By Dan Cardone

Dan Cardone, Athletic Director at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. and frequent Athletic Management contributor, provides insight on the challenges of transitioning from the fall to winter sports seasons and how he approaches these important changes.

In Roman mythology, the god Janus is depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. Janus could see into the past with one face, and into the future with the other. Janus is a perfect fit for the role of athletic director, who must provide structure and leadership when moving from one sports season into another. As the fall sports season winds down, a smooth transition is desirable for the next interscholastic offerings.

Since there is only a brief window between seasons, preparation for the upcoming winter season began the previous spring at most schools—a time when league schedules were generated and disbursed to schools. Though it may feel like the indoor seasons have just begun, it is never too early to start planning for next year’s winter seasons.

Checklists are a valuable tools for helping an athletic director look ahead and become acquainted and acclimated with the timetable for the winter sports season—one that may seem many months away. My checklist is written down, but built around mental notes. One event triggers another event. For example, winter schedules are released the previous March, which means it’s time to arrange for scrimmages or non-section games. This also prompts me to begin drawing up a winter master schedule to reserve gymnasiums. Not only do event times need to be scheduled ahead of time, but so do practice slots for varsity and sub-varsity level teams.

Spring is a also a time when home contests in the major winter sports are sorted out and sent to the assigner of officials. The schedule continues to be fine-tuned as confirmations are issued to other schools. As the school calendar unfolds in May, conflicts present themselves in the form of holiday breaks, winter choral and band concerts, and other school-related events.

Spring is also when tournament dates need to be considered if you are a host school, and invitations extended to guest schools. This preparation continues into the summer months. Keeping the master schedule from the previous year is invaluable. Groups that traditionally use the gym (such as community youth groups) can be easily plugged into the newly formed master schedule.

What other considerations are there in ensuring a successful winter sports season? A significant change for our member schools is the requirement for sports physicals in the state of Pennsylvania. In prior years, a sports physical was mandated for each sports season. Pennsylvania was one of only a few states who required three physicals in the same school year. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association recently moved to a more comprehensive yearly physical examination requirement. Getting this information to parents had to be done well in advance of the fall and winter sports seasons.

There are many things that need attention before the legal start date of the interscholastic winter sports seasons. Team supplies and equipment have to be ordered and on hand for the start of practice. Work orders should be generated to have the scoreboards serviced, lights replaced, and floors refinished if necessary.

It is appropriate that the month of January takes its name from the god Janus. When the winter season finally arrives, it will be time for athletic directors to begin looking away from winter and setting our sights on spring. And that means thinking about next winter!

Dan Cardone is Athletic Director at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa. He is a frequent contributor to Athletic Management.

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