Athletic Management 26.2 by Momentummedia

Special focus: Emotional Abuse in Coaching

March 2014

Vol. XXVI, No. 2

$7.00

Part of the Team

New ideas for partnering with parents › Social Media Strategies › Small College Fundraising › Taking a Time Out for Safety › Indoor Facility Products

Circle No. 100

Contents March 2014

Vol. XXVI, No. 2

WARMUP

4 High School News

New transgender law

7 Reaching Out SAACs team up

8 Fundraising Thinking big

10 Sports Medicine Time out for safety

SPECIAL FOCUS

A Hard Look

It’s become crystal clear that coaches who emotionally abuse players will no longer be tolerated. But it’s not always obvious if or when a coach has stepped over the line. A panel of veteran administrators offer insight and focus.

SOCIAL MEDIA

What’s Next?

LEADERSHIP

Surviving as an athletic director usually requires some on-the-job training. Lessen the learning curve with these “top 10” tips.

FUNDRAISING

12 Progressive Programs Developing team leaders

15 Tina Queen Frederick Douglass High School

Lessons Learned

Covering the Bases

For the small college athletic department, raising funds is sometimes an uncoordinated endeavor. A year-round strategic plan ensures you make the most of your efforts.

COACHING

New home page format

Q&A

In the world of social media—where what’s new today is old tomorrow—devising an effective fan interaction strategy requires a different kind of thinking.

10 Websites

Part of the Team

Parents can be a source of conflict. Or they can be a program’s best allies. The key is how a coach involves them with the team.

PRODUCT SECTION

Indoor Facilities

Featuring recommended flooring products as well as information on other gym components and basketball teaching aids.

45 GAMEPLANS

19 Honorary Captains Program By Mike Moore 21 Hiring Coaches

On the cover At Middleboro (Mass.) High School, coaches like Andy Dizel and Patrick Kingman (far left and far right, respectively) work to make athletes’ parents feel like part of the team. Helping coaches partner with parents is discussed in our Coaching article, starting on page 51.

By Joan McDermott

38 Sponsored Page: ScoreRewards 64 Advertisers Directory

COVER PHOTO: mark morelli

AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 1

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Editorial Board VOL. XXVI, NO. 2

MARCH 2014

Elizabeth “Betsy” A. Alden, PhD, President, Alden & Associates, Inc. Dan Cardone, retired Athletic Director, North Hills High School, Pa.

PUBLISHER Mark Goldberg

James Conn, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Health & Human Performance, Central Missouri State EDITOR IN CHIEF Eleanor Frankel

University Robert Corran, PhD, Director of Athletics, University of Vermont James Cox, Facilities and Events Coordinator and Adjunct Professor, Barry University Joan Cronan, Former Women’s Athletic Director, University of Tennessee Roger Crosley, Director of Communications, ECAC

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dennis Read ASSISTANT EDITORS RJ Anderson, Patrick Bohn, Mary Kate Murphy, Patrick Pizzuti ART DIRECTOR Pamela Crawford

Bernie DePalma, Assistant Athletic Director/Head Athletic Trainer/Physical Therapist, Cornell University Tom Douple, Commissioner, Mid-Continent Conference

CIRCULATION MANAGER Robin Flower

Jay Gardiner, Commissioner, Southern Athletic Association

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Maria Bise

Dale Gibson, EdD, Chair, Dept. of Education and Sport Management, Tusculum College Tom Gioglio, EdD, Director of Athletics, East Stroudsburg University Mike Glazier, Partner, Bond, Schoeneck & King Steve Green, Deputy Director of Athletics, Northwestern University Kevin Hatcher, Athletic Director, Cal State San Bernardino Phillip Hossler, ATC, Athletic Trainer, East Brunswick High School, N.J. E. Newton Jackson, Jr., PhD, Associate Provost, University of North Florida

GRAPHIC ARTIST Trish Landsparger PREPRESS MANAGER Neal Betts BUSINESS MANAGER Pennie Small SPECIAL PROJECTS Natalie Couch, Dave Wohlhueter ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Sharon Barbell MARKETING DIRECTOR Sheryl Shaffer

Dick Kemper, CMAA, Executive Director, Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Bob Knickerbocker, Athletic Equipment Coordinator, Michigan State University John Knorr, EdD, Professor of Kinesiology, former Director of Athletics, St. Edward’s University Donald Lowe, MA, ATC, Chairman of the Board, College Athletic Trainers' Society Robert Mathner, PhD, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Troy University Tim Neal, Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Medicine, Syracuse University Fred Nuesch, Coordinator of Athletic External Affairs, Texas A&M-Kingsville Jamie Plunkett, Head Athletic Trainer, Allegheny College Chris Ritrievi, Vice President of Development, Indiana University

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Matthew J. Robinson, EdD, Associate Professor/Director of Sport Management Program, University of Delaware Calli Theisen Sanders, EdD, Senior Associate Athletics Director, Iowa State University Terry Schlatter, EMC, Equipment Manager, University of Wisconsin Tim Slauter, CMAA, Assistant Principal, West Lafayette High School, Ind. Michael Slive, Commissioner, Southeastern Conference Donald Staffo, PhD, Professor, Health, Phys. Ed., & Rec., Stillman College Ellen Staurowsky, EdD, Professor of Sport Management, Drexel University William F. Stier, Jr., EdD, Director of Sport Management/ Coordinator of Sport Coaching, State University of New York at Brockport Lou Strasberg, University Travel Coordinator, The University of Memphis E. Michael Stutzke, CMAA, Athletic Director, Sebastian River High School, Fla. Michael Thomas, Director of Athletics, University of Illinois Troy Tucker, Athletic Director, Northampton Community College

Athletic Management (ISSN 1554-2033) is published bimonthly for a total of 6 times a year, by MAG, Inc., 20 Eastlake Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Athletic Management is distributed without charge to qualified high school and collegiate athletic program and athletic facilities personnel. The paid subscription rate is $24 for one year/six issues in the United States and $30.00 in Canada. The single copy price is $7. Copyright ©2014 by MAG, Inc. All rights reserved. Text may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without permission of the publisher. Unsolicited materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Periodicals postage paid at Ithaca, NY, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Athletic Management, P.O. Box 4806, Ithaca, NY 14852-4806.

Michael Vienna, PhD, Athletic Director, Salisbury University Randy Warrick, Athletic Director, University of South Carolina at Aiken

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William Whitehill, EdD, ATC, Director, Athletic Training Curriculum, Middle Tennessee State University Sister Lynn Winsor, BVM, CMAA, Athletic Director, Xavier College Preparatory, Ariz. Tom Yeager, Commissioner, Colonial Athletic Association

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WarmUp University of Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban is in the midst of a spectacular run of college football success. On his own campus, however, he’s not the most decorated coach by a long shot. With six national championships under her belt, Head Women’s Gymnastics Coach Sarah Patterson has been turning out Facilities winners in Tuscaloosa for 35 years. And now she has a plaza named in her honor.

beyond football

AP Photos/rich pedroncelli; kent gidley

On Jan. 1, California enacted a law allowing transgender studentathletes more choices and protections. Student Eli Erlick, above, testified before legislators during debate on the bill last summer.

High School News

CALIF. BEGINS New TG LAW Nine states currently have anti-discrimination policies for transgender high school student-athletes, either through their departments of education or state athletic associations. California recently took its protections one step further, becoming the first state to pass a law that allows transgender student-athletes to play on the team that represents the gender they identify with.

Located between the school’s football and baseball stadiums and not far from the indoor arena, the area has already become a multipurpose attraction and will provide tiered lawn seating for baseball contests. “Students and fans make a point of walking through it on their way to basketball games or gymnastics meets,” says Robbins. “At either end of the plaza, we have touchscreen kiosks relaying the history of each of our championship teams and we are planning to add information about all of our current squads. The plaza is a beautiful addition to our campus and is a great motivator for our current student-athletes to continue our tradition of success.”

Prior to the bill’s implementation, California law already prohibited discrimination based on gender identity (how someone classifies his or her own gender) or gender expression (how someone presents his or her gender in society). However, supporters of AB 1266 believed additional clarification was necessary for the K-12 student population. “Previous policies and procedures varied from district to district, but this law is clearer and more comprehensive,” says Kevin Gogin, Program Manager for School Health Programs at the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), which has had an inclu-

University of Alabama Gymnastics Coach Sarah Patterson cuts the ribbon to open the school’s new plaza dedicated to celebrating non-revenue sports.

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kent gidley

Assembly Bill 1266 went into effect on Jan. 1, amending California’s Education Code to include the following: “A pupil [is] permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his

or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

Marie Robbins, Senior Woman Administrator at Alabama, says the Sarah Patterson Champions Plaza was the brainchild of late Athletics Director Mal Moore, who wanted to remind fans of successful Crimson Tide teams flying under the radar. Dedicated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October, the plaza contains the busts of nonfootball coaches who have won national championships recently—Head Softball Coach Patrick Murphy, Head Women’s Golf Coach Mic Potter, and Head Men’s Golf Coach Jay Seawell, as well as Patterson—and banners recognizing SEC championship teams.

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sive policy for transgender student-athletes since 2003. “Students often change schools, so AB 1266 also ensures that the rights of transgender individuals are covered regardless of the school they attend.” Similar to SFUSD, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has had protections in place for transgender students-athletes since 2005. Chad Fenwick, Physical Education Advisor for LAUSD, says the key to successfully implementing the new law will be communication. “Our district policy has been that transgender student-athletes choose whether they want to play for the team of their biological sex or their gender identity,” he says. “Once they make their decision, they sit down with a counselor, the athletic director, and the sport coach to make a plan on how to move forward.

“The school’s top priority should be finding out what would make the athlete feel safe and comfortable on the team,” Fenwick continues. “For some individuals, that might mean changing for practice in a private area. Others may prefer to be near the coach’s office in the locker room because they feel better with an adult nearby. Each transgender student-athlete has different needs.” Gogin says another important aspect of helping a transgender athlete is to discuss the effects of his or her choice. “It’s common for the student to come into the meeting and say, ‘This is my gender identity, so I’m going to play on this team,’” says Gogin. “It is the educator’s job to make sure the student understands they will be outing themselves to the school community. They should go over the details of what that would

mean for the athlete personally, because it’s not something high school student-athletes always consider.” California athletic directors are also being advised to prepare for possible complaints and questions. Critics of the law cite potential problems in the locker room. However, in her experience as LAUSD’s Program Coordinator for the Office of Human Relations, Diversity, and Equity, Judy Chiasson says these fears are unfounded. “We have never encountered any inappropriate locker room behavior by a transgender individual in the nine years that LAUSD has had this policy,” she says. “It can be incredibly difficult for an individual to come out as transgender. So when a biological male identifies as a girl, she does so because she wants to be a girl all day long, not

because she wants to get into the girls’ locker room.” Others worry that transgender athletes could have an unfair competitive advantage because of the different physical attributes of males and females. “In my experience at SFUSD, transgender girls’ skill sets were often on par with the members of a girls’ sports team, and they didn’t drastically impact the competition,” says Gogin. Despite any controversy over the law, Gogin reminds athletic directors that transgender student-athletes should be treated like any other participant on a sports team. “The bottom line is that a studentathlete wants to play a sport,” he says. “He or she is willing to contribute to the team effort and abide by the rules. If the individual has the ability to make the squad on his or her merits, that’s all that should matter.”

Circle No. 103 | AthleticManagement.com 6 MARCH JUNE/JULY 2014 2009| AthleticManagement.com

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WarmUp Reaching Out

same team

Community service work by student-athletes is clearly a win-win situation. Two athletic departments in Greensboro, N.C., are making it a triple-win by partnering on a project to donate unused toiletries from hotels to those in need. Over the past two years, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAACs) at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and North Carolina A&T State University (NC A&T) have combined forces to gather soap, shampoo, and conditioner for a homeless assistance program. Along the way, they have learned from each other about the power of partnering. The seeds of the project were planted almost four years ago by Kwadjo Steele, Assistant Athletic Director for Student Development and SAAC advisor at UNCG. Though the schools are located just a few miles apart, Steele says student-athletes don’t typically spend time on one another’s campus. He felt this should change.

ity. A need for those supplies was identified at the Greensboro Urban Ministry, which is located between the two universities and offers services to the city’s homeless population. In September of 2012, Steele and the UNCG SAAC visited the A&T campus to discuss the specifics of the project. “It was important to me that our student-athletes visit their campus,” says Steele. “As an African-American, I understand that HBCUs can fly under the radar, and I wanted our student-athletes to realize that A&T is a great place with a rich culture.” In addition to hammering out the details of the undertaking, the meeting showed both groups that their similarities are greater than their differences. “We also learned a lot

from each other,” says Steele. “For example, at UNCG we do a lot of community service and have discussions on bigger topics, but we kind of struggle to find ways for our studentathletes to have fun together. Conversely, A&T does a great job doing activities to bring student-athletes together. They’re a very tight knit group and we saw how fellowship is facilitated among their athletes.” With a plan in place, the SAACs then worked with teams on their respective campuses to collect the toiletries. In the spring, they reconvened at a UNCG vs. A&T baseball game to box up their combined haul. “The game also provided some time for everyone to get to know each other better,” says Louis-Verrett. “Then we took the soap over to the ministry, which was a real eye-opener for the student-athletes. “We got to know the people at the ministry and learned about the needs they have and the people they help,” she continues. “That reminded students of the importance of giving back all year long and

showed them that they were making a real difference.” It also meant Louis-Verrett and Steele didn’t have to re-introduce the Soap for Hope idea this past fall. “The studentathlete leaders have picked it up themselves and made their own connections,” says LouisVerrett. “They call and e-mail each other without any oversight. They’ve really developed another network outside their own campuses.” With the project off and running for this year, Steele says he’s been pleased with how his student-athletes have embraced the joint effort, which is again set to culminate with a meet and greet Gallaudet at a spring baseball game University QR between the two schools. Code “Our student-athletes realized that the kids at A&T have the same goals as they do, are hard working, and want to have a positive impact on their community,” he says. “They also recognized there is strength in numbers and partnerships can be very valuable. Understanding how to collaborate and be accountable will benefit them as they move forward into the world.”

“Because of our proximity, I’ve always thought our studentathletes should be more familiar with one another,” says Steele. “So a few years ago, we brought their SAAC to one of our meetings, then took our student-athletes to a SAAC meeting on A&T’s campus.

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“That worked out great, and in 2012, I began talking to Katreshia Louis-Verrett, Senior Woman Administrator at NC A&T, who had just taken over as their SAAC advisor, about doing more with the partnership,” Steele continues. “After some discussion, Katre shia and I decided a good route was through community service.” One of Steele’s colleagues recommended doing a “Soap for Hope” benefit, an easy-toadminister initiative that asks student-athletes to collect the soap and shampoo from their hotel rooms during team road trips and donate them to char-

Student-athletes from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (in dark blue shirts) and North Carolina A&T State University (in light blue shirts) are learning that two SAACs are better than one, both when it comes to community service and learning to be leaders. AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 7

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WarmUp For every professional athlete in the limelight, there is usually a high school team that can boast about giving the player his or her start. But bragging rights are typically the only reward reaped.

thing with the jerseys he wore when he played here.”

That was the case at Millville (N.J.) High School, alma mater of MLB all-star Mike Trout, until Head Baseball Coach Roy Hallenbeck got off the phone with the host of a radio show during Trout’s rookie season in 2012. “He asked me if we were selling a lot of Mike Trout merchandise,” Hallenbeck says. “I told him that we didn’t have anything like that for sale, but it certainly got me thinking. I realized it was a good idea. “When we went to see Mike play in Anaheim earlier that season, my kids bought T-shirt replicas of his Angels jersey,” he continues. “I figured we could do the same

Hallenbeck’s first move was to speak with Trout’s family. “Mike’s father preceded me as baseball coach and was still working in the school at the time, so I asked him what he thought of the idea and got the go-ahead,” Hallenbeck says. “Then I talked to Mike and his agent, and they jumped on board as well.” Millville started the fundraiser with a dark blue shirt in 2012, offered an orange jersey last season, and is selling a white shirt this year. While most of the sales have been to locals, Hallenbeck says a fair chunk have come from California, thanks in part to Trout re-tweeting messages about the shirts. At $20 each, more than 1,000 have been sold over the past two seasons.

MLB star Mike Trout (on right) presents his replica jersey to a team captain at Millville (N.J.) High School, which has raised over $20,000 through the sale of Fundraising the T-shirts.

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Sports Medicine

As technology evolves, so have the designs of athletic department websites. Or have they?

Indiana University East is one of the first to dramatically change its home page, switching to a “Metro-style format” that was developed to look great on tablets and smartphones.

The Metro design consists of numerous rectangles of different sizes, which can contain graphics, photos, text, or videos. They rotate at predetermined intervals and are linked to other pages on the site. IU East typically has more than a dozen of these boxes on its home page at any one time, with secondary pages of the department’s website using a more traditional design.

Websites

squaring up “Like a lot of people, I’m usually using my phone or a tablet when I visit a website,” says IU East Athletic Director Mark Hester. “So I thought it made sense to go to a design that has that same look. Not only does it give the page a modern feel, it allows us to put a lot more information on our home page now.” Most of the work in redesigning the home page was done by Sports Information Director Kyle Wright, as well as the school’s marketing department and website hosting company. The process took only a couple of months and Hester says the conversion has been a hit. “I believe in promoting all the positive things we have going on here, and this new design helps us do that better,” he says. “The recruits and other people who visit the site all the time have provided tremendous positive feedback. We’ve also heard from some other schools that are thinking of doing something similar.” Hester’s sole regret is that the school did little to publicize the change. “We felt we had something special,” he says, “but we never anticipated so many people would have such a great response to it.”

time-out for safety From athletic trainers to EMS workers to physicians, most high schools have multiple types of medical care personnel providers on site during football games. But they may not all be on the same page if an emergency occurs. That’s why, last year, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) began recommending that schools conduct a medical “time-out” before contests to devise a specific emergency-action plan. High schools in West Virginia have taken the lead on the project, thanks to the work of Dr. Jim Kyle, Region I EMS Director and Lead Team Physician for Concord University’s football team. This past fall, he introduced the Friday Night Medical Time-Out program, traveling to 15 high school football games across the state to show sports medicine teams how to execute their own pregame reviews. “The medical time-out is similar to a pilot testing everything in the cockpit before takeoff or a surgeon going over a checklist before an operation,” says Kyle. “It helps prepare the sports medicine staff for anything that may arise.” Kyle recommends that anyone who might be called on to help in a medical or emergency situation be present at the meeting, such as EMS personnel, athletic trainers, team physicians, the athletic director, and law enforcement officers. It should be held 30 minutes before kickoff and cover the emergency action plan for a variety of catastrophic injuries as well as designate a safe landing zone for air medical transport.

