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.

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.

By: Dr. Mark Rerick, CMAA - Univ. of North Dakota

Of all the various duties required of athletic directors, engaging in difficult discussions is one that is both not enjoyable and unavoidable. Many of those difficult discussions take the form of conflict negotiations between various parties: athlete to athlete, athlete to coach, coach to parent, coach to self, or parent to self.

The difficulty in these discussions is that each party at the table has a different focus, different goals, and a different purpose for being involved in the program. Even the best athletic directors will not be able to guarantee that everyone is always moving in the same direction at the same time, so finding common ground between parties is an essential piece of hosting positive conversations. That common ground is called “shared reality.”

In a conflict, a shared reality consists of the philosophies, facts, and opinions that all parties involved both understand and agree on. The emotions that often accompany disagreements can make a shared reality hidden and difficult to find but uncovering it at the beginning of a negotiation (which is what many of these discussions truly are), is essential. By doing so, trust is built between parties, and a foundation is created for the conversation.

For instance, think about a parent trying to convince a young kid at home of a reasonable bedtime. Those discussions often begin like this:

Parent: “It’s time to go to bed. It’s a school night, and you need your sleep for tomorrow.”

Child: “But I’m not even tired, at all!”

For readers who are parents, we know that this is the beginning of a lengthy “Yes, you are,” “No, I’m not,” argument. The problem is that the starting point for each party in this discussion is absolutely true. The parent knows that the child needs sleep in order to function productively tomorrow, and the child believes that they are not tired (or, alternatively, recognizes they are tired but wants to finish doing whatever it is they’re currently doing).

Rather than starting from these opposing viewpoints, the parent needs to find some piece of shared reality that the child will agree with. In this case, it could be an understanding that in the past when the child stayed up late and awakened early, they were tired and did not feel well throughout the next day. Using that shared reality, the discussion about bedtime stops being about whether the child is tired or not, which the two parties disagree about, and starts being about how much sleep is needed to have a productive day tomorrow.

Now, consider the large number of similar conflicts that occur on a daily basis within our athletic programs.

- The athletic director setting an expenditure budget that provides the greatest benefits for the most teams vs. the coach whose spending requests were denied.

- The athletic director creating a structured progression within the communication chain vs. the parent who believes they need to immediately advocate for their kid.

- The coach who believes parents should be separate from the team and provide support from the sidelines vs. the parent who believes they are an essential part of the team’s decisions that impact their child.

- The parent who advocates for more playing time and/or a different role for their child vs. everyone else in the program.

In all of these cases, the obvious conflicts on the surface overshadow any common ground that might exist underneath. When disagreeing parties come to the discussion table with those opposing views as the starting point, the discussion will become nothing more than a war of attrition.

As the athletic director, you hold the ultimate power, decision-making capability, and final say, but simply flexing your administrative muscle to get your way will result in weakened relationships with your stakeholders. Rather than starting the discussion from these opposing viewpoints, it is well worth taking a few minutes to establish the shared reality first. By first working backwards to find everyone’s shared reality, you’re fostering the discussion in several important ways.

1. Through finding some common ground, everyone at the table can work towards a shared expectation.
2. Coming together to some level of agreement closes the distance between two opposing viewpoints and helps to create a shared purpose.
3. Allowing everyone at the meeting to voice their standpoint displays a sense of transparency about the process.
4. By creating transparency, the potential for silent misunderstandings is greatly reduced.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as simply saying, “We need to find our shared reality before talking.” Regardless of whether the discussion is with a parent, coach, or athlete, there is likely a high level of emotion and tension at the outset of the meeting. One important thing to remember is that neither party really wants to be in that meeting. The party that asked for the meeting is acting out of a sense of obligation for their own expectations, so while athletic directors want to view the people on the other side of the table as hostile, we must start from a place of assuming that everyone has good intent. With that mindset, we can move forward with the following set of actions to work from problem to potential resolution.

