In the first half of our interview, Deb Tyson, CAA, Athletic Director at Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, Va., discussed her approach to crisis management, what inspired her to become a high school athletic administrator, and the importance of cultivating relationships. To read Part 1, click here.

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What are you proudest of during your time as president of the Virginia Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association?
My tenure included the association's first year with an executive director. That's been a great thing for our organization in terms of producing revenue, especially with corporate sponsorships. We were able to dissolve our corporate sponsorship committee and put those duties into the hands of one individual. It made the entire process more efficient.

How much time did your position require?
As president, I was dealing with association business three to four times a week. That might mean a 15- to 20-minute phone conversation or a two- to three-hour meeting about an issue.

What role did your state association play in helping schools deal with this winter's snow storms, which caused many cancellations?
Our state association governs the state playoffs. A lot of times, our state association has facilities contracts that limit when events can be hosted, but there might be flexibility in extending the district or regional qualifying deadlines. If the district deadline was on a Monday, they could say to us, "We understand you have a unique situation with the weather, so we'll extend the deadline to Thursday."

How has your system for alerting coaches, players, and parents about scheduling changes evolved?
It used to be done through phone calls, then it switched to e-mail, and now it goes through a program that generates automated e-mails. Once we make a decision, we use Schedule Star, and parents who have signed up get instant notification there's been a change.

You've led a long, ongoing fundraising effort to build a new turf field. Talk about some of the roadblocks you've had to deal with.
We had an individual who donated $325,000 to each of the four public schools in our district to fund a new turf field at each school. Then, each school had to raise matching funds.

In October 2008, a donor agreed to match the amount, so we thought we were sitting pretty. Then last March, that person had to retract their offer due to concerns over their financial situation. In the meanwhile, we had abandoned our own fundraising efforts because we thought we were covered. Since then, we've really had to scramble to get things re-started. We've raised $46,000, but we have to raise another $140,000.

What are the keys to fundraising in these harsh economic times?
We've held benefit concerts and raffles and we're going to continue knocking on doors. The challenge we're facing now is that we have a number of smaller fundraising projects, but due to the economy, some of our larger donors are holding tight to their money. They say, "We'd love to help, but we're being advised to hold onto our donations."

Eventually, we will get those dollars--we're just having a hard time right now. One of the schools has installed its field, the other two are in the same boat we are: waiting.

How are you stretching your budget?
I've turned to our coaches and parents and asked, "What can we do without? Do we have to buy new uniforms?" Or I may tell them we won't be buying new uniforms, and ask, "How are you going to handle that?"

I also talk to our central office people about the broader impact of certain decisions. It's about keeping the lines of communication open and finding out what other schools are having success with.

After your football coach resigned abruptly, you decided to hire an interim coach. How did that work out?
At the end of May, our long-term football coach resigned to become an assistant principal, so as of June 1 we were looking for a new coach. That's a tough time of year to find someone, especially since we did not have a teaching position to offer.

We chose to go the interim route because we didn't want to lock ourselves into a decision after such a short search period. It was difficult and the team ended up 0-10, but because of our talent level, we would have had a difficult season regardless of who was at the helm.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Given the circumstances, I think we made the best decision possible. A lot of people were involved in that decision, and we didn't want to jump into anything too quickly.

How do you help your student-athletes become better leaders?
We have a Patriot Athletic Leader (PAL) group, which is made up of student-athletes who are nominated by coaches and screened by faculty members. They're not necessarily captains, or even starters--they're student-athletes who are recognized as having leadership potential. They meet once a month, with a couple of coaches to run the meetings, and I sit in whenever possible.

It creates an opportunity for athletes to have social contact and initiate service events. The group is also a vehicle for us to teach leadership skills and talk about sportsmanship, ethics, and conduct. We've been doing it for eight or nine years.

We used to have a captains council, where we'd start with a group of fall captains, then get a new group in the winter and another in the spring. It wasn't good for continuity, so we started PAL to establish year-round leadership. The PALs do everything from tutoring and mentoring middle school students to giving presentations to our student-athletes on sportsmanship and alcohol and drug rules.

It's a very visible group, and it has a strong presence in our department. Those who are in PAL are really proud to be a part of it.

How effective are they sharing leadership skills with their peers?
At the high school level, messages delivered from student-athlete to student-athlete are very powerful. When student-athletes speak to their peers about things they hear coaches and parents say, they can have a lot of influence.

It also depends on the athletes--some respond well to peer-delivered messages, and some don't. We teach them the message to use with their peers and hope it has an impact. Do we have issues? Yes. But overall, I'm very proud of how our teams and coaches handle those issues.

How do you find a work-life balance?
This is a beautiful part of country, and there are tons of great hiking trails. I also find time to work out and play golf with my friends--even if I shank balls in the woods. And I try to eat well.

If you weren't an athletic administrator, what career would you pursue?
I often think about working as a park ranger or in a flower nursery--something peaceful. I'd like some of that peace, but I also need the action.

What keeps you in athletic administration?
Any athletic director who has stayed in this field as long as I have can't deny they love the explosiveness of this profession as well as the emotions and day-to-day unpredictability. I want to stay in this job as long as I'm effective and my school will have me.

R.J. Anderson is the Online Editor at Athletic Management.