To see the new design of the IU East athletic department home page, go to: www.iueredwolves.com.

Another aspect of the meeting is to review all the equipment that might be needed. “For example, most high schools have AEDs, but they may be

locked in the athletic director’s office instead of on the sideline,” Kyle says. “Similarly, one of the first steps in treating a football player with a head injury is to remove his face mask. The tools to accomplish this differ for each brand of helmet, so unless you have the correct ones with you, the face mask won’t come off.” Health care providers can also use this time to come up with a system for non-verbal communication. Holly Disibbio, Athletic Trainer at Bluefield (W.Va.) High School, worked with Kyle at a Friday Night Medical Time-Out this past fall, and those working games at her school now use arm movements to represent different injuries. “Our team physician makes an X with his arms if he needs help with an injury on the field,” she says. “If he needs EMS for a backboard and cervical collar, he makes a series of X’s. “The arm movements are important because the medical staff recognizes them as distress signals, but they don’t alarm the crowd,” Disibbio continues. “For parents in the stands, watching athletic trainers frantically wave their arms or put a towel over their injured child can cause a lot of anxiety. This system is clear and easy for us to remember—but also discreet.”

› To view the NATA’s official

statement on the pregame medical time-out, visit: www.nata.org/sites/ default/files/TimeOut.pdf.

Disibbio puts her own spin on medical time-outs by providing written protocols to visiting athletic trainers. “I type up our emergency action plan and

10 MARCH 2014 | AthleticManagement.com

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WarmUp include my cell phone number as well as the contact information for local medical facilities,” she says. “When athletic trainers are in the heat of the moment treating an injury, they can forget some of the

details covered in the pregame medical time-out. But this way, the information is at their disposal.” This fall’s Friday Night Medical Time-Out was a well-received trial run, and Kyle is in the

process of expanding the program to other sports and multiple levels of competition. “Parents asked me to start organizing pregame meetings at middle school football games and girls’ high school

soccer games,” he says. “And several schools throughout the state have called to express their interest in the medical time-outs. Hopefully, we can continue to further our reach in the future.”

Acr66365268517100825551.pdf 1 2/6/14 11:26 AM

Medical personnel, police, and school administrators participate in a Friday Night Medical Time-Out before a football game at Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley, W.Va., last November. The pregame meeting ensures everyone is prepared and working together in the event a medical emergency arises.

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Progressive Programs

captain to captain Recognizing the importance of team captains, many athletic departments are putting special programs in place to teach student-athlete leaders about their roles. Connecticut College reached into its past to do so, inviting former captains back to campus to share their insights. The event was part of a three-day Captains’ Leadership Program held just before classes started in August, during which current team captains engaged in a series of workshops with coaches and other campus professionals. Athletic Director Fran Shields developed the idea of tapping former Camels captains as a resource with his Athletic Department Advisory Committee, which includes two associate athletic directors and three head coaches. “We figured there is no one better to speak about being a leader for Connecticut College athletics than its former leaders,” Shields says. “These are people our current captains can easily relate to because they’ve shared a similar experience.”

This past fall, Gettysburg College wanted its athletic department to take part in commemorations of the150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. At the same time, Barb Jordan, the school’s Head Field Hockey Coach, was looking for ways to partner with the nearby Gettysburg (Pa.) High School squad. Both needs were met when the two schools played in the “Battle in the ‘Burg” doubleheader on Oct. 5.

“I had been talking with [Gettysburg High Head Field Hockey Coach] Janelle Ebaugh for a while about ways our programs could work together,” Jordan says. “When I heard the college was asking teams to help promote the anniversary of the battle, I thought we could celebrate it together. I asked Janelle if she could find a game on their schedule to move to our field so we could play back-to-back contests.”

The seven speakers included four males: Bill Barrack ’81, a former men’s lacrosse and ice hockey captain who is now the Managing Director at a commercial real estate company; Trevor Prophet ’11, a former men’s soccer and tennis captain who now is an Assistant Coach for the Camels’ men’s soccer team; Vin Farrell ‘81 a former men’s lacrosse captain who works for an advertising agency; and Kareem Tatum, a member of the 1999 men’s basketball team that went to the NCAA Division III Final Four who spent numerous years teaching and coaching high school basketball. The women present were: Jane McKee Douglas ’84, a former women’s lacrosse

captain who runs her own communications company; Molly Kawachi ’06, a former volleyball captain who works for a public relations firm; and Jessica LeClair ’08, a former women’s rowing captain who is now an Assistant Coach with the program. The evening event included a dinner and then talks from the former captains, each of whom spoke for about 15 minutes. “I had provided them with basic parameters of what we were trying to accomplish, but beyond that, I let them speak about whatever they chose,” says Shields. “For example, Kareem talked about how the players on his 1999 squad put the team before themselves, and how that was critical to their success. “Bill said that being a team captain made him realize he could be a corporate leader,” Shields continues. “And that even if the impact of that leadership doesn’t resonate with you now, you’ll draw on it in your professional life.” After the speeches, the alumni met in smaller groups with current coaches and captains for more personal interactions. “Vin really got through to our captains,”

Ebaugh secured an opponent in Littlestown (Pa.) High School and worked to notify the game referees of the change in venue. Meanwhile, Jordan devised ways to make the game day especially memorable for the younger participants. “The Gettysburg High players were already excited to play on a turf field in a big stadium, but we wanted to make sure they got a college-like atmosphere as well,” Jordan says. “So we turned on our scoreboard and had one of our assistant coaches do player introductions over the loudspeaker before the game. “During the high school game, our players served as ball chasers, and we announced the names of athletes credited with goals and assists following scoring plays,” she continues. “Those are things high school teams don’t often get to experience, and it really resonated with them.”

The Gettysburg (Pa.) High School field hockey team poses for a group photo after beating Littlestown (Pa.) High School in the Battle in the ‘Burg. In addition, Jordan asked her players’ parents to stay for the high school game and several families did, helping boost attendance. The two coaches plan to make this an annual event and want it to be bigger and better next year. “We’ve talked about making it a fundraiser and selling T-shirts,” says Jordan. “We really think it has the potential to grow.”

Field of battle

12 MARCH 2014 | AthleticManagement.com

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Special Events

From there, Shields reached out to see which former captains would be interested in participating. “The biggest challenge was ensuring that the speaker lineup was balanced,” he says. “I wanted to have both men and women who represented a variety of sports and ages. It was important that all of our current captains felt they had a connection to at least one of the speakers.”

WarmUp Shields says. “He told them, ‘In my job, I supervise others, so I need to know how to get them to buy into what my company is doing. That’s the same kind of thing you need to do with your team out on the field.’ The players loved hearing that.” The captain-to-captain mentoring meshed well with the rest of the Leadership Program’s activities. The event began on a Wednesday night with coaches leading a discussion on being a team leader and adhering to the honor code. The next day, current captains met with faculty members to discuss issues such as time management and with campus officials on bystander intervention. That evening featured the alumni captains, and on Friday, current captains put their leadership into action by helping first-year students move into their dorms.

As part of a three-day Captains’ Leadership Program at Connecticut College, alumni who had served as team captains were invited back to campus to share their advice with current student-athletes. Above, Bill Barrack, a former men’s lacrosse and ice hockey captain, speaks to current captains while other panelists look on.

Shields says the key to making a program like this successful is to obtain buy in from the entire school. “We had lots of stakeholders involved, from administration to campus life,” he says. “That helps give the event more credibility with student-athletes because they see it’s something we all emphasize. We feel that players got a lot out of it.”

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Circle No. 109

Q & A

Tina Queen Frederick Douglass High School, Baltimore

Growing up in inner-city Baltimore, Tina Queen played sports to create opportunities for herself. Now, as Athletic Director at Baltimore’s Frederick Douglass High School, she is creating opportunities for today’s student-athletes. As a teen, Queen didn’t love sports, but her parents told her that an athletic scholarship was likely her only chance to afford college. She earned a scholarship to play basketball at Coppin State University and graduated in 1996, developing a passion for athletics along the way. Queen began her career teaching and coaching boys’ basketball, girls’ volleyball, and girls’ badminton at Southwestern High School in Baltimore and later became the school’s athletic director. She left for the same post at Frederick Douglass in 2007, where she has helped revitalize the athletic department.

AM: When did you know you wanted to be an athletic director?

When did you start tying athletic success to academic success?

Queen: At Southwestern, I worked under a great athletic director named Dave Lang, whom I watched very closely. Everything he did amazed me. He taught, he ran the athletic department, and everything at the school seemed to go through him. People gravitated toward him and looked to him for answers.

It really began in 2010 when our principal, Dr. Antonio Hurt, arrived on campus. When he and I sat down to assess athletics, he said, “I’m not going to tell you how to run your program, but I do suggest that we focus on academics. If we put academics first, we can improve not only the athletic program, but the school itself.” So between the two of us, we agreed to make academics a focus for all of our teams.

I asked Mr. Lang if I could shadow him and learn what it was like to be an athletic director. He agreed and taught me so much. I decided that if he ever left, I would pursue the position. That happened, but I didn’t get the job and was pretty disappointed. Then, a short time later, the person who was hired didn’t work out and they promoted me to athletic director.

What were your goals when you took over at Frederick Douglass? I wanted to restore the school’s once proud athletic tradition and create a comprehensive program where all of the teams were thriving, including football, which was struggling at the time. When I first started, I went back through old yearbooks and looked at the tradition that used to be here. In order to understand where you’re working, you have to know its history, and years ago, Frederick Douglass was one of the premier AfricanAmerican schools in the country, both academically and athletically.

We started by explaining to our athletes that if their main focus was not getting better in school, then this wasn’t the place for them. We also spelled out how you can’t play college sports if you don’t have the grades. We told them when college coaches come to our building on recruiting trips, the first thing they ask is to see the student-athletes’ transcripts. From there, we instituted mandatory study halls for all of our teams. Every athlete has to attend at least three times a week.

How do you impress the importance of academics on your coaches? They know that if they don’t buy in, they won’t be here very long. We tell our coaches that it’s about helping the kids, not using them for their athletic ability so the team can win games. We want them to partner with academics to help our kids take the next step and go to college. It starts with the hiring

At Frederick Douglass, Queen has made student-athlete academics a top priority and last fall hired a full-time academic coach for the football team through an NFL-funded program. In 2009, she was honored as Baltimore City Athletic Director of the Year. In this interview, Queen talks about partnering with her principal to put academics first, tapping into community resources, and why she continues to coach j.v. girls’ volleyball and badminton.

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This past fall, Camron West led Douglass to its first state title game in football.

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AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 15

process and making sure new coaches are all on the same page with our vision.

student-athletes on it—but we’re hoping to expand it to all of our teams next fall.

How do you assess if a coaching candidate will buy into your vision?

What was the process for hiring Michelle Harper as academic coach?

When we sit down for an interview, I don’t prompt them or lead them to an answer. I ask them to write down their coaching philosophy, and if they don’t have anything in it about their educational goals, then they’re not the coach for us. We know we can find people who can teach kids how to throw

I was on the interview panel that included representatives from the NFL and community leaders. My principal designated me to represent our building’s interests in the process because I would be working closely with whoever was hired. We had a lot of applicants, so it was a long process.

“There is money out there, and there are people who want to help, you just have to find them. Sometimes this means knocking on doors. You have to be willing to be humble, introduce yourself, and ask for help.” and catch a ball and do all the X’s and O’s. What we want to know is their plan for the kids when they are done playing high school sports. What are the big-picture goals? We want to find coaches who don’t have to be told to put education first.

Is that what happened when you hired Head Football Coach Elwood Townsend in 2008? Yes. When we interviewed Elwood, he told me that his philosophy was focused on building character and putting academics first. He said he wanted to meet with each of his players’ teachers on a regular basis and asked if it was possible to attend a faculty meeting so the teachers could get to know him. He also said that, in putting together a coaching staff, he would bring in guys who had success both on the field and in life. And that’s what he’s done. He has hired assistants the kids can relate to and look up to as role models. One gentleman we had this year played college football and is now pursuing a master’s degree. That’s the type of person we want around our kids—men who are still working on improving themselves through education. The student-athletes see that and want to act similarly.

What is the 1st and Goal Program you implemented last fall? It’s a pilot initiative designed by the Family League of Baltimore that we are using to improve student-athletes’ grades and help make them more college-ready. The program includes a full-time academic coach funded by the NFL. Right now, only our football team is involved—because it has the most Circle No. 110

To choose the best candidate, we had to make sure that the person had a background in education and that they would be able to handle our innercity boys. We also wanted to weed out candidates who were only interested in the job because the NFL was involved. There were a lot of former college football players who applied thinking that it was a way for them to get one step closer to working in the NFL.

What are the academic coach’s duties? Michelle’s priority is to help football studentathletes stay on track to graduate and help those with college aspirations reach their goals. She is in the building all day, every day, year round. She travels with the team, monitors players’ schedules, sits in on classes, and communicates with teachers. Michelle knows when a player didn’t do well on a test or didn’t turn in an assignment. She talks to the coach when someone needs to miss practice for tutoring. Even now that the season’s over, she’s there making sure the players are working hard in school.

What else do you do to motivate your football players to succeed academically? Even before we hired the academic coach, our football coach had been making great strides with the team’s academics. He was already tracking his kids and posting the team GPA in the locker room along with goals for where he wanted that mark to be. In fact, last fall we had six football players inducted into the National Honor Society. Before that, we’d never had any player achieve this honor. Our kids see that we—and now people from the NFL, too—notice what they do in the classroom. They understand that a lot of people are investing their time in helping them succeed, and they don’t want to let those people down.

This past fall, your football team had its best season ever, going 13-1 with its only loss coming in the Class 1A state championship game. What did the team’s on-field success mean to you?

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Q & A To see these kids work so hard on and off the field, and then have it pay off was so, so gratifying. Usually if a kid asks me if I saw them score a touchdown, I’ll kind of dismiss it and ask how they did on a test. Well, after they won the regional championship game, I said, “Now, tell me about your touchdown.”

What is the biggest obstacle currently facing your program? Right now our female enrollment is down school-wide, which has affected turnout for our girls’ teams. Another reason for our decreased female participation rate is that our school has a very successful early college program and many of our young ladies elect to take several classes at Baltimore City Community College, which puts them on a track to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree. Those classes often conflict with sports schedules, and we have a lot of parents who would rather their daughters participate in the early college program instead of athletics. The program is great and you can’t get mad at someone for doing it. I just wish they were able to do both, which is something we’re working on.

How can inner city athletic directors maximize resources? They should know that there is money out there, and there are people who want to help, you just have to find them. You have to put in the legwork and sit down with administrators and guidance counselors to research different grants and resources that are available. Sometimes this means going into the community and knocking on the doors of college and community leaders, asking, “Can you come in and mentor our kids or offer some type of assistance?” The old adage that it takes a village to raise a child is very

true. You have to be willing to be humble, introduce yourself, and ask for help.

What are your career goals? One day, I would like to become an athletic administrator at the collegiate level. I attend conferences and am pursuing certifications, which are stepping stones to enhance my skills so that maybe one day I can challenge myself at a different level. Right now, when I see different positions posted that appeal to me, I know I’m not ready for them yet. But it prompts me to ask myself what I need to do to get ready.

Why do you still coach? It keeps me grounded, because that’s where I started. When I get bogged down in paperwork all day, it feels good to get out to practice and have fun. It also lets my athletes see a more human side of me. As an athletic director, sometimes you have to make tough decisions and be the bad guy. When they see Coach Queen, they see another side of me.

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How do you balance all of your duties while making sure details don’t fall through the cracks? I create a lot of to-do lists and try to write everything on a whiteboard so I can see what I need to do when I walk into my office. One thing I’ve learned is not to respond to every e-mail right away. I prioritize what needs immediate attention and what can be put off for a couple of days. Screen printed

Also, I love my job. If you’re not someone who is passionate about what you do, you can’t balance everything that goes into this job—I don’t care how great of a multi-tasker you are.

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I try to give them the same type of attention and respect my parents gave me. Even though I came from a two-parent home, we didn’t have much money and my mom always told me, “You have to do what you have to do to go to college.” So I say the same thing to the kids here and explain that they can’t make excuses. I tell them, “For every sad story you have, somebody else has it worse than you. You never want to make people feel sorry for you. Rise above your situation.”

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Circle No. 113

GARY HOVLAND

GamePlan Leadership

permission, after which the student picks a jersey to wear on game night. Coach Gunter then notifies me, as district athletic director, so I can make sure the honorary captain’s name, along with the names of his or her parents, are included on the scrolling message board at the football stadium.

Captains Courageous

It’s one thing to tell your student-athletes that athletics is a privilege. It’s another to show them. By Mike Moore Since it opened its doors in 1969, MacArthur High School in Lawton, Okla., has been as much a community—almost a family—as it has been an institution of learning. This has been embodied by its football team, especially since Ernie Manning began as Head Coach in 1993, followed by his son, Brett Manning, who took over in 2010. Ernie continues to contribute as offensive line coach. One commonality between father and son is that they both think deeply about how sports affect not just the players but everyone around them. The Mannings believe that athletics can be a way to include others who do not have the opportunity to participate on a team. And both view athletics as one piece of the community we call school. With that philosophy in mind, Coach Brett Manning began the Honorary Captain

Program in 2011. Its original goal was to involve a sector of the student population who are unable to play football, which then grew to include the local community. The results have been fabulous.

