and getting new stock. Then I’ll stick with those items throughout the year, but maybe add
something fun once in a while, if it comes up. “For example, mid-way through last year, we added a loose-fitting black tank top with neon writing across the front,” she continues. “Everyone was wearing these tank tops that had a local camp’s name printed on them, and my daughter thought it would be neat if we did it with our high school’s name. We kept the cost under $20 and now the kids can have something fun to wear going into summer.” Both clubs place the majority of their orders through local vendors. The Churchill club has four main aspects it considers when selecting a vendor: the quality of the product, the finished product meeting the club’s specifications, the order’s turnaround time, and the price. For the Glenbrook North boosters, the same ideas apply. “Good vendors will stand behind their merchandise and let you know when they have an item on sale,” says Solomon. “I buy mostly from the same three or four suppliers, and I have a really good relationship with them. Over time, I’ve gotten to know them and what they carry. “I pick a new vendor based on their professionalism and merchandise,” she continues. “I have two that are affiliated with national brands, one who can get things done on-thefly, and then one who deals with everything from pajama pants to sweatshirts. I also make sure my vendors use the Pantone Matching System for their printing. If they have that system, I know the colors will come out exactly as I’m expecting.” Although it takes some work, spending the time to find and stock items that community members, alumni, and students will enjoy is rewarding. “It’s fun when you see someone in a T-shirt that you developed, or people strike up a conversation just from recognizing the school name on a sweatshirt,” Solomon says. “It’s a great way to show school pride in and out of your community.” l
Chroma-Bond® IMPRINTING TODAY’S MOST DURABLE VINYL IMPRINTING PROCESS Our exclusive double coating process eliminates the problems of digital printing, such as premature fading, image scuffing, and unsightly white fabric backside color. Chroma-Bond imprints last as long as the fabric because it literally BONDS into the vinyl, making it ultra-resistant to weathering and sun UV exposure. Its double coating completely masks the underlying fabric color, producing vivid images in true colors on any color of vinyl, whether solid or mesh. Images do not scuff off from repeated cleat, spike, or racquet contact. Our skilled American craftspeople use state-of-the-art graphics technology to produce logos, lettering and images in your school colors.
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TRACK PROTECTOR Resists and cushions against cleats, shoes, and wheeled equipment. Steel chain in reinforced vinyl edging keeps it down in high winds. Available in both standard and custom sizes and border colors. Thousands used by high schools.
Numbers and logos on VIPOL Matrix in same 20 Tuffy Windscreen colors. Unlike others, these will last for many years.
Bench Zone® SIDELINE TURF PROTECTORS HELPS PROTECT PLAYERS & GROUNDS CREW AGAINST MRSA Made of VIPOL Matrix so cleats do not penetrate, but rain, sports drinks, sweat, etc. drain thru and are not absorbed. Air & sunlight get thru too, so it can stay down longer without damaging grass. Simply hose off to clean. Get-back line can be imprinted or combo of 2 colors (both shown). Available in 20 VIPOL colors shown below. Used by 75+% of NFL and NCAA Div I teams with natural grass fields.
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Made of super tough VIPOL® Matrix mesh, it’s virtually tear-proof because it contains over 50% more micro-fibers than conventional vinyl windscreens. VIPOL Matrix edging all around, with highest quality brass grommets every 12”, eliminates the nagging problem of grommets pulling out. Every end and corner is double lockstitched to eliminate the unraveling problem of fully chain-stitched windscreens. Available in 20 vibrant VIPOL colors shown above. 100% American made and backed by a 5 year factory warranty. Official Windscreen of the US Professional Tennis Association Used by NCAA, MLB, and NFL teams
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dog go Although dogs may not be welcomed at most 5K races, they’re specifically invited to the Decatur (Ga.) Bulldog Booster Club’s Frostbite 5K-Run With the Dogs.
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n Jan. 7, about 300 people and 80 dogs lined up to run the Decatur Bulldog Booster Club’s Frostbite 5K-Run With the Dogs. The 2012 race was the event’s seventh—and most successful— year, bringing in $5,000 for the Decatur (Ga.) High School boosters. Originally, the race was called “Run with the Big Dogs,” which referred to individuals who had joined the booster club at a high membership level. “But it struggled early on, because there are lots of runs that people go to, and this one wasn’t any different,” says booster club member Bill Ainslie. “Then one year, after several people brought their dogs, someone said, ‘Why don’t we make it run with the dogs—literally?’ So three or four years ago we did. We recruited vets and pet supply stores as sponsors, and we tried to get the word out through them, saying, ‘Yes, bring your dogs!’” Many of the details of the race cater to the canine element. For example, along with offering race T-shirts, there are race bandanas for the dogs. “We try to think in terms of the owners who bring these dogs, because they think of their dogs as part of the family and racers, too,” Ainslie says. “So we try to incorporate the dogs and make it both an human-centric and a canine-centric sort of event. “We have water bowls at the water station, in case the dogs want to stop,” he continues. “We also
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have water bowls and doggy treats at the start and finish—just like the people get bananas and bagels and bottles of water. And there is a photo booth, so owners can get a picture taken with their dogs.” Planning the event starts about one year prior to the actual race when the club obtains a permit from Decatur to hold the event, and gets the date set on the city’s calendar. This has to be done far in advance, since the city has a limit of one race per month. Most of the work, however, is done four or five months before race day, and is made much easier through the hiring of a race director. “Getting the director takes a lot of race day logistics off our plate,” Ainslie says. “We use a person who has worked with our race for years. It’s worth it for us to pay him to take care of the details. And the race is getting
“We also have water bowls and doggy treats at the start and finish ... And there is a photo booth, so owners can get a picture taken with their dogs.” big enough that we really need his expertise.” Ainslie’s advice for other clubs interested in holding a similar event is to be aware that holding a race is a big investment. “As attractive as a run seems for raising money, it’s an iffy proposition starting out,” Ainslie says. “If you go in knowing there’s an initial cost, you can approach sponsors to try to defray it upfront. Then the runners’ registration fees are just gravy. That’s what we shoot for, taking care of our expenses with sponsorships.” Ainslie sells sponsorships by pushing the value of businesses connecting
with the community through the event. “We allow them to set up a table, whether it’s a vet clinic or an athletic shoe place,” he says. “Most of them feel they receive a fairly decent return just getting their name out.” It’s also important to note that building the event can take a while. “Just because a run doesn’t make money one year, that doesn’t mean it’s not going to the next year,” Ainslie says. “A lot depends on weather and timing. My advice would be to plan it with your eyes open, knowing that you’re going to have to invest into the race.” l
Budget Cuts? Cushion the Blow By Selling Imprinted Stadium Chairs -- The Best Seat in the House • Generate More Income • Spend Less Effort • Earn Greater Return – Faster
High quality Stadium Chairs are perfect for imprinting or embroidering team mascots. Sell this comfortable, patented Stadium Chair to fans and parents – earning higher returns for the booster club – with less effort. The two-piece canvas back can be printed on BOTH SIDES one side from Team Mascot, one side for Sponsor Logos. Contact us for the name of your Local Dealer.
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For a guide on how Stadium Chairs can be used for fundraising, go to www.stadiumchair.com Circle No. 147
Booster Club Guide to Fundraising
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trivia
success In McHenry, Ill., about 100 people participated in the McHenry Warrior Booster Club’s 2nd Annual Trivia and Game Night, raising over $3,000 for the club.
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earching for a new fundraising idea two years ago, the McHenry (Ill.) Warrior Booster Club didn’t have to look too far. “Another school in our area has had a game night for years and years,” says McHenry Booster Club member Jean Benedetto. “We took the base model from the other school, and we have made it our own.” The night entails teams competing against one another in several games, which consist of answering trivia questions. Answers to the trivia questions are written down and collected by the event’s designated “table runners.” At the end of the event, scores are tallied to determine the winners. One of the ways the McHenry Club has made the night unique is by incorporating an added competition that sparks team spirit among attendees. “People theme their own tables and decorate them, then at the end of the night, we have an award for the best one,” Benedetto says. “People really get into it—some of the ideas people had this year were great,” she continues. “We had the Eastside Einsteins, and they all dressed up as nerds, with fake laptops on their table. Another group came as the Trivia Troopers. They were all in combat gear and had big tanks on their table. One of the other teams had a big brain in the middle of the table, and
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“People like having a local connection— whether it’s questions about the town or the high school ... It’s nice having something more personal included in the games.”
they all had headbands that hooked into the brain.” As another way of making the event its own, the booster club included a round of local trivia. “People like having a local connection—whether it’s questions about the town or the high school,” Benedetto notes. “It’s nice having something more personal included in the games.” In addition to the local round, the evening featured five rounds of trivia, several raffles, and a silent auction. Items for the auction and raffles were donated from local businesses. All of the high school sports teams were also invited to put together as many baskets as they wanted for raffles— with the money from those baskets going directly back to the team. “It’s an option, so of course not everyone did it,” Benedetto says. “But if they did, they were able to raise some
wanted to to see it in town. This year, having it at a banquet hall was more expensive. But since we were doing a fundraiser, the owner cut us a deal.”
money for their team without having to hold their own fundraiser, so that was a nice perk.” Preliminary planning for the booster club’s Game and Trivia Night started in October 2011. Within a few weeks of setting the date, the club made arrangements to hold the event at a local banquet hall.
As far as making a profit, Benedetto suggests covering costs through registration fees. The McHenry Club set prices at $25 for an individual and $300 for a corporate table. “Then everything else you do at the event is profit,” she says. “It just gives you an easy guideline—you know your costs, and you know you’re never losing money. Then you’re only making money, and that’s a good thing.” l
“Last year we had it at a facility that was a bit out of town because we couldn’t get another venue,” Benedetto says. “That was one of the big changes people suggested—they
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cold turkey The annual Turkey Dip in Griswold, Conn., is more than jumping in a pond. It’s part of a fundraising event that brought in $5,000 for the high school booster club.
