Wildfires, a pandemic, and a hazing incident, for example, may be specific or more prominent in different areas of the country. But just like having emergency plans in place for your various venues and taking into account the specific needs of different sports, it is wise to also be prepared for these additional situations that may be identified as a crisis. Having plans in place is the prudent step.

A good starting point is to seriously consider what could happen in your area and within your community. In terms of weather, will you possibly experience wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, or other events? Even though virtually no one could have foreseen the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, will you be affected by other health issues, and what might they be? This step will involve being aware and making an honest analysis of what has happened in other settings and determining if it could occur in your situation.

In your effort to be proactive and prepared, it is vitally important to establish who will be the spokesperson in the event of a crisis. To be effective with communication, there should only be one individual serving in this capacity, and it may not be the athletic administrator. Often, the sole spokesman is determined by the scale, impact, and exact nature of the crisis, and this person could normally be the superintendent of schools or his or her designated person.

Before you are faced with a crisis of any nature, you should have conversations with your upper-level administrators and determine who exactly will fill the role of the spokesperson. It would be wise to have a prepared list of potential situations that might occur for these planning sessions to leave nothing to chance. The goal of these conversations is to eliminate any questions or misunderstandings, and it would be wise to put all the pertinent details in writing.

Once you have established protocols of who and under what circumstances the spokesperson will be, it is also important to communicate the details and the approach that will be taken in the face of a crisis with your coaches and staff. This is done to prevent any false or misleading information or statements that anyone might make, and it very clearly points out that they should say nothing.

The following represent a few other considerations for your spokesperson when dealing with the situation or event.

1. Once the official statement or message has been communicated — either through a written notice or a press conference — it is also advisable to indicate if or when there will be an update. Indicate that if or when new information or details become available, they will be shared when possible.
2. There are some details, however, that cannot be shared, and the spokesperson needs to understand the legal limitations. For example, details concerning students have to remain confidential in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This consideration would include a student’s name, address, contact information, and academic and disciplinary records; all of this would need student or parental consent to mention or share.
3. For any situations that involve student deportment problems, the message has to be clearly crafted, indicating that the school considers the situation serious and important. Also, the statement should include that accountability and corrective action will be taken.
4. While the spokesperson should be factual, every effort should also be made to be comforting, encouraging, and supportive. Providing hope, particularly related to weather or health-related events, is vital in addition to reporting on the details for the effort of rebuilding, regrouping, and moving forward.
5. If any of your venues were damaged due to a weather-related event, it would be helpful to share what temporary, alternative, and possibly creative steps will be taken to host the rest of the season. In addition, an indication of when games will resume will also be beneficial for everyone to try to get back to some small degree of normalcy. Your athletic program can be a rallying point for the community.
6. It is important to remember that regardless of the type of crisis that may have affected your school and program, there will be a recovery period. During this time, it would be wise and appreciated if you or your spokesperson provided periodic updates informing the community of the progress that has been and will continue to be made. Athletes, coaches, parents, and community members may need support and encouragement for an undetermined amount of time. Be there for them!
7. Lastly, as with most activities, events, and situations involved with your athletic program, spend time analyzing and evaluating the school’s steps and actions taken. This evaluation effort is critical so that you can make improvements to your protocols so that you are better prepared for the future and dealing with another crisis, even if it is of another nature or variety.

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Hopefully, you will never have to deal with a weather or health-related event, and you are lucky enough to avoid any student deportment issues. But it would be prudent to think ahead, be proactive, and create protocols to guide your response should one ever occur.

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It has everything to do with your teams. First, there is the concept of giving back to the community. One of the foundational aspects of education-based athletics is community service. It is through these initiatives that student-athletes understand the purpose and value of helping others and being a contributing part of society.

In addition, community engagement should be a key element that is used in your marketing efforts. With your athletic program, you should be highlighting and emphasizing the positive aspects of your teams, student-athletes, and coaches. What better way than through community engagement and community service?