Special Students The first year of the program started with a simple idea: What if we asked special needs students—including both those with physical and cognitive challenges—to be a part of the football team by serving as honorary captains during home games? After speaking with administrators and teachers, a plan was put into place that we still follow today.

On game night, the honorary captain is escorted to the MacArthur locker room before warm-up time. Players make the student feel welcome by visiting and talking with him or her. After the warm-up period, when the officials call for the coin toss, the player captains and honorary captain walk handin-hand out to the middle of the field. The PA announcer introduces the players from both sides and then makes special mention of the honorary captain. As player captains from both teams shake hands, those from the visiting teams have almost always shaken hands with the special needs honorary captain. After the coin toss, he or she joins the team back in the locker room to hear final instructions from Coach Manning. The honorary captain then watches the game on the sideline. There have been several rewarding aspects of this program. To begin, when the idea for honorary captains was first presented to the football team, Coach Manning’s players were immediately on board. They believed it would be a really

One of the team’s assistant coaches, Odell Gunter, is also a special needs instructor, and he selects a student to be the honorary captain each week. The student’s parents are notified and asked to grant

Mike Moore is District Athletic Director for the Lawton (Okla.) Public Schools, which includes Eisenhower, Lawton, and MacArthur High Schools. He can be reached at: mike.moore@lawtonps.org.

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GamePlan Leadership “cool” thing to do. Each ensuing team has embraced the concept, and players always make the honorary captain feel special and included. In addition, the honorary captains have all shown a captivating sense of excitement in getting to be around the players in the locker room and during the game. It is always a touching

The lessons our student-athletes take from this program are unique. They begin to understand that we have not all been dealt the same hand, and that our freedoms don’t come without sacrifice. moment to witness parents of a special needs student beam with pride as their child gets to be a part of something they haven’t been able to.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, MacArthur players get a reminder of how fortunate they are to be able to participate in athletics. They can acutely understand that being a member of the football team should never be taken for granted.

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Prior to the 2012 season, the MacArthur football staff came up with a plan to expand the Honorary Captain Program into the larger community. Because MacArthur is located adjacent to Fort Sill, an artillery center and military training post, a large portion of its students have military ties or parents who work in civil service at the fort. The new idea was to ask a member of the military who was injured while deployed to serve as an additional honorary captain. To line up military honorary captains, the coaches turned to Edward Pulido, Major (ret.), Vice President of the Folds of Honor Foundation and a 1986 graduate of MacArthur. At each home game, the member of the military wears his or her uniform and walks out for the coin toss with the player captains and special needs honorary captain. The soldier’s duty resume is read over the PA, and the fans always show their appreciation for the sacrifices he or she has made. The official then gives the soldier a special commemorative coin to toss, which he or she keeps as a memento. The coin is designed by and paid for by the MacArthur football booster club, an organization that has wholeheartedly endorsed the Honorary Captain Program. Once the coin toss ceremony is over, players and honorary captains go to the locker room together. As district athletic director, I am very proud of what Coach Manning and his staff, the players, the booster club, and the fans have accomplished through the Honorary Captain Program. It is something that transcends the game itself. As much as our student-athletes are taught important lessons every day, the ones they take from this program are unique. They begin to understand that we have not all been dealt the same hand, and that our freedoms don’t come without sacrifice. The student-athletes also realize that life is not all about them—it’s about us as a community.

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GamePlan Hiring

GARY HOVLAND

We are intentional about the culture within our athletic department and look for coaches who fit that culture.

Uncovering Intangibles The first criterion on our hiring list is ability to win. An initial way we delve into this quality is by seeing if a coach comes from a winning background. We also look at what the candidate has done to improve his or her past program(s).

Under the Microscope How can you know if a coaching candidate will be a winner for your program? This author explains how she goes in-depth with her hiring process. By Joan McDermott One of the largest responsibilities of an athletic director is hiring coaches who will be successful at their institution. While providing resources, support, and mentoring are all important, it starts with finding the right individual. At Metropolitan State University of Denver, we have been fortunate to have made some very successful coaching hires. Over the past decade, we have consistently been one of the top NCAA Division II programs in the nation, with eight of our 14 teams making NCAA postseason appearances last year. During the past 16 years, our teams have won 32 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) regular season titles and 35 RMAC tournament championships. Our squads have also made 105 NCAA

postseason appearances, with four team national championships. We’ve accomplished those achievements not just with veteran coaches, but by continually hiring up-and-coming coaches who know how to help athletes excel. Last year alone, we hired five new head coaches, and both our men’s and women’s basketball coaches—whose teams have been consistent NCAA postseason participants—are in just their fourth seasons at Metro State. Being a great coach starts with knowledge and experience, but we try to discern a lot more before bringing anyone on board. We dig deeper and take the search to a higher level, looking at core values and character, stamina, and vision.

Hand-in-hand with winning is the coach’s ability to recruit. We want to know their recruiting philosophy, how they develop their contacts, and how they go about evaluating recruits. We’ll look at if they’ve recruited student-athletes with good character and academics and if they have an eye for athletic talent. Can they find the athlete who has a “high ceiling?” The third thing we look for is involvement in coaches’ associations and committee work. This experience demonstrates a coach’s passion and dedication to the profession as well as a desire for improvement. From there, we attempt to uncover a lot of intangibles to find our perfect hire. Is a candidate’s team sound fundamentally, well prepared, composed, and confident? Is the coach getting the most out of his or her athletes? Does the team play hard, and are the athletes engaged when the coach is speaking? We pay close attention to how a coach manages the game, including time-outs, and how he or she interacts with student-athletes and officials. In assessing a candidate who is currently an assistant coach, we look for similar qualities while knowing their role. Are Joan McDermott is in her 16th year as Director of Athletics at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She has served on the NCAA Division II Management Council, NACDA Executive Committee, and NACWAA Board of Directors, and can be reached at: mcdermoj@msudenver.edu.

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they engaged in the game, in sync with the head coach, and having positive interactions with the student-athletes? We also search for someone who knows how to develop a team from start to finish. At Metro State, we call these individuals “grinders.” This type of personality knows what they want and has the ability

thoughtful and strategic in everything they do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. In other words, we look for a coach who has the discipline to stay consistent in their actions, values, goals, and performance standards. Another important criterion is utilizing everyone’s time efficiently. We want a

I ask everyone who meets with the candidate to remember this saying: The way you do anything is the way you do everything. Character shows in everything we do, even the little things. to develop a plan and pursue their goal to completion. A successful grinder is process driven and focused. This coach will keep a steady, but not frantic, pace.

coach who focuses on things within their control—the strengths of the program should be emphasized, and the weaknesses should be considered as challenges.

In addition, our ideal coach needs to have a clear vision of how they want their team to play and act. This goes beyond having a goal, such as winning a national championship, and is more of a blueprint. The coach needs to demonstrate that they are

A critical core value desired in a coach is the proven ability to develop relationships with student-athletes in order to teach and motivate. It is important that trust is developed. The student-athlete needs to know that the coach cares

about him or her as an individual. Finally, we want to hire a coach who is ambitious but never makes things about them. They deflect attention and credit but accept responsibility. I want individuals on our staff to hold themselves accountable. To uncover these intangibles, I try to watch coaches as much as possible and observe how they work. In addition, we ask both the references and the candidate very pointed questions in these areas.

Strong Pool Finding coaches with all of the above qualities is not easy. So we always strive to develop a strong pool of candidates. This entails advertising the open position widely and being proactive. I am always developing a mental list of future coaching candidates for all sports. At every sporting event I watch, part of my focus is on the coaches. I am constantly observing the style, methods, and interactions of the opposing coaching staff. One of the coaches currently at Metro State started out at a competing institution. When our teams played each other, I immediately noticed that the coach had

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GamePlan Hiring made a huge impact on her squad. This was a program that was continually at the bottom of the conference, but she had turned it into a team that hustled, was fundamentally sound, and was sharp and crisp when executing plays. At the time, our program was ranked high nationally, and there was a good chance we would lose our coach to a Division I program. I knew that when the time came, I would want to consider hiring this individual. Another valuable tool in developing a strong pool of candidates is to entertain discussions with peer athletic directors about coaches. I like to talk to others about their hiring process. I want to know the candidates in their own pool, because there may be some potential coaches there for us.

arrives on campus, we feel that we know them very well.

In-Depth Interview When it comes time for the interview, we attempt to put the candidate through a rigorous day. It begins with me early in the morning and ends with me late in the afternoon, with many one-on-one meetings with others throughout the day. We involve our coaches, student-athletes, faculty athletic representative, and various administrators from both inside and outside athletics. Sometimes, we are able to involve alumni and faculty members.

challenge, or experience, is usually reflective of how they approach all things. Those involved in the interview process are asked to give me the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. For staff members, the feedback can either be through dialogue or e-mail. For studentathletes, I ask them to text or e-mail me. I don’t want them to rank the candidates, but just provide their thoughts. I gather all the feedback and compare it to my observations and along with my president, make the decision.

ATHLETIC MANAGEMENT Paramount is the question of whether the coach is a good fit. The individual must Purposely, the candidate is “on” throughbuy into the shared vision of the departSalsbury out the whole day. I look to see ifIndustries the

With a strong list of candidates, we try to bring in only the top prospects for interviews. We do a thorough background check on each coach prior to issuing an invitation to interview. With permission from the candidate, we contact sources off the reference list, asking staff members to call their counterpart at the candidate’s institution. For example, we may have our volleyball or basketball coach make those calls. Once the candidate

candidate acts consistently and gives a sincere message to all individuals, as well as how they handle pressure. Do they tire and let their guard down? Do they have the same energy and message at the end of the day as they did at the beginning? Are they truly a grinder? I ask everyone who meets with the candidate to remember this saying: The way you do anything is the way you do everything. Character shows in everything we do, even the little things. How an individual handles and manages any situation,

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ment and possess the ability to communicate with me. I am looking for the coach who will work “with” me rather than “for” me. There are usually strengths and weaknesses with every candidate. The key is to find the coach whose strengths fit best with the institution and program. Due diligence performed in the recruitment process increases both the success and retention of the coach. Once you have identified that individual, you are ready to make a successful hire.

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SPECIAL FOCUS

Like many veteran athletic administrators, Sue Willey was previously a successful coach. And like many effective coaches, she used a variety of tactics to motivate her players. She remembers one in particular that, at the time, did not cause her to think twice. “If I had a volleyball player who kept missing serves in practice, she would be asked to stand on the sidelines while everyone else on the team ran sprints,” says Willey, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Indianapolis, who also teaches courses on sports ethics at the school. “My intent was to show her that her mistakes hurt the whole squad.” Today, however, Willey instructs her staff of coaches to remove drills like this from their repertoire. “I was speaking to Janet Judge [President of Sports Law Associates LLC] about this type of drill, and she said it could be classified as abuse because I was humiliating the student-athlete,” Willey says. “What used to be common practice is no longer tolerated, and a lot of college

coaches need to rethink some of their motivational strategies.” It’s been more than a year since Mike Rice was fired as head men’s basketball coach at Rutgers University after video footage of him shoving players, throwing basketballs at them, cursing, and using homophobic language was made public, leading to a national discussion on emotional abuse by coaches. In the time since, athletic directors at every level have been re-evaluating what’s acceptable and what’s not when it comes to motivating student-athletes. DEFINING THE PROBLEM

The most difficult aspect of this topic may be pinpointing exactly what constitutes emotional abuse in coaching. Greg Dale, Director of Sport Psychology and Leadership Programs for the Duke University athletic department, says the difference between tough love and abuse largely comes down to the coach’s approach.

By Mary Kate Murphy Click here to become a subscriber of Athletic Management

orlin wagner/ap photos

A HaRD

look AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 25

“Coaches can and should be demanding of their players, but they should never be demeaning,” he says. “Emotional abuse occurs when coaches get personal with their criticisms. “They should focus on a player’s mistake without zeroing in on him or her as an individual,” Dale continues. “It’s not about coaches being soft or not having high expectations—it’s about correcting athletes without cutting them down in the process. It’s an art, but the best coaches figure out how to do it.” Dale, who conducts workshops across the country on this subject, believes that cursing at players falls into the demeaning

got to give me more,’ I don’t think that’s abuse—it’s coaching.” In Carver’s experience, quiet mistreatment can be just as damaging as loud, public outbursts. “Coaches can emotionally abuse players without ever raising their voice,” he says. “They might treat everyone on the team fairly except one individual, singling him or her out negatively any chance they get—that certainly is emotional abuse.” Dale challenges coaches to also rethink the concept of motivation through punishment. For example, he believes running should not be used as a disciplinary tool. “Most athletes have to be in great shape to perform well, so making them run following a mistake only causes them to hate something they need to do,” he says. “That’s like teachers using homework as a form of punishment. Students need homework to help them improve, just like athletes need conditioning.” The Duke field hockey team is proof positive that programs can be successful without this type of discipline, says Dale. “They played in the national championship game last fall,” he explains. “The squad has a healthy culture, the kids love playing for the coach, and the athletes are in great shape, all without ever running for punishment.”

Mike Ellson pays close attention to players’ demeanor when they interact with their coach during games.“Let’s say a coach is talking to a basketball player who just had three turnovers,” he says. “Are they looking the coach in the eye, or is their head down?” category. “Swearing at someone belittles and humiliates them,” he says. “What would a coach do if their athletic director regularly cursed them out at staff meetings? More likely than not, they wouldn’t want to pitch in when the going got tough. The same rationale applies to student-athletes.” How about yelling at practice? In his 30 years in high school sports, Bruce Carver, Executive Director of Athletics at Rio Rancho (N.M.) Public Schools, has dealt with accusations of abuse leveled against coaches who shout, and he has found the message is more important than the volume. “When a coach shouts, ‘If you don’t do this, I’m going to come over there and slap you in the face,’ that’s obviously abusive and shouldn’t be tolerated,” he says. “But if they yell, ‘You can do better than that,’ or ‘You’ve Mary Kate Murphy is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management. She can be reached at: mkmurphy@MomentumMedia.com.

PREVENTION

Fostering a culture where no coach on staff ever crosses the line into emotionally abusive territory doesn’t happen overnight, however. For Eric Hyman, Athletics Director at Texas A&M University, the process begins with who you hire. “You don’t teach values—you hire values,” he says. “Before getting to the interview stage, I do a lot of legwork and research into a coach’s background.” Hyman will often track down people he trusts who know a candidate. “I ask them, ‘When no one else is watching, what kind of person is the coach? How does he treat his athletes?’” he says. “It helps you get a better sense for them and can eliminate future problems.” Another key is making sure that coaches thoroughly understand the behavioral expectations of the program. “Athletic directors should hold meetings at the beginning of every year to spell out the standards and values the coaches must uphold,” says Dale. “It’s helpful to use ‘standards and values’ instead of ‘rules and regulations’ because the latter is more punitive than positive.

When people hear about rules, they focus in on what they’re not supposed to do, but values speak more to how you want coaches to interact with student-athletes.” Willey tries to paint a picture for her coaches of what is and is not acceptable. “One method that seems to hit home is when I ask coaches, ‘Would you say or do that to your own child?’” she says. “For all intents and purposes, the student-athletes are our kids, so it’s usually a good way for coaches to self-check their behavior.” “Athletic directors should also stay in touch with their coaches throughout the year,” says Dale. “Instilling your standards is an ongoing process. It’s not something you can do once in a while.” Staff training sessions can help drive home standards and get coaches thinking about their motivational tactics in a deeper way. “Workshops invite coaches to reflect on whether or not their way of doing things is really the right approach,” Dale says. “In the ones I do, we talk about the art of being able to communicate and demand excellence of student-athletes without being abusive. For example, what’s a coach’s demeanor like on the sidelines when a player makes a mistake? If their response is to yell, throw things, and yank the athlete out of the game, that’s going to negatively impact the player. “Coaches are hungry for these discussions, because they typically don’t get a lot of training in the area of emotional abuse,” he continues. “I often hear, ‘I wish I would have heard this at the beginning of my career,’ or ‘I hadn’t ever really thought about this before.’” RED FLAGS

Along with preventative measures, athletic directors need to be on the lookout for coaches who may not be getting the message. Wild outbursts have drawn the most media attention, but coaches can be emotionally abusive in many different ways, and warning signs can be subtle. Some coaches may also act differently behind closed doors. Mike Ellson, Athletic Director at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tenn., pays close attention to players’ demeanor when they interact with their coach during games. “It might be the most important way to find out if a coach is being abusive,” he says. “Let’s say a coach is talking to a basketball player who just had three turnovers. I watch the athlete’s body language. Are they looking the coach in the eye, or is their head down? “To me, eye contact means that the player knows the coach is invested in them, and therefore the player is willing to receive

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SPECIAL FOCUS

constructive criticism,” Ellson continues. “That’s probably not the case if the athlete is looking at the ground.” Carver catches up with alumni for insight into a coach’s behavior. “Former players aren’t going to have good things to say about a coach who was emotionally abusive,” he says. “Current student-athletes might not say much for fear of retaliation, but as the years go by, athletes can reflect and offer honest insights.” At Duke, exit interviews and evaluations from graduating seniors are used to spot problems. “The student-athlete has nothing to lose and can speak freely about their experience in these surveys,” says Dale. “Getting feedback on the coach can give you a sense of the program’s direction and allows you to intervene before the behavior gets any worse.” STEPPING IN

When enough red flags are raised to make athletic directors aware of emotionally abusive behavior, they need to step in. Carver starts by increasing his interactions with the team in question.