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hile most people are getting their turkeys in the oven, the Griswold (Conn.) High School Booster Club starts Thanksgiving morning with its annual Turkey Dip. The activities begin on Wednesday night with a pasta dinner, followed the next morning with the Turkey Dip, during which community members turn in sponsorship money they raised, and jump in the venue’s pond. The afternoon features an annual football game against a rival school. All three events serve as fundraisers—and brought in $5,000 this year— but the Turkey Dip is the most unique. Griswold Booster Club President Laurie Sorder believes the Turkey Dip has become a staple for the community’s Thanksgiving activities. With the 2011 event marking its ninth year, it is well known throughout the community, and draws numerous spectators. “We have donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate for the people who come to watch,” Sorder says. “We always get a lot of people who come to watch and take pictures and support the people who are jumping. It’s a nice time for the community to get together.” Both community members and students participate, raising money by asking people to sponsor them. Although there has always been high participation among community members in the past, student involvement was lacking. In order to bolster participation, the club started offering incentives to reward the student who
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receives the highest sponsorship. Along with increasing students’ interest and sparking friendly competition, the amount of funds raised has increased.
The club also decided to give a gift card to the third place winner, who raised over $700. In the future, it will incorporate three prizes into the event.
“For the incentive, the student that raised the most money in sponsorships got an iPod,” Sorder says. “The next year we graduated to an iPad, and found that to be a really nice incentive. We’ve gotten more students involved and they got more sponsorships—our top participant this year raised $1,009.”
Although overall participation has not grown exponentially, the amount of money that is raised has increased, as well as the community attendance and support. This is partly due to a local radio station’s involvement, which includes a live broadcast of the event.
This year, the second highest fundraiser received a prize of $100. “We made an impromptu decision at the event,” Sorder explains. “Our second place participant raised $1,000, so we wanted to reward this student as well.”
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“We have an MC set up with a microphone, blasting music from the radio station,” Sorder says. “Then we hold a 50-50 raffle, which is a great way to involve the people who aren’t jumping in the water, and that usually gives us about $500. We just try to take advantage of every opportunity that we have.”
Sorder’s advice to others is to plan well and advertise the event when you are first starting. Once it becomes a tradition, however, word of mouth spreads and it becomes easier every year. “Now we’re at the point where it’s very routine, and takes about a month to plan,” she says. “We start getting our flyers out at the end of October, and we really don’t have to do much else. In the beginning, it takes a lot of advertising and you have to realize it is going to grow, because the word has to get out. “It’s a fun event,” she continues. There are some people there that really, really like jumping in. I know a few who come down every year, and I’m thinking, ‘oh gosh, she’s crazy,’ but they love it.” l
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granted
repairs When disaster struck, leaving a school gym in need of repair, a Vienna (Mo.) Eagles Booster Club member landed a grant from a Utah-based software company.
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he Vienna (Mo.) Eagles Athletic Booster Club always keeps an eye out for grants to apply for as part of its fundraising strategy. When booster club member Lisa Jones saw a message in her e-mail inbox about a $10,000 grant being offered by New Dawn Technologies, based in Logan, Utah, she knew it was something she wanted to look into. New Dawn Technologies provides software to justices and government professionals to improve their services. To celebrate its 15-year anniversary, New Dawn offered a grant to represent its commitment to improving communities. The New Dawn Community Grant was open to all groups and organizations, as long as the funds would be used for a community-based project. In filling out the application, Jones wrote how winning the grant would help the booster club reach its lofty goal of repairing the school gym, which had been damaged by a flood. The club’s members wanted to make $55,000 worth of repairs, and having a $10,000 grant would get them started. “I explained in simple terms the situation we were facing,” Jones says. “We were flooded, and our gymnasium roof had been damaged. Water leaked into the gym and onto the floor, which caused the floor to buckle. The walls were peeling off from the moisture in the gymnasium, and part of the lighting had shorted out. I also wrote about how we’re a small town of about 600 people and the gym is the heart of our community—even though they would get applications from much larger places, the impact for us is bigger than it may be to some others.”
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The application format required an essay, with a few paragraphs explaining the need. The end product that Jones submitted was about 400 words. “It didn’t take long, probably about 20 minutes—I did it on my lunch hour,” she says. “It was easy to write because I know the subject and could speak from the heart.” After the application had been sent, further damage occurred and the gym had to be closed, which was a tough blow for the community. Upon receiving notification of the successful grant application, the club spread the news. “It was absolutely amazing when the news hit our little town,” says booster club president Vicki Bates. “When we won the grant, our bank heard about it and gave us another $10,000, and we also had the estate of an elderly lady who was a long-time supporter of
our school give us $10,000. Being able to earn that much just by using the media and getting the word out was amazing. “After we had those donations come in and we received the grant, we held a couple of fundraisers to keep things going,” she continues. “We put together a T-shirt quilt, where we took old school spirit T-shirts and sewed them together, and raffled it off. We made almost $600 with that. Then we had a steak night with a pie auction, where we sold steak dinners and had the kids all bring in something to raffle. We raised $5,400 that night.” Along with finding and applying for grants, Jones has some grant-writing tips to share: • It’s important that you have community support, and that you work as a team to identify the
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issues that matter most. Having a solid understanding of the club and community’s needs makes it easier to express them clearly in the application. • Have a plan in place for how you’re going to effect change if you receive the grant. Write about how the money will fit into your plans and make a difference in the community. • Be sincere in your plea, and be honest in explaining everything. Don’t exaggerate your need. Rather, explain what you need, and how it will be used. • Write from the heart. It helps if you have a background with the club, and fully support its cause within the community. When you have this personal involvement, it’s easier to convey the importance of the project—which will help your application stand out. l
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pOSITIVE
CYCLE About 60 cyclists participated in the Willows (Calif.) High School Booster Club’s third annual Farm to Forest fundraiser, which raised $1,500 for the club.
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ith a small community of about 4,500 residents, the Willows (Calif.) High School Booster Club wanted to develop a fundraiser that would draw people from neighboring towns. Its solution was a bike riding challenge, held in April, which attracts participants from throughout the region. “Our club has several fundraisers every year, including our tri-tip steak booth at the home football games, a golf tournament in August, and a Christmas tree booth in December,” says booster club member Adele Foley. “When we came up with the idea of having the Farm to Forest bike ride, we were hoping to have an event that wouldn’t ask the same group of people for more support.” The fundraiser targets bicyclists who enjoy challenging scenic rides rather than competitive races. The route starts at a park that is near Willows High School, which is located in the floor of the valley, and has several neighboring farms. It then takes riders past forested mountains. Participants pay an entrance fee and can choose among several options. This year, the club offered four divisions with varied difficulty and expense. They included a 104-mile Challenge ($45, with lunch along the route included), a 75-mile Avoid the Challenge ($40, with lunch along the route included), a 35-mile Scenic ($30), and a 14-mile Beginners/Kids ($10). All participants, and members of the community, could also purchase $10 tickets for a dinner in the evening.
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“We want it to be a lot of fun for all different types of riders,” says Foley. “Our toughest route has an elevation climb of 5,000 feet but many of our participants prefer riding on flat terrain, or do not have experience with a steep elevation climb. Several participants are just happy to be out for a scenic ride, so we have incorporated the shorter distances for them.” The ride has gotten bigger every year, both in terms of participants, and in ways to make the riders more comfortable. “We have added a bike mechanic to our lineup of race volunteers,” Foley says. “And this year, we had ham [amateur] radio operators at each of the rest stops. There isn’t reception for cell phones in the higher elevations, and we wanted riders to have a way of contacting the sag wagon, which is a support vehicle Personalized Logo • Text for cyclists, or the mechanic, if they Indelibly Marked • Prevent needed help.”
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It takes months of planning and a significant amount of work before the participants can head out on the fit basketballs, morning of the ride. To begin with, softballs, etc. the club contacts the sheriff’s office to confirm the route, and notify authorities about the ride. Other important details at this stage of planning include recruiting volunteers, designing and ordering T-shirts for the participants, and confirming sponsors that help out with some of the race’s expenses, such as renting portable toilets.
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Next, the club works on publicizing the ride. “We get the advertising underway by writing articles to run in the local newspapers and we paint signs to put up by the road,” Foley says. “This year, we also spoke on the local television station about the event, and ran ads in Cycle magazine. To get help with registering the riders, as well as promoting the event, we put our information on Signmeup.com.”
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As the event gets closer, the club asks the community to donate supplies to make the day an all-around success. “This year we started at 7:00 a.m., with donuts and Starbucks coffee during our registration,” Foley says. “We have a lunch stop on both our 75 and 100 mile rides, along with our
other rest stops. Then, after the ride is finished, we have a dinner that everyone can attend, so we need a lot of food for the day. We ended up with a delicious dinner, featuring rosemary barbequed chicken, several side dishes, and brownies for dessert. It was a great way to end the event.” l
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on par with profits
After holding a golf tournament for several years, the Fountain Lake (Hot Springs, Ark.) Booster Club turned to miniature golf instead.