1. Start calm and stay calm. Remaining calm through the entire discussion not only sends a sense of safety to everyone involved, but it also diffuses the potential for emotional escalation to completely derail any potential progress.
2. Let the opposing party start by sharing their viewpoint. You’re in the meeting because the other party believes that you are out to harm them, so if you speak first, their assumption will be that you are trying to convince them of your correctness. Even if your intent is to calmly state facts or policies, the other party is likely to perceive your opening as an attack. Ask the other party for their perspective first and be sure to utilize active listening skills while they are speaking. To the parent who believes they should be able to go directly to the coach with problems, you might stay by saying something like, “I understand that you would like to discuss our communication guidelines. I want to learn your perspective as best as I can, so please tell me your perspective about this situation.”
3. Ask clarifying questions when needed but let the other party finish stating their perspective. After that, restate the opposing party’s viewpoint along with an acknowledgement of their emotions. This is the point in the conversation when administrators want to defend themselves or correct the other party, but the more important action is to validate the other’s perspective while aiming for a full understanding of their perception of the problem. To the angry parent, “If I’m understanding you correctly, you’re frustrated about our communication guidelines because X, Y, Z. Am I understanding that correctly, or does it sound like I’m still missing something?” Continue to ask questions and seek clarification until the other party agrees that you’ve fully heard them out.
4. At this point, you still will not state your position! Once you’ve heard the other party’s perspective, it’s time to dig down to find the shared reality. In the case of the angry parent, what are the shared goals, values, or concerns that can be used as the bridge between your needs and theirs? Finding this shared reality usually starts with “why” questions followed by a restatement of the underlying belief. For instance, if the angry parent hasn’t already said so, you may ask, “Why do you feel it’s important to be able to go directly to the coach with concerns?” What you’re looking for is the parent’s confirmation that they are focused on the well-being and safety of their child, or that they believe the power imbalance that exists between a coach and an athlete doesn’t encourage athletes to speak up, or some other similar sentiment. Once you get the other party to work down to values and beliefs, we can match those with our own values and beliefs.
5. Now is the time to present your facts, starting with the newly discovered shared reality. “I’m happy to hear that the power imbalance between coaches and athletes concerns you because that is an occurrence in the everyday adult world that also worries us when we think about the life of our students after graduation. Your concern about followers being able to approach leaders is a shared concern of ours. One of the mission goals of our school district is to prepare our students for success after graduation in whatever route they choose, and we recognize that self-advocacy is an important skill in the adult world. Our coaching staff, including Coach Smith, believes in creating safe environments for athletes to initiate discussions and ask questions, even when it’s difficult.” At this point, you could also state or confirm any applicable rules or policies that pertain to the situation, including why those policies exist and why you administer them the way you do. The importance of how you state your position lies in basing your statements in the shared reality you previously stated. While explaining this, you need to be careful to avoid being confrontational or acting defensively. You are not refuting or disagreeing with the other party’s stance; you are stating your stance within the confines of rules and regulations, always tying your statements back to the shared reality.
6. Once you’ve presented your stance, return the power in the conversation back to the other party. Ask them for their thoughts, responses, and reactions to the information you’ve just presented. Most likely, the other party will not agree with your perspective, and that’s fine. In the case of our angry parent, the parent may not believe that high school students are old enough to advocate for themselves, may not believe that Coach Smith has created a safe place for discussion, or may not believe that athletics is the place to teach life lessons. Again, in this step your job is not to disagree with their perspective. The other party’s perspective is just as valid as yours, so you do not want to invalidate their thoughts. Instead, allow them to respond so you can hear how the other party interprets your facts and to find those places where misalignment or misunderstandings still exist.
7. Now that both sides have heard each other, you can start working towards solutions. Remember, it’s not your job to convince the other party that you’re right and they’re wrong. You are focused on both parties’ interests, not both parties’ positions. The more you can help the other party get what they want, the more likely they are to help you get what you want. This stage could be started by statements such as “Now that we’ve both had a chance to process each other’s perspective, do you have any thoughts about a potential resolution that might meet both of our needs?” or “Now that you’ve explained it to me, I better understand your perspective and intent. How can we work together on this issue to both alleviate your concerns while also maintaining the value and goals within our athletic department?” Allowing the other party to propose potential solutions first helps them continue to feel heard and valued as part of the problem-solving process.
8. Although there may be some additional back-and-forth here, you should eventually work towards some level of resolution or next steps. In some cases, this may even be following what you were already doing with some small tweaks or additional accountability. In any case, before ending the meeting, all parties need to have clarity about what will happen next. All goals or future actions need to be clearly stated, time-bound, and mutually agreed upon. After the meeting, providing the other party with a copy of those steps further helps to hold everyone accountable.