Where and how do you start? Rather than simply detailing what can be done, there is first one essential initial step that has to be taken. This would be that you have to educate and convince your coaches that there are value and benefits to being involved in your community. If you can’t get your staff on board, community engagement may not happen. Therefore, add this topic to the agenda of your pre-season coaches meeting, share supportive articles, enlist the help of experts from the community, and put together a convincing, thorough campaign to win over your coaches.

Now, what can your teams do? The following are a few possibilities in the realm of community service and giving back to individuals and groups.

• Volunteer to help with water stops at marathons (the 26.2-mile races), soup kitchens, or projects such as Habitat for Humanity. These organizations always need help, and the responsibilities involved usually do not require extensive technical skills other than performing simple tasks as assigned.
• Host games for a specific charity. Over the years, this has been frequently done in connection with one of the national cancer organizations. But there are any number of additional causes such as mental health, suicide prevention, and others that would be beneficial and worthwhile. If you allow your student-athletes to help select the project or cause to be supported, there should be a greater commitment to it.
• Have your student-athletes read to elementary students. This program would have to be planned and organized with the respective teachers. However, enhancing reading with young students should be a no-brainer and a great educational objective.
• Host sports clinics for young people in the community. You would introduce basic skills in a fun environment, and this will indirectly help them to develop as they may eventually make it to a varsity team in high school. If you involve your current athletes as instructors and assistants in these clinics, they can serve as role models and sources of inspiration for the young people in the community.
• Also, hold clinics for coaches of the youth leagues in your area. Through these sessions, the youth-level coaches will learn the skills and approaches that your coaches use with their high school teams. This should provide a more uniform instructional approach, and should greatly benefit the development of the athletes to ensure a better and smooth transition to the secondary level.
• Designate specific games during which you recognize and honor the service providers such as firefighters, emergency personnel, police officers, and others. This effort might start by offering free admission to events for any of these individuals who wear their uniform to the game, and having your public address announcer have them stand while offering thanks and encouraging a round of applause.
• Volunteer to help with cleanup efforts around town. This would be especially important in the aftermath of a natural disaster such as a hurricane, wildfires, or earthquakes. But visually and actively jumping in to help will create a lasting, positive image of your student-athletes and program.
• Host sports day camps. Historically, coaches and athletic programs have taken this approach to raise additional money. To reach out and benefit the young people and families of your community, however, also consider featuring weeks with very low registration fees to accommodate more young people in need. As long as your operational expenses are covered, you can offer a low-priced option that will benefit your family.
• Develop an “Adopted Grandparent” program with a retirement facility for senior citizens. The administrators can match and pair up a student-athlete for a weekly visit with a resident who has similar interests. In addition, there could also be group activities such as bingo or sing-along events. But the interaction between the generations can also provide a great experience and learning opportunity for your student-athletes beyond providing a lift for the senior citizens.

These examples should not be considered as an all-inclusive list but rather only as a starting point. The value of these initiatives is for the individuals or groups within the community that are being helped, and this should be clear and understandable.

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Beyond developing a sense of community and giving back, student-athletes will also be able to enhance their organizational and leadership skills through their involvement. This should underline the importance of involving your teams with community engagement as an essential part of your education-based program.

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Even though you sincerely need the help of volunteers for support positions, you must establish guidelines to ensure a smooth operation and to prevent any possible problems. The following are some parameters that really should be in place:

• By volunteering, an individual does not have the right to influence any decisions that a coach may make during a game, in practice sessions, or with any interactions with his or her team. Volunteers are not assistant coaches.
• Also, those who fill support positions, even though they are extremely valuable and necessary, have no say in recommending or promoting candidates for a vacant position or whether a coach should be terminated. The hiring, mentoring, and evaluation of coaches is only the purview of the athletic administrator.
• Other than a chain gang in football, volunteers should not be permitted on the sidelines of games. They do not get special privileges or treatment that is not permitted with other spectators, and there is also an injury risk factor that has to be considered.