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ith golf course rental fees hovering around $5,000, the Fountain Lake High School Booster Club in Hot Springs, Ark., felt it needed to consider events that don’t carry such a hefty investment. It wondered if miniature golf was the answer and started to price out rental fees. “One of the schoolteachers and her husband own a mini-golf course in our town, and we asked for a quote,” says booster club member Verna Taylor. “She offered to let us use it for free, which made the decision to go ahead with the new tournament easy. It was good for us and good for the venue—they got a lot of advertising from it.” The tournament drew about 30 contestants, and lasted from 9:00 a.m. until noon on May 5. Participants paid $10 to play, and the booster club also brought in money through sponsors and concessions. At the end of the day, it had raised $2,300, which was on par with the amount made through its most recent golf fundraisers. During registration the mini-golfers were placed in one of five age categories: under 5 years old, 5-10, 11-12, 13-15, and 16 through adult, although they could play the course with their family or friends in any age group. After completing the course, a person’s score was added to the scoreboard, which was updated with each completed card. “I was surprised at what a good time the kids had watching that,” Taylor says. “They would turn their scorecard in, and
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then keep coming back to look at the board. It was a lot of fun for them to see the names and scores get bumped and moved around.” Participants did not have to stay while the other contestants finished the course, but most did. The club had refreshments available, which allowed people to eat and socialize while they were waiting for the results. Once all the scorecards were in, the final tallies were made and prizes awarded. “We gave first and second place trophies in each category,” Taylor says. “And we split the adult group into men and women with a small monetary prize for them— $25, $15, and $10 for first, second, and third.” Prior to the tournament, coaches for the 12 high school sports each recruited at least three hole sponsors, as they had done for the golf tournament in previous years, charging $50 for a sponsorship. “On the morning of the event, we placed our little golf signs for the sponsors on the course, along the venue’s fence, and by the highway,” says Taylor. “That attracted attention for us and gave the sponsors more advertising, too.” To publicize the event, the club prepared flyers to be placed throughout the town. “As soon as we had our meeting in January, we started working on our flyers,” Taylor says. “Then we hit the pavement and talked it up. Participants are only going to be as excited as you can make them be. If it sounds exciting, they’ll look forward to coming.” l
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Alton (IL) Senior High School Boys’ Bowling. The Keglers repeated as
In the spring of 2002, Athletic Management and athletic directors nationwide lost a very good friend. Randy Nash, president of Cabana Banners in Brookings, S.D., unexpectedly passed away while telling his passionate story of Cabana Banners to a group of local entrepreneurs. Like so many ADs around the country, we, at Athletic Management, consider ourselves fortunate to have had the pleasure of working with Randy. He was committed to serving his customers, and passionate about high school and college athletics. He was a person with outstanding character—the type of person we all aspire to be. Indeed, Athletic Management and athletic directors in general miss Randy Nash very much. Randy was directed by a simple motto: “Play hard, play fast, play fair, and always leave a legacy.” Randy’s legacy continues to thrive in his family, in Cabana Banners, and in the many gymnasiums in which his banners hang. Randy played a very large role in the creation of our Salute to Champions program, now in its tenth year. We are pleased to dedicate the Salute to Champions program to the memory of Randy Nash, as a way to honor his devotion and commitment to school athletics. Here is Athletic Management’s salute to this year’s winners:
58 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
champions by sharing the Southwestern Conference and the IHSA sectional titles. It was the first back-to-back conference crowns for Alton in any sport since 1976. They advanced to the state finals for the sixth straight season, finishing sixth. The team set a school record with a 3,379 series on Dec. 6, 2011.
University of California, Santa Barbara Sports Clubs. The UCSB Sports Clubs have won 61 national championships, including a fifth consecutive women’s soccer title in 2012. In 2011, the women’s Ultimate Frisbee club team and the men’s rowing second novice eight brought home national honors. Club teams have no scholarships, and have to pay dues and fundraise to keep competitive on the national level.
Carson (CA) High School Wrestling. In only its fifth season at the Carson High grapplers won their third consecutive league championship, going undefeated vs. league foes during this time. They also are unbeaten at home for three consecutive seasons.
Christian Ministries Academy Girls’ Volleyball, Hot Springs, AR. A school of just 75 students, Christian Ministries Academy defeated three institutions with enrollments of 500 students in the 20-team state tournament. One of the wins was a 3-2 victory over Southwest Christian Academy, a school it had never before beaten, including three times in the regular-season.
Cornell University Women’s Hockey, Ithaca, NY. The Big Red (30-5) won its third straight ECAC (20-2) and Ivy League (9-1) regular-season championship, and participated in the NCAA Frozen Four for the
third consecutive campaign. Senior forward Rebecca Johnston and junior defenseman Laura Fortino received All-America first-team recognition, and junior defenseman Lauriane Rougeau was named to the second unit.
Cornell University Wrestling, Ithaca, NY. Junior Kyle Dake (157), and seniors Steve Bosak (184) and Cam Simaz (197) won NCAA tournament titles. Dake, 35-0 for the year, won his third national championship at three different weights. Five Big Red grapplers received All-America recognition. The team finished fourth at the nationals after two consecutive second-place showings. Cornell won its 10th straight Ivy League crown, and sixth consecutive EIWA team title.
Fruitport (MI) High School Girls’ Volleyball. With seven state finals appearances since 2001, the girl spikers captured their second consecutive championship and third overall. Fruitport had not won state titles in any sport until 2005, when volleyball earned the honor. In 2011, the team won its seventh straight conference title, 14th district crown and 11th regional championship.
Hathaway Brown High School Girls’ Basketball, Shaker Heights, OH. The team won its fourth straight state championship in 2012, tying the Ohio record held by two other schools.
Kearney (MO) High School Girls’ Cross Country. Winners of three consecutive state championships (2009, 2010, 2011), team members Olivia Franklin and Jasmine Edwards finished 1-2 at the ’11 state meet to beat the second-place team by 48 points. Since its origin in the early ’80s, the team has also had three runnerup finishes and one third.
King College Men’s Basketball, Women’s Softball, Bristol, TN. Both teams won their first Conference Carolinas Championship in school history. The men cagers were 23-8 and advanced to the NCAA D-II Southeast Regional tournament. The softball team also went to the D-II tourney after a 3419 campaign.
Lincoln-Sudbury (MA) Regional High School Boys and Girls Skiing. The success of the school’s skiing program is the result of the superb leadership of 86-year-old Coach Graham Taylor, who started as a volunteer at the school in 1981. Since then, he has won 11 state championships, including the Boys’ Alpine in 2011-12. Taylor is also president and treasurer of the Mass Bay West Ski League that includes 15 schools.
McClain High School Boys’ Soccer, Greenfield, OH. It was three-peat for the booters who won the SCOL championship, and also captured the sectional title. The team went 150-1, with its only loss a tragic one. Coach Shawn Jackson passed away unexpectedly from a blood clot after surgery at the age of 38.
Methodist University Men’s and Women’s Golf, Fayetteville, NC. Since 1981, the men and women have combined to win 24 NCAA Division III national team titles. The women have captured 14 straight since 1998. Paige Caldwell was the women’s national medalist in 2011.
North Hills High School Girls’ Cross Country, Pittsburgh, PA. Paced by two-time individual champion Margo Malone, the harriers won the district title for the second straight year, and finished fifth at the PIAA championships. The Malone sisters, senior Margo, junior
Shannon and sophomore Mary were 12th, 15th and 16th, respectively, at the state championship. All three finished in the top four at districts.
Oakland (CA) Military Institute Boys’ Soccer. Until the fall of 2011, Oakland Military Institute had not won an outright conference championship in any sport. The streak ended when the young boys’ soccer team (5 frosh, 2 sophomores) exploded for a 16-7 campaign, including a 3-0 victory in the BCL championship game. The Grizzlies outscored league opponents, 45-4. And the team GPA wasn’t bad either at 3.06.
Olathe (KS) South High School Football. After 31 years of playing the gridiron sport, Olathe South won its first state championship. It was the fourth appearance at States for the school, which also won the Sunflower League title.
San Jose (CA) State University Women’s Swimming. For the first time in 16 years of competing in the Western Athletic Conference swimming and diving championships, the women came home victorious in 2012. Previously, from 2007-11, the Spartans’ best finish was third in 2010. In the 2012 competition, San Jose State had eight first-place finishers, equal to the previous four seasons combined. The Spartans 106-point victory margin was the third time in the last seven years that the WAC championship was won by at least 100 points.
Sequoia Middle School Boy’s Basketball, Fontana, CA. In its second season since rejoining a league, the team compiled a 12-1 record playing before a full capacity crowd every outing. Seeded No. 1 for the championship tournament, Sequoia won two games to earn its first title in about 10 years. It was a great bonding experience
for a school of about 1,200 seventh and eighth graders, with the latter advancing on to the high school next fall.
University of Southern California Mens’ Water Polo and Mens’ Tennis, Los Angeles, CA. The water polo team won an unprecedented fourth straight national championship. This spring, the Trojan men’s tennis team, the defending national champion, was ranked No. 1 in the country.
Washington Union High School Football, Fresno, CA. The Panthers capped a perfect 14-0 season to win their first ever California State Football championship. It was also the first state title for Central Section CIF schools. Washington Union is a three-time North Sequoia League champion, and back-toback section winner. The team included wide receiver Deontay Greenberry who was named “Mr. Football of California”.
Wilber-Clatonia Public Schools Wrestling, Wilber, NE. The grapplers brought home their first Class C District championship in the 40-year history of the school. A school-record eight participants qualified for the state wrestling meet even though a number of the team members battled mononucleosis and could not practice for several weeks before the district championships.
Xavier College Prep Girls’ Cross Country, Phoenix, AZ. The girls won their fifth consecutive state championship, competing for the Division I title with seven runners in the top 15. The Gators also ran at the Mt. SAC meet in California, and were the runner-up team in the large schools category. At the Nike Nationals in Portland, OR, the team ran to an eighthplace finish.