This process clearly won’t be 100% effective 100% of the time. Culture continues to grow the importance of youth sports, which means everyone involved may approach the discussion with the assumption that the stakes are high. When stakes are high, emotions also tend to run high, and the other party may be too far gone in their beliefs or position to have a productive conversation. In these cases, act with an extreme amount of patience and work to find any small amount of agreement that can exist as your shared reality. Assuming you have remained calm for the whole meeting, it may be necessary to schedule a follow-up meeting if the other party is too emotionally escalated for rational discussion.

Treating contentious discussions as opportunities to create and confirm a shared reality among stakeholders will ultimately benefit everyone involved, particularly the athletes. The goal of any meeting among adults should not be to win an argument but rather to create a better overall experience for the athletes. Finding a shared reality is an excellent way to build relationships, find understanding, and promote positive growth and change within the athletic department.

  ]]> https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/finding-a-shared-reality-niaaa/feed/ 0 129381 https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/preparing-for-the-unexpected-with-dan-talbot-cmaa-polk-county-public-schools-fl/ https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/preparing-for-the-unexpected-with-dan-talbot-cmaa-polk-county-public-schools-fl/#respond Thu, 17 Sep 2026 07:03:23 +0000 https://coachesinsider.com/?p=129036 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.

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.

By: Jeff Behrens, CMAA, Athletic Director - Pewaukee High School (Pewaukee, WI)

Interscholastic athletic programs offer more than just competition and physical development; they shape the values and character of young people, leaving a lasting impact that extends well beyond the playing field. Core principles are central to this mission, providing a foundation upon which athletic programs can achieve meaningful success. However, these principles are only impactful if they are actively integrated into the culture and daily operations of an athletic department. Here are six essential strategies to bring your core principles to life, ensuring they resonate across every level of your program.

1. Define the Core Principles

The first step in creating a purpose-driven athletic program is to define its core principles. These principles should be developed through a collaborative process that involves key stakeholders – coaches, administrators, and even student-athletes. By involving the broader community, you ensure buy-in and alignment with the values of the school district and its mission.

Core principles should be clear, actionable, and representative of the program’s goals. At Pewaukee High School, we have five core principles:

• Compete: Demonstrating passion, pride, enthusiasm, and toughness in athletic performance.
• Commit: Overcoming obstacles with dedication, perseverance, accountability, and resilience.
• Contribute: Enhancing the team through service, leadership, and teamwork.
• Care: Supporting others through empathy, reflection, and self-awareness.
• Connect: Building trust, respect, and meaningful relationships on and off the field.

We take it one step further by adding a definition for each principle. By defining these values, we establish a roadmap for both behavior and decision-making.

2. Incorporate Core Principles into the Mission and Vision

To ensure that core principles guide the program’s purpose, they must be embedded into its mission and vision statements. Pewaukee Athletics’ mission is straightforward: Building better people through the athletic experience.

Our vision expands on this, stating:

“The Pewaukee Athletic Department strives to be a leader by shaping values and developing characteristics that promote lifelong excellence through athletic participation and competition. We will develop skills in our student-athletes to Compete, Commit, Contribute, Connect, and Care.”

Incorporating core principles into mission and vision statements ensures that these values are not abstract concepts but integral parts of the department’s identity. Every program, policy, and initiative should align with these guiding statements.

