By Dr. David Hoch

David Hoch, EdD, is the Athletic Director at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, Md. He is past President of the Maryland State Athletic Directors' Association and a frequent contributor to Athletic Management. He can be reached at: dhoch@bcps.org.

One of my favorite quotes is from Lee Iacocca, the former CEO of Chrysler who was responsible for saving the company from near bankruptcy: "Either you are moving forward or falling behind. There is no such thing as standing still." Of course, he was referring to the auto industry, but the idea certainly applies to the job of athletic director as well.

More than at any time in the past, the position of athletic administrator is evolving. New responsibilities continue to be added, more and more is expected from our programs, and new technology comes along all the time. We need to know the latest trends in everything from risk management to hiring coaches. And we must be continually polishing our leadership skills.

There is really no way around it. To remain successful as an athletic administrator today, we have to embrace learning and the latest developments in our field. To do that, we must rely on many sources of information.

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?
For most of us, there is only a limited amount of time in our day for reading, researching, or anything else beyond the daily duties. So, the first step is to understand what you need to keep up with and what you don't. This will vary depending on your situation.

For example, in my setting, I pay little attention to turf management and the equipment that is needed for it. Each high school in our county has a grounds crew organized by central administration. The grounds departments have their own personnel, equipment, training, and budget. My only involvement is preparing a seasonal field lining schedule for our contests, inspecting the fields, and requesting repairs when needed. Therefore, I don't feel I need to keep up in this area--we have professionals who already do.

Because we are lucky enough to have an excellent athletic trainer, I also don't spend much time keeping up on sports medicine issues. Anything to do with injuries, treatment, and correct protocol is left in her capable hands. As a matter of fact, when we developed an emergency plan two years ago, our athletic trainer largely put it together--I just gave her a few ideas and she did the rest.

However, like most high school athletic directors, I don't have any support staff in the area of rules compliance, so it's imperative that I keep up with changes in this area. I am careful to read and understand every update from our league office, and if I am unsure of a policy, rule, or procedure, I immediately seek out the answer to my question.

In your own program, think about which areas of operations you need to be the expert in and which ones someone else can cover. If you see budget cuts coming, for example, you may need to expand your knowledge of fundraising. On the other hand, if you have a strong booster club that always seems to cover the fundraising for your teams, you may be able to let this area slide.

But keep in mind that you still need to be aware of the major issues that affect those specialties covered by someone else. Even if your booster club will raise all the money your teams need, you must make sure that their support of your programs complies with Title IX, their project ideas are appropriate, they communicate with coaches, and so forth. You should also be keeping up with overall trends in school fundraising.

Some areas are simply too important to delegate to others. These include risk management, sportsmanship, and legal issues--the buck stops with you in these important areas. Hiring, evaluating, and mentoring your coaches is another area that I would not delegate. The work of your coaches is the heart of an athletic department, so your oversight and input are essential to getting the kind of program you really want.

Once you have a good sense of where to focus your energies, start devoting some time to learning. I like to break the task into two areas: ongoing education and formal learning.

ONGOING EDUCATION
Luckily, there are now a lot of resources available to athletic directors on an ongoing basis. In fact, you are holding one in your hands right now. And there are a couple of other titles most likely coming your way regularly.

With 14-hour work days and long weeks, how can you find time to read these publications? Normally, I leaf through them when they arrive to see if any articles warrant my immediate attention. One might provide an answer to a current problem or address an issue I've been trying to learn more about. If nothing grabs my immediate attention, I'll stack them up and tackle them over a holiday break or during the summer.

I also clip or photocopy any articles that provide useful ideas for my department. With this new information, I can set about possibly tweaking our policies or developing new initiatives. Even if I don't have time to implement an idea right away, by filing these articles in folders, I have a ready resource.

In addition to professional magazines, some Web sites also contain valuable information for athletic administrators. With the daily demands of my schedule, I don't have time to surf the Web, but I have several sites bookmarked that I visit periodically. They include:

• The site of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA), which includes information about what our professional association offers, resource materials, and links to other helpful sites: www.niaaa.org.

• The site of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which contains news on high school athletics and sport-specific rules changes
www.nfhs.org.

• This magazine's Web site, which now includes a list of daily news items pertinent to athletic administrators, as well as a weekly blog and other special features: www.AthleticManagement.com.

• The site for my state's athletic director's association, which provides me with lists of games wanted, educational opportunities, and other happenings in my state: www.msada-md.org. Your own state likely has something similar.

Another good idea is to visit sites that provide motivation and ideas for leadership. Sometimes, after a long day of dealing with coaches' complaints or parent problems, we need a little boost. One site I like is the Center for Creative Leadership (www.ccl.org), which contains articles, research, a newsletter, and other resources geared toward helping leaders excel in their roles.

Finally, some athletic directors in individual districts or leagues have begun listserves. Any athletic director on the listserve can share information with everyone else in the group via e-mail or ask questions of others. These are fairly easy to set up on Yahoo.com or through a league office.

CONFERENCES & COURSES
Hand-in-hand with ongoing learning should be more formal learning. This usually takes the form of conference workshops and courses.