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The Cross-Over Zone® track protector protects costly track surfaces from damage due to teams, people, and equipment at crossing areas. A tough geotextile, vinyl edging and a steel chain that is inserted all around provide ballast to keep the protector down even in high winds. Steel-tipped cleats cannot puncture its surface, but rain still drains through. The Cross-Over Zone is easy to install and remove, and comes in sizes for all tracks. Aer-Flo, Inc. • 800-823-7356 www.aerflo.com
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CoverSports has expanded the GymGuard® gym floor cover product line to include GymGuard Plus. GymGuard Plus has a unique raised pattern that provides enhanced slip resistance and costs no more than standard GymGuard. GymGuard Plus offers an advanced level of safety and durability for ultimate gym floor protection. GymGuard Plus is available in 27- and 32-ounce weights and gray and tan colors. Contact CoverSports for test results or GymGuard samples. CoverSports • 800-445-6680 www.coversports.com
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Synthetic Surfaces Inc. • 908-233-6803 www.nordot.com
Infinity Performance, Inc. • 888-479-1017 www.infinityflooring.com
Nordot ® Adhesives are used worldwide for the outdoor installation of synthetic turf athletic fields and other recreational surfaces. Nordot ® high grab, onepart urethanes can be applied under adverse and variable weather conditions. This photo shows Nordot ® Adhesive being airlessly sprayed on asphalt. The water-permeable turf is then folded over the adhesivecoated base to form a durable, weather-resistant seam. Circle No. 508
High-Impact Shock Absorber
The Outdoor BounceBack® multisport flooring system integrates many patented features, making BounceBack® one of the most popular outdoor sports flooring options in the industry. The patented understructure performs as a high-impact shock absorber that reduces fatigue and injury. Combine these features with the patented ShockLock® technology along with nearly four decades of experience in manufacturing outdoor courts, and it’s easy to see why SnapSports is an industry leader. SnapSports • 800-664-3865 www.snapsports.com
Circle No. 541
PuzzleLock tiles stand up to the punishment of fitness and workout areas, protecting existing floors and equipment from damage. Installation is simple and quick, and the seams virtually disappear when the flooring is installed. If you need to change a tile, it can be done quickly and easily. PuzzleLock is ideal for use in weightrooms, cardio areas, home gyms, and performance training facilities. It is available in seven colors and comes with a five-year warranty. Circle No. 509
Cool and Condition Your Turf
Kifco, Inc., is the only manufacturer to offer a machine specifically designed to cool, condition, and rinse synthetic turf fields. The E200SST is specifically designed for the application of water to cool and condition all types of synthetic turf. The machine can apply 0.1 to 0.2 inches of water to a football or hockey field in as little as 30 minutes. This unit is more affordable than in-ground irrigation systems, which can cost up to four times as much. Kifco, Inc. • 800-452-7017 www.kifco.com
Circle No. 542 AthleticManagement.com | aug/sept 2012 61
Surfaces & Covers Heavy-Duty Markers
M.A.S.A. is making lining your fields easier and more budget-friendly than ever with its newly redesigned Pro-Stripe Heavy-Duty Markers. Available in three models, these markers are perfect for leagues, schools, and parks. Pro-Stripe Markers are made exclusively from steel that creates a more rugged body. Features include deluxe heavy wall tubing; “handlebar” style handles; premium 10” D x 4” W pneumatic wheels with steel rims and axle bushings; fingertip controls that adjust between off, two inches, and four inches; rubber handle grips to provide extra comfort; high quality electrostatically powder-coated finish; dual-direct drive front wheels; hinged lids; and an 18-month limited warranty. M.A.S.A. • 800-264-4519 www.sportsadvantage.com
Circle No. 510
Stability and Performance
The Indoor BounceBack® ShockTower®, a patented full-suspension sports floor system, has one of the highest shock-absorption ratings of modular sports tiles tested by U.S. independent laboratories. The ShockLock® and Dual-Suspension® systems allow for greater player impact stability and superior performance during competition. The understructure of the BounceBack provides a cushion effect to reduce injuries and fatigue to athletes from highimpact sports, while increasing ball response in sports like basketball and volleyball. SnapSports • 800-664-3865 www.snapsports.com
Circle No. 543
Create a Multipurpose Venue Look to Covermaster for Terraplas covers, which are among the world’s top turf protection products, to meet your stadium’s needs. Whether it has natural or artificial turf, there’s a Terraplas cover to help convert a stadium into a multipurpose venue. Each cover uses a simple system of specially engineered interlocking panels that accommodate seating and staging for thousands of spectators. Call today or go online to learn more.
Covermaster, Inc. • 800-387-5808 www.covermaster.com
Circle No. 554
Field Sanitation
Eliminate Grass Compaction
The Bench Zone® Sideline Turf Protector eliminates grass compaction and cleat damage while allowing rain, sports drinks, and other fluids to drain through. Made of Vipol® Matrix material, the Bench Zone Sideline Turf Protector has tough microfibers that let air and sunlight through—and simply hose off to clean. Available in 20 colors and multicolor custom imprinting, this protector is the same as those used by more than 75 percent of NFL and NCAA Division I teams, and is surprisingly value-priced. Aer-Flo, Inc. • 800-823-7356 www.aerflo.com
Circle No. 511
Performance Standards
MFMA’s PUR Standards focus on shock absorption, vertical deflection, area of deflection, ball bounce, and surface friction. These standards are designed to ensure customers receive a wellperforming sports surface. No one knows more about how a floor should be installed and perform than the MFMA members. MFMA’s goal is to balance technical standards with practical flooring system design to create uniform standards of performance for competition sports floors. Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association • 888-480-9138 www.maplefloor.org Circle No. 500
Durable and Versatile Flooring
From the makers of the original modular flooring, HomeCourt is the latest in year-round sports complex tile. HomeCourt has narrow gauge ribs for excellent traction, with a low-abrasion surface that reduces wear and tear on sports equipment and shoes. Matéflex has 36 years of experience manufacturing modular tiles, which shows in the quality, durability, and versatility of this product. The tile’s expansion joints are designed to give courts a professional, finished appearance, and with 16 standard colors, any look is possible. Matéflex • 800-926-3539 www.mateflex.com
Circle No. 513
Innovative Line Paint
GreensGroomer WorldWide, Inc. has introduced a new paradigm for turf safety. Designed around powerful UVC light modules, the GreenZapr destroys harmful pathogens, viruses, bacteria, and mold by destroying the DNA of the microbe. Safe and effective, it costs as low as $25 per treatment when factoring frequency, unit cost, and bulb longevity. The GreenZapr allows for on-demand use, avoiding the need for the use of harmful chemicals or scarce water resources.
Bona® Sportive™ Paint is a fast-drying, water-based game line paint manufactured specifically for use with both waterborne and oil-modified sport floor sealers and finishes. Featuring 10 vibrant colors that can be blended, there are unlimited possibilities of custom colors. Bona® Sportive™ Paint is VOC compliant, GREENGUARD Children, and SchoolsSM Certified. No abrasion is needed for adhesion, and it has excellent flow and leveling. This low-odor paint is available in quarts.
GreensGroomer WorldWide, Inc. • 888-298-8852 www.greensgroomer.com Circle No. 550
Circle No. 551
62 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
Bona Sport™ • 303-371-1411 www.bona.com
Surfaces & Covers Grooming Synthetic Fields
Tough Finish
The Synthetic Sports Turf Groomer and Spring Tine Rake allow fast, efficient grooming of all infill synthetic sports fields. The Groomer lifts the turf fibers, leaving them in a plush, upright position, and moves fill material into low spots and depressions left after play. The Spring Tine Rake, attached to the groomer, combs through the infill to relieve compaction, releasing trapped turf fibers and ensuring a level playing surface.
Bona® Sportive™ Finish is a premium VOC compliant, two-component waterborne wood floor sport finish. Specifically formulated for professional use on maple floors, Bona® Sportive™ Finish provides a tough, high-build urethane finish that dries in two to three hours. This easy to maintain finish provides excellent chemical resistance; protects against perspiration and routine cleaning; and will adhere to most solvent-based and waterborne finishes after proper preparation. This slightly-amber colored finish is virtually odorless, non-flammable, and cleans up with water. It is MFMA approved, GREENGUARD Children, and SchoolsSM Certified.
GreensGroomer WorldWide, Inc. • 888-298-8852 www.greensgroomer.com Circle No. 553
Bona Sport™ • 303-371-1411 www.bona.com
Tough Underfoot
Infinity Flooring’s 1.25-inch thick Infinity Max tile stands up to the constant abuse of heavy weights being dropped onto the weightroom floor without denting, tearing, or splitting. The Infinity Max is backed by the company’s exclusive 10-year warranty and is available in 10 standard colors or an unlimited number of custom colors. Custom logos also are available. The product contains up to 95-percent recycled content and may qualify for up to eight LEED points.
Infinity Performance, Inc. • 888-479-1017 www.infinityflooring.com
Circle No. 552
Complete Coverage
Mini Traveller irrigation reels offer a range of machines utilizing 1.1- to 2.1-inch hose in four frame sizes. The 1100 and 1250 models are battery-powered, hand-portable, and easy to operate under low pressure. All of the models offer a cost-efficient method of irrigating sports fields, and their exclusive speed compensation control results in uniform, puddle-free coverage. Cadman page Powerads:Layout Equipment • 1866-422-3626 quarter 7/6/12 2:28 PM Page 1 www.cadmanpower.com Circle No. 548
Circle No. 512
Most Trusted Traveling Irrigation Systems Since 1964
The E200SST is Specifically Designed to Cool, Rinse & Condition Synthetic Turf The E200SST Can Water an Entire Football Field in as Little as 30 Minutes!
Portable Irrigation for Natural Grass Fields
Operates Unattended Shuts Off Automatically
Don’t Settle For Foreign! Kifco B-Series Water-Reels® are the Only Traveling Irrigation Systems Proudly Made in the U.S.A.
