What's On Your Mind: A Five-Year Snapshot CATEGORIES Finding Qualified Coaches Finding Staff for Events Here's our annual ranking of the most concerning issues for high school athletic directors compared with how they ranked in previous years. Percentages represent athletic directors who said they were at least moderately concerned about that particular issue. 2023-24 87% 83% Additional Responsibilities 82% Problems with Parents HR Issues 82% 79% Improving Communications 79% Reduced School Funding Athlete Specialization Legal/Liability Issues Health & Safety of Staff & Students Participation Decline Keeping Up with Tech Facility Sanitation & Maintenance Expectations & Roles in Securing Private Funding Student-Athletes Transferring Illegally Competition w/Club Programs Gender /Race Issues Public Sentiment on Athletic Spending Eligibility Issues Job Security 78% 77% 76% 76% 74% 61% 60% 58% 57% 56% 54% 48% 43% 49% 22-23 1 3 5 2 10 4 7 8 9 12 6 15 17 16 13 11 14 19 18 20 Stock Up HR Issues cracked the top five after hovering around 10 in the previous four years, while Facility Sanitation & Maintenance showed an uptick after the previous two years in the bottom quarter of concerns among athletic directors. * HR Issues (+5) * Facility Sanitation & Maintenance (+4) * Keeping up with Technology (+3) 16 COACH & A.D. | MAY/JUNE 2024 21-22 1 2 5 3 9 11 7 4 8 10 6 13 15 17 19 12 14 18 16 20 20-21 4 5-T 8 10 12 11 2 9 7 1 5-T 13 3 14 16 17 15 19 18 20 19-21 1 2 5 4 9 6 3 10 8 NR 7 13 NR 11 14 18 12 16 15 20 Top 5 Sports Added in the Last 3 Years * Boys Volleyball (30.4%) * Boys/Girls Bowling (28.3%) * Boys/Girls Lacrosse (28.2%) * Wrestling (17.4%) * Girls Golf (13%) Stock Down After hanging around just outside of the top 10 biggest concerns, competition with club programs fell five spots this year, while worries over participation decline seem to have waned, falling out of the top 10 biggest concerns for the first time in the last five years. * Competition with Club Programs (-5) * Participation Decline (-4) * Gender/Race Issues (-3) " I think it has just [been] due to the availability that ADs have. We are very visible and with social media now, we are very accessible so the problem has always been around but just more seen now. " " We are finding that more parents have their children involved in too many activities and don't understand the need to attend all practices. " " Parents are unrealistic in their child's abilities. Parent behavior has worsened each year. Many athletic events would operate better without parents in attendance. " In Their Own Words... On Dealings With Problematic Parents Worsening: