By Dan Cardone

Dan Cardone is Athletic Director at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., and a frequent contributor to Athletic Management. He can be reached at: cardoned@nhsd.k12.pa.us.

High school athletics offers a great deal: learning and leadership opportunities for students, development of school and community spirit, a chance to excel outside the classroom. But you already know that.

High school athletics today can also create challenges: friction between parents and administrators, budget fights, unending problems with sportsmanship. You probably have experienced all this, too.

The question for us as leaders of athletic programs is, are we putting the focus on the positive or the negative? As coaches, athletes, and parents look to us for direction, are we talking about how the glass is half empty or about how it is half full? I believe a key to being successful in this field is to insist that the glass is half full--and to extend that ideal to everything we do.

THE BIG PICTURE
Every day, there are scenarios that challenge what we are trying to promote as high school administrators. Our athletes look at professional sports and see drug charges, assaults, and even murders. They watch as parents question our coaches' decisions. They see adults fans taunting players at college events.

That is why the first step to emphasizing the positive with our programs is to stay focused on the core mission of high school athletics. That means making day-to-day decisions that are in line with our philosophy, illustrate our programs' values, and provide positives for the long term. It also includes following a consistent path of reasoning and communicating the logic behind our decisions to whomever will be affected. This will keep our programs on track.

Let us take the example of the swim parents who want their athletically gifted child to train elsewhere, rather than with the team. They tell you their son or daughter has special talents that can only be brought out by another coach.

Consider asking them, "Should we let the quarterback of our football team, who is a Division I prospect, train elsewhere during the season?" Most parents would reply, "Of course not." Then ask, "Isn't your child on the relay team?" Now you've led them down a road that says, "The way I see it, if you are on the team, you have to be on the team." By the end of the discussion, the parents will see the importance of your policy, even if they are still angered that it is not best for their child. You will have kept the program focused by demanding an adherence to teamwork and not sacrificing this ideal for one star athlete.

Another example is your team travel policy. We require all athletes to ride on the team bus to and from away games, unless there is a special circumstance. And we follow this policy strictly.

The team building that happens during travel is a big part of the high school athletic experience and should not be taken lightly. Riding home with the team enables the coach to talk about the game and explain what the team should learn from it. It is also when teammates can bond over a win or loss and collectively learn to transition from being a competitor to being a friend, student, and everyday kid. They are more ready to put things behind them as they go home and tackle the night's homework assignments.

When parents drive their child home, the discussion, instead, may be about the parent's interpretation of the game. The parent may question the coach's strategies or even the play of the child's teammates. The parent may also provide advice to their child that is different than what the coach would say.

It is not that we don't want parents to talk to their child after a game, but if athletes transition with their coaches and teammates first, they will have a chance to learn the teamwork lessons the coach is providing. And the parents will have the opportunity to gear down themselves, which often relaxes any heightened emotions about the game.

Understanding a long-term ramification of simple decisions is also critical. In girls' basketball in our area, the trend is to move ninth graders up to the varsity level. The coaches say they need to do this because they do not have enough players at the junior varsity and varsity levels.

The reasoning seems to make sense, but look at how this affects the overall program: More schools are dropping their ninth grade girls' program, which is decimating the feeder program. The ninth grader who needs that extra year to mature mentally and physically is forced on the junior varsity or varsity program. The player may become frustrated and choose to no come out the following year.

If you drop that ninth grade team now, your board of education is less likely to restore the program. Instead, take a look at why there are problems with turnover. Are girls dropping at the middle school level because they aren't getting enough playing time or the coach is not positive? Can you struggle through a couple years with a thin varsity team while you build back up the program? Maybe you can get a few cross-country or soccer athletes to join the basketball team in the winter.

The goal is participation by many. Dropping one team to help another be more successful serves only the present and loses our focus.

Consistently making decisions based on the positive values of high school sports won't always make you popular in the short term. However, it's one of the best ways to keep your program on target.

NIPPED IN THE BUD
Keeping things positive also means the athletic administrator may have to be a detective and a politician. It is very easy for a small problem to snowball into a large negative. Being proactive about a problem or concern that is not hard to resolve is an important step toward ending an issue that may be insignificant.

Detecting problems early requires athletic directors to keep an ear to the ground. One way you can do this is to develop relationships with key parents. There are usually a handful of parents who are involved and trusted by others. I seek them out at games to chat and find out what they are hearing, seeing, and thinking. These simple conversations can let me know if a problem is brewing--and that I may need to find out more.

I also closely oversee teams with a cloud hanging over their head. For example, a team may have experienced fallout as a result of parental interference the previous season. The coaches may be returning because they are running a solid program, but so are the athlete and parents who were problematic. Last year's situation may have created some animosity that's still affecting team chemistry. Even though the coaches felt they won the battle, they begin to sense they are losing the war. They may begin to question why they had to endure an attack on their coaching ability.

In these situations, I carefully monitor the coach's responses to parents and how he or she is enforcing their team rules. To help them think through their actions, I create scenarios to talk about during our preseason coaches' meeting and take time to build up any self-confidence they lost during the previous season. I will also ask them to let me know if any hints of problems are arising. Perhaps most importantly, I very publicly support the coach's actions so my other coaches (and everyone else) knows I have full confidence in the entire staff.

If I think tryouts will be a problem (and this is often where parental interference starts), I ask the board of education to review the coach's tryout process. I will then ask the coach to hold a meeting with parents beforehand, in which he or she explains the process, passes out a written document about tryouts, and has the parents sign the document.

If a parent still complains after their child does not make the team, I will thoroughly back up my coach, citing the board of education and parental signatures. If the coach has followed the tryout policy with integrity, I will not let parental interference change the outcome of the coach's decision.

Coaches are a huge part of keeping our programs positive, so I keep an eye on whether they might be causing any negative rumblings. Some head coaches are aloof, others are engaging. I do not believe there is one formula for getting everyone to put their best foot forward. I have found that it is a delicate balancing act.

The coach who talks to parents a lot may be blurring the boundaries on who runs the team. The coach who distances him- or herself may be missing signals of underlying problems. I am working on helping our coaches find the right balance.

It is also critical to keep a close watch on booster activities. A booster club member may begin trying to exert undue influence on the program he or she helps fund. In some cases, the person may be acting alone, and other times he or she may rally other boosters. To pick up on such problems while they're still small, you or your coach needs to be at every booster club meeting and you need to chat with booster club leaders frequently.

POSITIVE PR
All of the above suggestions push you to become a more public figure. That might not be why you became an athletic director, but if you want to maintain a positive program, your leadership is needed. You need to brag publicly about your program's accomplishments and accentuate the positives. The more people hear about the good stuff, the less significance they place on negatives.

When there is an outstanding performance by an individual or team, recognition should be forthcoming. While it can be as simple as a pat on the back, placing the achievement on the district Web site along with the team picture is even better. This also has the effect of drawing more parents and athletes to the site to see all the other positives that are going on.

There are many things beyond team and individual accomplishments that athletic directors can brag about. Having a scholar athlete program that recognizes athletes who distinguish themselves in the classroom certainly provides something to promote.

Here at North Hills, we have started selling athletic department apparel and merchandise through an online store on our Web site. This allows people to purchase T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, hats, and other paraphernalia. It also sends a subtle message that we are extremely proud of our athletes and we think alumni and community members want to proudly wear our school name.

Recently the boys' basketball boosters came to me with ideas for bolstering spirit during games. They wanted to hand out T-shirts to students who attended, and to move the student section to a more visible location. I thought this was a great idea and asked how I could help. Sometimes there may be some concerns when it comes to the intention of boosters, but encouraging good ideas goes a long way.

Promoting positive behavior should also be part of the plan. North Hills was one of only two schools in our 140-member district to win the state sportsmanship award in 2006. We have now won this award for five consecutive years. We are one of only eight schools in the nation that have won the NFHS National Sportsmanship Award. You can bet we let the public know about these accomplishments. The banners are displayed in our gym along with our championship banners.