Only Trust A Water-Reel
®
www.kifco.com • 1-800-452-7017 • sales@kifco.com Circle No. 158
Circle No. 159 AthleticManagement.com | aug/sept 2012 63
Directory
Advertisers Directory Circle #. Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page #
Circle #. Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page #
Circle #. Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page #
146 . . Aer-Flo (Chroma-Bond Imprinting). . . . . . . . . FR15 101 . . Aer-Flo (Football Field Protectors). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 117 . . Armacell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 156 . . Athletic Management Program Services . . . . . . . 57 149 . . Badge-A-Minit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR19 163 . . BEAM CLAY®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 110 . . BigSigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 166 . . BigSigns.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC 141 . . BigSigns.com (Stadium Graphics). . . . . . . . . . . FR3 118 . . Bison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 162 . . Blueprint for Better Coaching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 134 . . Bona Sport™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 124 . . Cabana Banners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 161 . . Cadman Power Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 157 . . ClearSpan Fabric Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 138 . . Competitor® Swim Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 168 . . Covermaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 125 . . CoverSports (FenceMate® TuffPrint™). . . . . . . . . . 41 111 . . CoverSports (gym floor covers). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 154 . . Diamond Yards Engraved Bricks. . . . . . . . . . . FR25 152 . . ePublication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR23 120 . . Future Pro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
102 . . Gatorade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 104 . . Gatorade (Perform 02™). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 103 . . Gatorade (Prime 01™). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 105 . . Gatorade (Recover 03™). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 100 . . GearBoss® by Wenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC 128 . . Go4theGoal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 142 . . Gold Medal® Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR9 145 . . Gone Logo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR12 167 . . GreensGroomer® WorldWide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC 137 . . GymWipes FORCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 140 . . HighSchoolBlanket.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR-IFC 119 . . HME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 107 . . Infinity Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 159 . . Jaypro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 155 . . JustFundraising.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR26 116 . . KDM Electronics/Octasound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 158 . . Kifco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 130 . . LeagueMinder®/DigitalSports®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 150 . . Little Caesars Pizza Kit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR21 139 . . Lyon Workspace Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 164 . . M.A.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 114 . . Maple Flooring Manufacturers Assn. . . . . . . . . . . 24
106 . . Mateflex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 122 . . McDonald’s All American Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 112 . . MilkPEP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 131 . . New York Barbells of Elmira. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 133 . . OakWood Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 123 . . Parents’ Guide to Sports Concussions. . . . . . . . . 39 113 . . ProGrass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 144 . . Registry for Excellence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR11 129 . . Salsbury Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 109 . . Samson Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 148 . . Sherwood Forest Farms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR19 151 . . SMi Awards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR21 132 . . SnapSports®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 126 . . Southern Bleacher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 127 . . Spalding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 115 . . Sports Tutor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 147 . . StadiumChair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR17 143 . . Strapworks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR11 108 . . Synthetic Surfaces Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 121 . . The Athletic Edge by Pivotal Health Solutions. . . . 34 160 . . Triad Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 135 . . VP Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Circle #. Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page #
Circle #. Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page #
Circle #. Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page #
511 . . Aer-Flo (Bench Zone®) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 504 . . Aer-Flo (Cross-Over Zone®). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 637 . . Aer-Flo (fundraising). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR6 533 . . Armacell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 625 . . Badge-A-Minit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR2 507 . . BEAM CLAY®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 560 . . BigSigns.com (Championship Banners). . . . . . . . 70 634 . . BigSigns.com (fundraising). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR5 559 . . BigSigns.com (ModStar® A-Frame System). . . . . 69 566 . . BigSigns.com (Wall Skin) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 565 . . Bison (basketball structures). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 520 . . Bison (Centerline Magic). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 556 . . Bona Sport™ (product launch). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 552 . . Bona Sport™ (Sportive™Finish). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 551 . . Bona Sport™ (Sportive™ Paint). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 547 . . Cabana Banners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 548 . . Cadman Power Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 540 . . ClearSpan Fabric Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 564 . . Competitor® Swim Products (racing lanes). . . . . . 72 563 . . Competitor® Swim Products (Titeline). . . . . . . . . . 70 554 . . Covermaster (Terraplas covers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 555 . . Covermaster (Ultima Series). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 526 . . CoverSports (Grand Slam Fencing™). . . . . . . . . . 73 505 . . CoverSports (GymGuard® Plus). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 630 . . Diamond Yards Engraved Bricks. . . . . . . . . . . . FR 4 536 . . DigitalSports®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 518 . . Future Pro (Bison T-Rex). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 523 . . Future Pro (Scorers Table). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
534 . . Gatorade (Energy Chews). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 537 . . Gatorade (Recovery Beverage). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 639 . . Gearboss® by Wenger (Fundraising) . . . . . . . . . FR6 515 . . GearBoss® by Wenger (AirPro™). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 558 . . Go4theGoal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 627 . . Gold Medal® Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR2 633 . . Gone Logo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR 5 550 . . GreensGroomer (GreenZapr). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 553 . . GreensGroomer (Groomer/Rake). . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 562 . . GymWipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 635 . . HighSchoolBlanket.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR5 529 . . HME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 512 . . Infinity Flooring (Max tile). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 509 . . Infinity Flooring (PuzzleLock). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 522 . . Jaypro (basketball package). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 514 . . Jaypro (GymGlide Game Standard). . . . . . . . . . . . 65 629 . . JustFundraising.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR 4 545 . . KDM Electronics/Octasound (MX120A). . . . . . . . . 70 544 . . KDM Electronics/Octasound (speakers). . . . . . . . 69 542 . . Kifco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 527 . . LeagueMinder®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 638 . . Little Caesars Pizza Kit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR 6 561 . . Lyon Workspace Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 501 . . M.A.S.A. (multi-use field conditioner drag). . . . . . 60 510 . . M.A.S.A. (Pro-Stripe Heavy-Duty Markers). . . . . . 62 500 . . Maple Flooring Manufacturers Assn. . . . . . . . . . . 62 513 . . Mateflex (HomeCourt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 503 . . Mateflex (ProGym). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
528 . . MilkPEP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 538 . . New York Barbells (kettle bells). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 530 . . New York Barbells (loading chains). . . . . . . . . . . . 74 549 . . OakWood Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 517 . . Pivotal Health Solutions (The Athletic Edge). . . . . 66 531 . . Power Systems (SpaceStation Summit). . . . . . . . 74 525 . . Power Systems (STS Training System). . . . . . . . . 73 506 . . ProGrass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 631 . . Registry for Excellence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR4 516 . . Salsbury Industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 546 . . Samson (football lockers). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 567 . . Samson (Functional Training Rack Series). . . . . . 73 628 . . Sherwood Forest Farms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR2 636 . . SMi Awards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR5 543 . . SnapSports® (Indoor BounceBack®). . . . . . . . . . . 62 541 . . SnapSports® (Outdoor BounceBack®) . . . . . . . . . 61 535 . . Southern Bleacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 524 . . Spalding (backstops). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 519 . . Spalding (Divider Curtains). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 539 . . Sports Tutor (HomePlate). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 532 . . Sports Tutor (Volleyball Tutor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 626 . . StadiumChair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR2 632 . . Strapworks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FR 4 502 . . Synthetic Surfaces Inc. (indoor). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 508 . . Synthetic Surfaces Inc. (outdoor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 557 . . Triad Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 521 . . VP Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Products Directory
64 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
Product Launch
GymGlide Game Standard
Bona® Sportive™ Paint
Jaypro Sports www.jaypro.com 800-243-0533 Circle No. 514
Unique features:
Benefits for the user:
• Retractable front swivel wheels for easy movement • Stores quickly and safely
• Users never have to tip to move or store • The telescoping upright includes leverrelease collars • The standards incorporate a unique design: 155-pound base that has a holding capacity equal to 220-pound bases
Circle No. 160
Bona Sport™ www.bona.com 303-371-1411 Circle No. 556
Unique features:
Benefits for the user:
• Fast-drying, waterbased game line paint manufactured specifically for use with both waterborne and oil-modified sport floor sealers and finishes • Features 10 vibrant colors that can be blended, creating unlimited possibilities of custom colors
• Bona® Sportive™ Paint is VOC compliant, GREENGUARD Children, and SchoolsSM Certified • No abrasion is needed for adhesion, and the paint has excellent flow and leveling • This low-odor paint is available in quarts
Circle No. 161 AthleticManagement.com | aug/sept 2012 65
Locker Showcase
AirPro™ lockers from GearBoss® enhance team room functionality and aesthetics. The open grid design promotes airflow, sanitation, and visual inspection. To enhance sanitation, all metal locker- surfaces are finished with antimicrobial powder-coated paint. Mounting options keep floors easy to clean.
Established in 1936, Salsbury Industries is an industry leader in manufacturing and distributing quality lockers. Lockers include standard lockers, extra-wide lockers, vented lockers, open-access lockers, designer wood lockers, solidoak wood lockers, plastic lockers, cell phone storage lockers, storage lockers, and storage cabinets.
Primary advantages:
Primary advantages:
• Open design and custom appearance. • Integrated, hinged seat saves floor space and is lockable over a footlocker. • Variety of color/finish choices, from school colors to wood-grain laminates. Wenger Corporation • 800-4WENGER www.wengercorp.com/gearboss Circle No. 515
Founded in 1976, Samson Equipment has always provided some of the best in weight training equipment. Now Sampson is offering football lockers built from the same high-quality materials, with the same attention to detail, and outstanding durability. Primary advantages:
• Put down metal and wood— Samson offers a rare combination of both infused into one, but also provides all metal lockers using highquality, durable steel • Each locker is custom-designed to each program’s unique needs and specifications Samson Equipment • 800-4-SAMSON www.samsonequipment.com Circle No. 546
66 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
The Athletic Edge line of lockers includes designs and product configurations made from wood, laminate, and steel. By providing both a standard product line and innovative custom design services, the Athletic Edge offers lockers to meet any size or budget. Primary advantages:
• Salsbury Industries offers a complete line of metal, wood, plastic, vented, and storage lockers in a wide range of colors and styles, so you are sure to find the perfect locker that suits your needs.