“For example, I might sit directly behind the bench at a basketball contest to get a better sense of the coach’s in-game behavior or stand outside the gym to listen to what is said during practice,” says Carver. “And if I notice they are keeping their players in the locker room after a loss to go over everything they did wrong, I’ll walk in, ask what’s taking so long, and tell the coach to send the players home.” When complaints of abuse come from a student-athlete or a parent, athletic directors need a careful approach. Jim Murphy, Director of Athletics at Davidson College, encourages the player to discuss his or her concern with the coach first. “If a student-athlete comes to me, my first question is, ‘Have you already had this conversation with your head coach? And if not, why?’” he says. “Unless it is a serious accusation, I think a closed-door session between the player and coach does as much good as anything. Once that line of discussion is opened, coaches may sense that they have

taken their behavior too far and should pull back.” When a student-athlete’s complaint merits an investigation, Hyman makes sure to

“The ultimate question should be: Do my studentathletes deserve better? After one incident, it’s shame on the coach, but if the abuse continues, it’s shame on me for not protecting the athletes.” gather as much information as possible before taking action. “Coaches and studentathletes are not always going to have good chemistry, and I have had players in the past overreact when a coach yelled at them,”

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he says. “My role as the athletic director is to determine if the athlete’s claim has a broader scope than two people who don’t get along. “A lot of people hear a complaint and immediately rush to judgment,” Hyman continues. “We gather the facts first and use them to make our decisions. If the athlete is justified in his or her claim, we will deal with it, but if not, the facts will reveal that as well.” Whether they have witnessed the emotional abuse firsthand or find that a studentathlete’s complaint is valid, athletic directors have a lot to consider when it comes to taking disciplinary action. “For starters, has the coach been a positive role model in the past?” says Carver. “Have they treated players well? You also have to consider whether the behavior in question was a first-time mistake or part of a pattern.” An initial conversation with the coach should try to uncover if he or she truly understands the standards and values

you’ve already laid out. “It’s important that the athletic director and coach are on the same page,” Dale says. “That way, if the coach doesn’t live up to those expectations, the athletic director can say, ‘You said one thing, but I saw another. That’s not living our values, and it’s not acceptable.’” Dale suggests having the coach watch their abusive behavior on video. “If coaches really have blind spots and aren’t aware that what they are doing is wrong, athletic directors can film them during practices or competitions,” he says. “Then, sit down with them and go over the tape, because some coaches don’t realize the impact they are having on players until they see and hear it for themselves.” Verbal reprimands, written reprimands, and suspensions are all options that athletic directors can consider, depending on the severity of the abusive behavior. “A write-up or suspension can serve as a wake-up call for the coach,” says Carver. “Sometimes coaches will admit they made a mistake and show

“I also took issue with the way he would treat his veterans,” she continues. “When they were freshmen, he would hype them up, only to seemingly forget about them later in their college careers in favor of incoming players.” She began with a formal meeting. “My first attempt at handling the situation was to tell him, ‘You have to drop your attitude and clean up your language, or you won’t be here for long,’” Willey says. “We also put a letter in his file saying failure to improve could be grounds for termination.” It was difficult for Willey to monitor the coach’s behavior for improvement because she was not at practice every day, so she looked to the team’s athletic trainers for periodic updates. “They are my eyes and ears when I’m not around,” she says. “I don’t ask them to be snitches, but when they told

me things weren’t changing, I knew the problem hadn’t been resolved.” While Willey was considering disciplinary options, a group of team members requested an off-campus meeting with her. “Half the team wanted to talk with me, and they all wanted to transfer,” she says. “The players’ feedback solidified our beliefs that the coach’s actions had reached a breaking point.” Willey then made the decision to fire the coach. “The meeting with the players showed us that he was still being emotionally abusive, so we called him in,” she says. “We told him, ‘You haven’t made any significant gains in your treatment of the student-athletes, and we believe it is in their best interest to make a change.’” As a new athletic director at the time, the experience taught Willey a lot about handling emotionally abusive coaches in the future. “I learned that I couldn’t tell coaches to be mature and professional without spelling out what I meant,” she says. “For example, this coach thought he was using good motivational techniques by calling his athletes every vulgar term in the book. You have to be clear about what you expect. If a coach does something to upset you, it may mean you didn’t do your job in the first place.”

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PLAN OF ACTION

hortly after becoming Director of Athletics at the University of Indianapolis in 2003, Sue Willey had her first experience dealing with an emotionally abusive coach. “One of our coaches had an arrogant attitude and used vulgar language with the players,” says Willey, who is now Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics.

remorse, and there is a chance they can correct their behavior and move forward in a positive fashion. But they have to show that they learned from it. They need to exhibit behavior that demonstrates a change.” Corrective measures can include specific training to address the problem. “I worked with a coach in the past who made inappropriate comments about his female student-athletes’ weight,” says Hyman. “After making it clear to him that he had crossed the line, I sent him to mandatory sensitivity training.” Throughout any discussions or disciplinary actions, it’s important to get other administrators involved. “Athletic directors have to alert their university president or high school principal of the situation as soon as they realize an initial conversation didn’t have the effect they were hoping for,” says Murphy. In instances of severe abuse or after exhausting all other options, athletic directors will need to consider firing the coach.

SPECIAL FOCUS

“The ultimate question should be: Do my student-athletes deserve better? If the answer is yes, it’s time to make a change,” says Willey. “After one incident, it’s shame on the coach, but if the abuse continues to happen, it’s shame on me for not protecting the student-athletes.” For Ellson, termination is a last resort and leads to self-reflection. “I beat myself up the most when I have to move in another direction with a coach,” he says. “As leaders, I think we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask the hard questions. Where did I err in leading this coach? Did I do something to suggest it was acceptable for him or her to act that way? What could I have done better?” READY FOR CHANGE

As more and more student-athletes knock on their athletic director’s door because they feel their coach is disrespecting them, it can be tempting to ignore the knock. Willey believes administrators should, instead, open their door widely. “I think we did a disservice to our youth for years, because we always told them to

do whatever their coaches asked,” she says. “We should have added this caveat: unless your coach says to do something you don’t feel right about or treats you in an abusive manner.” Today’s social media landscape also means that what were once complaints made in private are now public accusations. “Student-athletes are more likely to go on Twitter and say, ‘Coach called this kid a name, swore at this person, or hit this player,’ and anyone can see it,” Dale says. While addressing abusive behavior by coaches can be uncomfortable, Willey feels the worst thing athletic directors can do is turn a blind eye. “It frustrates me when coaches are allowed to do whatever they want, because they are successful,” says Willey. “I have called other athletic directors when their coaches have behaved inappropriately on my campus. On more than one occasion, the athletic director

was afraid to discipline the coach for fear they might leave for another program. To me, that’s the tail wagging the dog. “My belief is, if the coach is going to leave, let them be a problem somewhere else,” she continues. “At UIndy, our coaches need to motivate their athletes in only positive ways. I won’t tolerate anything else.” n

“As leaders, I think we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask the hard questions. Where did I err in leading this coach? Did I do something to suggest it was acceptable for him or her to act that way? What could I have done better?”

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Three University of Miami fans partici pate in the school’s @USocialSuite, which provides a special area in the football stadium’s press box for social media influencers.

What’s Next?

By Chris Freet

y flight is taking off and the attendant has not asked me to put away my electronic device. I am connected to GoGo in-flight high-speed wireless on my iPad while flying from Miami to Dallas, and I am crowdsourcing ideas from fans on Twitter. And it all seems perfectly normal, if not second nature. But just months ago, this level of connectivity would not have been possible. Social media and technology are evolving at what feels like the speed of light. That’s energizing for some people (myself included) and maddening for others. The reason I share this is to emphasize my goals with this article. I am not going to talk much about what we have done with new media here at the University of Miami, but focus instead on how we stay one step ahead. Today, that’s the game. Being effective in social media is

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jc ridley/miami hurricanes

In the world of social media—where what’s new today is old tomorrow— devising an effective fan interaction strategy requires a different kind of thinking.

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less about best practices and more about having foresight into how the technology emerging this morning can be used by an athletic department this afternoon. WEARABLE MEDIA

Chris Freet is the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Communications, Marketing, and Sales at the University of Miami. He has taken part in the NACDA Mentoring Institute and Collegiate Athletics Leadership Symposium and also serves on the CoSIDA College Division Management Advisory Committee. He can be reached at: c.freet@miami.edu and through Twitter @chrisfreet.

DIGESTING DATA

Plenty of athletic departments and professional teams are using data for insights. But raise your hand if you feel like this information tends to only reaffirm assump-

tions or allow someone to boast during a presentation? For example: > Our Facebook page has 200,000 likes, which is the second-highest in our conference. > A record 56,000 people visited our website during our homecoming football game. > A tweet of a last-second shot was retweeted 500 times in the first 10 minutes following the game. These are great bragging points for staff members and teams that thrive on various forms of social media. But the real insight is in the actions that led to the impressive metrics. In other words, the ultimate prize is often not about the “big numbers,” which in and of themselves have little meaning, but the data behind them. Fortunately, there are some great resources emerging to get the stories behind

The following are three ways we are integrating new trends in social media at the University of Miami:

The Five-Minute Rule We have instituted a policy on our main Twitter account (@HurricaneSports) that we will reply to every @ mention within five minutes of receiving it. Our thought process is that people use social media, and particularly Twitter, for real time entertainment and interaction. If you are not matching that expectation, they will go somewhere else. We want our fans to trust us and know that we are a reliable and responsive source.

Pop Quiz What is the most popular show on television right now? What goofy music video is going viral? Most of us know the answers, but have shied away from talking about such things on our official team accounts. Taking our lead from Oreo, we have had some success by tying into popular television shows (like “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men”) and the latest YouTube craze. We also check Reddit regularly to keep an eye on what might be going viral next.

Timing It Right We used to post our best Facebook content first thing in the morning—it was our way of saying, “Good morning ’Canes fans,” with some great content. We followed up with a few well-timed posts before 5 p.m., but things went pretty quiet after that unless there was a significant evening sporting event. Then we realized that we were adhering to our own schedule, not the one our fans follow. By digging into the analytics that Facebook provides for free, we found that our Facebook friends’ greatest hours of engagement were from 6 to 8 p.m. and after 11 p.m. We adjusted our posting schedule to fit these peak engagement times, resulting in growth and fantastic engagement numbers during football season. While many brands are seeing a downturn in their Facebook traffic due to the new ad requirements, we have continued to see steady and sometimes rapid growth.

34 MARCH 2014 | AthleticManagement.com

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integrating ideas

I had my first experience with Google Glass in December and the oddness of seeing someone wear a computer just above one of their eyes wore off after five minutes. When our SEO (search engine optimization) consultant asked if I wanted to try it out, I was more apprehensive than excited. But that changed once I put on the device. There is a reason Google’s stock price is through the roof. The concept of Google Glass may be futuristic but the user experience is simple and familiar. It didn’t seem odd to be swiping near the side of my face or that a monitor appeared less than an inch from my eyeball. It didn’t seem odd to be scanning e-mail or shooting HD video and high-resolution photos. There are a myriad of applications for Google Glass in our world. If every referee wore the accessory, leagues could review what officials saw on questionable calls. Coaches could have all the information they might ever need at the ready while their hands are completely free. Athletic directors could multitask like never before. While Google Glass is not available publicly, it likely will be soon. In the meantime, you can buy Samsung watches that serve as a smart device and can establish a connection to your phone, computer, car, and running shoes. At the same time, the popularity of GoPro cameras is skyrocketing. These durable, ultra HD video cameras can be attached to anything. Footage has been taken on the backs of eagles, underwater, and on the top of athletes’ heads. The videos have gone viral on too many occasions to count. So how close are we to placing a camera in the visor of a football helmet? And if we can shoot video from a visor, surely we can connect it to a wireless network and stream it to our official athletic site or use it as an additional camera angle during TV broadcasts. Imagine being (almost literally) in the shoes of Miami Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson as he takes a handoff, cuts back into a hole, breaks through the second level, and stiff arms a cornerback on the

way to the end zone. That might make the slowest fan feel like an invincible athlete. And that’s not all. How about the experience of hearing the crowd erupt as Johnson does and flying with him into a chest bump celebration with his teammates? In the race to be first in social media, there will be a smart sports information director who programs the camera to send out a Tweet the instant the player crosses the goal line, shooting the score update and video out to all followers. And wouldn’t it be cool if a replay then showed the same play from the view of an opposing defender?

SOCIAL MEDIA

the numbers. One is Live Analytics (a Ticketmaster venture), which digs into ticketing data to pull out demographic and sociographic information on the buyers, painting a specific picture of the fan base. From there, athletic departments can segment the audience into groups and take action on the unique problems that come to life for each. For example, if you want to know why a certain demographic is not renewing its season tickets, a sampling of their social media feed may provide some clues. Are they upset about the product on the field or have they received poor customer service from the ushers and at the concession stand? Maybe their timelines show nothing about their gameday experience except that they made a nice profit by selling their tickets on the secondary market. Beyond data on fans, resources are emerging to aggregate other information. Several schools have used Win AD to vet contracts and bolster their negotiation stance with companies and coaches alike. Others have used Coaches By The Numbers to research potential hires by analyzing the site’s expansive database and looking through some of its new statistical equations.

and the retail giant continues to roll out new ideas. As more consumers flock to Amazon, their expectations of the buying process are going to increase. And their patience is going to decrease. That will quickly impact us as we try to sell tickets, merchandise, and apparel. Two companies—Chirpify and Ribbon—may provide solutions. Both allow users to buy products and make payments directly from their social media accounts.

While many people are still reluctant to make purchases on social platforms, it is only a matter of time before that barrier is broken. And when it does, Chirpify and Ribbon will be there to complete a transaction. All you have to do is use the hashtag #BuyNow. Instead of one-click buying, it’s one-Tweet buying. This is important because sports and social media are the perfect pairing for impulse buying. Let’s say your football team just clinched a spot in the conference cham-

SOCIAL BUYING

Whether we like it or not, everyone in college athletics is affected by the actions of major brands. For example, sports fans watch live sports on ESPN religiously and many use the Watch ESPN app to stream video on their phone. That means the viewers—whether they realize it or not—expect the same quality from us when we stream soccer matches or volleyball games. And by the same, I mean HD picture, professional camera work, state-of-the-art graphics, and a feed that doesn’t drop out—ever. Another example is Wi-Fi. Since most restaurants, airlines, and hotels offer wireless Internet service, our fans have come to expect it from our sporting venues—despite the fact that providing Wi-Fi for 20 coffee drinkers or 400 hotel visitors is in no way equivalent to supplying it for 80,000 football fans. The bottom line is that people’s expectations change. Today, spectators expect Wi-Fi, they want it to be free, and they want it to be stable. I use both of the above examples because they are common storylines in college athletics these days and illustrate the way major brands can inadvertently make our lives a bit more difficult. But an even bigger hurdle may soon come from Amazon. Its one-click buying option makes the checkout experience as painless as possible, Circle No. 121 AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 35

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pionship game. This technology could allow fans to quickly tweet #BuyNow to secure seats through the ticket office’s Twitter account. Or consider this: A fan takes his young son to his first football game at your school.

NEXT ON THE WEB

It’s taken two decades, but we finally are starting to see stunning and interactive visuals in online storytelling. The New York Times started the (long overdue) revolution with its

In November, our mobile website traffic surpassed our traffic from computers. That was a wake-up call and we have now begun a paradigm shift. They have a great time and the father wants to purchase something for his son to remember the day by. He hops onto Facebook and orders a small jersey at the stadium shop. He can pick up the jersey on his way out of the stadium, spending less than five minutes at the counter—while never having to even let go of his son’s hand. One of the best parts about sports is that the emotion of the action transfers to the fans. Inevitably big games and big moments lead to sales. But we will have to be prepared to allow those sales to occur faster than ever.

“Snow Fall” piece that made all of us running websites wonder how they accomplished such a feat. ESPN.com and CNN.com have rolled out some impressive stories using similar features, and our fans now expect more from us. A few college websites have jumped into the fray and produced fantastic results. In the days before the 2013 Women’s College World Series, the University of Oklahoma produced a historical perspective on its softball program, which was entering the tournament as a heavy favorite. Through the use of parallax scrolling (in which back-

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ground images move slower than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth), photo galleries, and videos, the school conveyed the rich history of its program in a dynamic fashion. Give a ton of credit to Russell Houghtaling, Oklahoma’s Director of Digital Media for the effort, and the school has used the new format for several other stories as well. Here at Miami, thanks to the work of Assistant Athletic Director for Digital Strategy Brian Bowsher, we were the first to roll out parallax scrolling in a game recap. Bowsher used it to shine a brighter light on the football team’s senior day against the University of Virginia. The next week, he designed another recap with parallax scrolling but built it first and foremost for the mobile viewer (which leads to my next topic). MOBILE TAKEOVER

We used to think about print products first and then the Internet. Now we think about the Internet and social media first and print products second. At Miami, I have asked my staff to figure out how we can think

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SOCIAL MEDIA

and execute for mobile first, desktop computers second, and print a very far off third. In November 2013, our mobile website traffic surpassed our traffic from computers. That was a wake-up call for our communications team because we do not feel like we are doing enough to serve mobile users. We believe that our fans are getting a great experience on the desktop version of HurricaneSports.com and we’re really proud of it. But it doesn’t display well on mobile devices. We have now begun the paradigm shift of thinking about content first and foremost for the small screen. There will be a lot of bumps in the road, but with the help of our partner, Neulion, the future will be more accessible (and mobile) than ever before. RICH REWARDS

It seems like every day I receive an e-mail from a company pitching its loyalty program. This is a really positive trend for our business

as it easily allows us to further the fan-team relationship. At Miami, we utilize Skidata to reward fans, and we are seeing positive results. Fans receive points for most of their game day activities such as buying tickets and parking passes, arriving at the game early, and purchasing food from the concession stands. They can also accumulate points for activities outside of game day—for buying gear from our official online store, tweeting about the team, sharing articles online, and commenting about the team on Facebook. Rewards include free seat upgrades, exclusive experiences, and game-worn apparel. Fans will do these things without a reward platform, so what do we get out of all this activity? A treasure trove of data. It’s not that exciting on the surface but once analyzed, it can paint a very robust picture of your best (and most promising) fans. We all want to move the single-game buyer to a season ticket

holder and the season ticket holder to a diehard fan. The data provides a blueprint for elevating fans to this level of supreme fandom. It helps us understand what makes our supporters tick, what lies behind their devotion, and what they value about the fan experience both on a day-to-day basis and at the game. It has been especially effective in uncovering solid leads for season ticket sales or donations. In addition, rewarding our best fans pays dividends we can’t always measure easily. These people will beat the drum for our team in good times and bad. They will spend a big chunk of their discretionary income with us, and they are almost always brand advocates. It’s a brave new world, full of both questions and possibilities. We may need to think a little differently and embrace ideas we’re not comfortable with. But by watching the trends and understanding our audience, we can stay ahead of the curve. n

on the web > To view Oklahoma’s feature on its softball program, go to: http://bit.ly/OUAgainstAllOdds. > To view the use of parallax scrolling with the Miami football team game recaps, visit: http://gocan.es/UM45UVA26 and http://gocan.es/UM41Pitt31.

