Inside the world of college sports, athletic directors are often overlooked, yet valuable assets to managing events. An athletic director covers several important aspects of an athletic event and is a necessity at any level of organized, school-sponsored amateur sports. The requirements and commitments to enter into this career field are very strenuous and can often times be overbearing. Among other things, the job description can be very intimidating and often involves very specific organizational tasks. Athletic directors at the high school level often have an easier time finding a job and running an athletic department. Collegiate directors tend to need more education and often times need to have previous experience in order to receive a …show more content…
This opens up the door for criticism and speculation to come from both the fans and even from the coaches and athletes involved. Dr. David Hoch (2005), a prestigious director of athletics at Loch Raven high school in Maryland, says that all athletic directors have several “Deadly Sins” that will hurt their prestige and accomplishments (p. 12). “Someone will usually be unhappy with some or many of our decisions, efforts or position on issues. This is natural and we can’t let it interfere with doing what is right” (Hoch, 2005, 13). In addition, any negative publicity that the coaches or athletes create while they are at the school directly reflects back upon the director of athletics because they are responsible for all actions within an athletic department. This consequence often causes many prestigious directors to resign or can even lead to them being dismissed. These concerns can oftentimes be overbearing and can lead to “Taking actions before thinking things through,” and to start “Lacking in professional courtesy” towards everyone (Hoch, 2005, 12). These signs are often a red flag to administrators of the college or university and will often lead to swift and harsh actions. Among other downfalls, athletic directors tend to be under the most scrutiny and observation when it comes to the administrating side of collegiate sports. Being the lone figure that represents an entire department of men’s and women’s programs can be daunting, but the motivation behind many athletic directors drives them to keep performing even under the most strenuous
In a growing trend that reaches to all corners of the athletic world, coaches are being forced to cope with the added stress of disgruntled parents. More and more they are required to defend personal coaching styles and philosophies, uphold team decisions and go head to head with angry, and sometimes violent parents. The pressure has gotten to the point where coaches all over the country are quitting or being forced out of their jobs by groups of parents. High school athletics should be about learning and having fun, and when parents cross the line between cheerleader and ringleader everyone suffers.
One position in sport that has always caught my attention is being an athletic director. The reason why is that ever since high school, I have known that being an athletic director means that you are in charge of the athletic department. I will introduce four articles that will talk about not only the responsibilities of being an athletic director, but will show you some problems you may face being an athletic director. I will briefly introduce each article then in the analysis section I will discuss each one. I want to provide the research and knowledge necessary to give an understanding of what it takes to be an athletic director.
Athletic Director Description- Schedules all athletic contests and scholastic bowl matches, practice times and locations for elementary, middle, and high schools. Collaborates with the maintenance department to ensure that athletic grounds and facilities are properly maintained. Serves as the primary school division decision-maker for all athletic events. Collaborates with the community and school booster organizations to ensure that morale and support for athletics is high at all times. Purchases all necessary equipment for athletic departments within the funds allotted. Must have excellent communication skills and be able to effectively develop partnerships. Coordinates and participates in preparation for athletic and extracurricular activities.
Coordinates and supervises men=s basketball, golf, baseball, men=s and women=s tennis programs working directly with the Head Coach; supervises the administration of all other varsity programs through the Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations.
Snyder, E. (2013). Student-Athlete Participation in Intercollegiate Athletic Decision-Making: Inclusion through Different Domains of Governance. The Sport Journal. Retrieved from http://thesportjournal.org/article/student-athlete-participation-in-intercollegiate-athletic-decision-making-inclusion-through-different-domains-of-governance/.
Today many Athletic Directors do a good job of administering the Title IX programs and arguably almost no athlete today even knows that there was ever a time when women’s sports were not a fabric of the school and that the female athletes were supported by the student bodies as evidenced by sold out arenas for such women’s basketball programs as UConn, Tennessee, and Stanford.
Athletic Trainers play a crucial part in today’s professional sports. They also help on lower levels of sports in high school, and college level teams. The job of an athletic trainer is simple yet very important, they are charged with treating, and preventing injuries. A trainer does this by developing therapies to reduce pain, and improve mobility (“Athletic Trainer Salaries”). They have to stand for long periods of time, work well with athletes of different sizes, move or carry equipment around, good mobility and communication skills to give instructions (“Athletic Trainer, Healthcare Program”). These trainers serve as a crucial part of an athlete getting back into their sport. Athletic trainers usually work under the direction of a physician, so they are like the Doctor’s healing hands in action.
The behaviors of the athletic management staff can affect the team performance and temperance. This has been evident in the case scandal of the Baylor university basketball team. However, there is a great need for those in leadership of the universities to evaluate constantly the behaviors of the staff concerned with various games in the school. This will make such cases to be evaded and when problems occur, they can be timely handled.
The many jobs the athletic director has, another one is making budgets for the team sports. They are also in charge of ra...
"College Athletic Programs Undermine Academics." Student Life. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 27 July 2011.
The advantages that college athletics bring to a university’s metaphorical table are numerous. Promoting positive character development, creating and endorsing unity, and supporting college experiences and traditions just scratch the surface of the deep impact that athletics have had and continue to have on higher education. The important influences that college athletics carry with them are unquestionable, even to opponents of college sports. Critics will always have their views, facts, statistics and reasons on why college athletics should be taken off a positive pedestal or even completely banned. No system or organization is flawless and will always come with a few hiccups along the way. But despite those, college athletics will always remain an integral and a valuable part concerning their role in higher education.
In conclusion the reduction of women in leadership positions is in part due to the mergers of female sport structured organizations with male dominated sports structures. The opportunity to gain and lose additional resources was the primary motivations of male dominated structures such as the NCAA. The void of women's leadership in sport has perhaps created a sense of lose in women's athletes. Although women have significantly improved its position in sport and society there is still a long journey to equality in both arenas.
College is a time for young people to develop and grow not only in their education, but social aspects as well. One of the biggest social scenes found around college campuses are athletic events, but where would these college sports be without their dedicated athletes? Student athletes get a lot of praise for their achievements on the field, but tend to disregard the work they accomplish in the classroom. Living in a college environment as a student athlete has a great deal of advantages as well as disadvantages that affect education and anti-intellectualism.
"The Coach-Athlete Relationship." Liberty Mutual Insurance: Responsible Sports. Positive Coaching Alliance, 2013. Web. 6 Nov 2013.
Sports have been around for thousands of years. The history of sports in United States began back in the 1840s. United States is a very unique country when we look at its sports, just like every country has a different structure of sports so does US. This paper will be taking about the Sports Organizations and Governance, the sports industry, sports organizations, and Structure of sports in the United States. It will also cover the Sport in the United States vs. Other Western Democracies by taking a look at the State Political, historical context, team objectives, and sports organizations. It will also cover the uniqueness of American sport as well as cover the mass participation and give recommendations on how to increase participation and success.