By Tim Slauter

Tim Slauter, CMAA, is Director of Athletics at McCutcheon High School in Lafayette, Ind. He is the Indiana winner of the NIAAA's 2007 State Award of Merit and served as the President of the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association during the 2005-06 school year. He can be reached at: tslauter@tsc.k12.in.us.

For some athletic directors, conducting a coaches' meeting is akin to crossing a dangerous battlefield to reach a strategic objective. For others, it is a social gathering where nothing of any significance is accomplished. In reality, coaches' meetings should never be anything like the former and certainly more business-like than the latter.

One of the cornerstones of any successful athletic department is effective communication between the coaches and athletic director. Coaches' meetings are a great way to establish and maintain quality lines of communication, improve staff camaraderie, and promote the philosophy of the department.

But, in order to accomplish all that, these meetings must be well-planned, with an agenda and a purpose. They also must be run effectively, with a balance of instruction and coaches' input.

When & Why
Some athletic directors have regularly scheduled monthly meetings, while others meet only as needed. I have never been a big believer in meeting just for meeting's sake, but it is my feeling that regular meetings with coaches are an essential part of effective communication.

Here at McCutcheon High School, we hold four regularly scheduled coaches' meetings each school year that correspond with the beginning or end (or both) of each sports season. Their purpose is to go over procedures for the starting and ending points of each season as well as talk about any new policies, problems, or solutions. Each May, I publish the dates of the meetings for the next school year so every coach can plan around them.

Our first meeting is held a few days before the start of the fall sports season. To create a sense of camaraderie, we hold a family cook-out immediately after the meeting. We found this to be a great way to kick off a school year because our coaches can spend time with one another's families and get to know each other better in a relaxed setting.

We hold our three other meetings before the start of the school day, which makes it easy for coaches to attend and establishes a firm ending time. They last for 45 minutes, and we provide donuts, bagels, juice, and coffee so coaches won't have to skip breakfast.

ABC's of the Agenda
Creating a comprehensive, dynamic agenda is the key to a successful coaches' meeting. I start organizing my ideas by simply reviewing the agenda I used for the same meeting the previous year. That ensures we cover all the basics, such as turning in preseason paperwork, updating equipment inventory at the end of a season, and reviewing procedures for coaching evaluations.

Depending on how things are going, I spend more time on some topics than on others. For example, if coaches have been lax in getting their contest schedule requests to me, I will go over the deadlines and talk about why they're important. If I'm trying to emphasize coaches' communications with parents, I'll review parents' meetings in greater detail. I also include updates from our principal, athletic trainer, and transportation coordinator.

The second half of the meeting is more fluid and dynamic, but just as important as the first. This is when we discuss policy changes and ongoing issues in coaching. To gather material, I keep a running list on my computer of possible topics for discussion. Before the meeting, I also ask coaches to suggest items for the agenda, which lets them know their input is important. I announce a deadline for suggesting items, then finalize the agenda the day before the meeting.

For example, at one of our most recent meetings, we discussed a new procedure for dealing with an athlete who might be interested in transferring to our school (all such contacts must now be immediately directed to either myself or the school principal). A few years ago, we began to discuss how we should handle athletes who want to participate in two different sports during the same season. We decided to form a working group to develop a department-wide policy, and then reviewed the final ideas at a later meeting.

Staying Focused
Over the years, I have found that coaches generally work better with written information than they do with verbal communication, so I always provide a lot of handouts at our meetings. To make it easier to go over the material, I collate and number the handouts in the order they appear on the agenda. Making this information packet available to each of the coaches as they walk into the room helps get everyone seated quickly and the meetings started on time.

Placing the agenda at the front of the packet sets a business-like tone and keeps the meeting from getting sidetracked. Nothing destroys the flow of a meeting faster than addressing items that are not pertinent. Whenever questions come up that move the group away from the agenda, I tell coaches I would be happy to talk with them individually after the meeting.

My goal is to cover every item on the agenda, but I know that's not always possible. Through experience, I've found that putting the most important topics near the start of the meeting ensures we'll be able to cover them regardless of the amount of time spent answering questions. If the meeting is running too long, I will address any major topics remaining on the agenda and table the lesser topics for a later meeting or e-mail discussion.

I end by going over the schedule of events that will take place before the next coaches' meeting. I also remind the coaches to let me know about any problems before they get to the crisis stage.

Although I expect every coach to attend every meeting, there are times when a coach may miss a meeting. Any coach who is not present is given the handouts and asked to meet with me to review the most pressing items on the agenda. This one-on-one conference also gives me the opportunity to stress the importance of attending future coaches' meetings.

Team Effort
When it comes to determining who should attend meetings, there are two schools of thought. One school favors inviting only head coaches, which makes it easier to get more work done in a limited period of time. It's also an effective model to use if sensitive information needs to be presented.

The other school of thought, which is the one we follow, is to include assistant coaches in all meetings. Rather than expecting head coaches to convey new departmental procedures to their assistants, this model ensures that everyone receives the same message. That way, I can be sure nothing will be lost in translation. And when a head coach cannot make the meeting, I know that by inviting assistant coaches, each sport will have at least one representative present.

Most importantly, I believe all-coaches' meetings create a better sense of camaraderie for the staff as a whole. They relay a feeling that we're in this together, which pays future dividends in loyalty, trust, and morale.

As athletic directors, it's important to see coaches' meetings as a great opportunity, rather than as a necessary evil. Meetings give us the chance to clearly communicate with our entire coaching staff, ensure that vital information is understood by all, and promote a feeling of teamwork among all members of the staff.