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of the schools we work with,” said Ron Watson, National Sales Manager for ScoreRewards.

Free Scoreboards Becoming A Reality For Schools While athletic budgets continue to be strained to the max, many organizations would undoubtedly welcome new, innovative methods to combat these unrelenting economic realities. In response to the dire financial situation encountered by virtually every athletic organization today, the ScoreRewards Partnership Program was launched in 2013 by its parent company Sportable Scoreboards, a leader in the scoring industry for over two decades. ScoreRewards is making a positive impact in the world of budget cuts and

decreased athletic funding by providing a unique alternative to traditional fundraising methods. ScoreRewards utilizes local advertisers to cover all costs associated with the acquisition of new scoreboards. While the idea of using advertiser dollars to off-set the purchase price of athletic equipment is not new, ScoreRewards offers a significant advantage for schools. “As a manufacturer of scoreboards, we can keep the advertising costs low. We can also close projects very fast. Speed is a big deal for many

Recently, ScoreRewards established a partnership with Massac County High School in Metropolis, Illinois. The Athletic Director, Parker Windhorst, worked closely with the ScoreRewards team to create a win/win situation for the school and its Athletic Program. By letting ScoreRewards harness the power of local sponsors, Massac County High School received six brand new stateof-the-art LED scoreboards absolutely free! Windhorst explains, “We received scoreboards for football, baseball, soccer and basketball – all at no cost to our school!” The ScoreRewards Partnership Program is helping numerous organizations across the country receive new, state-of-the-art scoreboards at no cost. There is absolutely no risk and no cost to the organization during the entire partnership! A member of the ScoreRewards team will simply work with an organization helping them to identify and secure local sponsors to get a project underway. Once advertisers for the first year of the partnership are secured, ScoreRewards will ship the new scoreboard to the organization for installation. With the assistance of ScoreRewards any organization can be well on its way to gaining new scoreboards in no time at all.

For more information, visit www.score-rewards.com.

LEADERSHIP

Lessons Learned Surviving as an athletic director usually requires some on-the-job training. Lessen the learning curve with these “top 10” tips.

By Kevin Bryant

s custodians of high school athletics, we’ve seen it a thousand times. An official blows his whistle and the penalized athlete looks dismayed, his body language screaming frustration. On the next play, his opponent beats him down the court or field and scores. Regardless of whether or not the official made the right call, the athlete let it take

away his focus. He stopped giving maximum effort to the task at hand and hurt his team as a result. If he has a good coach, we see that type of reaction disappear within the next few games. The athlete learns a golden rule of being a successful competitor—don’t worry about what you can’t control. Just as important, he is taught a life lesson that will help him in so many situations throughout his years to come. And we can tally a point for educational athletics.

As a new athletic director 20 years ago, watching this scene play out during an early season contest led me to a revelation. I needed to learn lessons alongside my athletes. If I was going to preach the importance of teachable moments, I had to be teachable, too. I tried to honor this idea throughout my tenure as Athletic Director at Tigard (Ore.) High School and Aloha (Ore.) High School. Instead of being frustrated by the many demanding aspects of my job, I challenged

Learning to “view the community as a partner” and “have patience” helped author Kevin Bryant (center, with scissors) construct a new outdoor facility at Aloha (Ore.) High School.

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myself to learn something from each and every one of them. One of those lessons was to not get sidetracked by what I could not control, but there were many others. The following is my “top 10” list of things I learned were important to do as a high school athletic director. 1 VIEW THE COMMUNITY AS A PARTNER

When I first arrived at Aloha, our school district was in a state of growth. A new high school was opening, which meant our building would lose a large group of our more financially advantaged students. The same thing had happened just five years prior. Our school was changing and our athletic teams were changing with it. We were struggling to find success. I knew what the solutions were: We needed to develop more effective youth programs, hire and evaluate our coaching staff better, and set realistic goals. I could have put these ideas into place by myself fairly quickly, and I almost did. But after watching one of our squads struggle with teamwork, I changed my mind. The coach of this particular team was trying to implement a new pregame warmup routine and I could tell that some of the players did not like the change. The coach’s new warmup was good—better than the old one—but the senior athletes felt an emotional connection with what had been a longstanding tradition. Instead of being a time to bond and come together, the warmup period was becoming a negative. From that situation, I realized that my ideas for lifting Aloha out of its struggles could easily backfire. Rather than simply making executive decisions, I needed to work with parents and the community to create and implement solutions. So I initiated a process of visioning for our athletic future. It involved representatives from nearly every facet of the community, and we talked through problems and potential solutions. From the onset, I was acutely aware that I was giving up control by allowing others to have a voice. But I gained much more Kevin Bryant, CMAA, is the Founder and Owner of HSADHELP.com, a company focused on assisting, encouraging, and challenging high school athletic administrators to be the best they can. He is the former Associate Principal for Athletics and Activities at Tigard (Ore.) High School and former Athletic Director at Aloha (Ore.) High School. A former president of the Oregon Athletic Directors Association, he was named the group’s 2005 Athletic Director of the Year, and he has received an NIAAA Distinguished Service Award (2007) and an NFHS Citation (2009). He can be reached at: kevin.bryant024@outlook.com.

than I ever gave away. When those in our community gathered to talk, they became connected, engaged, and ardent supporters of our athletic program. It took six months to come up with a vision, and then we spent the next six months implementing strategies. Our mission was focused on teaching life skills through athletics and partnering with youth teams to do so. It was a plan I was eager to embrace, but more importantly it was what the community wanted. It resulted in a turnaround of the athletic program and a better situation for our student-athletes and coaches. In addition, the synergy created by this effort was powerful and long lasting. Instead of sitting through humdrum booster club meetings, I had become involved in a group of people who were bound together by a mission that overcame their individual points of view. 2 WELCOME TOUGH CONVERSATIONS

As a new athletic administrator, I was under the assumption that my good thinking, enthusiasm, and love of sport would overcome any objections or problems that arose. Yes, I was naive. And I was very unprepared for the challenging conversations that took place on an almost daily basis. From handling parental complaints, to disciplining a student-athlete, to evaluating staff members, I was coming home drained

from stress every evening. I took each difficult discussion very personally and replayed them late at night, trying to figure out what I might have said differently to ease the tension and dissipate the problem. In one instance, a father called me from his car following a football game. He was screaming at me because his son, our leading rusher, was held out of a play in which the second string running back scored. The dad felt the touchdown should have been his son’s. Another stressful conversation was with a mom whose senior daughter was cut from the basketball team by a new coach. Despite my explanations and patience, she started to become verbally abusive. Giving my coaches feedback could also be challenging, with them resisting any advice. Their competitive drive would make them defensive about the areas where they needed improvement. Two things finally helped me move forward. The first was to realize that such conversations are a daily reality for an athletic administrator and they’re part of the job. High school athletics is an emotional arena, and I was not going to change that. I had to be okay with accusations, a little yelling, and some tears now and then. It was not about me, and I had to be a pillar of strength when others could not be. The second lesson I learned was that the skill of listening is vastly underrated.

As I strove to learn lessons day in and day out as an athletic director, I also tried to promote the idea that we were all learning together. I wanted to be teachable to do my job better, but also to serve as an example to our coaches and student-athletes. Here are some ways I attempted to do this:

Acknowledge Mistakes: If we can’t admit our errors, we can’t learn from them. So when I did something wrong, I owned up to it and apologized to anyone affected.

Share Ideas: When I learned something at a conference or from a book or class, I told others about it. At our staff meetings, I would ask coaches to bring a “life lesson” story they had encountered with a student-athlete and share it with everyone. Show Joy of Learning: Learning can be challenging, but it can also be exhilarating. I made sure to show my excitement when talking about what I’d learned and how it could take us to new places.

Relay Results: If an example arose of how our student-athletes were learning, I would share it with others through an e-mail. The feedback was immediate, and it helped make us a community of learners.

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LEADERSHIP

To truly hear another and be an engaged listener is critical to being an effective athletic administrator. I could not be invested in trying to win an argument, but rather in learning from it and appreciating another point of view. That did not mean I had to agree, but I strove to be the best listener possible. I found that, often, people just want to be heard and understood. With any difficult conversation, I learned to gently offer the best explanation or feedback I could, and then be quiet. The parent or coach might need to further defend himor herself as a way to process the input. Or the person might need to continue to vent their frustrations. I would listen attentively and with compassion, and let them know they were being heard. Most importantly, I would not let the tough talk consume the rest of my day (or night). I might process it for a few minutes. But then I would move on, confident I had done my best. 3 DEVELOP A SUPPORT TEAM

The work of a high school athletic director can be lonely. There is usually no one in

a similar position at our school. So I challenged myself to develop relationships that would assist me in being my very best. This led me to honest reflection, as well as lasting friendships. To start, I reached out to other athletic directors and went to them for ideas, support, and feedback. Having friends who understood exactly what I was going through was a gift that kept me going at certain points. I’m not sure I would have survived otherwise. In addition, I developed a support team at my school. I took into my confidence a few teachers, coaches, and parents who had proven their loyalty to me. I tried my best to find people who cared enough about me to provide honest feedback. I found that as I trusted in others, doors opened that were previously closed. 4 KNOW YOUR ATHLETES

I will never forget being invited to the Aloha boys’ basketball team locker room following a season ending loss, listening as the players and coaches shared their highs and lows from the season. The reason I was at the meeting was because the coaches and kids

considered me a part of the team. It’s easy as an administrator to push paperwork all day and forget to connect with your athletes. But if you are not in touch with them, you can’t be a leader of the athletic department. Connecting with athletes can build through involvement with a captains club or student-athlete advisory council. Or it can happen by being present at practices and games, if even for short stretches. Sometimes, small steps, such as stopping an athlete to wish her good luck in a game that afternoon, leads to longer conversations, which turn into meaningful interactions. In developing relationships with studentathletes, it is important to be transparent with coaches about what is shared. I did not want our coaches to think that my meeting with student-athletes was a way for me to evaluate them as coaches. I made it clear to the coaching staff that my purpose was to help athletes be the best they could be and gain insight into the overall athletic program from the viewpoint of a teenager immersed in it. 5 UNDERSTAND PARENTS

I used to go by the adage, “The best team

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to coach is a team of orphans.” No parents to complain! I saw each interaction with a parent as negative. I was already on edge before a conversation even started and I

6 HIRE COACHES CAREFULLY

This one may seem obvious. Hiring coaches is right there in our job description. But with fewer teachers interested in coaching,

Coaches need to work their way up to bigger responsibilities. And experience allows them to develop confidence. Young coaches must be truly special to take on the leadership of a varsity position. always expected the worst. Then I was challenged by a friend to change my attitude toward parents, and the results have been career-altering. Every parent has hopes and dreams, as well as concerns and frustrations, with their child. Sometimes, the athletic field is the place these emotions become heightened. I needed to understand this and humanize parents. As I did so, I became better equipped to assist and connect with the parents at my school. This has made me a more effective administrator.

making a good hire is exceedingly difficult. When we hire coaches, we normally are looking for four characteristics. They must know tactics, techniques, how to manage a team, and how to build relationships with players. Way too often we settle for technically and tactically expert coaches while the ability to build relationships is forgotten. But, in some ways, it may be most important. A coach who is great with kids can learn tactics and techniques. A coach who knows his Xs and Os but doesn’t understand teachable moments can be forever ineffective.

I learned early on that climate is created by people. I committed to hiring coaches who could pass on our program’s mission and infuse passion and camaraderie into a team. Another area of hiring entails the question of experience. I once hired a young inexperienced coach for a varsity position thinking that I could bring her along. I was wrong. Coaches need to work their way up to bigger responsibilities. And experience allows them to develop confidence. Young coaches must be truly special to take on the leadership of a varsity position. 7 SUPPORT YOUR COACHES

On the heels of hiring coaches with care is keeping them from quitting. I recently read about a girls’ basketball coach in Michigan who won a state championship only to resign shortly afterwards because she felt her athletic director didn’t provide the support she needed when she had issues with a few parents. If we want our coaches to remain passionate and committed, we have to help

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leadership

9 TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

Fulfilling your duties as an athletic director can mean you have little time left for yourself. However, to survive, you do need to rest, rejuvenate, and have some fun away from work. For the longest time I did not do this, always thinking about what else needed to be done. Finally, I sat myself down and planned an activity. In some ways, I had to give myself permission to have fun. I love tennis, so I joined an athletic club that offers indoor tennis. Having the chance to play

I know I am much better at my job when I take periodic rests to do other things. I return rested, encouraged, less stressed, and looking forward to the challenges of the day. connect with them. If they wanted to talk to me after practice—which might be their first break in the day—I was there for them. If they looked exhausted while putting away equipment after a game, I jumped in to help. Some of my best conversations with coaches were while we carried a team bench across a field together. My college basketball coach once described me as the type of person who would get so impatient while waiting for a bus that I would walk to the previous stop only to completely miss the bus as it went by! Patience is a virtue, he told me. When I became an athletic director, I learned that patience was not just a virtue, but a necessity for survival. You must have patience for the decision-making process, for others to respond to you, and for buy-in to happen. Early on in my tenure at Aloha, I posted a picture on my office wall of what I wanted our outdoor athletic facilities to become. The idea was to remind myself and all others of this goal on a daily basis. I was “encouraged” several times to take the photo down—that it would never be realized. I did not, as I felt new fields were critical to the success of our program. My dream eventually became reality after three years and more patience than I had ever exhibited in my life. Lining up the financial and political support was a drawnout process, and it would have been easy to give up hope. Yet, through a series of near miracles and help from a variety of sources, we made the upgrade happen.

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10 KNOW YOUR ROLE

John Wooden once said, “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” Sometimes, the most frustrating part of being an athletic director is dealing with situations we can’t control. There may be decisions made by upper-level administrators we don’t agree with, inaction by another school that affects our program, or a problem with a club team our athletes play on. When we get wrapped up in things outside of our oversight, our focus turns away from those areas we can affect. Like the athlete at the start of this article, we let the other team score while we are distracted. It took a while, but I finally learned to direct my energy only to those places that I could impact. And when we concentrate on the right things, there is so much we can do to help our student-athletes thrive. In the best athletic programs, everyone is learning together. The lessons are lifelong for athletes, coaches, and ourselves. n

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8 HAVE PATIENCE

year-round has made this activity a constant in my life, which has increased my enjoyment of it. I have made some good friendships with those I play with and look forward to getting on the court three to five times a week. Whatever it may be—fishing, reading, biking, swimming, walking—find your outlet. I know I am much better at my job when I take periodic rests to do other things. I return rested, encouraged, less stressed, and looking forward to the challenges of the day.

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them through the rough spots. Being a sounding board for coaches when they have frustrations with players, parents, other teachers, officials, assistant coaches, or even bus drivers is critical. And then we need to offer assistance in a meaningful way. I also worked hard to offer individualized support. Every head coach has different needs and reacts in unique ways. Having a one-size-fits-all mentality will lead to frustrated coaches. In addition, I committed to working the same hours my coaches did so that I could

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FUNDRAISING

At Averett University, a new baseball scoreboard was the result of upgraded fundraising plans.

Covering the Bases

For the small college athletic department, raising funds is sometimes an uncoordinated endeavor. A year-round strategic plan ensures you make the most of your efforts.

