AD Insider, in collaboration with the NIAAA and Human Kinetics, is proud to present an exclusive interview with John E. Johnson, retired high school athletic director and college law professor (Webster University for 38 years), former practicing attorney, and former consultant for the NIAAA as well as legal counsel for the NFHS.

In this special feature, John shares insights from his chapter on "Legal Duties and Safety Concerns" in the newly released NIAAA's Guide to Interscholastic Athletic Administration - 2nd Edition.

Key Takeaways:

• ADs lead first: tasks can be delegated, but leadership cannot
• Coaches are your best agents and a reflection of your program
• Supervision matters: common sense, common law, & accountability
• Hire wisely: coaches must know the game and the kids
• Lawsuits often stem from weak leadership and poor oversight
• You can't "contract away" liability: waivers don't guarantee safety
• Title IX implications and the 14 legal duties of athletic administrators

----------------------------------------------------

...Inside the Book

NIAAA's Guide to Interscholastic Athletic Administration - 2nd Edition

Ebook - Click Here
Paperback - Click Here

The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) strives to preserve, enhance, and promote education-based athletics through the professional development of athletic administrators. The NIAAA's Guide to Interscholastic Athletic Administration, Second Edition, is the organization's primary text to further that mission.

Designed for current and aspiring administrators, the text addresses the role and responsibilities of an administrator as well as the skills essential for managing an athletic program that provides quality sport opportunities for student-athletes. The second edition features many new contributors, all experienced professionals who bring fresh and diverse perspectives to the issues affecting today's administrators.

Packed with advice, examples, and tools, this guide equips you to excel in the complex, demanding, and rewarding role of athletic administrator.

 
For more AD Insider content, follow us on your favorite Podcast platforms:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Amazon Music

----------------------------------------

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.

Watch the full "NIAAA Author Insights" Episode with Jeremy Schlitz on Guidelines to Communicating with Parents and Athletes - Click Here.

By: Kris Knowles, CAA

When it comes to leadership, particularly in the athletic world, no two people accomplish it in the same way. If I've learned anything in the last 14 years as an athletic administrator, it's to take great ideas or principles and adapt them to my setting, situation or decision at hand. Just like exceptional coaches in the NFL or college basketball, high school administrators pay attention to others in our industry, gleaning knowledge that may work in our place of business.

Sometimes pearls of wisdom come from celebrity coaches, but most often they come from those around us. Over the years, I have kept a notebook titled Leadership Lessons, which has been helpful in growing, managing, and leading athletic departments. Some of these lessons are simply words or phrases stolen from successful coaches and others are more complex philosophical leadership considerations from classes I have taken or friends in the business. I refer to this notebook often, as many of these lessons can be applied to daily challenges and help frame pending decisions.

The following 5 leadership lessons can be applied to a variety of athletic administrative situations. My hope is these thoughts may help new as well as experienced athletic administrators think about things differently and provide another perspective to consider.

"Solve it, don't win it."

A former superintendent early in my coaching career told me this and it has helped on several occasions as an AD. When entering a difficult conversation, particularly for competitive people like us, it's easy to take things personally, become defensive, and try to win the situation. This may lead to a power struggle or escalation, and move us further away from a positive resolution.

It's hard to stay in control when your emotions take over the steering wheel. Looking for common ground, putting our ego aside and working toward a solution can serve the administrator well. Compromise is a powerful tool in an administrator's tool kit. Solving the situation may not give us everything we want, but it will provide an avenue for all parties to move forward.

"Great leaders meet people where they are."

This means the leader understands what tools an employee needs to excel in his or her work environment and is willing to help them grow. If you have ever been around exceptional leadership – I mean the kind of leadership that transcends professions – a common trait of these leaders is they are acutely aware of the strengths and weaknesses in their people. I think of former Duke Men's Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski when I think of this kind of leader.

These leaders don't just identify the weakness of a person – that's the easy part – but they are willing to invest in an employee, create a path for growth, and support the effort. Athletic directors don't always have the luxury of hiring personnel who have years of experience and are prepared to handle the difficulties of the job immediately. It's our job to "meet them where they are," emphasize strengths we see in them, while helping them grow in areas of weaknesses. Experienced coaches may also need this same approach. As the sports landscape changes, veteran coaches may need support in areas that are evolving in their sport. We need to recognize this and meet them where needed.