• Standard and custom designs available in wood, laminate, and steel. • New steel locker designs offering the durability of steel and the aesthetics of wood. • Create a functional, cost-effective locker room.
Salsbury Industries • 800-LOCKERS www.lockers.com Circle No. 516
Pivotal Health Solutions, Inc. • 800-627-2387 www.pivotalhealthsolutions.com Circle No. 517
With more than 400 custom-made locker systems installed in North America since 1991, OakWood Sports continues to be a leader in handcrafted athletic lockers. Primary advantages:
• Installation and delivery by OakWood employees guarantees that the project will be completed on time and correctly • Five-year warranty provides peace of mind • Custom solutions ensure customers get what they want • LEED compliant OakWood Sports, Inc. • 517-321-6852 www.oakwoodsports.com Circle No. 549
Lyon Integrated Frame Lockers can build team awareness while reducing odors and resisting abuse. The standard powder-coat finish adds years of service over conventional coating and can include a breakthrough technology that imbeds a team name, logo, or mascot in each locker door. Antimicrobial, eco-friendly silver ions destroy odorcausing bacteria on the locker surfaces. Primary advantages:
• One-piece, 14-gauge doors with box beam reinforcement • Single-piece top, bottom, and back for each locker grouping (up to 3-wide) • All seams and joints are MIGwelded on 6” centers Lyon Workspace Products 800-323-0082 www.lyonworkspace.com Circle No. 561
Announcing a book for coaches of all sports Coaching involves so much more than teaching skills, calling plays and winning games. This book provides practical ideas to help coaches become the best possible professionals in education-based athletic programs.
1695
$
136 PGS
AM24.05
ORDER FORM PLEASE PRINT INFO. MAG, Inc. • 20 Eastlake Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850
Blueprint for Better Coaching includes concrete tips to help coaches in the following areas: • Short-range and long-range planning • Communication with athletes, parents, athletic administrators, and media • Risk management responsibilities • Administration tasks
Name: Street Address: City: State: Zip: Daytime Phone:
(To be used if there’s a problem with your order)
Email address: PAYMENT METHOD
SHIPPING PRICES
❑ U.S. check made payable to MAG, Inc. enclosed (sorry, only US orders)
❑ VISA
0-$49.99 50-$99.99 $ 100-$149.99 $ 150-and up $
❑ MasterCard
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Credit card #: ________/________/________/________
= $8.00 = $9.00 = $10.00 = $12.00
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From the publishers of Athletic Management
For more information, go to www.athleticmanagement.com
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Cardholder Signature: ITEM QUANTITY
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111003
TITLE
PRICE
Blueprint for Better Coaching
Fax this order to 607-257-7328 or Mail this order to MAG, Inc., 20 Eastlake Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850
Subtotal $ + Shipping $ NY residents add sales tax $ = TOTAL |$aug/sept 2012 67 AthleticManagement.com Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.
Company Q&A
A Commitment to Quality A Q&A with Norris Legue, President of Synthetic Surfaces, Inc.
What are the most important properties for a superior outdoor synthetic turf adhesive?
The adhesive needs easy handling properties in variable and sometimes adverse weather, along with high green strength (grab) during installation. Having superior durability after outdoor aging and weathering is also important.
We understand handling properties and durability, but what is a high green strength adhesive?
A high green strength adhesive has grab and tack as opposed to being oily and slippery. Green strength is the property that gives an adhesive the gripping ability to hold two surfaces together when first contacted, before (still green) the adhesive develops its ultimate bonding properties that come when it is fully cured. High green strength adhesives are vital for outdoor installations because they help overcome a synthetic turf surface’s tendency to separate, curl, bubble, lift, creep, slip, and wrinkle during installation. These tendencies are due to temperature changes from sunlight, shadows, passing clouds, and wind. The turf roll memory and other outside factors can also influence the surface’s movement during installation.
What about using a “super high strength” adhesive?
All that is necessary in an adhesive is an adequate bond, both initially and after aging and weathering. What good is high strength adhesive, after cure, if one can’t install due to weather conditions? If it is too hot, cold, damp, dry, windy, or humid, some adhesives may not work properly.
Also, what good is an adhesive with a high initial strength after curing if it later deteriorates to an inadequate bond after outdoor aging and weathering?
Are there problems plaguing the synthetic turf business today?
Yes. Using inexperienced outdoor turf installers and/or cheap adhesives that weather poorly are major problems. These problems are often caused by suppliers attempting to save money at the customer’s expense. However, they are inadvertently shooting themselves in the foot, because synthetic turf on athletic fields, in playgrounds, on putting greens, and for landscaping are visible and on display. Good and durable installations sell more turf, while poor ones “un-sell” turf for future use. That’s why a good living is currently being earned by troubleshooting consultants and repair specialists—at the expense of the synthetic turf industry’s future business.
How did the company name of Synthetic Surfaces Inc. come about?
We were originally founded in 1973, to specialize in adhesives for the synthetic sport and recreation surface industry. That explains why the name Synthetic Surfaces was selected for the corporation, even though we are manufacturers of adhesives and not the synthetic surfaces themselves.
How did your adhesive brand name NORDOT®, which is known worldwide, come about?
My name is Norris and my wife’s name is Dotty; hence, the dual name “Nordot.” We stick together, and in this day and age when so many people get divorced, the NORDOT® Adhesives name is also quite a commitment. J
Long-term aging and weathering tests in varying weather and different climates are necessary in order to know if the high initial strength adhesive will have an adequate bond after being outdoors. Not having long-term outdoor testing, or not waiting for test results, are why there are many “adhesive time bombs” that explode later.
Synthetic Surfaces Inc. | 68 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
Norris Legue is a chemist and President of Synthetic Surfaces Inc. In 1969, he invented the first urethane adhesive that was used successfully to install synthetic turf athletic fields. His company’s new generations of NORDOT ® Adhesives are used to install synthetic turf more than any other adhesive in the world. His peers have dubbed him the “Guru of Glue®.”
908-233-6803
| www.nordot.com
Gymnasiums Build for Success
Portable Hoops for Competition
Future Pro offers four sizes of Bison T-Rex portables for competition, side courts, and recreation. Use the T-Rex54 SR when space is at a premium but 72-inch backboards are required. With a 54-inch safe play area, the base sits six feet outside the court. Future Pro portables have 42” x 72” competition glass backboards with a lifetime limited warranty, breakaway goal, and DuraSkin backboard padding. The base and front are fully padded in your choice of 16 colors.
Future Pro • 800-328-4625 www.futureproinc.com
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Project Sound Efficiently
With a large space, reverberation can seriously affect clarity and speech intelligibility. Octasound speakers offer a real advantage for voice and music. Four discrete horns project sound in all directions to give you truly projected sound that is not reflected. The large woofer radiates solid bass and one Octasound speaker will do the job of several conventional speakers. The speakers’ remarkable efficiency gives you the headroom needed to keep things crystal clear with minimal amplifier power. KDM Electronics Inc. • 800-567-6282 www.octasound.com
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Great For Displays
The ModStar® A-Frame System works great for displaying sponsor advertisements or stadium graphics on any courtside, sideline, or end zone. ModStar® is collision-safe because it’s made with playerfriendly coroplast that collapses when struck and pops right back into place. ModStar® folds flat for easy storage and is easy to set-up. With UltraBrite inks, graphics are vivid and stand up to harsh lighting and the elements. BigSigns.com • 800-790-7611 www.bigsigns.com
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Stand Out
Cabana Banners offers top-quality custom championship banners, record boards, chair covers, scorer’s tables, and wall and floor murals. The company has made advancements in its digital printing to offer fresh and innovative designs. The digital series has a greater spectrum of bright, vivid colors, with excellent definition and high image quality. From team pictures to realistic mascots, endless possibilities are available in dynamic, vivid, living color. Cabana Banners • 800-697-3139 www.cabanabanners.com
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Provide Privacy and Airflow
Spalding Divider Curtains are handcrafted from reinforced vinyl for privacy, and have mesh to help with airflow. The curtains also have a self-extinguishing rating by the California State Fire Code (NFPA701). Spalding offers a variety of standard colors, and it’s dividers provide your facility with a reliable and effective means of maximizing space. All divider curtains are custom-made for each installation, so consult your Spalding dealer for the divider curtain best suited for your needs. Spalding • 800-435-3865 www.spaldingequipment.com
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A Step Up from Wood
Bison’s Centerline Magic has telescoping poles that disappear into a 32-inch-deep floor well. The net has five high-tensile, rigid aluminum telescoping tubes that lift easily from the floor sleeve. Twist and lock into place to set up. The net’s height adjusts from 42 to 96 inches. With the Centerline Magic, you won’t sacrifice durability, post rigidity, net tensioning, or stability in exchange for convenience. The net’s posts and winch have a limited lifetime warranty.
VP Buildings • 800-238-3246 www.vp.com
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Volleyball Magic
Bison Inc. • 800-247-7668 www.bisoninc.com
VP Buildings is a world leader in the steel systems construction industry, and is an ideal choice for athletic building solutions. Whether you need a gymnasium, arena, indoor soccer and football practice facility, or other structure, VP Buildings offers not only the design capability but also the flexibility and sophistication to fulfill your needs.