3. Communicate the Core Principles

Core principles can only influence your program if they are consistently communicated to all stakeholders. This includes athletes, coaches, parents, school staff, and the broader community. Communication should be multi-faceted and ongoing, employing tools such as:

• Newsletters and social media updates
• Parent and team meetings
• Signage displayed throughout facilities
• Visitor guides and public-facing materials

Branding is also a critical component of communication. At Pewaukee, we create a strong identity around our core principles, making them visible and relatable. This ensures they are not just words on paper but lived values.

4. Infuse Core Principles into the Athletic Department

Bringing principles to life means embedding them into every aspect of the athletic department. From coaching philosophies and training sessions to recruitment practices and end-of-season evaluations, the principles should influence every decision and interaction. Examples of practical implementation include:

• Athlete Recognition: Celebrating when athletes embody core principles such as leadership, sportsmanship, or perseverance.
• Surveys and Feedback: Evaluating how well the program fosters these values through regular assessments of athlete and coach experiences.
• Program Standards: Setting expectations for behavior, performance, and teamwork that align with core principles.

At Pewaukee, we’ve implemented systems to measure and recognize these values in action, ensuring that our principles are not just aspirational but practical.

5. Align Professional Development with Core Principles

Professional development for coaches and staff is a key opportunity to reinforce core principles. Training sessions, workshops, and certifications should focus on building the skills necessary to model and teach these values effectively. For example, sessions might cover:

• Developing resilience and mental toughness in athletes
• Strategies for fostering teamwork and leadership
• Techniques for building trust and communication within teams

Aligning professional development with core principles ensures that coaches and staff are well-equipped to embody and promote the values that define the athletic program.

6. Model Core Principles

Leadership by example is essential. Athletic administrators, coaches, and staff must consistently demonstrate the values they expect from their athletes. Modeling principles such as accountability, respect, and dedication sets the standard for behavior throughout the department.

Consistent actions reinforce your program’s values, creating a culture where principles are lived out daily. When administrators and coaches embody these values, they inspire athletes to follow suit, creating a ripple effect that strengthens the entire community.

Purpose-Based Athletics: The Pewaukee Approach

At Pewaukee High School, our purpose goes beyond winning games. While we aim to “plan, prepare, and play the game in pursuit of the win,” our ultimate mission is to build better people through athletics. By focusing on the skills and characteristics required to Compete, Commit, Contribute, Connect, and Care, we transform sport into an extension of the classroom, teaching life lessons such as perseverance, leadership, and empathy.

Our purpose-driven approach ensures that every athlete leaves the program not only as a better competitor but also as a more well-rounded individual prepared for lifelong success.

Final Thoughts

Living out core principles requires more than good intentions; it demands intentionality, consistency, and commitment. By defining, integrating, communicating, infusing, aligning, and modeling core principles, athletic administrators can create programs that not only achieve competitive success but also make a lasting impact on students and the broader community.

As leaders in education-based athletics, we have a unique opportunity to shape young lives. By bringing our core principles to life, we ensure that the lessons learned on the field translate into meaningful growth and excellence off the field. This is the true legacy of interscholastic athletics.

  ]]> https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/bringing-the-core-principles-of-your-athletic-department-to-life-niaaa/feed/ 0 129044 https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/using-ai-as-an-ad-smarter-workflow-better-balance-with-jacob-von-hofwegen-cmaa-beaumont-high-school-ca/ https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/using-ai-as-an-ad-smarter-workflow-better-balance-with-jacob-von-hofwegen-cmaa-beaumont-high-school-ca/#respond Thu, 03 Sep 2026 07:03:26 +0000 https://coachesinsider.com/?p=128869 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.

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.

By: William Condron, CAA - Southeast Alamance High School, North Carolina

The high school athletics scene that most of us grew up in included limited ways for athletics departments and teams to get information out to the public. If you were lucky, your local newspaper covered your games with an article or blurb with a box score included – some of us may still have some of those clippings in a scrapbook.