"Your culture is what you allow."

This is something I have been working on a lot lately. Taking time to evaluate, identify and address strategic items inside our programs we need to stop allowing, should start allowing, or continue to allow is critical. To me, this is the process of addressing who we are as a school and what we want to be known for. Success is what you address; lack of success can be attributed to what you are unwilling to address.

A great example of this comes from Brad Stevens, President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics. Stevens states, "We're building a culture of accountability, trust and togetherness. Entitlement won't be tolerated."

Your culture will also be defined by how you handle adversities and the team's response. I have always liked the idea of "don't react, respond." Consistent, measured responses will develop a balanced and functional culture over time. This is easier when you have taken time to evaluate what you will and won't tolerate in your school and programs.

"There will come a time when your decisions are questioned. Making decisions that are best for the 'we' should be considered. Sometimes that 'we' will be your family."

Our business is tough. For all the great moments, triumphs and celebrations we get to be part of working with students and staff, we will face difficult decisions and be challenged. There will be a time when someone questions you, your loyalty, and your integrity. When working through these situations, understanding the 'we' has always helped me.

The 'we' is about understanding who is on your team, recognizing how decisions may affect these people, and calculating how best to help those closest to you. Your 'we' may be your athletics staff, your office staff, your custodial or facilities staff. Giving thought to how a decision affects members of the team is important and will help in the process. At some point, decisions will need to be made regarding your career. Do you pursue a different AD position? Do you have the opportunity to change your administrative role inside your school? When considering career changes, make sure the 'we' is your family.

"It's a people business."

Relationships matter. In fact, I would argue quality relationships are the most important part of being an athletic director, teacher, or coach. When making staff decisions, try to keep in mind you are working with a person who has a family, is a parent, has a spouse, has interests outside of sports, and probably just wants what's best for the people they care about. It's important to keep an employee's integrity intact if at all possible. This does not mean we don't make hard choices, but remembering that our business is about people can help you process and come up with the best possible decision.

Coaches need to keep this idea in mind as well when working with student-athletes. It's important for us to remember that people come to work, and our athletes come to practice each day dealing with life's challenges. Some days we will get a person's best, and some days we may not. I believe most people want to do the best they can and are inherently good. It's important to not make assumptions and give our people the most respectful interpretation we can. It's also important to be cautious of those who are motivated by self-interest, greed, and self-promotion. Building a team with these people is difficult.

I hope these ideas spark some interest and conversation. There are nuggets of wisdom all around us that can help make our jobs just a little easier and more enjoyable. We can learn so much from our colleagues, associates, and experiences if we take the time to listen. Pete Carroll, Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach, likes to say, "Find the good." This might be my favorite leadership lesson of all time. Take the time to find the good in your place. It's all around you!

  ]]> https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/leadership-lessons-are-all-around-us-niaaa/feed/ 0 122451 https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/niaaa-workshop-series-officials-matter-how-ads-can-obtain-support-retain/ https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/niaaa-workshop-series-officials-matter-how-ads-can-obtain-support-retain/#respond Tue, 30 Sep 2025 08:00:13 +0000 https://coachesinsider.com/?p=122249

The National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and AD Insider have partnered to showcase specific, important topics for this school year, designed to help your athletic department excel. Join us for multiple episodes of the NIAAA Workshop Series!
 
Episode #2, presented by Eventlink: How ADs Can Obtain, Support, and Retain Officials

• Aging & Retention - Officials are leaving within three years, highlighting the need for retraining and stronger support.
• Safe Haven - ADs can directly impact officials' experiences through parking, bathroom and locker room access, & more!
• Respect & Treatment - While pay is usually fixed, HOW an AD treats officials is completely in their control.
• Changing Perceptions - Addressing the stigma of officials being seen as "the bad guys" and reducing parent/coach hostility.
• Recruiting the Next Generation - Filling the gap between young and veteran officials by actively promoting the career path.
• Education & Resources - Leveraging NFHS Learn and RefReps to humanize officiating, train stakeholders, and strengthen teams.

