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By: Josh Lacy, CMAA - Greece Odyssey Academy, Rochester, New York As the president of Chapter 5 of the New York State Athletic Administrators Association (NYSAAA), I was recently charged with putting together the agenda for our annual Fall Professional Development Day. At the 11th hour, our leadoff speaker informed us they would be unavailable, leaving an hour gap in our agenda. I decided to step up and put a presentation together on balance and efficiency in the athletic office. Our district superintendent challenged us at the start of the year to be more vulnerable and open with our personal lives as a method of creating dialogue and getting to know colleagues on a deeper level. My plan was to provide the athletic administrators in our chapter real examples of the tips and tricks I have utilized in my role as an AD for 16 years and as a father of two girls aged 2 and 4. Planning Once a week, sit down with family to plan out work commitments, appointments, family events, and play dates. Add long range plans such as birthdays, holidays, and vacations. Update as needed. Establish a Morning Routine Meet with your supervisor to discuss flexing your hours to accommodate late nights and weekends. Use the extra time in the morning to help make lunches, put kids on the bus, do household chores, workout, run errands and eat a healthy breakfast. Walk the fields and courts upon arrival at school. Contact grounds department with concerns about cutting the grass, lining fields, collecting garbage, etc. Enter school through the custodial office and touch base about the previous night’s activities and the current day’s schedule. Office Tips Hold a morning meeting with your office assistant to compare calendars, games schedules, supervision, transportation, and officials. Discuss unfinished business, goals for the day, and tasks to accomplish. Work through emails one at a time with the intention to fully research and respond to the sender before going to the next one. Get up and take a stretch break at least once an hour. Visit a classroom, see a colleague, take a lap around the building, walk the fields. Find a method to communicate with coaching staff to avoid multiple conversations on the same topic. Set up group messaging through an App such as Remind.com or author a weekly newsletter with a distribution list that includes coaches, teachers, and administrators. Take at least ten minutes during high stress days to decompress. Shut the door, put the phone on silent, and take a break from electronics. Use deep breathing exercises to assist in relaxation. Prioritize as the day winds down and set a time to stop for the day. Push low priority items to the next day’s “to do” list. Between the Bell and Whistle Get out of the office and do a facility walk checking in on practices and game management setup. Leave campus for a snack, run an errand or two, stop at home to walk the dog, pick children up from school or get them off of the bus, change your clothes and shoes to match the weather, and eat a healthy snack. End of the Day After a long day, give your family 100% of your attention. Avoid answering low priority emails and text messages. Identify a strategy to “unplug” such as putting your work phone on silent and placing it in a drawer. If thoughts of unfinished business creep into your head, keep a notepad near for follow up the next day. Regardless of years of experience, size of school, and job responsibility, the number of athletic administrators who thanked me for addressing the topic was overwhelming. What started out as a filler addressed a greater need and became one of the most popular takeaways from the entire professional development workshop. |
Finding Balance and Efficiency in the Athletic Office