Another key in this area is recognizing coaches, players, or teams whenever they exhibit positive behaviors. There are players who pick up an opponent after knocking them down, or interact with an opponent in a respectful way after the contest. The media tends to overlook those types of behaviors. That's why I always take the time to notice these small acts. I might see an athlete in the hallway and commend him for keeping his composure, or I might call a coach the next morning and say, "The officials let the game get out of hand. You and your team handled yourselves with remarkable restraint."

Positive reinforcement should also be given in front of other people. As an athletic director, I like to think we can help mold positives by giving these types of behaviors their due.

TURNING AROUND NEGATIVES
How about when those negative situations occur? I've found that a lot of communication is important. I also try to show sympathy and appreciation in any way I can.

We recently had a negative situation with a new facility. We have been renovating our gymnasium and pool. While the gymnasium was finished at the start of the season, the pool was not. When it was, there was an extensive leak. We had to transport our swimmers to one school and our divers to another to practice. Early season home meets had to be rescheduled as away meets.

I decided to develop a means of communicating with the team's parents. I asked them to designate one person as the liaison with our office. Any correspondence went from our office to the representative and vice versa. This gave some semblance of order to answering requests for updates. We also wanted to show athletes and coaches that we appreciated their dedication. We held a breakfast for them one morning before the start of school.

Seeing them go into the pool for the first time was rewarding, even though the water temperature was a brisk 62 degrees. I told the team in jest that I did not want any phone calls from their parents regarding water conditions.

A key component in the whole process was the positive attitude of our head swim coach. She held her head high and told everyone the truth every step of the way. She did not complain, but worked to facilitate the hand she was dealt. Had she been a naysayer, she would have contaminated the attitudes of everyone in the program. It was not easy, but she forged ahead.

The end result was that we now have an outstanding natatorium that was worth the wait. There were times where everyone's patience was sorely tested, but we kept reminding them there would be a real benefit to our swim program in the long run.
A negative situation we can all relate to is a coach who does not possess all the qualities you desire or is not keeping up in the field. It is important to recognize this situation and work toward a resolution as soon as possible.

The first step is to set forth your expectations at the outset. Beginning with the interview process, one question we try to ask is "What would I see if I observed you at a practice or a contest?" If the coach's current performance isn't living up to his or her answers, you can point this out.

Secondly, our preseason coaches meeting emphasizes our high standards. The evaluation process reinforces the standard and is reviewed with the staff. If necessary, an improvement plan is implemented. This serves notice to the coach that things have reached a point that may warrant disciplinary action or even dismissal.

IN THE LONG RUN
Why is it important for us to promote the positives of our programs? I believe that high school athletics is one of the best deals around. According to a recent survey of athletic directors, conducted by the NFHS, most high school athletics budgets are less than one percent of the total school district budget. We are providing a broad range of experiences for today's young people at a very low price.

But when the public sees the problems plaguing professional athletics, they begin to make the same negative assumptions about high school athletics. We need to fight the perception that high school sports aspire to be a scaled-back version of professional athletics.

If athletic directors throw the spotlight on the positives in our programs, coaches, fans, and athletes will follow our lead. We are asking our high school athletes to have more composure than the pro athletes they watch on television--and I believe they are accomplishing it. More and more, I see today's high school student-athletes as the role models older athletes can look to. A lofty thought? Well, I always believe in seeing the positives.

Sidebar: GAMETIME
One way to keep programs focused on the positive is to have a zero-tolerance approach to poor sportsmanship at contests--one of the high-risk times for negatives to creep in. Here are some ideas:

Prior to the contest
• Captains academy
• Posters promoting sportsmanship placed in and around the gym
• Make announcements in school

At the contest
• Announcements over the P.A. system
• Set standards for behavior
• Address poor fan or student behavior immediately

After the contest
• Promote the positives
• Compliment fans afterward for good behavior