 
Workshop Host and Featured Experts:

• Host: Becky Moran, CMAA: Associate Executive Director -- National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA)
• Dr. David Pillar: Director of Education Integration and Advancement with RefReps -- Also a past coach, AD, & administrator for 23 years, and an Official in Indiana for 27 years (Basketball, Softball, Volleyball)
• Dana Pappas: Director of Officiating Services for the NFHS (5th year) -- Previously, worked with the New Mexico Activities Association 24 years

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.

 
For more AD Insider content, follow us on your favorite Podcast platforms:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Amazon Music

Getting Started:

• Form a HOF committee of people who know and understand your school's history
• Define a Purpose and Vision
• Develop Selection Criteria and Nomination Process
• Who gets Inducted
• Fundraising & Sponsors – Covering costs
• Timeline and Preparation

By: Pete Shambo, CMAA

Past Chair for NIAAA Certification Committee
Co-Chair Mentor Committee NYSAAA

As an athletic director, I was always disappointed in the evaluation process for coaches and the tools we used to complete the evaluations. In most cases we were checking off boxes labeled, "Outstanding," "Satisfactory" or "Needs Improvement."

The coaches' only real feedback came when they saw a "Needs Improvement," which typically led to discussions around short comings in specific duties or job performance. It seldom was really about growth as a coach, rather, it was more so making sure the coach did not receive another needs improvement in that area next season. This fell short of my goal to be a leader, a true coach of the coaches. It felt more like management of coaches, which while important, was not true leadership in my book.

In 2018, I introduced a new method of evaluation to my staff. I was intrigued by this new method and its simplicity; its ability to look at coaching more in depth and beyond the simple efficiencies we had used to measure good coaching. It included how we impacted things like psychology and the heart of the athlete. I had not ever given these two parts of good coaching much thought.

Previously we measured mostly fundamentals; things like techniques, skill, policies, and procedure. We also measured administrative tasks, management of equipment, tactics, and program promotion. While these were important, they are the very lowest level of good coaching, and hopefully things the average coach or new coach could handle easily.

We decided to train our staff in this new measurement of coaching. Any new staff was able trained as we onboarded them. This meant that we could ensure all our staff were knowledgeable about coaching in all three areas perpetually.

While we still had our normal required evaluation forms, we decided to try this new method of peer coaching as part of our evaluations. During the end of season evaluation exit sessions, which had previously been one-on-one with coaches, we decided to try group sessions.

The groups were very random. The coaches would choose from various time blocks offered and attend the time frame that best fit their needs. This led to grouping being very diverse. A group could be made up of various sports, both boys and girls, as well as various competitive levels. We started with everyone completing a self-evaluation using the old checking box method. I was always surprised by how much harder coaches were on themselves than I would have been using this method. Once they completed those, they were collected and the real growth would begin.

We started each session by asking everyone in the group to share their "why" for wanting to coach. It was enjoyable to listen to these. Once everyone offered their why, we moved to our new evaluation tool measuring the various dimensions of coaching – physical, psychological and heart.

We intentionally skipped the first area "physical," because that had been completed using the self-evaluation form. We moved on to the second area, "psychology." This area includes motivation, confidence, emotions, team cohesion, and goal setting.

We asked each coach to self-assess, using scores of 0-2 for Emerging, 3-4 as Developing, 5-6 for Proficient, and 7 for Distinguished in each of these areas. We let the coaches know they would randomly be asked to share their assessment of themselves with the group in one of the areas. The key to this is using our training, coaches are asked to intentionally include these in their time/practices with their teams. This has now become a sharing session of best practices. We would ask randomly for people to share what they did with their teams in each of these areas. Most picked areas they were proud of. This in turn gave all coaches new ideas or reinforced the good things they were already doing. Occasionally, there would be a coach whom we knew needed growth in one or maybe all these areas. If this was the case, we would intentionally ask that coach which area they saw themselves needing the most growth. Almost always, they would select something they had heard from one of their peers and say, "I would like to try what they are doing in soccer; I think that would work well in our program." Without much real effort everyone was growing better without us having to say a thing.