W. David Conner II

By Sam Ferguson

ur baseball scoreboard was in bad shape for the 2011 home opener. After nearly 15 years of service, its paint was fading and a processor malfunction in the control panel made strike one look more like strike seven. This was no longer a scoreboard worthy of the top-notch NCAA Division III baseball

program our head coach had developed here at Averett University, and it was hurting the team’s recruiting efforts. But like most small college athletic departments, our budget was stagnant while expenses were on the rise. Despite the lack of additional institutional funding, when the squad began the 2012 season, its stadium was transformed. A new, state-of-the-art, great-looking scoreboard overlooked the outfield fence, outfit-

ted with Averett’s newly designed logo. A similar scoreboard was placed in our softball stadium. The best aspect of these facility upgrades was that we didn’t disrupt our budgets to complete them. Instead, we engaged our sponsors and donors to cover the $60,000 price tag. Administrators at every level of intercollegiate athletics are (or should be) focused AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 45

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on increasing financial support from donors. Without such contributions, programs have a hard time affording the extras that are so important to the student-athlete and fan experience, from new uniforms to better seating. While serving as Director of Athletics at Averett, I was proud of our strategy to acquire support, and the department experienced tremendous growth in giving during that time. In my new position as Director of Annual Giving Programs at the school, I now realize we could have done much more. Previously, our athletic fundraising efforts occurred mainly during the summer months when there was more time to devote to engaging our donor base. Like many other athletic directors, I felt pulled in hundreds of different directions when teams were on campus and competing. There was simply no time for fundraising. However, a year-round strategy is a must if a department’s full potential is to be realized.

that can be difficult for smaller athletic departments. What’s the best way to do this without a lot of resources? At Averett, we have developed a series of steps to take after receiving a donation, which express gratitude, initiate a deeper connection, and keep donors excited about our athletic programs. The goal of our stewardship initiative is to communicate with our contributors and provide information beyond solicitations. Too often, donors feel as though organizations only call when they are asking for financial support. By having a system in place, we’re able to ensure that thanking and engaging donors is not forgotten about, and we’re able to speak to them without making a giving request. To start, we mail an official acknowledgment letter and tax document within 48 hours of receiving any gift. For our most loyal group of donors (the top 20 percent), we make a personal phone call to them on the day the gift is received. Along with thanking them, we share the impact the gift will have on our athletic programs. When speaking to a donor who contributed $500 to the golf team, we might relay that their gift will cover golf bags for the five members of our team who will compete in the conference championship. I believe this action sets us apart from most organizations because our benefactors seem surprised to hear from us—pleasantly surprised. Additionally, these phone conversations allow us to learn more about our donors, which may be useful for future communications and solicitations. For example, I recently called to thank a donor for a gift and found out that his family owned a summer house only a few miles from where I grew up. That connection led to a lengthy discussion in which I learned that he is a huge baseball fan and enjoys playing golf. He is the perfect candidate to support our upcoming Cougar Club Golf Tournament in May and may be a good fit to make a contribution to our baseball or softball programs in the future. Our top donors also receive a handwritten thank-you note from me one month after we get their gift. The message is not lengthy or time consuming to compose. It includes a few sentences that thank the individual and mention ways their contribution is making a difference. We have found this step to be another great way to set ourselves apart from the other organizations competing for donor resources. In the digital age, the handwritten letter has become a lost art, and it is greatly

Creating a process and following it faithfully has helped us maintain engagement. It takes only a few hours every week, and it has made a world of difference. Our donors now feel more appreciated and like they’re making an impact, which has strengthened their loyalty. Such a strategy also requires a working plan. Our staff had mastered the “art” of fundraising—we were connected in the community, equipped with great student-athlete stories, and had coaches with wonderful personalities who were skilled communicators. But we had not mastered the “science” involved in cultivating donors. The following suggestions provide a structured plan that is vital to reaching fundraising goals and can be accomplished in only a few hours a week. STEPPING UP STEWARDSHIP

It’s no secret that donor retention is the number-one factor in successful fundraising. Keeping current donors engaged leads them to renew their annual gifts and often increases their giving levels. But it also requires time and a personnel commitment Sam Ferguson is the former Director of Athletics and current Director of Annual Giving Programs at Averett University. He is a past president of the USA South Athletic Conference and has helped Averett’s Cougar Club increase donor giving by more than 50 percent. He can be reached at: sferguson@Averett.edu.

appreciated. In fact, we have received calls from donors in response to these notes— thanking us for thanking them. Throughout the year, our most loyal donors also enjoy receiving birthday cards, holiday cards, and a thank-you note from a student-athlete at the end of the academic year. Additional donor perks may include invitations to special events like tailgate parties, our athletics banquet, our preseason football luncheon, and our Hall of Fame breakfast. Proving to our supporters that we are using their contributions wisely and protecting their investment is another important step in donor retention. We do this through regular mailings distributed to our entire list of constituents. We also produce a quarterly newsletter that focuses on the impact of gifts and the students who are benefiting. These newsletters may include details about a recent renovation, the celebration of a conference championship, or profiles of the student-athletes who are enjoying a better athletic experience through the gifts of others. Creating a process and following it faithfully has helped us maintain engagement. It takes only a few hours every week, and it has made a world of difference. Our donors now feel much more appreciated and like they’re making an impact, which has strengthened their loyalty to us. STUDENT CONNECTION

As administrators, we like to think that our hard work and ability to influence people are the reasons donors make gifts. While those traits certainly help, the impetus behind most giving is the desire to positively impact the experience of studentathletes. Donors admire the young men and women who represent our universities and want to be a part of their success. Recognizing this emotion, we have begun using our student-athletes in our cultivation and retention efforts. To start, we select our most impressive student-athletes—those who are outgoing, well spoken, and do a great job representing the university in all areas of student life—to take part in our donor recognition events. The athletes answer questions about their classes, their experience in the big game, and future career plans. Our alumni and friends take great satisfaction from meeting and building relationships with the students whose lives are being transformed by their gifts. These student-athletes steal the show and improve the donor experience, which should also increase the level of giving. We also encourage our student-athletes

46 MARCH 2014 | AthleticManagement.com

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FUNDRAISING

to engage with potential donors any time the opportunity presents itself. For example, two sisters on our volleyball team had a chance encounter with a member of our board of trustees at a baseball game. After spending nearly three hours talking with the women, the trustee contacted our president and expressed his pleasure in meeting these impressive representatives of the university. While this person did not have a history of giving to athletics, he quickly made a substantial contribution to the volleyball team’s fundraiser for a trip to Costa Rica. Hiring student-athletes to work in the call center has paid dividends, with best results coming when athletes talk with an alum who shares a common experience. When a men’s basketball player contacts an alumnus who played on the same team in the past, that alumnus is more engaged during the call. When alumni are more engaged, we are more likely to receive a gift, especially if we are asking for support of the team he or she once represented. Another successful venture has been letter-writing campaigns from our studentathletes, which have opened doors to new donors. This entails each student-athlete handwriting a note to 10 family members or friends who are not currently donors, explaining exactly how the person’s support would help the team. Unsolicited letters to constituents who have never given usually yield a return of less than one percent, but that is not the case when the request comes from our studentathletes and is directed to their families and friends. Even modest donations of $25 or $50 have produced significant windfalls for our teams once everything is added up. These letter-writing campaigns work best when student-athletes are trying to raise money for a project they’re excited about such as a unique road trip, a facility upgrade, or new uniforms. When student-athletes are able to clearly see the fruits of their labor, we have found that they’re more likely to buy-in and make compelling appeals. Additionally, family and friends are more generous when they believe their gift will benefit a studentathlete they know personally. For example, our baseball team amassed over $5,000 in contributions toward new uniforms one season. Each of the 40 team members wrote 10 letters, and, on average, each student-athlete generated $125 in gifts. While this may not seem substantial to some programs, at a small college like Averett, $5,000 can make a big difference in improving our student-athletes’ experience. And it was the players’ personal relationships that made the campaign a success.

POSITIVE PEER PRESSURE

who have but would not normally make a gift to the tennis program. It also provides the opportunity for them to be a part of something greater—a $25,000 gift—by making a small contribution to the complex. We are testing other volunteer strategies, too, such as tapping into influential graduates who are not in a position to make a major commitment but who can leverage their popularity and inspire others to join our donor family. Their letters to classmates and teammates, asking them to support an athletic program that was important to their college experience, are much more effective than any words from an athletic staff member.

Peer-to-peer solicitation is becoming more popular and is proving to work extremely well in athletic campaigns. A donor volunteer, usually someone with high-level name recognition, writes to previous supporters and prospects to share his or her giving story while encouraging others to step up and make a difference. When teammates and classmates are called to action by an influential figure, the results can be substantial. We are using this approach in our current appeals for Averett’s proposed Vesa Hiltunen Tennis Complex Campaign. A generous former student-athlete, who has enjoyed a successful career and is very popular among classmates and alumni, has stepped up to challenge them to make a gift to the complex. He serves as the spokesperson for the campaign, composes letters, and allows us to use his likeness in our promotional materials. Further, he has committed a gift of $25,000 if a one-month matching challenge is met. This tactic is designed to engage alumni who have not previously given, as well as those

DATA KNOWLEDGE

We all expect our coaches to scout their opponents in order to increase our chances for a win. I have found that the same tactic needs to be applied when appealing to donors. The more we know about a supporter, the more likely we are to make an appropriate ask that leads to increased giving. The basic facts we keep a record of for every contributor include:

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Here at Averett University, we recently launched our Big Dreams, Bold Futures Campaign, which includes plans for constructing a $6.5 million multisport stadium complex and a $1.5 million tennis facility. So far, the campaign is off to a terrific start, and a key to its success has been using several different channels of communication to grab our audience’s attention. The centerpiece of the campaign has been a first-class direct mail piece aimed at inspiring donors and alumni to give their support. But in today’s world, keeping such a publication out of the recycling bin requires a multipronged engagement plan. Our campaign began with teaser e-mails to our constituents letting them know to expect something BIG from Averett to soon arrive in their mailbox. The e-mail’s look was very similar to the design of the campaign publication, and it truly generated excitement, as I was overwhelmed with responses. One alumnus wrote, “I can’t wait to receive it … please make sure you have my correct mailing address.” The publication, which addressed many programs on campus beyond athletics, was a formidable size, measuring 17 by 11 inches, matching our “Big Dreams, Bold Futures” messaging. The cover featured a sports team coming together for a hands-in huddle and a rendering of our proposed stadium complex, among other images. The cover read, “When we dare to dream big, there’s no telling what we can accomplish together.”

Once the publication had been delivered to our alumni and friends, we used Twitter and Facebook to engage our followers. We posted pictures of the exciting things happening around campus and asked questions to get conversation going. For example, we invited our followers to share their favorite story from the campaign publication and which project they were most excited about. We have also asked alumni to tell us their favorite memory or quote from our longtime tennis coach, whose name will go on our new tennis complex. We have posted photos of our proposed facilities, asking donors to share why they give to athletics and how they think these facilities will impact our department and community. Once ground is broken, we will post construction updates. We are currently working to develop a social media calendar, which will not only help us in planning our messages, but will also measure the level of engagement. By noting the number of comments, likes, and retweets, we can learn which types of posts are creating the most activity. Phone conversations, personal visits, follow-up post cards, and additional e-mails are also part of the plan—all with similar messaging. Putting our story in front of our donors on many occasions, and in various forms, reiterates the ways a new stadium will transform our student-athlete and fan experience, as well as the community.

Circle No. 131

from every angle

Inside were stories from donors, profiles and quotes from current studentathletes and coaches, information on how new facilities can help take Averett to the next level, and many great photos and images. In addition to featuring content that could inspire major gifts, we also shared ways more modest gifts could impact our programs, playing off of the “together” theme found on the cover.

FUNDRAISING

> Amount of previous gifts > Program the donor usually contributes to > Date of last gift > Activities that interest the donor. Our annual solicitation efforts used to entail not much more than mailing brochures to all athletics booster club donors. Then we realized how much we were missing by not making solicitations more personal. Some donors were opting for lower levels of giving because they did not recall the amount of their previous gift. And others were closing their checkbooks when an appeal focused on something outside their primary interest. We now personalize solicitations, reminding our supporters of their last gift in a letter accompanying the brochure, often written by a student-athlete or a donor volunteer. Using the information that we know about a contributor and merging those details into our appeal letter sends the message that we are paying attention, and we understand their passions. Consider an alumna who played on the women’s basketball team and gave a gift of $500 to the squad last year. She will likely not be excited by an appeal to support our

football program. Further, it would not be wise to ask this donor for a gift of $100 for the current year. In fact, if we have faithfully followed our stewardship plan and effectively communicated the impact of the gift, we have an opportunity to increase the donor’s commitment to $600—or maybe even more. Knowing the date of the last gift is important for a couple of reasons. One, we don’t want to annoy our supporters by sending a solicitation too quickly after they’ve just given. Two, we want our donors to renew their gifts annually, and we need to be aware of those who need additional cultivation. We have also used data to determine which donors are prospects for a major gift solicitation. Those individuals who give most generously and most often are more likely to support our program with a major gift. For example, a donor who has been giving $1,000 per year for the last 10 years is the perfect major gift candidate. Additionally, we can use data reports to evaluate the effectiveness of specific campaigns. Which strategy generates a better response from never-givers—the studentathlete mailer or a matching gift campaign?

We find the answer in the analytics, which guides us when making future appeals. MAKING A DIFFERENCE

While most of my personal giving goes to support students at Averett, I am a modest donor to an NCAA Division I athletic department, where I have a friend on staff. Minutes after its men’s basketball team won its conference championship last year, I received an e-mail from the school thanking me for my support and explaining how my generosity helped “build champions.” They made it clear that my gift is making a difference. And I have already renewed my support. Along with allowing me to feel connected and appreciated, this experience reminded me of the importance of keeping fundraising on the front burner year-round. To engage our donors in ways that will increase their giving, we need to remember them on a dayto-day basis. It takes ongoing efforts to create true loyalty, and we need to make time for it. Using the “science” of fundraising by keeping donors informed has produced lasting benefits for us here at Averett. n

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COACHING

Part of the Team Parents can be a source of conflict. Or they can be a program’s best allies. The key is how a coach involves them with the team.

By David Paling & Michael Perry

Team A has a great coach. This individual works hard, cares deeply about the athletes, and knows how to win. But problems with parents have held the team back from its full potential. The parents continually complain about the coach’s decisions, which causes a negative vibe in the stands. Coach A ignores what the parents say and misunderstandings with them often result in their visits to the athletic director’s office. Team B also has a great coach. This individual works hard, cares deeply about the athletes, knows how to win—and is loved by parents. They are on board with everything the coach does and get parents of new players on board each year. What’s the difference? The coach of Team B is receptive to athletes’ parents, explaining the team’s philosophy, communicating with them frequently, and asking for their help. Coach B involves parents with the team, and it works wonders. In this age of helicopter parents, ignoring athletes’ moms and dads is no longer a sustainable practice. But a twist on an old adage may be the solution: If you can’t beat ’em, let ’em join you. Teaching coaches how to include parents in their programs can make a season go more smoothly—for everyone in the athletic department. MORE THAN A MEETING

No coach wants his or her team run by outside influences or to spend time explaining every decision made, but it is beneficial At Middleboro (Mass.) High School, Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Andy Dizel and Head Football Coach Patrick Kingman (far left and far right, respectively) take the time to include athletes’ parents (in center) in their programs. PHOTO BY MARK MORELLI AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 51

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to have a cadre of supportive parents. Finding that balance requires developing a plan before the season starts and putting it into action at the preseason parents meeting. Standard operating procedure at most schools, the preseason meeting is primarily used as a way to disseminate information. But it can be much more. Coaches should consider it a public relations opportunity— a time to introduce themselves and their philosophies to parents. When coaches talk about the positive experience they hope to provide and convey their passion for working with kids, they start out on the right foot with parents. Questions from the audience should be encouraged, and coaches should be thoughtful with their answers. At Nashua (N.H.) High School South, preseason parents meetings are called Athletic Awareness Nights, and during them Head

which should be easy for everyone to access. “I let people know that the most immediate and accurate way of getting information is via our Facebook page,” says Cardoso, who has found this to be the best way to post results of competitions, relay changes to the practice schedule, share team photos or videos, and solicit parent help. She encourages parents to ask questions via the team page and is conscientious about keeping families in the loop about team happenings. To enhance communication on his teams, Mike Schulz, Director of Comprehensive Health and Athletics at Carver (Mass.) High School, asks his coaches to set up e-mail directories during preseason meetings. Schulz has also created a Carver athletics Twitter account. When he comes across an article that may be of interest to parents, he’ll post it on Twitter. In addition, athletic directors can

Middleboro football coaches often invite parents to the school library on Sunday evenings for film review. The coaches show the most recent game film, breaking down each play and bringing parents up close and personal with their decision-making process. Girls’ Cross Country Coach Sarah Cardoso immediately begins to instill a family atmosphere within team ranks. “I talk about the team as a family and give parents my cell phone number,” she says. “I encourage all of them to help in fundraising efforts. And I begin to set up our traditional pasta nights, which are hosted by different families before each major meet. I relay to parents that they are an important part of our team.” During preseason meetings at Rockland (Mass.) High School, Athletic Director Gary Graziano encourages his coaches to be specific with how parents can contribute to their teams. For example, the school has a booster organization which parents are encouraged to join. They are also welcomed to help organize team meals and end-of-season banquets. And recently, Graziano’s school had a father on the sidelines serving as a team photographer. The preseason gathering is also a great time to explain communication procedures, David Paling is the retired Director of Athletics, Health, and Physical Education from the Middleboro (Mass.) Public Schools and a frequent contributor to Athletic Management. Michael Perry is serving in his third year as the Director of Athletics, Health, and Physical Education for Middleboro and can be reached at: mperry@middleboro.k12.ma.us.

use Twitter to disseminate news from games for parents who are unable to attend. Here at Middleboro (Mass.) High School, we try to embrace any new technology that can help us communicate better. For example, some of our coaches use the Remind101 app, which enables one-way communication to athletes’ phones. This ensures all team members get any last-minute information, which they can relay to their parents. When families are informed, they feel involved and appreciative. SIGN ’EM UP

Megan Kashner has been a soccer, basketball, and softball coach at Wareham (Mass.) High School for several years, as well as a youth coach. She has found that the key to getting parents on her side is to ask them to pitch in. “Our parents have helped in fundraising, senior night ceremonies, and cooking on the grill at the concession stand,” she says. “Parents are also directly involved with the community service each team does.” On the football field, Wareham has kept up a “chain gang” tradition for many years. At every home game, parents of football players hold the down and distance markers and

wear special jackets that delineate them as part of this group. Nashua South’s cross country and track and field teams also depend on parent volunteerism to assist with competitions. Parents help with timing, measuring distances, raking sand pits, and other responsibilities, which helps the events run smoothly. Middleboro has embraced the idea of having a team parent for each squad. This parent’s role differs slightly by sport, but general responsibilities include attending booster club meetings, ordering varsity letter jackets, assigning concession workers, organizing parents to host weekly team dinners, overseeing team banquets, and keeping families informed of important information. Middleboro Head Football Coach Pat Kingman creates written materials for his team parent that outlines responsibilities and how to complete the tasks. “The time our team parent spends on these efforts is tremendous and allows my staff to focus on the business of coaching,” he says. “In addition, our team parent produces a weekly e-mail that is sent to the families keeping them up to date on times, dates, changes, and assignments.” Skeeter Porter, a Little League manager in the town of Middleboro, uses the same idea. His team parent takes care of cancellation messages, uniform issue and return, concession and field crew assignments, and the team picnic. Most importantly, this person also serves as a liaison between other parents and the coach. Porter advises taking time to choose the right parent for the job. “They are important to the chemistry of the team,” he says. “When I first did this, I encountered some problems with parents who were not on the same page as our organization. Now I look for someone who knows the game, can communicate information well, and wants the job to help all the kids in the program.” Kashner adds that it’s beneficial to explain this person’s role up front. “When you have someone directly involved with your team, other parents might accuse you of giving preferential treatment to their child,” she says. “And the parent who works with you may think they are owed something.” SETTING BOUNDARIES

Beyond communicating well with parents and asking for their assistance, another issue is deciding how much access to the innerworkings of the team they should be allowed. One question that arises often is on having an open-door policy for practices. Most athletic directors and coaches feel this goes too far. “Parents sitting nearby during practice can be a distraction,” says Graziano. “Imagine

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COACHING

a teacher letting parents sit in the back of their classroom.” Schulz is on the same page. “I’ve had parents tell their kids what they should do during practices,” he says. “And some confrontational parents could be there looking

to cause problems. It really takes away from the coach’s efforts, and it’s not a good idea.” The best solution is to find another way for parents to come behind the scenes. For example, the Middleboro football coaches often invite parents to the school library on

Sunday evenings for film review. The coaches show the most recent game film to parents, breaking down each play and explaining why some worked and others didn’t. The assistant coaches are present, and they weigh in with their positional expertise. This is a great

At Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood, Calif., Head Football Coach Masaki Matsumoto reached out to his athletes’ parents last summer in a unique way. He asked them to write letters to their sons, expressing their love. “I work with inner city kids who don’t always get a lot of attention at home,” says Matsumoto, who estimates that 60 percent of his players are raised by single mothers. “Their parents often work two or three jobs and aren’t around very much, or simply aren’t good at showing emotion. My athletes don’t hear the words ‘I love you’ very frequently at home.” Matsumoto got the idea from a fellow football coach in Seattle and began the exercise in mid-June by drafting a letter to parents that explained the project and its importance. In it, he also shared that he was raised by a single mother. “I told them that having my mom say she loved me and constantly voicing her support was integral to my development,” Matsumoto says. “Hearing this message would be vital to their growth, help them reach their goals, and become good future husbands and fathers.”