For me, the National Conference of High School Athletic Directors, which is jointly sponsored by the NIAAA and NFHS, has been a fantastic way to stay abreast of what is going on in our field. This annual meeting offers 35 workshop sessions covering every imaginable topic in our profession. Regardless of what you face in your own setting, you can find answers and advice at these sessions. It is a real smorgasbord of opportunities to learn and grow.

I've heard a lot of reasons why some athletic directors don't attend--it's too expensive, they can't afford to take time away from their program, or it's a bad time of year to be away. But for many, I think these are simply poor excuses. While it will take some preparation, you can leave detailed, step-by-step directions for someone to cover for you at your contests. To cut down on conference expenses, you can share a room with a friend and ask your principal for professional development funds or your booster club to cover your registration fees.

The NIAAA created Leadership Training Program (LTP) courses nine years ago, and they have become a mainstay for professional development. There are currently 28 different LTP courses, and additional topics are constantly being incorporated. In some states, these seminars can help fulfill in-service credit and certification requirements.

Another great idea is to take classes at a nearby college or university. You might even consider working toward a degree in sports management. Even if you just take one course per semester, you will be learning with a long-term goal in mind. Others find that taking classes in many different disciplines is the best route. For example, many of us who come from the coaching ranks can benefit from business management courses in marketing, finance, and personnel.

But don't restrict your thinking only to traditional college courses. Often, local community colleges offer personal development workshops, mini courses, and other learning opportunities in useful areas. Sometimes a mini-course in a computer application, for example, is just what you need to become more efficient.

And here's one that's a little off-beat: Have you ever thought of taking a course in writing? I am firmly convinced that writing is one of the most important skills an athletic administrator can possess. After all, we are often judged on how well we express ourselves in writing, whether it's reports for our principal or superintendent, articles for PTA and booster club newsletters, letters to parents, coaching evaluations, or even e-mails. If you want to be treated and respected as a professional, these documents had better be well written.

EXTRA HELP
A final aspect of keeping up professionally is knowing what areas of your operations you may need some one-on-one help with. It's almost impossible to be great at every aspect of such a diverse job, so figure out where you are lacking and seek out a mentor who can help you improve.

In my case, I realized I needed help with technology. Not having grown up with computers, I have a large learning curve with any new feature or application. But I also know how essential it is to be proficient with every aspect of new technology. So, I have a friend who is a former athletic director I've asked to be my mentor. Even though he now lives several states away, with e-mail it really doesn't matter. After apologizing for intruding upon his valuable free time, I explain what is currently stumping me and ask for a very simple, step-by-step explanation of what to do. Since he knows my limitations with computers, he does a great job explaining things on my level.

If you don't have a friend you are comfortable asking for help, there are other options. Many schools have a tech support person on staff whom you can schedule one-on-one time with once a month. Sometimes you can ask a student for help in exchange for some type of independent study credit. Or one of your younger coaches may be thrilled to help you--you get needed computer help, and he or she can learn more about athletic administration.

Beyond computers, consider asking someone to mentor you in any area you are struggling with. For example, if you feel you aren't effective with your coaching evaluations, maybe there is a peer you can ask to guide you through the process. Many experienced athletic directors are more than happy to help their colleagues at other schools.

Moving forward in this dynamic field can take time and careful planning. But in the long run, it is worth it. Remember: "Either you are moving forward or falling behind." Today, keeping up in the field is a must for staying in the field.

Sidebar: FRIENDLY SOURCES
When you keep up in the field by attending conference workshop sessions or taking NIAAA Leadership Training Courses, there is an additional benefit: networking. In the classes, you will inevitably sit next to someone you don't know, and if you exchange business cards, you will have made a contact for life--another professional whom you can ask questions, share ideas with, seek help from, and vice versa.

Networking comes easier to some than others. But its importance in professional development should not be underestimated. Having a long list of peers to contact for help has been invaluable to me in my career.

For example, several weeks ago, I had a problem with a visiting parent at one of our contests. While attending a meeting earlier in the year, I had talked to an athletic director who was experiencing a very similar problem. So I called him. Not only did he provide much-needed insight, we also shared a few laughs. This act of sharing and the validation that I was on the right track was just what I needed.

Recently at a state conference, I heard an athletic director give a presentation about additions to his staff handbook. On my drive home, I thought about how those ideas would be good for my program. I also realized it made no sense to start from scratch and reinvent the wheel, so I e-mailed him the next morning and asked if he would share his new material. Not surprisingly, he was gracious enough to send me a copy.

How do you start a network? When I get a business card from one of these new acquaintances, I write on the back the date and setting where I met that person. Even the best memories need an occasional trigger, and this technique works extremely well!

Then, when a topic comes up that is similar to the workshop we attended together, I may e-mail or call the person about it. Or maybe I'll send them a Web link to a newspaper article and ask their opinion. That gets a relationship going between us, and eventually we may call each other for help with a problem.

In this job, you never know what new situation may hit you, and having a list of peers at the ready is invaluable. Start your network one person at a time, one workshop at a time, and you'll soon have a place to turn for help in virtually any situation.