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Triad Technologies offers the Team Bench for indoor or outdoor use. These benches are constructed of durable fiberglass, so they stand up to harsh weather and rough sports use. They far outlast typical wooden benches that can rot or splinter, and look much better in your school colors with your team logo. They are lightweight, stackable, and easy to move and store. Call for your free brochure and pricing guide. Triad Technologies, Inc. • 877-224-3512 www.triadtec.com
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Gymnasiums Protection from Injury and Damage
Spalding offers numerous different configurations of single mast ceiling-suspended backstops. Spalding’s solid framework is powder-coated to create a smooth, durable protective finish. It is also adaptable to any backboard configuration required, while meeting official NCAA and NFHS regulations. Spalding’s exclusive laboratory-tested safety cables help protect against personal injury and/or property damage. From forward-fold to roll-fold, Spalding backstops are specially designed to fit your needs. Spalding • 800-435-3865 www.spaldingequipment.com
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Proper System Configuration
The MX120A mixer includes one XLR input and RCA inputs for use with CD or cassette tape decks with separate volume controls. The MX120A fits in a standard wall switch box opening. A lockable surface mount case is also available. Internal DIP switch and trimmer settings keep the system properly configured and safe from excessive volume. Up to three units can be daisy-chained.
KDM Electronics Inc. • 800-567-6282 www.octasound.com
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Replacement Package
Combine and save with one Jaypro backboard, two goals, and three sets of edge padding. This package includes Jaypro’s 42” x 72” non-breakable glass backboard, the collegiate “Revolution” goal, and bolt-on Edge padding, which is available in 16 colors. Jaypro Sports, LLC • 800 243-0533 www.jaypro.com
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Highlight Your Achievements
Showcase your athletic teams’ accomplishments, promote your conference, retire a jersey, or give recognition with Championship Banners from BigSigns.com. Both available materials, Dura-Fab or Tru-Satin Vinyl, minimize the glare of fluorescent gym lights, so graphics are seen from all around. The banners are printed with Ultra-Brite inks for bold and vivid colors. Banners can be finished many ways, depending on your needs.
BigSigns.com • 800-790-7611 www.bigsigns.com
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Illuminate Pride
Highlight school pride with the Sport Pride Illuminated Scorers Table. Virtually any photo, artwork, or lettering can be used for the table. If you order from Future Pro, one of Bison’s largest dealers, you can get a custom layout producted at no charge. Bison will also add a possession arrow and power strip with surge protector for free. The tables are four or eight feet wide, and 16 inches deep. The graphics are printed on translucent substrate and protected by unbreakable clear polycarbonate. The padded ends can be lettered, and the top edge features matching padding. Future Pro 800-328-4625 www.futureproinc.com Circle No. 523
Lane Tightener
Competitor ® Swim Products now distributes the Titeline swimming lane tightener. The Titeline is easy to install and simple to operate. After initial installation, no tools are required—just twist and untwist the Titeline to adjust the racing lane tension. Because the Titeline does not twist the cable each time tension is adjusted, there is no wear and tear on the swimming lane cable. Constructed of durable, noncorrosive materials, the Titeline will not rust or crack, and it has a non-slip rubberized grip. The Titeline is compatible with most swimming lanes, and Competitor Swim Products backs it up with a three-year limited warranty. For a limited time, Competitor is offering a free upgrade to the Titeline when customers order a set of Competitor Gold Medal racing lanes. Competitor Swim Products 800-888-SWIM www.competitorswim.com Circle No. 563
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Company News
Providing Help to Programs in Need
C
ytoSport™, the largest sports nutrition company in the U.S. and maker of Muscle Milk®, recently announced the launch of the Muscle Milk® Recovery Grant Program, which will provide up to $250,000 in grants to help rebuild and revitalize high school athletic programs around the country. Submissions for high school programs will be accepted on the Muscle Milk Facebook page (www.facebook.com/musclemilk) through Nov. 30, 2012, with recipient programs selected in January 2013.
“High school athletic programs are critical to the overall development of student-athletes, and we are dedicated to helping them succeed,” said CytoSport™ Chief Marketing Officer Nikki Brown. “The Muscle Milk Recovery Grant Program is a great way we can provide financial resources to programs in need in local communities around the country.” Grants will be awarded up to $25,000 per submission to programs that show a financial hardship outlined in the application process. Applicants must be at least 14 years old and can nominate the high school of their choice on the Muscle Milk Facebook page, where they will be required to submit a written statement outlining their program’s needs, provide photos that support their request, and will have the option to upload a video link to help further tell their story. In conjunction with the launch of the Muscle Milk® Recovery Grant Program, Muscle Milk® will also launch limited time packaging that includes a red, white, and blue theme. A portion of sales from the patriotic packaging will go toward funding the Recovery Grant Program. ABOUT Muscle Milk
CytoSport, Inc 888-298-6629 www.cytosport.com
Muscle Milk® Ready-to-Drink is a protein-enhanced functional beverage that helps promote workout recovery, lean muscle growth, and sustained energy. Muscle Milk takes the guesswork out of high-performance nutrition, delivering a precise blend of premium proteins, complex carbohydrates, functional fats, vitamins, and minerals. CytoSport™, the maker of Muscle Milk®, is the largest sport nutrition protein beverage company in the U.S. and offers a complete line of proteinenhanced powders, shakes, and bars. Muscle Milk® was named Ready-to-Drink Beverage of the Year by bodybuilding.com, Best Functional Beverage and Beverage of the Year by BevNet, and Company of the Year by Beverage Forum, presented by Beverage Marketing Corporation and Beverage World. AthleticManagement.com | aug/sept 2012 71
Gymnasiums Protects Against Pathogens
The GymWipes product line offers full-spectrum protection and cost-effective solutions to safely clean and sanitize all fitness equipment surfaces. Bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal, the EPAregistered disinfecting/sanitizing formulas protect against 50-plus dangerous pathogens. Containing no alcohol, phenol, or bleach, the line is tested and approved by leading manufacturers. Counts range from 700 to 1,200. Attractive dispensers and stands are available.
GymWipes • 888-977-3726 www.2xlcorp.com
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Make Walls Come Alive
Take your branding and make it come alive on your walls using BigSigns.com’s new conforming wall decal. Wall Skin takes on the texture of your concrete, brick, tile, and other curved or flat substrates, giving it a paintlike appearance. The premium vinyl makes it ideal for full color graphics. Wall Skin can take your bare wall spaces and turn them into key graphic representations of your brand, organization, and sponsors.
BigSigns.com • 800-790-7611 www.bigsigns.com
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Wall Mount Structures In-Stock Bison responded to the frustration of schools, architects, and installers with in-stock, telescoping wall mount basketball structures. These structures have a wall-to-backboard extension range of four- to 10-feet, which is adjusted at installation, eliminating timeconsuming measurements and costly field modifications. Bison has side fold, swing up, and stationary structures in stock. Competitor packages include a 42” x 72” unbreakable glass backboard, Duraskin padding, and a competition breakaway goal. Side Court packages have a steel fan-shaped board with a heavy-duty flex goal. Bison Inc. • 800-247-7668 www.bisoninc.com
Calm the Waters
Competitor ® racing lanes feature a patented flow-through design that controls water turbulence and reduces waves to optimize pool conditions for training and competition. Each lane consists of a series of donuts and four- or six-inch Gold Medal disks assembled on a cable. Each disk rotates independently, allowing wave energy to be absorbed and dispersed within the channel of the lane. Competitor Swim Products • 800-888-SWIM www.competitorswim.com Circle No. 564
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More Products Specially Designed
These kettle bells with wide handles are specially designed with large openings to prevent bruising of the back of the hand and wrist. The company offers kettle bells in five-pound increments from 10 to 100 pounds, and monster bells in 25-pound increments from 125 to 200 pounds. You can make your purchase in either a three-, four-, seven-, or nine-piece sets to save money. Kettle bell hand covers are also available. New York Barbells of Elmira, Inc. • 800-446-1833 www.newyorkbarbells.com Circle No. 538
The DX300 wireless headset system provides secure, two-way, hands-free conversation between football coaches to improve sideline and press box communication. Superior digital sound clarity ensures that instructions are heard above the crowd noise and general sideline confusion. The DX300 sets up in minutes, with no special procedures or complex antennas. It expands easily from a basic five-coach system to accommodate a staff of up to 20. Emmy Award-winning HME has been innovating for more than 35 years.
A Unique Design
HME Electronics, Inc. • 800-909-6604 www.hme.com/coaches
The new Functional Training Rack Series is setting the world of strength and conditioning ablaze. This unique design combines a fully functional Power Rack with not one but two adjustable cable column machines--all within a compact area. Never before has an athlete been able to perform all the core lifts a rack/platform provides with the multifaceted capability of a fully operational functional trainer. This product is extremely easy to adjust and use quickly, getting your athletes in and out of every facet of a workout much more effectively. The new 111FTR Rack Series is only from Samson Equipment. Samson Equipment • 800-472-6766 www.samsonequipment.com
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Fencing Ideal for Ball Fields
Secure Communication
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Refuel with Chocolate Milk
Does your team refuel with lowfat chocolate milk? A growing number of elite and everyday athletes recognize that refueling with low-fat chocolate milk can play an important role during their after-workout routines. It is simple, effective, and scientifically shown to help the body recover after a hard workout so athletes can perform at their best. Go online to learn more about the science around refueling with chocolate milk. MilkPEP • 202-737-0153 www.gotchocolatemilk.com
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Providing Financial Assistance
Regardless of the size of your ball field, CoverSports’ newly patented Grand Slam Fencing™ product line clearly establishes the boundaries and keeps the ball in the yard. The one-piece product is perfect for baseball, softball, and little league outfields. Along with easy installation and removal, it is durable, soft, and easy to handle. The Grand Slam Fencing is available in red, blue, and green and in four- or five-foot heights (green only). The distance banners are sewn to the fence, while foul pole kits and ground sockets are optional.