Dwindling newspaper budgets have meant declining coverage for high school athletics, especially in smaller communities. Luckily, that doesn’t mean our programs and athletes have to go unnoticed! Social media is a great way for us to tell our own story for our athletics departments.

Choosing a Social Media Platform

There are several social media platforms available, each with its own audience. You can choose one or, to reach maximum engagement, post on multiple platforms.

X (Formerly known as Twitter) – A Place for Recruiting, Coaches

Several years ago, X was where most athletics departments, coaches, and teams posted their latest news. The numbers on X have dipped slightly, but there’s still good usage from high school and college coaches and teams. For instance, coaches and teams still use X to find high school football players’ highlights and stats.

Facebook – Where Families Check In

A lot of us are on it, but let's face it – Facebook is mainly for the older crowd. Our Facebook account gets the most interaction from alumni and our student-athletes’ families. Facebook’s interface also makes it easy to post pictures/graphics along with informational text and links.

Instagram – Promotion That Everyone Can Follow

Our most diverse following is on the Instagram platform. Followers include student athletes, parents, and family members. It is a great place to post pictures and graphics. Informational text can be included, but links cannot (unless you post it in a story).

TikTok – It’s Not Just For Dances!

We’ve all seen our student athletes in the hall with their phones propped up on a door handle or windowsill trying to perfect a dance on TikTok. However, there are many uses for TikTok in our athletics departments, including hype videos and student athlete interviews. If you want social media interactions from students, you want some level of presence on TikTok.

*Pro Tip: Cross post and create landing pages! Some social media platforms allow users to cross post. For instance, Facebook and Instagram have options to post simultaneously to both. There are also third-party programs (e.g., Gipper or BoxOut; details below) that will post to multiple social media platforms at the same time. It is also a good idea to have a landing page that contains all of your social media accounts so people know where to go for the latest in your department. Programs like Linktree, Buffer, or even your school website are all great places to publicize what platforms you are using.

Creating Content

Branding

When creating graphics to promote your program, it can be more pleasing to the eye and easier for everyone involved if you nail down your school’s branding. It helps solidify brand recognition and school pride when everyone is using the same playbook. This includes:

• Logos: Create a digital drive (Google Drive works for us) to share acceptable school logos with your staff.
• School Colors: Determine the colors, along with color codes to share with your designers.
• Fonts: Share a few fonts with your staff that can be used for graphics.

*Pro Tip: Monetize your posts! Add social media coverage to your sponsorship packages. Everything you post can have a sponsor logo, which acknowledges sponsors for supporting your athletics program.

Programs

There are many programs that can be used to create professional-looking graphics, some of which are free.

• For technology-minded creators: Canva and Adobe Express can be used for free, with options to upgrade for more features. Be sure to check with your school system before you purchase as many have purchased licenses that teachers/coaches can use. Canva and Adobe Express are similar programs. Both allow users to create graphics from scratch or use pre-made templates. Coaches and administrators who are generally quick learners with technology should have no problem getting started.
• For technology-challenged or time-challenged creators: Gipper and BoxOut are programs that have premade, professional-looking templates that users can easily manipulate to create graphics. They take the guesswork out of the equations and make it easy to make ready-to-post graphics in minutes. You can upload your school colors and logos so they are available for your coaches to use. They also have options to post and even schedule the graphics to go out at specific times. If your coaches are less computer savvy, this is the tool for them. Both platforms have free trials but ultimately charge to use their service.

*Pro Tip: Choose the right size! The programs above allow users to choose a size for their graphics. Each social media platform has optimal image sizes. Some sizes don’t present as well as others. Check each platform to see what size works best.

