Establishing a Coaches Academy [NIAAA]

By: Dr. Kechia Rowles, CMAA - Rockdale County Public Schools (GA)

As an athletic director, whether at the school-level or in the district office, each school year presents its own challenges. In the same way there are never enough teachers, bus drivers, and game officials, turnover for coaching staff is an expected reality.

A coaching staff in your program may hold a wide array, from seasoned head coach hires looking to build their staff to first year coaches eager to catapult their coaching careers. Each of these individuals may have a different perspective of what is and is not an acceptable norm within your athletic program. In order to introduce coaches to the "Rockdale" way, we established the Rockdale County School District (RCPS) New Coaches Academy for all coaches new to our district and coaches with less than five years coaching experience.

The goals of the RCPS New Coaches Academy are:

• Demonstration of effective best practices that support departmental efficiency in compliance with RCPS and GHSA policies and procedures.
• Professional growth in athletic competencies: decision making, communication and community relations, situational awareness, and effective departmental operations
• Development of personal leadership statement that aligns with the athletic department philosophy
• Develop an attitude of shared responsibility and accountability for the success and image of RCPS athletics

All qualifying coaches are expected to attend all three sessions of the Coaches Academy within the first two years of assuming athletic coaching duties within RCPS.

The RCPS Coaches Academy format is one day filled with three sessions providing an overview of district and state athletic polices, athletic program operational procedures, and interactive scenarios to enhance communication and conflict resolution skills.

Below is a sample outline program:

Session 1 is primarily COMPLIANCE driven. There is a significant amount of information included in this session. It is critical to introduce the foundational principles of the department and allow for questions of clarity and understanding to encourage future compliance.

Session 2 is about COLLABORATION. Coaches are encouraged to share ideas promoting program operations. This forum affords not only new coaches to glean from veterans coaching experiences, but it also provides an opportunity for veteran coaches to hear new perspectives. This collective group share can also be enlightening to district and departmental athletic administrators in identifying common challenges and deficiencies within their programs.

Session 3 is about COMMUNICATION. This requires soliciting volunteer help from other coaches in your building, throughout the district, and any seasoned athletic administrator who can provide valuable feedback and real-life application for responding to athletic crises. Academy participants are split into three groups. Each group attends the following 30-minute sessions:

1. Professional Development
2. Guided Simulations
3. Email Composition

The Professional Development Session provides an outline of professional development opportunities within our state coaches associations, within the NFHS Learning Center platform, and the need to develop effective communication skills in coaching. Find a colleague(s) who are knowledgeable in the area and solicit their support in conducting this session.

The Guided Simulation session is conducted to elicit real responses to challenging situations faced by athletic coaches. The volunteers are asked to not only give Oscar worthy performances but also provide valuable feedback to the participants on how they responded to the situation. Academy head coaches will participate in a simulated assistant coaches evaluation and a simulated parent conference. Academy assistant coaches will participate in a simulated head coach interview and a simulated parent conference.

The Email Composition session consists of participants composing email responses to scripted prompts.

Session 3 concludes by reconvening all participants for a group activity of "What Would You Do?" scenarios. This encourages group sharing and debriefing of the simulation activities. The final activity in Session 3 is each Academy participant is given time to create their "Why?" statement and asked, if desired, to share with the group. Coaches are encouraged to share their statements with their school administrators, athletic administrators, parents, student-athletes, and other stakeholders.

Before adjourning The RCPS Coaches Academy, participants are asked to complete a survey to measure if program objectives are being met and for ways to improve program delivery for future sessions.

Although the RCPS Coaches Academy does not address all athletic challenges faced by our district, it is a valuable resource and safety net to the district that ensures a common message, with a structured delivery available to newly appointed coaches. If ever challenged with litigation or questioned about what specifics are done to promote growth and development of coaches, we can refer to the outline of the Coaches Academy. This program can be replicated and personalized to address specific areas of need within your athletic program.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Kechia Rowles, CMAA, is the director of athletics for Rockdale County Public Schools in Conyers, Georgia. She can be reached at krowles@rockdale.k12.ga.us.