Next, we would move onto discussions around the training of an athlete's "Heart". Ask yourself; how many of your coaches impact the hearts of their athletes? Unfortunately, not as many as we would like. This is because impacting the hearts of kids is the highest form of coaching. It goes well beyond the X's and O's, and even beyond the psychology of an athlete. Impacting the heart of athletes involves teaching "purpose" knowing the why. Values, guardrails for life. Identity, who are you. Character, good and great. Significance, priorities, and finally Self-Worth. We again asked the coaches to talk about how they have intentionally included one or all of these into their time with their athletes each day. These discussions were always powerful and moving. We learned things about our staff and the great things they were doing, which we never knew. It inspired those coaches who were not there yet, to think about getting better.

The growth we saw in our staff over the following seasons and years was amazing. We started to see more success in almost all programs. Community involvement skyrocketed. The positive culture throughout all programs was measurable and evident. Coaches became excited to share openly the successful things they were doing with their teams. Coaches began to look forward to our end of the season meetings to share and gain new ideas for growth. Things became self-perpetuating around coaches' growth and the desire to impact kids in more ways than just teaching skills.

We incorporated these ideas into our coaching interviews. We began to ask questions beyond a candidate's coaching knowledge of a sport. We asked questions like what was their "why." We asked, "What legacy will you leave as a coach?" Most of the time the last question would lead to discussions which would tell us if they were willing to grow and if they were the right fit for our district.

Some of you might be thinking, how do I find time to start this process? We quickly found this much more impactful for coaches, and it also took less time. With 150 coaches on staff, at 30 minutes per evaluation using the old method, that comes to 75 hours a year just on evaluations. The new method was 4 two-hour sessions, per season. Which equated to 24 hours a year using the new method, which was easily more impactful.

A strategy for using this model of evaluation is to allow this process to be an alternate option to the more traditional evaluation. This way you have set the table for willing participation vs mandating. I promise you once your staff is exposed to this friendly process, and a chance to brag on some exceptional coaching they do within their program, they will not want to go back to the traditional check sheet we've all used.

Using this process to share and grow best practices across programs is magical. As you manage the sessions, you will be able to guide coaches to seek growth in their effectiveness. They will be exposed to things their peers have already done and are benefiting from. This will give them guidance for improvement, without the use of an old form which says they need to improve without any idea of how to practically improve.

The process will allow them to recognize areas in which they would like to grow and show them effective ways in which they can achieve their goals. It also invites staff from different programs to work together, which rarely happens using traditional evaluations. To start the process, pose questions around psychology and teaching heart to your staff. Ask them to answer the questions in writing for themselves. Notify them they may be called on to share what they have written. You will already have a good idea of the different coaches' strengths and/or weaknesses, so you can guide the session as needed. Here are the psychology questions we use.

1. Motivation: "Pursue and persist." What strategies do I use as a coach to motivate athletes both intrinsically and extrinsically?
2. Confidence: "Belief and skillset." How do I use verbal encouragement, past success, and peer modeling to help all athletes believe in themselves inside and outside sports?
3. Emotions: "Response to situations." Which strategies do I use to successfully create a team culture of excitement and enjoyment?
4. Team Cohesion: "Creates unity." How do I create relationships with individuals and build unity within the team?
5. Goal setting: "Desired results." How do I focus on process goals to obtain the desired outcome and performance goals?

Remember part of the challenge is to get your coaching staff to intentionally include these five areas into their time with your athletes each day. This will advance them as coaches beyond just the Xs and Os and build on their understanding of what great coaches do to set their programs apart.

The developing an athlete's heart questions are extra special – they cover "purpose" and "values."

1. Purpose: "Know the why." Can the coach verbalize their transformational purpose statement and demonstrate how it serves them in the decision making processes?
2. Values: "Guardrails for life." Can the coach verbalize their highest core values and communicate how they are represented in a purpose statement?

Listening to coaches speak about their purpose and how that guides their decisions is very informative. This is where you can learn if your staff are aligned with your values, and if not, can lead to important conversations, which keep your programs on the same page for education-based athletics. Understanding coaches' values can also allow you greater understanding of your staff and allow for more meaningful conversations about coaching growth.

As these conversations take place in a group setting, the message and growth possibilities can impact your staff on a level which the traditional one on one evaluation cannot accomplish. Less time, more growth, and a chance to get your programs to share best practices are just a few of the benefits of using this method for coaching evaluation.

  ]]> https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/building-a-growth-mindset-for-coaches-through-evaluation-niaaa/feed/ 0 121957