What to Post and When

Now that you have opened your account(s), it’s time to post something. Consider posting one or more of the following to promote your athletics department:

• Daily/Weekly Schedules: For our athletics department, Sunday is the day to post a schedule for the upcoming week. We also post a daily schedule to remind people what we have going on. Individual sport accounts may also have gameday posts that are more tailored to their programs, spotlighting specific players, game details, team events, etc.
• Score Updates: Let followers know the latest results from your contests! As an athletics department, these posts can be a summary of all the day’s events. Individual teams may post results with pictures or statistics.
• Student Athlete/Coach Spotlights: What better way to promote your athletics department than to spotlight some of your best and brightest. We treat this as a “getting to know you” spot where we share something about a selected player/coach.
• Special Awards/Recognitions: All-conference, coach of the year, player of the year; all these can be promoted on social media.

*Pro tip: Schedule your posts! Some social media programs or software will allow you to schedule posts for specific times of the day. Strategize the best times to send your graphics out – between classes, first thing the morning, Sunday evening. This also allows you to plan out your posts for the week rather than having to remember to post each day.

Post Delegation – Who Posts What

Once you get started, it can become addictive as you gain followers and interactions from your posts, but there is such a thing as post overload. If you post too much, people may start to ignore what you post.

When you launch or relaunch your social media accounts, meet with your coaches to discuss who should be posting what. For instance, we post a daily and weekly schedule for all of our athletics teams. Individual teams may make gameday posts that highlight certain student athletes, team awards, statistics from games, etc. It is a good idea to discuss what kind of posts your teams will be posting vs what the athletics department will post to avoid flooding your followers’ accounts.

*Pro-tip: Create Accounts For Your Department! One important yet challenging aspect when getting started with social media is finding an account name that is available. If a coach creates the account and eventually leaves the school, oftentimes that account name, and the followers it has built, goes with them. It can be daunting and time-consuming to create many shell Google accounts for teams, but when athletic directors create team social media accounts and share them with coaches, account ownership remains in-house even when there is a change in personnel.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

What’s the best way to get engagement on your social media accounts? Pictures! We use pictures from a variety of sources:

• Professional photographers: Many of our teams have a professional photographer come in to capture great looking photos. Check with the photographer about the possibility of accessing these photos for your graphics. They may want you to give them credit for their photos, which also promotes their business – a win-win scenario!
• Yearbook class/club: Most schools have a class or club responsible for creating the yearbook. Keep them in the loop about your athletics schedule and make sure they receive free admission to games. Most students in these classes and clubs are willing to share their photos with you to post on your social media accounts.
• Student media team: Build a media team at your school that includes photographers. We are lucky to have many students interested in photography who are willing to share. Encourage them to create their own photography social media accounts and share their work…tagging your social media accounts when they do!

*Pro Tip: Monitor your department’s accounts! Make sure the story you and your coaches tell on social media represents the department and teams in a positive light. As athletic directors, we should be following all of our teams’ accounts to make sure we are representing our school in a way that reflects our values. Background music, hand gestures, and inappropriate or unsportsmanlike language can reflect poorly on our departments. It is also important to consider which external accounts are interacting with our posts through likes, comments, or shares since these are public. Lastly, caution coaches about following student athletes’ personal accounts from their team or personal social media accounts. If they see something questionable from a student athlete or receive inappropriate messages, these should be reported immediately.

What Are You Waiting For?

Hopefully you feel confident to start promoting your athletic department using social media. Your student athletes and their families are ready to like, love, and share all the good things that are happening at your school.

  ]]> https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/utilizing-social-media-to-tell-your-own-story-niaaa/feed/ 0 128873 https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/athletic-department-culture-developing-and-maintaining-with-kevin-guzzo-cmaa-st-joseph-high-school-mi/ https://coachesinsider.com/athletic-director/athletic-department-culture-developing-and-maintaining-with-kevin-guzzo-cmaa-st-joseph-high-school-mi/#respond Mon, 24 Aug 2026 07:04:51 +0000 https://coachesinsider.com/?p=126115 Watch as Kevin Guzzo, CMAA, develops a culture within the athletic department. Every small act of kindness and every positive interaction with athletes is part of building a championship culture. Winning isn't the only image your athletic teams should project, but rather teams that demonstrate integrity both on and off the field.

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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.