A couple of weeks later, with all of the responses in hand, Matsumoto—who never read the letters himself—gathered his players in the school gymnasium. To set the mood, he asked his assistant coaches to share how football has helped them become better men. Next, Matsumoto stood up and told his team that he loved and cared about each one of them—and he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. “Then I handed the letters out and told the players to find a quiet spot in the gym and take 15 minutes to read and reflect,” he says. “During that time, I heard a lot of sniffles and some sobbing, and I knew that the letters had hit home. I could tell that a lot of them didn’t regularly hear those words from their parents. “Afterward, I explained that there are people who care about them, whether they realize it or not,” Matsumoto adds. “I told them, ‘When things get hard, look back at this letter, because your families and the team are here for you. Don’t ever think people aren’t noticing you and that you’re not cared for.’” Matsumoto then asked his players if anyone wanted to share what was in their heart at that particular moment. The results were equal parts therapy and team building. “One by one they started coming up and speaking about their families and how much being on the team meant to them,” he says. “It was really powerful. One player told me afterward, ‘We always talk about wanting our team to be a family, but you can’t be a family if you don’t know the struggles your brothers are dealing with.’” Although his first run was a success, Matsumoto says it’s important the players have already bought into your program and your coaching style before doing a deeply personal exercise like the letter-writing project. “If I had done this when I took over the program in 2012, I probably wouldn’t have had the same results because I had not yet proven to the kids that I loved them,” he says. “Now, they know that I truly care and want what’s best for them. When you do that, especially at a school like ours, they’ll run through a wall for you.” — R.J. Anderson

letter winners

The football squad at Bernstein High School finished 9-1 last year.

After crafting his note (and translating it into Spanish), Matsumoto sealed a copy in an envelope along with a few sheets of blank paper for the parents to write on. Not knowing the nature of the correspondence, his players were instructed to take the envelopes home to their parents and bring back the responses by July 3.

> To download a PDF of the letter that Matsumoto sent home to parents, go to: AthleticManagement.com/LetterToParents.pdf.

AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 53

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COACHING

way to involve parents, bringing them up close and personal with the football coach’s decision-making process. TWO WORDS

Cardoso has her Nashua South runners write personal notes of thanks to the families that host pasta nights, and she sets the example herself. “The parents that help during the season receive a personal thank you from me,” she says. Kashner goes one step further. “I write a letter that gets published in the local newspaper thanking parents for their contributions,” she says.

Whatever role parents play on a team, one of most important things coaches can do is remember to say thank you. The value of taking the time to acknowledge parents for their specific contributions is invaluable. For example, a long-time football traYOUTH CONNECTION dition at Middleboro is to recognize the One final thought on coming up with mothers of senior players at halftime of the strategies for including parents is to rememfinal home game. The moms wear their son’s ber the broader picture. A big reason parents jersey to the contest, receive free admittance want to be included in high school athletics is to the stadium, and line up on the field that they were so involved at the youth levels. for a congratulatory address made by the “When parents have been totally immersed announcer. Other Middleboro teams now in their kids’ sporting lives for years, it can be also follow this model. difficult when they get to the high school In addition, when the Middleboro booslevel and find they are not really needed,” says ter club presents a check to the athletic Schulz. “That’s a key reason to keep them department, efforts are made to do this in as kids transition to school sports.” a public way. The athletic director usually The ALLinvolved NEW To make this easier for parents, Schulz escorts the president of the organization suggests that his coaches partner with youth onto the court or field at halftime of8000 a big Series programs. “That way, parents already know game to ensure that the appropriate recogour coaches and have begun to trust them nition is delivered.

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before their kids even try out for our high school teams,” he says. “Our coaches do this through clinics with the youth programs, which has worked well.” And when relationships are developed early on, sometimes parents will continue to help a team years into the future. “We have had parents of former athletes return to throw batting practice, volunteer coach, and travel to road games,” says Middleboro Head Baseball Coach Bill Lawrence. “One parent in particular has not only remained with the team but has been volunteering as an assistant for the past 20 years. Recently, he was inducted into the Middleboro Athletic Hall of Fame for his service.” Allowing parents to play a role on an athletic team does have some risks, but if it is well planned, the results can produce significant benefits. These partnerships have allowed programs to increase fundraising, lessen the tasks of coaches, and decrease Get a FREE Shooting parental complaints. In addition, a strong Drills DVD Featuring some connection between parents and coaches of the Best Coaches in the forms a bond that can have long-lasting Country at shootaway.com effects in the community, school, and sport program. n

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dean’s list of recommended basketball teac hing aids The 8000 Series Gun, The 6000 Series Gun, The Dominator Why it’s recommended: The Gun basketball-shooting practice machines have revolutionized the way programs everywhere improve their game. Shoot-A-Way has sold more than 16,000 Guns worldwide. The company’s goal is to help players and teams get better faster. ShootA-Way tries to make the most user-friendly, efficient, and durable basketball training aids, so you can reach your goals of success as quickly as possible. What they’re saying: “My players want to come in early or stay after practice to work on their shooting with the Gun. It’s amazing!” – Greg Frachiseur, Head Girls’ Basketball Coach, Redwater High School, TX

Installations of Note: In total, there are more than 16,000 guns in use in the world today. More than 62 percent of high school and 98 percent of NCAA Division I basketball programs use the Gun. Every NBA team has purchased one. Primary Advantages: The Gun is one of the best basketballshooting machines to date for dramatically improving your ball player’s shot. This basketball-shooting machine will act as an automatic rebounder, instantly rebounding a made or missed shot and creating situations where players can develop their shooting skills on the move and with game-like intensity. The Gun can fire up to 1800 shots per hour. www.shootaway.com Circle No. 538

PlayerLync Why it’s Recommended: For teams that are ready to advance beyond inefficient paper-based communication and non-secure video tools, PlayerLync provides a leading tablettechnology platform. PlayerLync offers a secure, real-time method of content synchronization and integrated messaging—all with one of the easiest end-user experiences available. The System Includes: Player skill assessment; playbook creation and study; video analysis; communications; video analysis; communications; opponent scouting; strength & conditioning tracking. Customers of Note: Brigham Young University, Duke University, Stanford University, Villanova University. Primary Advantages: Application and content are fully functional, on- or offline. Private and secure messaging and communications provides new options for teams to communicate. www.playerlync.com Circle No. 540

Dr. Dish High-Repetition Shooting Machines Why it’s recommended: Each model of the Dr. Dish Shooting Machine offers different levels of individual or team training. Whether your program needs an action-packed, REBEL | PRO | ALL-STAR automatic shooting machine or decides to step up to a fully loaded team trainer for post entry and perimeter training, there is a Dr. Dish to fit your budget and your training program. What they’re saying: “I am extremely excited to present our new line of versatile Dr. Dish machines. Quite simply, they are the safest, most game-like, automatic, high-repetition shooting machines in the market today. Whether your program needs a simple shooting machine or a team trainer for post entry and perimeter training, there is a Dr. Dish machine to fit your budget and your training program.” –Doug Campbell, President and CEO of Airborne Athletics Models and Descriptions: Dr. Dish Rebel – This is an automatic shooting machine that returns both made and missed shots. Dr. Dish Pro – With this machine, you can add advanced drills and calculate shareable statistics. It also comes with a remote. Dr. Dish All-Star – This machine is for away-from-the-basket training and post-entry training. Primary Advantages: Starting at $3,999, Dr. Dish machines offer one of the best values in game-like, high-repetition basketball training. Dr. Dish machines can work for any type of training program: personal or team use, in-season or off-season, and/or with or without a coach. The Dr. Dish allows a player to get in three times more shots, improve ball handling skills, and optimize their shooting angle to 45 degrees. www.airborneathletics.com/dr-dish-machines Circle No. 539

Books, eBooks and DVDs

Why it’s Recommended: Human Kinetics produces informative materials that help coaches gain more knowledge, skill, and enjoyment of their sport and/or profession. Join HK Rewards and be rewarded for staying connected to the premier publisher for sports and fitness. Materials Include: Human Kinetics basketball coaching titles-Winning Basketball Fundamentals, Coaching Basketball Successfully, Basketball Shooting, Coaching Basketball Skills & Drills, WBCA Offensive Plays & Strategies, Nancy Lieberman’s Basketball for Women, John Wooden’s UCLA Offense, and more. What People Are Saying: “It is appropriate to mention Morgan Wootten in the same conversation as John Wooden, Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, and Bob Knight as among the greatest coaches of basketball. His impact on all high school sports, all of his former players and coaches, and the entire coaching profession for generations is unmatched. His incredible ability to teach the fundamentals of the game is the gold standard for all coaches at all levels to follow. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to become a better coach.” – Sean Miller, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, University of Arizona

www.HumanKinetics.com Circle No. 541

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Linear Rubber Products is always innovating and never compromising. The company has top-quality standards. Primary Advantages:

Linear Rubber’s complete selection of rubber flooring is made from non-porous genuine rubber, not crumb rubber or composite, and will not absorb or retain moisture (cleaning materials, sweat, etc.). It will not crack or peel under extreme temperatures. Used to protect and beautify existing flooring, as well as absorb shock from free weights, Linear’s PowerPads are available in single pieces up to 6’ x 16’ to simplify installation with minimal seams. To complete the selection for every application and/or budget, 48” x 72” Gymatts are offered as well as the TopMat II flooring system in rolls, tiles, or interlocking squares.

Linear Rubber Products, Inc. 800-558-4040 www.rubbermats.com See ad on page 23 • Circle No. 500

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Founded in 1897, MFMA is the authoritative source of technical and general information about maple flooring and related sports-flooring systems. MFMA’s membership consists of manufacturers, sport-floor contractors, distributors, and allied product manufacturers who subscribe to established quality guidelines. “No one knows more about how a good floor should perform and how it should be installed than the MFMA members.” —Jay Stoehr, President and CEO of Robbins, Inc. Primary Advantages:

MFMA’s PUR (Performance and Uniformity Rating) Standards have been designed, utilizing exacting testing methodologies, to ensure that customers receive a reliable, well-performing, competitive sports surface. As an organization that represents the worldwide sportsflooring industry, the MFMA’s goal is to balance technical standards with practical flooring system design in order to create uniform standards of performance for competitive sports floors. When a flooring system is an MFMA PUR Compliant floor, it is understood that the floor has passed strict testing for both performance and uniformity. MFMA offers PUR compliant verification, inspection services, MFMA sealer and finish list, accredited installer certification, and technical consultation.

Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association 888-480-9138 www.maplefloor.org See ad on page 29 • Circle No. 501

Founded in 1894, Robbins Sports Surfaces, a family-owned business, is the premier supplier of highperformance maple and synthetic sports-flooring systems to the NBA, WNBA, NCAA, arena, education, religious, and fitness markets. “The consistency of the floor, regardless of the location you may be on, has been outstanding. The floor has done a great job of improving shock absorption and helping keep the wear and tear injuries of tendonitis and stress fractures down to a minimum.” —Dr. William Husak, Athletic Director, Loyola Marymount University Recent Installations: New Orleans Pelicans Training Facility Oregon State University Southern Methodist University, (Moody Coliseum) University of Michigan, (Crisler Center) Los Angeles Lakers Primary Advantages:

At Robbins, the company’s passion is the long-term health and performance of the athlete. Beneath the surface is a well-engineered subfloor, consisting of just the right amount of mechanical features that provide protection for the athlete. The subfloor build-up is critical to the health of the athlete, since the floor can have a significant impact on joints, muscles, and the endurance of the player. Proper construction of the floor is a science, and Robbins understands what is necessary to achieve a floor that not only looks great on camera but also improves performance and enhances endurance of the athlete.

Robbins Sports Surfaces (800) 543-1913 www.robbinsfloor.com See ad on page 14 • Circle No. 502

d e a n ’ s l i s t o f r e co m m e n d e d i n d o o r f lo o r i n g

In 1974, the Matéflex Modular Flooring Company was formed to manufacture and market in the United States. The company has been in continuous business at its Utica, N.Y., headquarters ever since, under a parent company established in 1912. “Matéflex identified the appropriate flooring solution and worked closely with us to complete the project on time and within budget.” Recent Installations: Hot Springs Convention Ctr., AR Capital District YMCA, NY BBC Volleyball, NV Keokuk High School, IA Espanola High School, NM Primary Advantages:

Matéflex knows sports and flooring. That’s why the company engineers all its state-of-the-art tiles for peak performance and near bulletproof durability. All of its modular flooring are portable and extremely low maintenance. And that’s not all—these tiles are affordable and easy to install. Matéflex is one of the oldest U.S. modular tile manufacturers. The company has been doing this since 1974, and it keeps finding new ways to do it better.

Matéflex 800-926-3539 www.mateflex.com See ad on page 13 • Circle No. 532

Founded in 1991, Abacus is a leader in multi-purpose surfacing—from your gym, weightroom, and locker rooms to your running tracks and tennis courts. The company has the surface to help your athletes play their best and the multi-purpose surface for large group activities. “I can highly recommend the use of Regupol® surfaces for training and competition to any coach in the world!” —Glen Mills, former head coach of the Jamaican Olympics athletics team RECENT Installations: St John’s University Villanova University Rutgers University North Carolina State University Pennsylvania State University Primary Advantages:

Abacus has the courts to help your athletes stay injury-free. The potential for stress and injury to bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons is reduced. Abacus’s goal is to continue to support athletes by giving them surfaces to train on, promoting well being and strength while reducing the chance of injury. Athletes need to train on the best surfaces to perform their best. The company continues to develop its surfaces as athletes continue to evolve. Peak performance demands that athletes train on the best surfaces.

Abacus Sports Installations 800-821-4557 www.abacussports.com See ad on page 36 • Circle No. 533

Infinity Performance has led the industry in developing some of the most durable flooring products designed specifically for extreme athletic weightroom applications. The company’s 1.25-inch-thick Infinity Max™ is the only product on the market that comes with a 10-year warranty that covers free weight damage. “Thank you for the great floor and all the support this year. It was truly a great help on the success we had this season.” – Chris Ruf, Director of Football, Baylor University RECENT Installations: Green Bay Packers University of Utah Philadelphia Phillies Los Angeles Dodgers Washington Redskins University of Alabama Texas A&M University Mississippi State University Ohio State University West Virginia University Primary Advantages:

Infinity Performance’s 1.25-inchthick Infinity Max™ is one of the most durable surfaces available for weightroom applications, and the company backs it with up to a 10-year warranty that covers free weight damage. Infinity Performance also works closely with strength and conditioning coaches and their architects to design the perfect custom colors and logos for their facility. Infinity Performance is committed to providing the highest-quality flooring installations.

Infinity Flooring 888-479-1017 www.infinityflooring.com See ad on page 27 • Circle No. 535

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SofSURFACES, founded in 1992, specializes in the manufacture and distribution of high-quality interlocking rubber flooring systems designed for sports and recreation. The DuraFLEX brand was introduced in 2006 and has been installed in high schools, colleges, private clubs, and nonprofit organizations across North America and Europe. “Jacob Hespeler is committed to installing DuraFLEX rubber. We want a first-class look and the best product available for our studentathletes.” – Greg White, Athletic Director, Jacob Hespeler Secondary School Recent Installations: River North Club, IL New Canaan YMCA, CT Sharky’s Athletic Club, Ontario Petrolia Crossfit, Ontario Anadarko, TX Primary Advantages:

DuraFLEX offers advantages in the areas of durability, resiliency, noise insulation, and aesthetics. The heaviest of free weights can be dropped directly onto the DuraFLEX floor with no damage whatsoever. At 1.25 inches, DuraFLEX is one of the thickest available weightroom floors. The increased thickness provides excellent noise and shock insulation but also provides added cushion, which helps protect athletes against strain during plyometric-type exercises. DuraFLEX comes in a smooth, attractive finish with tight seam lines that virtually disappear.

SofSURFACES, Inc. 800-263-2363 www.duraflex.com See ad on page 35 • Circle No. 536

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Buckeye International, founded in 1844, is the innovative leader in the manufacture of industrial maintenance and cleaning products. Buckeye’s reputation is founded on the development of superior floor finishes and, since 2007, the development of superior wood floor coatings and products. Primary Advantages:

The Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Program offers one of the most environmentally safe, VOCcompliant, water-based wood floor coatings and high performance, VOC-compliant, oil-based wood floor coatings on the market. These coatings provide superior adhesion, higher gloss, and reduced black marking and tape pulls. Additionally, Buckeye Reflections offers a complete line of products to help you maintain your wood floors. These products, along with your equipment, allow you to control your wood floor program in a cost-effective manner. The program also offers hands-on training at no additional cost to the customer.

