By: Rainer Martens & Robin S. Vealey

Originally Published in: Successful Coaching

Provided by: Human Kinetics

Let's face it, everyone would prefer fewer meetings, but they are necessary at times, and you need to be thoughtful about making them efficient and effective. Let's first identify what we don't want to happen in a meeting:

The meeting occurs just because it was scheduled. The leader (you in this case) or the loudest, most extroverted, most senior people do all the talking. It starts late, and goes long. Groupthink occurs, where people don't feel free or safe to disagree or share alternative ideas. The conversation goes off-topic, and people are inattentive and on their phones. No tangible outcomes or action plans are identified. Thus, another meeting is scheduled.

Okay... let's rewind and identify some ways to run a more effective meeting:

1. Determine whether you really need a meeting. Don't just meet because it's been scheduled at the same time each week. Also, don't meet if the only purpose is to share information. You can do that via email.
2. Provide an agenda before the meeting. That allows attendees to prepare for the meeting. It provides structure, and it avoids surprises. Describe what you'll be doing in actionable, results-oriented terms.
3. Start and end on time. This sets the tone for your commitment to time management. It also demonstrates to your colleagues that you respect their time.
4. Request focus and engagement. If someone is necessarily busy on their phone or laptop, suggest they go somewhere else to multitask, and they can read about the meeting results later (Goff-Dupont, 2021).
5. Invite divergent thinking. Attendees need to know it's safe to voice opinions, even if they're not adopted. Explicitly explain this. Ask questions like, "Is there another way we should think about this?" or "Can you talk more about that?" And when you ask questions, such as "What are your thoughts?" be comfortable with even 60 seconds of silence as people consider ideas, collect their thoughts, and are ready to explain them.
6. Slow things down and proactively remind attendees of process when conflict erupts. Interrupt chaotic conflict by gaining attention (you may need to raise your voice) but then slowing your pace of speech (Grenny, 2017). You can say something like, "Hey folks, let me take a moment to point out what I'm noticing here. We've talked about this for about 15 minutes, but it seems we're upset about the problem as opposed to brainstorming possible solutions. I understand, but do you feel we can now move forward to talking about ways we can respond to this problem? Does that make sense, and will that work for us?"
7. Create visuals to capture ideas. Always have a whiteboard handy to jot down key points or illustrate connections and ideas. Have a separate whiteboard to the side of the room that becomes the "parking lot." When people start off-topic, but feel their comments are important and should be discussed, write these topics on the "parking lot" board. This calms down the person who wanted to be heard and keeps the meeting on task with the main topic at hand. These issues or topics can be included in a future meeting (if you need it!).
8. Always end with concrete, shareable results and action steps that will happen next. These are the validating outcomes of everyone's participation, be definitive and positive in saying what's next.
9. Adjourn the meeting with a sincere smile, upbeat attitude, and thank people for contributing their valuable time and energy. And mean it!

Don't forget that managing relationships also involves your skills in coordinating meetings between different groups of people. Show your colleagues that you value their time and thoughts by directing meetings that are truly needed and result in useful outcomes.

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The NIAAA champions the profession of athletic administration through educational opportunities, advocating ethics, developing leaders, and fostering community. Find more information on their website here: niaaa.org.

Become a member of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and gain access to discounted courses, invaluable resources, best practices, $2 million in excess liability coverage, and a supportive network of more than 15,000 athletic administrators nationwide - click here.

Get certified as an Athletic Administrator with the nationally accredited NIAAA Certification Program here.

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Watch the full presentation with Robert Schinke free here.

By: Allison Kelley, Ph.D. and Tim Green, Ed.D., CMAA

It has been over four decades since Title IX opened the door for girls to participate in high school and college athletics. Just six years after the enactment of Title IX, the percentage of girls playing team sports jumped sixfold, from 4 percent to 25 percent. Today, the girls’ high school participation rate is greater than 11 times what it was when Title IX was passed, with 3 million more high school girls having the opportunity to play sports each year.

This explosion has had myriad benefits for girls. It is well-documented that participation in youth athletics boosts confidence and fosters self-esteem, which are particularly important for girls’ development. Yet, pervasive feelings of disappointment and frustration over girls’ experiences on school sports teams suggest that soaring participation numbers might be veiling lingering inequality.

Understanding the Disparity

Over the past two years, we have surveyed over 5,000 members of independent school communities to assess their overall satisfaction with their athletics programs. Responses have revealed that female student-athletes, and their support network on their behalf, often feel undervalued and discouraged. These sentiments have left many athletic administrators scratching their heads; they are providing the same, if not more, funding and sports offerings to girls at their schools compared to boys sports. What is causing these perceptions, and how can they be managed?

Holistic Approach to Equality

Survey comments have revealed a critical insight: promoting equality extends beyond numerical balance and financial parity. True gender equity in sports demands a holistic approach that transcends quantitative measures and delves into perception, recognition, and empowerment. Making female athletes feel as valuable as their male counterparts necessitates a cultural shift within an athletics department – where perceptions, language, and support systems create an environment that actively celebrates and supports female student-athletes.

