Control the process; don’t let the process control you!”
The Director of Athletics
In this article, I give a “shout out” to the Athletic Directors across the United States. These are the men and women who bring the roles of counselor, equipment manager, coach, financial planner, mediator, visionary, administrator, and leader under one big umbrella. They have perhaps the most visible position in the school district. There is no doubt the AD position is the most "heated" job in the district.
I speak from experience; you see, I was a Director of Athletics for the past five years (Skaneateles, New York), I can say from experience that the job is filled with high levels of emotion. AD’s are on call 24 hours a day by their coaches and the community members that they serve. They are on the front lines, answering questions and talking with angry parents who feel their child was unjustly treated by a coach and not granted the desired level of playing time. An often thankless job, these AD's represent their schools with pride and conviction, often putting their own families on hold to be available from their school’s athletic events. Fifty and 60-hour work weeks are the norm; and their diets often consist of concession-style hotdogs, popcorn, and coffee.
As I’ve said before in these pages, I feel the New York State Public High School Athletic Association made a critical error when it allowed coaches to have year round access to student-athletes. I understood and agreed with the premise that other states’ Athletic Associations were doing it and that New York State was falling behind. But the undesired result is youth organizations encouraging participation – and specialization – in a single sport. This specialization has not only created a "if you can pay, you can play" mentality with parents (leading to the feeling of entitlement). It has also limited the exposure to other athletic opportunities for our young student-athletes.
This has exacerbated the already-difficult job of the AD. Parents who just invested thousands of dollars into their child's youth organization may turn angry if their child doesn’t make a team. Historically, high school athletic programs have been based on competition where better athletes play and role players fill in the gaps. This changing trend in our society is causing me concern.
The new generation of Athletic Director is now often saddled with overzealous parents who claim to understand the intricacies of the game simply because they volunteered to coach for their child's youth team. They make demands regarding team alignments and playing time distribution. Their child has participated on several "Travel/Elite" teams and that coach assured them the child was a sure Division I prospect.
With school budgets under siege and State Government setting no clear vision to get us out of the current crisis, school districts are being asked to do more with less. The same is true with athletics. AD’s are being asked to run a first-class operation while fielding as many sports as the facilities can handle. They are also expected to hire the best coaches to lead their teams to victory each season, in addition to scheduling the community sports for any time field time that may remain. All this is being done with their athletic budgets being cut by 5-10% each year.
So the next time the scoreboard is not operating properly or the grass is just a little too high, remember that your Director of Athletics is doing their level best to provide the best experience for your student-athlete. Why don't we show our AD's some love and say thank you for doing a terrific job considering the many challenges they face; after all, that’s what we expect our coaches to do for our children isn't it?
Control the Process; Don't Let the Process Control You!"
