Are You Meeting the Needs of Student-Athletes?

A basic premise of an education-based athletic program is that it should center on the growth and development of student-athletes. In order to logically accomplish this goal, it is necessary to provide a supportive, nurturing environment and learning opportunities. Are you sure that you are meeting the needs of these young people?

An initial step might be to determine the needs of your student- athletes. This probably should be considered from two viewpoints. Hearing directly from young people would be an obvious source for determining what might be needed. In addition, you would also want to rely on the expertise and viewpoints of coaches and administrators to identify life-long qualities and values that should be gained by student-athletes.

Numerous national studies have indicated that the primary reason students participate in an athletic program is to have fun. This can usually be interpreted that they want to have a good experience with their friends, and to enjoy a good working-relationship with coaches. Student-athletes also would like to improve and learn new skills, and this should extend beyond sport-specific ones.

From the perspective of students, how do you know if their needs are being met? That’s simple. Listen to what they say, and use this information to determine what they would like to see or experience within your program? This can be done in several ways.

• Listen actively and intently when students stop into your office, or when they see you in the lobby or cafeteria. The location doesn’t matter – just seriously listen to what their concerns and interests are. Their concerns can cover a wide range of topics from how practice sessions are going, a conflict with a teammate or coach, or even the type of uniforms that they have. It can be anything, but by talking and meeting with students you’ll know exactly what is on their mind.

• Periodically survey your students to determine what they would like to see in your program, and you can also ask them to list any concerns. To glean information that will be helpful, you have to carefully craft the questions.

• Conduct exit interviews with your graduating seniors to ascertain how successful you have been in meeting their needs. If your class of senior athletes is too large to individually meet with all of them, you can resort to a carefully crafted, brief questionnaire, or use a random sampling of the seniors. But meeting with individuals will allow them to share their experiences and thoughts.

• Talk to recent grads when they come back to visit, and specifically ask what their experience was like when they played. In these brief conversations, they may provide additional helpful insight.

From an athletic administrator’s perspective there are also several things that you might consider, and the following represent a few of them.

• Take a look at your participation rate. This can a good barometer. If your teams are filled to capacity, you are probably doing a satisfactory job. If there are some that struggle occasionally to field a full squad, this would necessitate trying to determine the cause or reason, and go about fixing it.

• Explore adding new sports based upon the lobbying efforts and survey results of the student body. While you do have to keep in mind the associated costs, the suitability of facilities, the availability of coaches, the sustainability of the team, and Title IX compliance, new sports can and should be a possibility in meeting the interests and needs of students.

• Watch how emerging sports in your state are developing. If schools in your area are beginning to offer programs such as flag football and wrestling for girls, lacrosse, badminton, and others, it may not be long until your students express interest in them as well. It is always wise to be ahead of the curve, if possible, so that you truly meet the needs of your student body.

• Also don’t forget the special-needs students in your district. It may be time to create or expand your Unified Sports program, and to provide learning opportunities for this segment of students. As with your entire athletic program, an honest analysis make indicate that it is time to tweak your offerings.

• Take a hard look at groups of students in your school who may be under-represented in your athletic program. These young people may be part of a religious, ethnic or cultural segment, and they may need a little help to get them to consider being part of one of your teams. This might necessitate explaining the purpose and value of participation, and you might also have to reach out to community leaders for an assist in this effort.

• Make a special effort to encourage more females to participate. Even with the enactment and the existence of Title IX, some communities may have to take a few extra steps to more fully promote the benefits of females being involved in an education-based program.

• Carefully analyze what specifically you offer and do to enhance sportsmanship, leadership skills, and the other associated qualities within the education-based concept. There should be specific planned initiatives to assist your young people to reach this goal. What can you start or do better?

• Identify topics which could benefit student-athletes and their parents, and determine how you can reach out and help them. Initiatives involving the mental health of athletes, protocols for concussions, the importance of a proper diet and sleep, and anything that will help them not only in your athletic program, but in the school community as well.

One of your mantras should be that you want to offer as many sports as feasible, and to get as many students involved as possible to experience the benefits of education-based athletics. There should be a continual analysis on your part of whether you are meeting the interests and needs of your student body. After all, the major reason that your program exists is to meet this goal. It is, and should be, all about the students.

F_or more information, also see: Encouraging Student Participation by Offering New Programs. High School Today, January 2024, pp. 26-27, and Creating a High School Student Leadership Program. High School Today, May 2024, pp. 38-39._