Focus on What You Can Control

After examining budgetary and participation data from the schools we surveyed, there were no observable or measurable differences in the provision of resources between boys’ and girls’ teams. Moreover, some things that make boys’ sports seem more valuable than girls’ are out of an athletic administrator’s control. For example, football (especially in the southern states) typically draws larger crowds than any girls’ sport.

Additionally, boys’ sports often get better local media coverage. There is little an athletic administrator can do about these two phenomena. Yet, there are still innumerable things athletic administrators have control over that can significantly improve girls’ athletic experiences. In fact, our survey responses suggest that these ostensibly small, controllable factors are often what make girls feel inferior. Examples include:

• “Girls' sporting events tend to have a lot less attendance by faculty and parents.”
• “Simply having a team is not the same as valuing that team and program equally to the corresponding boys team and program.”
• “Some of our female athletic programs do not have coaches that know how to work with teenage girls.”
• “Implicit bias is prevalent in how boys and girls athletics programs are supported.”

Ways to Promote Equal Valuation

The number one thing directors of athletics can do to remedy these inequalities is to communicate with and listen to female student-athletes and their caregivers. They will explain where they are coming from, how they feel, and what matters to them. Of course, it would be impossible and likely unwise to heed every request, but until athletic administrators understand the root cause of these frustrations, it will be impossible to manage them. Moreover, every school has its unique challenges and nuances. General resources and solutions will not fit every situation, which is why listening to constituents can pinpoint the most pertinent concerns at a school. Based on over 5,000 survey responses, we have developed a list of considerations that, when combined with these constituent voices, can help those leading athletics departments ensure their female student-athletes feel valued and empowered.

Promote Female Leadership:

• Encourage female leadership within sports programs, including coaching staff and administrative roles. Representation at all levels helps create a more inclusive and empowering environment where girls can better relate to their leaders.
• Ensure every coach of a girls' team has the proper physiological and socio-emotional understanding of girls’ development; girls should not be trained and coached in the same way as boys.

Promotion and Visibility:

• Ensure equal promotion of both boys' and girls' sports on school websites, social media, and other promotional materials.
• Assign equal resources for advertising and marketing efforts for both boys' and girls' teams.

In-Game Experience:

• Ensure that girls have the same in-game resources as boys (i.e. announcers, music, concession stands, trainers, visiting team locker room access, etc.).
• Have female student-athletes pick their warm-up music, player introduction facts, etc.; duplicating boys’ preferences is the norm but not necessarily what girls would choose.

Support from Students and Key Administrators:

• Encourage students and school administrators to attend and support both boys’ and girls’ games (in addition to the AD attending both with roughly equal frequency); if encouragement is not enough, consider adding incentives.

Awards and Recognition:

• Ensure that accolades and awards are equally distributed between boys’ and girls’ sports based on achievements and performance.
• Celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of both teams through school assemblies, awards ceremonies, social media, and other public forums.

Provide Educational Resources:

• In addition to ensuring that the athletics staff is knowledgeable on girls' physiological and socio-emotional development, provide girls and parents with resources that demonstrate a commitment to empowering female student-athletes (i.e. bring in a sports psychologist, nutritionist, or athletic trainer to discuss female development or consider providing a list of evidence-based books, articles, and podcasts that address cutting-edge research on girls’ sports)

Tending to these details is a victory on multiple levels. First and foremost, it empowers girls at a critical time in their physical, social, and emotional development. A bonus is that it promises to increase engagement and fundraising and enhance the school’s reputation. Sports are often a fundamental component of people’s education and improving this experience for roughly half of the student body will pay tremendous dividends. It is time for athletic administrators to move past abiding by the letter of the law and providing numerical and financial parity to make girls feel celebrated and valuable. There are many actions to keep them in sports and inspire them along the way.

  ]]> https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/leveling-the-playing-field-correcting-hidden-inequalities-in-girls-sports-niaaa/feed/ 0 121622 https://coachesinsider.com/track-x-country/foundations-of-max-velocity-stair-workout-with-jj-reise-colorado-state-univ/ https://coachesinsider.com/track-x-country/foundations-of-max-velocity-stair-workout-with-jj-reise-colorado-state-univ/#respond Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:01:46 +0000 https://coachesinsider.com/?p=102116 Watch as Coach JJ Riese discusses the foundations of max velocity for sprinters/hurdlers and shows video of stair runs, double foot hops, and drop step drills. The athletes start with four sets of stair runs that are not based on speed so the athletes can be deliberate and focus on having a tall chest, keeping the hips underneath, and keeping a nice line. Two sets of double foot hops are next and this works on ankle-foot elasticity and striking the steps with the balls of their feet. The drop step is like the double foot hops as it is working on slapping the ground with the ball of the foot.