July/August 2021 - 9

to know your coaching staff, your
principal, your superintendent, and
also teachers. You are going to
have to deal with these individuals
and the better that you understand
what makes them tick, the more
effective it will be to work with
them. In addition, you are also
trying to understand the culture of
the school and community.
* Pinpointedly ask your principal
what expectations he or she has
for you and is there anything that
should be tackled first. This
conversation should occur as
soon as possible after you start
and it should provide you with a
good initial roadmap and to help
ensure a good start. Keeping your
principal or superintendent,
depending upon the organizational
structure in your setting, informed
is critically important.
* Avoid making immediate large,
sweeping changes if possible.
Try to first gain a sense of how
things are operating and develop
a priority list of improvements that
need to be made. Change can be
extremely unsettling for some and
unless something ranks as an
emergency or needs urgent
attention, go slowly. Start by
explaining to your coaching staff
what you have in mind and then
proceed with one item at a time.
Give your coaches a chance to
adjust and don't overwhelm them.
* Try to set up a weekly meeting
with your principal, even for just
a half-an-hour, and make this a
regular occurrence. During this
session, quickly review the major
aspects of what has occurred in
the past week and what is on deck
for the next week. This briefing is
a good foundation for transparent,
effective communication.
* Save your weekly planning
documents, meeting agendas,
important memos, checklists,
budget proposals, and other
essential documents, because they
can become references for
succeeding years. This step alone
- having documents that can be
revised and updated instead of
starting from scratch - can greatly
help your efforts in the future and,
therefore, make things easier.
* Step back occasionally and try to
enjoy working with your coaching
staff and watching your studentathletes
grow and develop. After
putting in 15-hour days, dealing
with problems, and trying to meet
perhaps some unrealistic
expectations, it is easy to forget why
you do this job and the purpose and
value of education-based athletics.
Take time to remind yourself.
Be realistic and patient with
yourself. You will not and cannot
accomplish everything needed or
desired immediately. Make it through
the first year in one piece mentally and
emotionally and build upon your efforts
in the second. Rome wasn't built in a
day and the same can be said for your
new athletic program. Take one step at
a time, even if you stumble occasionally,
get back up and keep going.
Being an athletic director takes a
great deal of work, but it is also one
of the most important, vital positions
within the school.
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July/August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2021