Aacer Flooring is one of the leading manufacturers of hardwood flooring and subfloor systems for the sports-flooring industry. All of the company’s wood is milled and graded to a high standard in it’s Peshtigo, Wis., facility. Aacer Flooring prides itself on delivering product that is consistent and of superior quality, ultimately allowing for easy installation. The company’s flooring receives high marks for vibration reduction, shock absorption, flooring resiliency, moisture resistance, and dead-spot elimination. “I am very impressed and satisfied with the Aacer Channel floor system. Our players seem to love it, and it looks beautiful--and again, I’m very happy with the results.” – Bobby Cremins, former Head Men’s Basketball Coach, College of Charleston Recent Installations: College of Charleston University of Louisville University of Arizona Marist College Louisiana State University Primary Advantages:

Aacer Flooring’s 300,000-squarefoot manufacturing facility is state of the art. It is capable of producing 35 million board feet of hardwood flooring annually. Aacer’s technology and people allow it to produce consistent, quality products.

Buckeye International, Inc. 800-321-2583 www.buckeyeinternational.com See ad on Inside Back Cover Circle No. 537

Aacer Flooring 877-582-1181 www.aacerflooring.com See ad on Inside Front Cover Circle No. 549

Gym Components Assess Your Equipment

The Spalding ® GymPro™ Inspection program provides a floor-to-ceiling assessment performed by trained and experienced professionals. The program includes an evaluation of basketball rims and backboards, volleyball equipment, retractable equipment, wall padding, divider curtains, accessories, and more. The inspection will verify that all equipment is in good working order. To set up a free evaluation and find a Spalding GymPro™ Dealer nearest you, visit the company’s Web site or email SpaldingGymPro@fotlinc.com. Spalding • 800-435-3865 www.spaldingequipment.com/gympro

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Secure Storage

Standard lockers were too small for the company’s football, baseball, and softball teams so Salsbury Industries introduced its Open Access Lockers. These lockers provide large, vented space for clothing, uniforms, and many other applications. Salsbury’s Open Access Lockers include a coat rod and feature a lockable upper shelf and foot locker for secure equipment storage. Salsbury Industries’ trained and knowledgeable staff will get you what you need on time and on budget. For a free catalog or additional information on Salsbury Industries, visit the company’s Web site. Salsbury Industries • 800-LOCKERS www.lockers.com

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Enhanced Slip Resistance

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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Custom-Made Gym Graphics

Eliminates Installation Hassle

Telescoping, wall-mounted basketball structures from Bison eliminate your ordering and installation hassles. Simply order an in-stock stationary or sidefold structure with your basketball backboard, padding, and goal. When the shipment arrives at the gym, mount the system at the correct height, adjust the distance from the wall, and complete installation without worrying about measurement mistakes or costly field modifications. Bison also offers swing-up and custom wall-mounted structures, plus portables. Bison, Inc. • 800-247-7668 www.bisoninc.com

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At Your Service

Both the Gold and Silver models of the Volleyball Tutor can vary ball trajectory— producing 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, can be angled for dig drills, and features a separate dial to control the amount of topspin and underspin. The Gold model can automatically throw six volleyballs at intervals ranging from five to 20 seconds, and is available in a battery-powered version. Both are portable and transport easily. Volleyball Tutors start at under $1,000. Sports Tutor • 800-448-8867 www.sportsmachines.com

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Resources and More

The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) is a national organization for builders, designers, and suppliers of materials for tennis courts, running tracks, synthetic and natural turf fields, and indoor and outdoor synthetic sports surfaces. ASBA publishes Buyer’s Guides with information on the process of selecting a site, choosing a contractor, identifying a surface, and more. Visit the ASBA’s Web site for a searchable database of members. American Sports Builders Association • 866-501-2722 www.sportsbuilders.org Circle No. 509

Give your players and fans the gym they deserve. With custom-made gym graphics, you can give your gym a oneof-a-kind look that will represent your school for years to come. Coaches and athletic directors agree that branding your gym not only promotes school spirit but can also be instrumental in recruiting top prospects. Don’t settle for a plain and outdated gym—let BigSigns.com give you a gym that will blow everyone away.

Build for Success

BigSigns.com • 800-790-7611 www.bigsigns.com

VP Buildings • 800-238-3246 www.vp.com

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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 football practice facility, a gymnasium, arena, indoor soccer field, or other structure, VP Buildings offers not only the design capability but also the flexibility and sophistication to fulfill your needs. Circle No. 510 AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 59

Gym Components Transforms Any Space

Fathead can transform any space— be it an office lobby, athletic facility, or entire building—from ordinary to amazing. With an in-house design team, Fathead customizes interior and exterior graphics with capabilities across a variety of materials, from removable vinyl to aluminum and acrylic. Whether it’s for an entire building or a single wall, Fathead has you covered. Fathead, LLC • 1-888-270-9255 www.fathead.com/business-solutions

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Locker Room Graphics

Prepare your players for battle with a customized locker room made just for them. Paint the walls with school sprit and remind your players who they are playing for. BigSigns.com can match your interior decor with the same logos, colors, and themes used around your facilities. BigSigns.com • 800-790-7611 www.bigsigns.com

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A Unique Design IPI by Bison’s Gym Divider Curtains are an attractive and affordable way to maximize use of your gymnasium or multi-purpose space. Curtains are available in fold-up, top-roll, roll-up, and walk-draw styles, plus mesh practice cage designs. Facilities may select from several colors of 18- or 22-ounce antibacterial, fungi-resistant, flame-retardant, polyester-reinforced, solid vinyl fabric and four colors of mesh with a more than 50-percent open-grid weave for air circulation.

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 two adjustable cable column machines—all within a compact area. With this equipment, an athlete can now perform all the core lifts a rack/platform provides with the multi-faceted capability of a fully operational functional trainer. This product is extremely easy to adjust and use quickly, as it gets your athletes in and out of every facet of a workout much more effectively. The new 111FTR Rack Series is only from Samson Equipment.

IPI by Bison • 800-637-7968 www.IPIbyBison.com Circle No. 512

Samson Equipment • 800-472-6766 www.samsonequipment.com

Helps Maximize Space

Stand Out

Adjusts Easily

Spalding’s Helix™ Height Adjuster has infinite backboard adjustments between eight and 10 feet on wall-braced and ceiling-suspended backstops. The nylon bushing provides smooth movement with the same rigidity of a system without a height adjuster. Spalding offers two different models, enabling you to mount a 72-inch fan or conversion backboard to your existing system. Spalding Helix™ Height Adjuster’s spring-loaded technology makes changing your play height a slam dunk. Spalding • 800-435-3865 www.spaldingequipment.com

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A Smart Upgrade Package

Replace old backboards and rims with a regulation 42” x 72” x 1/2” tempered glass backboard with bolt-on padding and a competition breakaway rim. Pre-installed mounting brackets in the board easily affix to your existing fan-shaped or rectangular backboard mounting points. The mounting bracket absorbs all stress from the rim, and the backboard comes with a lifetime warranty. Consider adding the industry’s only height adjuster with a 10-year warranty to allow stable rim height adjustment from eight to 10 feet. Institutional Basketball Systems • 877-272-5430 www.institutionalbasketballsystems.com Circle No. 542 60 MARCH 2014 | AthleticManagement.com

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Cabana Banners offers top-quality custom Championship and Add-a-Year Athletic Banners as well as Academic Banners, Record Boards, Table Banners, and 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 Photos to Realistic Mascots, endless possibilities are available in dynamic, vivid, living color. Cabana Banners • 800-697-3139 www.cabanabanners.com

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College Ticketing and Business Platform

Veritix® is one of the leading innovators in ID-based digital ticketing, event marketing, and relationship management applications. Veritix offers a ticketing and business platform designed exclusively for the collegiate sports and event market, which provides one system for colleges and universities to manage all of their fundraising, ticketing, and business needs. College users include Texas A&M University, Boise State University, Eastern Michigan University, Stony Brook University, and the NCAA–including the Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four and College World Series. Veritix • 216-466-8082 www.veritix.com

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Product Launch

Guardian Dispensing Station

Parallel Bars New York Barbells of Elmira, Inc. 800-446-1833 newyorkbarbells.com Circle No. 516

GymWipes 888-977-3726 gymwipes.com Circle No. 515

Unique features:

• Can dispense, dispose, or store sanitizing wipes and foams • Front door has fullheight hinge for easy access to the wipes bucket • Has extra storage space

Benefits for the user:

• Designed for customization • Built of long-lasting, heavy steel • Multi-functional unit

HydroChill™ Evaporative Cooling System Shaw Sports Turf 706-217-9690 www.shawsportsturf.com Circle No. 517

Unique features:

Benefits for the user:

• Not just lab tested— tested in real field applications over three years • Evaporative cooling is performed the same way the body cools itself by sweating

• Shown to reduce turf temperatures by 50 degrees • Provides maximum benefit when it’s hottest • Athletes can focus on the task, not the temperature

Unique features:

Benefits for the user:

• The 1.75-inch heavy wall tubes on the large unit and knurled tubing on the Paralletes provide for secure gripping • Easily moved, these bars can facilitate numerous exercises at any location

• TDS Parallel bars and the smaller Paralletes are effective tools for strength and endurance training as well as rehabilitation • These affordable tools have unlimited exercise potential • These bars are great for everything from gait and core exercises to sport-specific training— including dips, push-ups, muscle-ups, handstands, and planks

Signature Athletic Tape Signature Athletic Tape 877-741-TAPE (8273) www.signatureathletictape.com Circle No. 547

Unique features:

Benefits for the user:

• The best in the NCAA have their own athletic tape • Now your team can have its own customized logo tape • Easy to order your team’s custom tape

• High-quality, breathable athletic tape used by professional athletic trainers • 100-percent cotton with zinc oxide adhesive • Protects joints from injury and sprains and provides support to help speed recovery • Serrated edge for easy tear AthleticManagement.com | MARCH 2014 61

Antimicrobial Higher Productivity, Less Energy

Sports Laundry Systems (SLS) eliminates 99.9 percent of superbugs, bacteria, and viruses—including MRSA—found in soiled laundry at gyms and athletic facilities. SLS pairs freestanding, high-speed washerextractors with ozone injection and high-performance drying tumblers to disinfect laundry and help prevent the spread of infection among athletes. SLS delivers superior laundry productivity using considerably less water, chemicals, and energy. Sports Laundry Systems • 920-230-8550 www.sportslaundrysystems.com

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Full-Spectrum Protection

The GymWipes® product line ranges from full-spectrum protection to cost-effective solutions that offer the best value for the best price. These bactericidal, virucial, and fungicidal wipes are economical, eco-friendly, and non-toxic. GymWipes use EPAregistered disinfecting/sanitizing formulas that protect against 50-plus pathogens. These anti-microbial formulas offer affordable cleansing options and their fresh scent formulas contain no phenol, alcohol, or bleach. Equipment manufacturer tested and approved, GymWipes are made in the USA and will make a positive impact in your facility. 2XL Corporation • 888 977-3726 www.gymwipes.com

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More Products Bolster Productivity

Continental Girbau’s E-Series Washer-Extractors and Pro-Series II Drying Tumblers combine for maximized laundry productivity using less energy, labor time, and water. E-Series Washers, available in 20- to 255-pound capacities, offer a freestanding design for simple installations, with most models operating on single-phase power. They deliver extract speeds of up to 387 G-force, remove more water from every load, shorten dry time, and improve productivity. Pro-Series II Drying Tumblers in 30- to 175-pound capacities offer a quick dry, using less energy. Continental Girbau, Inc. • 800-256-1073 www.continentalgirbau.com

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Ensures a Rock-Solid Start

The MACH-1 Stainless Steel Starting Block (Fixed Pedal) is the only starting block you will ever have to buy, which is the way AAE believes it should be. The MACH-1 features top-quality, 100-percent stainless steel unibody rail and foot pedals engineered for extra stability; a friction-free Teflon glider that allows for instant and effortless foot-pedal adjustment; and unique spike pattern grips that track better to give sprinters the full benefit of a rock-solid start. This product is proudly made in the USA and is protected by the AAE Extended Limited Warranty (15 years). Aluminum Athletic Equipment • 800-523-5471 www.myaaeworld.com 62 MARCH 2014 | AthleticManagement.com

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Defend Against Germs and Infection

Symmetry® is an innovative hand-hygiene line created by highly qualified formulation chemists through extensive research, development, and quality control. The Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program offers a full line of cost-effective washes, lotions, sanitizers, and dispensers complete with education and training for any market. Each Symmetry dispenser accepts liquid or foam products, which eliminates the need for multiple types of dispensers. Symmetry’s flexible packaging offers a 99-percent product evacuation rate, and it takes up less space in landfills. Do your part to help promote the number-one defense against germs and infection and incorporate the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program into your facility. Buckeye International, Inc. • 800-321-2583 www.symmetryhandhygiene.com

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Sanitizes with UV Light

You sanitize your hands. Why not sanitize your equipment? Sport balls are one of the primary fomites (objects capable of passing germs from person to person) that athletes encounter. Bacteria and germs can grow on sport balls after coming into contact with an infected individual and can easily spread throughout a field or court to other players. The germninja™ is designed to kill germs on sport balls and protect athletes of all ages from bacteria and viruses that cause disease. This cutting-edge, patented technology sanitizes sport balls with ultraviolet light, killing off harmful microorganisms without ruining your equipment. Jaypro Corp. • 800-243-0533 www.jaypro.com

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Designed for Working Adults

American Public University offers more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs designed for sports and health science professionals, coaches, athletic directors, and working adults like you—completely online. American Public University has been nationally recognized by the Sloan Consortium for effective practice in online education. Classes start monthly, with eight- and 16-week courses. For more information, call 877-777-9081 or visit StudyatAPU.com/sports. American Public University • 877-777-9081 StudyatAPU.com/sports

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Let the Fun Begin

The new Kay Park ping-pong table is sure to be a hit at your facility. The heavy, reinforced concrete construction table has a polished, smooth top surface. The powdercoated metal net can be laser cut with a name or message. Let the fun begin, and call Kay Park. Kay Park Recreation Corp. • 800-553-2476 www.kaypark.com

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More Products Saves Quarterback’s Arm

Great for Teaching Beginners

The Welded Single Bar H.S. Rocker Hurdle is great not only for training beginner hurdlers—because the back bar has been eliminated—but also for its durability from its quad-welded, single-bottom bar with reinforced gussets and completely welded endcaps. UV-Stabilized Polycarbonate risers and tubes are scratch and fade resistant and feature Omnicolor® resins that can be custom-matched to your school and/or team colors. And, as always, your custom silkscreen is included. This product is proudly made in the USA and is protected by the AAE Extended Limited Warranty (15 years). Aluminum Athletic Equipment • 800-523-5471 www.myaaeworld.com

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Sports Tutor • 800-448-8867 www.sportsmachines.com

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Adhesives for All Seasons

Provides Expertise

Synthetic Surfaces Inc. • 908-233-6803 www.nordot.com

University of South Dakota Division of Continuing & Distance Education • 800-233-7937 www.usd.edu/cde/online-ma-kss.cfm Circle No. 529

Throughout the year, you don’t have to wait for ideal weather or temperatures to install synthetic turf fields and other recreational surfaces with NORDOT® Adhesives. From sub-freezing to hot, desert-like climates, installing with NORDOT® Adhesives gets the job done faster and easier. In this picture, seaming tape coated with NORDOT® Adhesive poured through a glue box is being dispensed. The turf will be closed on it creating a strong seam with outstanding long-term durability. Circle No. 525

The 12-month, 36-credit Master of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion program at California University of Pennsylvania is 100-percent Web-based. The flexibility of the online program allows professionals or military personnel, who would be precluded from attending graduate school in the traditional sense, to complete their M.S. while still maintaining their full-time positions. California University of Pennsylvania • 866-595-6348 www.calu.edu/go Circle No. 526

Ideal Ballfield Fencing

Regardless of the size of your ballfield, CoverSports’s 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 and softball. Along with its easy installation and being removable, it is durable, soft, and easy to handle. The Grand Slam Fencing is available in red, blue, and green—and it comes 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. CoverSports • 800-445-6680 www.coversports.com

The University of South Dakota’s online Master of Arts in Kinesiology & Sport Science with a Sport Management Specialization is a 33-credit hour degree program designed to provide expertise in the business of sport. There is a growing demand for a master’s degree in Sport Management for coaches, athletic directors, licensed teachers, and sport administrators within the state of South Dakota as well as neighboring states.

Committed to Customers

Online Program

Many college and high school football programs are discovering the benefits of training their receivers with tennis ball machines. The ProLite tennis ball machine provides close-range drills to sharpen hand-eye coordination and enforce proper catching technique. With the ProLite, a player can catch 100 throws in less than 10 minutes—and several machines can be set up to simulate various catching angles. Plus, it reduces wear and tear on quarterbacks’ arms. Compact and lightweight, the ProLite transports easily and is available in battery-powered or AC models. Prices start at $699.

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Sixty years have passed since the first ‘Kay’ brand park equipment was made in 1954, and the company is still run by its founder Keith Borglum, his wife, Joyce and two of their three sons. At the spry age of 87, Keith enjoys working every day, developing new products, and manufacturing methods for Kay Park Recreation. With heartfelt gratitude to all the Kay Park customers over the years, the company celebrates being 60 years strong in 2014. Taking care of customers has been, and will always be, its driving force. Kay Park Recreation Corp. • 800-553-2476 www.kaypark.com

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Everything for Your Infield

Everything you need to maintain and improve your infield is supplied by BEAM CLAY®, makers of infield mixes, mound and batter’s box clays, and red warning tracks for every state and climate from regional plants nationwide. BEAM CLAY® also supplies more than 200 other ballfield products from bases to windscreens, and has supplied every MLB team, most minor league and college teams, and thousands of towns and schools from all 50 states and worldwide. BEAM CLAY • 800-247-2326 www.beamclay.com

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