Athletic Administrator is the School’s CEO – Chief Educational Officer

In the corporate world, the person who is ultimately in charge and directs a large business is the chief executive officer. Commonly, many would simply use the CEO acronym when referring to this individual. While this term would also be appropriate for athletic administrators in that they are in charge of leading high school athletic programs, there is one additional application that is appropriate when using the education-based concept as a foundation.

Beyond handing hundreds of details associated with the operation of a school’s athletic department, the athletic administrator should be the chief educational officer. The athletic director should guide, assist and provide oversight to the educational initiatives involved with the athletic program. This would extend well beyond sport-specific skill instruction, the implementation of strategies, and other duties related to coaching a team. Athletic administrators are also responsible for ensuring that lifelong values and qualities are introduced, encouraged and enhanced with the school’s student- athletes. Hence, the athletic administrator is the CEO – chief educational officer.

This means that the athletic administrator is an instructional leader like an academic department chairperson, a resource person, and someone who evaluates, oversees and is responsible for the efforts within the program with regard to providing sound, practical educational exercises and activities.

Following are a few aspects that athletic administrators should consider in this role of CEO.

• Reinforce with your coaching staff that while the coaches should prepare players for competition, teach sport-specific skills and try to win games, the No. 1 objective is the academic pursuits of their student-athletes. Part of this process includes ensuring that students regularly attend class, participate while in class, complete assignments and projects, and perform well on tests. This means that it is absolutely essential that coaches restrict practices sessions to two hours, as well as being conscious and cautious of placing additional and unrealistic expectations and demands on their athletes. Generally, coaches need to understand that these young people are students first and athletes second.

• Serve as a resource for your coaches and provide them with possible topics for teachable moments that can be used with their teams (see this article from the April 2021 issue of High School Today). The list of possibilities is almost endless and can cover a multitude of issues such as sportsmanship; the prevention of hazing, bullying and cyberbullying; integrity; leadership; and a host of others. This effort could be as easy as sending an email and a link to a useful and related article, and the message could be as simple as, “Thought that you might be able to use this with your team.” Even if some coaches don’t use your hint, you’ve done your part by providing the material.

• Guide and encourage your coaches to have their teams participate in community service projects. If coaches allow their student-athletes to decide upon, plan and lead the initiative, they can gain valuable experience with organizational and leadership skills as well as giving back to individuals or groups in need of assistance. This is a fantastic way to learn and enhance lifelong values and qualities. And it starts with the athletic administrator pointing the staff in the right direction.

• Share with your coaching staff practical ideas, approaches and activities that they can use with their teams in order to provide the foundation and enhance leadership skills. This step can include the possibility of allowing team members and captains with specific parts that they can actively lead or do in practice and games to help with the positive direction of the team. After providing their student-athletes with explanations of what is involved and how to proceed, coaches should step back and allow the athletes to grow and develop, with of course their constant guidance and encouragement.

• Host a student leadership workshop and this could be an extension of the previous bulleted point. Organize a day with presentations including what is involved with leadership, and with activities designed to examine, discover, and put to use some helpful techniques that are involved in this concept. You can look at the NFHS and state student leadership programs as models in order to create your own program within your district.

• Schedule games or holiday tournaments in which the other competing teams come from different cultural and demographic settings. Particularly if you host a reception or get-together with refreshments after the games, your athletes will have the opportunity to meet other athletes who share the common element of their sport, but come from unique, diverse backgrounds. This effort extends beyond classroom instruction and involves real, first-hand learning experiences.

• Present special informational sessions for athletes, and if appropriate, you can also include parents, in order to deal with topics and concerns that would require greater attention than what could be covered with teachable moments. You can present issues such as preventing hazing, bullying and cyberbullying; the importance of sleep and nutrition and any other topic that is current and directly related to your setting. In terms of education and helping young people, there is an unlimited number of possibilities. All you have to do is recognize the need and organize the event.

Beyond sharing ideas and concepts, athletic administrators should observe practice sessions and activities, and offer guidance and suggestions for their coaches. This is no different than a principal or assistant conducting a classroom observation session and then providing feedback in an effort to improve instruction. Athletic administrators should also be active in improving the approach and techniques their coaches take in attempts to introduce and enhance lifelong values and qualities. In the role of CEO (chief educational officer), athletic administrators should be trying to improve the education-based instructional levels of their coaches. Why?

Helping young people to gain lifelong values and qualities doesn’t happen by accident. Like all educational efforts, it has to be planned, refined, emphasized and executed. This all falls on the athletic administrator’s shoulders as the chief educational officer for the athletic program.