Go4theGoal Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2006. This organization, along with funds raised privately and by its unique fundraising campaigns—Lace-Up 4 Pediatric Cancer ®, National Dress 4 Pediatric Cancer Day ®, and Richard’s Run® 5K—provides financial assistance to children battling cancer and their families. G4G also grants special wishes, supplies state-of-the-art electronics to children in over 40 hospitals across the country, and has funded over $500,000 in innovative research since 2007.
CoverSports • 800-445-6680 www.coversports.com
Go4theGoal • G4G @ Go4theGoal.org www.go4thegoal.org
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Solutions for Athletic Directors
Work the Whole Body
LeagueMinder® is a Webbased athletic management solution that serves as a single point-of-entry for athletic directors facing the challenge of managing every aspect of each sports season, including: entering schedules, reserving facilities, scheduling transportation, assigning officials, managing finances, maintaining rosters, tracking eligibility, compiling statistics, printing contracts, certificates, and awards.
Suspension training is an excellent method to work the whole body, and the STS Training System is a great two-in-one package. It includes two ABS training rings and two ABS handles with foam grips. Build strong arms, shoulders, and your core with the handles or rings included in this package. This system also features straps, complete with heavy-duty secure buckles. The STS Training System retails for $89.95.
LeagueMinder • 866-695-3248 www.leagueminder.com
Power Systems, Inc. • 800-321-6975 www.powersystems.com
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Testimonial
Online Degrees for Sports & Health Professionals
More Products Progressive Powerlifting
These 60-inch long loading chains for progressive powerlifting come with end hooks, and one or more chains can be added to improve your blasting power. Made of heavy-duty forged steel, there are four different chains available for any level of lifting: light duty (25 pounds per pair), medium duty (40 pounds per pair), heavy duty (55 pounds per pair), and extra heavy duty (88 pounds per pair). The company can supply chains up to 200 feet long and can add attachment weights of up to 100 pounds to each chain. Call for more information or prices.
New York Barbells of Elmira, Inc. • 800-446-1833 www.newyorkbarbells.com
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Versatile Training System
American Public University offers more than 170 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates designed for sports and health sciences professionals, coaches, athletic administrators, and working adults like you—completely online. These dynamic programs are taught by industry professionals and experienced educators in the areas of kinesiology, human performance, strength and conditioning, nutrition, coaching studies, sports law, risk and regulation, ethics in sports, high school and collegiate sports administration, and more. American Public University has been nationally recognized by the Sloan Consortium for effective practice in online education. When you’re ready, visit: StudyatAPU.com/athletic-mgmt. “Having four children and being busy with full- and part-time jobs, I didn’t have a lot of extra money. So I wanted to be sure I could get a top-notch education for an affordable price— and APU enabled me to do that.” —Laurie Ogden, APU student; B.S., Sports & Health Sciences
“I was able to complete my master’s degree within a timeframe that fit my schedule. The course work was challenging and rewarding. Now, I hope to move on to a second career that allows me the use the degree I worked so hard for.” —Jon LaBeau, APU graduate; M.S., Sports Management
“APU exceeded all my expectations. The resources they provided made me confident I could achieve my degree.” —Heidi Boe, APU graduate; M.S., Sports Management
American Public University 111 W. Congress St. • Charles Town, WV 25414 877-777-9081 info@apus.edu www.StudyatAPU.com/athletic-mgmt 74 AUG/SEPT 2012 | AthleticManagement.com
The Power Systems SpaceStation Summit is the ideal equipment for challenging indoor boot camps, group fitness sessions, or individual client training. The SpaceStation Summit is available in three sizes, and includes multiple attachment points, built-in monkey bars, pull-up bars, a step-up station, a dip station, and rope anchors. The price for the SpaceStation Summit starts at $7,499.95 and goes up to $9,999.95. Power Systems, Inc. • 800-321-6975 www.powersystems.com
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At Your Service
Both the Gold and Silver models of the Volleyball Tutor can vary ball trajectory and speed to produce any desired set or pass, while delivering serves at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. The Silver model’s 5.5-foot-high release point is perfect for sets, and it features a separate dial to control the amount of topspin and underspin on serves. The Silver model can also be angled down to practice dig drills. The Gold model can automatically throw six volleyballs at intervals ranging from five to 20 seconds. The unit is completely portable, and is available with either AC or battery power. Volleyball Tutor models start at prices under $1,000.
Sports Tutor • 800-448-8867 www.sportsmachines.com
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Greater Field Performance
ArmaSport ® is the preferred turf underlayment for greater field performance and consistent playing conditions. ArmaSport Turf Underlayment cushions the playing surface, providing consistent shock attenuation across the entire field surface. It features closedcell elastomeric foam technology, a state-of-the-art drainage system, antimicrobial protection, and long, wide rolls for easy installation. ArmaSport Turf Underlayment is manufactured by Armacell, an innovator in foam technologies and a leading-edge, global manufacturer for more than 50 years. Armacell LLC • 800-866-5638 www.armacell.us/_elastomeric_foam
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Pre-Game Fuel
G Series Energy Chews are a pre-game fuel in a convenient form. They are designed to be used about 15 minutes prior to training or competition to provide energy from a concentrated blend of carbohydrates to fuel athlete performance. G Series Energy Chews help make carbohydrate energy rapidly available to working muscles for the start of activity, so athletes might feel the difference at the beginning of training or competition. Gatorade • 800-884-2867 www.gatorade.com
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Testimonial
More Products Create a Great Facility
From the initial stages to completion, Southern Bleacher will work with you and your committee in creating a facility that will stand the test of time to ensure your investment. The company brings skill, innovative components, and a wealth of insight and information gleaned from thousands of jobs to your project. A Southern Bleacher grandstand is a rock-solid investment for sports programs and venues of every variety and size. Southern Bleacher Company • 800-433-0912 www.southernbleacher.com
Legend Fitness Receives Customer Approval
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Accurate Sports Information
DigitalSports® is the premier destination for the most accurate and up-to-date high school sports information. DigitalSports provides unprecedented media coverage of local youth sports with an opportunity for students to display articles, videos, and photographs about their team to a national audience. DigitalSports • 866-695-3248 www.digitalsports.com
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“Our racks from Legend Fitness look great and we are getting great use out of them. We have cut time in the weightroom because we can cycle athletes through the racks so much quicker. It has changed the total functionality of the weightroom—we actually have room to work.” — Chris Essig, Sandy Valley Local Schools, Magnolia, OH
Supports Muscle Rebuilding
G Series Protein Recovery Beverage is a protein and carbohydrate beverage formulated with the consistency of a thirst quencher. It has an effective amount of protein that contains essential amino acids needed to help support muscle rebuilding after training or competition. G Series Recover should be consumed within about 60 minutes after exercise for maximum muscle benefit. Gatorade • 800-884-2867 www.gatorade.com
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Programmable Pitching
The HomePlate pitching machine is the first programmable pitching machine designed for both batting cage and on-field use. Users can store up to eight different pitches—including fastballs up to 90 miles per hour, curveballs, changeups, sliders, and more—in eight different programs, with only seven seconds between pitches. The programmed pitches in the HomePlate can be thrown sequentially for specific hitting drills, randomly for game conditions, or in a way that simulates an opposing pitcher. The HomePlate features a patented three-wheel pitching mechanism for greater pitch accuracy, along with an 80-ball auto-feed system for $6,595. Sports Tutor • 800-448-8867 www.sportsmachines.com
“This company treated me with great respect and made the experience very pleasant. The equipment is great and we are very excited to have it. I look forward to future business with Legend Fitness.” — Chris Hobbs, Huntland High School, Huntland, TN
“I chose Legend Fitness for many reasons. Legend’s customer service was excellent. Secondly, the prices were great, which gave me flexibility to order more equipment and stay within my budget. Finally, Legend’s equipment has the colors, styles, and versatility I wanted.” — Keith Scott, IMPACT Training and Fitnes West Berlin, NJ
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Design-Build Solutions
ClearSpan Fabric Structures provides design-build solutions for your athletic and recreational structure needs. Hercules Truss Arch Buildings feature abundant natural light and spacious interiors without support posts for a superior training environment. With minimal foundation requirements, the structures can be permanent or temporary, and are easy to relocate. Made in the USA, they can be built to any length and up to 300 feet wide, and are designed to meet local wind and snow load requirements. ClearSpan Fabric Structures • 866-643-1010 www.clearspan.com
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Legend Fitness 866-753-4363 www.legendfitness.com
AthleticManagement.com | aug/sept 2012 75
stay current Our redesigned Web site features... • Headlines of the day •
A blog serving high school and college athletic directors
• Special digital supplements • A searchable database of articles
VISIT US AT
ATHLETICMANAGEMENT.com
SWEEP, GROOM, STERILIZE The GreensGroomer line of synthetic turf care products has never been more relevant for today’s infill turf systems. A regular maintenance routine will improve consistency, playability and safety while helping to extend the life of the surface. With the addition of the GreenZapr®, field sanitation can now be an easy and convenient process with an unbeatable cost per application. The hallmark of these patented designs is simplicity and durability. Each is loaded with the right features turf professionals require for improved turf performance and labor efficiencies while delivering ease of use and a lower total cost of ownership.
LitterKat® Sweeper with Tow-Behind Magnet Fast, Easy Removal of Surface Debris Magnet Removes Unwanted Ferrous Objects
Synthetic Sports Turf Groomer w/ Spring Tine Rake Stands Turf Fibers Up & Relieves Compaction
GreenZapr® with UVC Eradication Powerful UVC Microbe Eradication Simple, Cost-Effective, No Chemicals
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Insures a Level Playing Surface