Athletic/Performing Arts Directors: Establishing Your Priorities

With all of the tasks and responsibilities athletic administrators and performing arts directors have, there is never enough time to do what is needed or what they may want to do. It is impossible. The only solution is to develop and establish a set of priorities to guide your efforts with respect to the importance, order and expediency of what to handle.

You might want to consider the following as you set out to determine your priories:

• Any item related to the health and safety of your student- athletes. This is the basis, after all, of all sport rules books written by the NFHS and guidelines for other activities. The risk of injury or even isolated possibilities of death have to be minimized as best as possible, and this has to be the No. 1 priority from a legal and moral perspective.

• All details and preparations involving the hosting of daily contests. This step and your efforts are necessary to ensure problem-free home events and should also include confirming transportation for away contests. While most games take place without incident, any problem will be highly visible, noticed, and affect everyone – athletes, coaches, parents and spectators.

• Requests for information, help or advice for your principal or superintendent. Even though the term boss is not used in the educational realm, make no mistake this is exactly who these two individuals are. In any work environment, it is critically important to do whatever is necessary to support, help and make your boss’s job easier. Failure to routinely meet their needs may lead them to look for someone else who might fill this role better.

• Steps to maintain and ensure compliance with Title IX. While meeting the standards of this federal legislation is the right thing to do, it should also be high on your list to avoid audits and potential litigation. Being proactive and prudent is always wise, and this item should be an integral part of your list of priorities.

• Careful and responsible financial oversight. Most schools operate on a tight budget, and this means that every nickel and dime is critical. Your part should start with meticulous budget preparation, and then constant attention to detail in terms of accuracy, and transparency of your monitoring efforts. This is a necessity to avoid problems.

• Anything else that needs your attention on a particular day or during the week. This is where a monthly checklist of items and due dates comes in handy and should be consulted.

While these five priorities represent a decent and worthwhile starting point, they are also fairly normal and predictable. In addition, each school setting and community may also have their own situations and needs that deserve placement on your sequential list. If they are not obvious, it would be wise to have this discussion with your principal or superintendent. Their insight and input are vital to meet more specific needs within your district that deserve your attention and action.

Regardless of how well you plan and organize your day or week, occasionally a problem may arise which throws a monkey wrench into your schedule. Some situations may be minor and a brief inconvenience, while others may be massive and require a huge time involvement. This is where your priority list becomes important to help you to allocate limited available time.

Beyond the five primary areas that need most or your immediate attention, there may be items on your daily To-Do list that do not have an affixed deadline. These tasks can easily be pushed to another day. Also, you may periodically include some long-term projects involving future initiatives in your daily or weekly schedule. As long as you don’t delay this work too often or too close to its expected completion, these future planning efforts can also be slightly postponed.

In addition, you may also be confronted by natural disasters – hurricanes, tornados, floods, wildfires, and others. Even though you are aware they could possibility occur at some point, they may appear with little, incomplete or no warning. Suddenly, these events disrupt your established set of priorities, at least temporality or for a specific period of time.

Working with your principal and superintendent, you now not only need to continue to focus on the welfare and safety of your student-athletes and participants, but also others such as coaches, families, instructional and support staff, and fans or spectators. To do this, you have to consider issues with your buildings and venues, timetables for repairs or construction, the possible need for alternative sites and facilities, transportation issues and concerns, and a host of additional factors and considerations.

Also, natural disasters don’t have a fixed end date. Due to the severity and scope of the damage, your attention and efforts may be needed for an extended period of time. This too may mean making some adjustments with regard to your normal, established priorities. It should be clear, therefore, that your priorities may change or have to be altered with respect to situations, problems or natural disasters. In addition, new legislation, a new principal or superintendent, different leadership and direction by the school board involving policies, procedures, or areas of emphasis can also necessitate a change or adjustment to your priorities.

Change is a constant. Very few things remain static in life, and this would also pertain to your position and setting. As a result, a little reflection may be needed, and ultimately this may also mean that your priorities may need adjustment. Re-examining your list of priorities would be a good item to add to your summer to-do list. This summer time task is extremely important, because without an established list of priorities to serve as your roadmap, your effectiveness and efficiency will most likely be positively affected.

Dr. David Hoch is a former athletic director at two high schools in Baltimore County (Maryland) for 16 years. He has 24 years of experience coaching basketball, including 14 years on the collegiate level. Hoch, who has a doctorate in sports management from Temple (Pennsylvania) University, is past president of the Maryland State Athletic Directors Association, and he formerly was executive director of the Maryland State Coaches Association. He has had more than 800 articles published in professional magazines, as well as four textbook chapters. Dr. Hoch is the author of five books: Coaching within the Education-Based Athletics Concept; The Parents’ Guide to Education-Based Athletics; Leading an Education-Based Athletic Program; A Lifetime of Memories from Education-Based Athletics: Humorous, Inspirational and Occasionally Sad; and Refocusing on Education-Based Athletics – A Call to Action. Hoch is a member of the NFHS High School Today Publications Committee. He can be reached at davidhochretad@gmail.com.