In your role as an athletic administrator, these protocols have to be clearly explained and enforced to maintain the integrity of your program. What factors and aspects, however, do you look for to identify and recruit individuals who might serve as volunteers? Consider the following:

• Be aware of teachers, booster clubs, and community members who may have unique skills or interests that you can use. You may have, for example, a parent who is good with technology and also has a modicum of writing ability. This individual could put your seasonal or awards evening program together. On the other hand, perhaps you have a community member with a marketing or fundraising background that you can tap into for ideas and assistance.
• Simply network. Spread the word with your booster club, parent-teacher association, alumni association, or civic groups in the community, and detail what specific positions you need help with. If you need ticket sellers, this might be perfect for a former athlete or retiree who may view this as a way to stay involved or connected. But a potential volunteer first has to know that there is a need!
• In addition, post volunteer opportunities on your websites and social media. This step goes beyond networking, and these mediums can be invaluable in getting the word out about how you may need help and how individuals can help.

Once you identify individuals willing to serve in a volunteer capacity, the next step is how to use and retain them effectively. This may be more difficult than the initial effort of finding them. It is relatively easy to understand that you need ticket sellers, score clock operators, and helpers at the refreshment stand. Also, you can tap into community members with technology, marketing, and fundraising expertise. What else could someone contribute?

• While major repairs to your ticket booth, press box, and dugouts will likely require district personnel or contractors, there are some small items that volunteers could tackle. They could, for example, paint the doors to the equipment room, the goal posts, or the baseball or softball foul poles.
• Parents could organize and supply drinks for teams at halftime and post-game, and this routinely happens in many schools.
• Teachers or parents can serve as videographers and tape games and also film opponents for scouting purposes.

Basically, think creatively. Analyze what needs to be done, and who can help to decrease some of the time and effort. What can make things a little easier for you? Once your volunteers are on board, however, you will want to retain them.  

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The following efforts should be considered:

• Support your volunteers. This entails clearly explaining how to fill their role, and answering all of their questions. It can also be as simple as stepping in to handle an irate, or unreasonable person at the ticket booth so that they don’t have to take the abuse.
• Personally step in and do little things to help make their job easier if possible. Perhaps you can help lift a table in place, pick up some trash around the refreshment stand, or carry a few items to their car after a game.  
• Always say “Thank you!” And don’t be afraid of doing so repeatedly. Remember, these individuals are giving of themselves and they could be doing other things.
• Appreciate the time and effort that volunteers provide to your program by providing them with team wear if at all possible. Quite often, these individuals will wear these items with great pride.
• Also provide a hot dog, soda, or similar items at a game as a small token of your appreciation.
• List names of all volunteers in every program, on your web and social media sites, on bulletin boards in the school’s or gymnasium’s lobby, and anywhere possible.
• Publicly mention the names of your volunteers at booster and civic club meetings, awards evenings, and any time you are addressing members of the school community.

In many settings, volunteers are essential for the smooth operation of the athletic program. Athletic administrators will be more successful when they put together protocols and guidelines for these individuals, learn to identify school and community members with valuable skill sets, and support and show appreciation to these contributors.

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But they also can create more interest and promote your sport in the community and the region. Hosting an invitational tournament may also increase media attention and, thereby, translate into greater community interest. 

To maximize profits, establish your team entry fee. For example, for three basketball teams and seven for wrestling it covers the cost of the officials for all games or team matches. In this manner, the tickets, concessions, programs, and t-shirt sales represent total profit except the cost of trophies or awards. Beyond the competitive quality of any possible team that might be included in your tournament, also consider how well the fans of that potential school travel when considering which ones to invite. Choosing schools that can help fill the stands is an important factor.

A lucrative side or additional source of income is a concession stand at an invitational tournament. The mere presence of a larger-than-normal crowd and having more coaches and athletes in the building should provide the possibility for this increase. In the case of wrestling, for example, having food, snacks, and beverages in the lobby area in between team matches makes it extremely convenient and easy for the participants and their families. It can be a financial windfall for your program.

Consider using the money raised from the invitational tournament to be earmarked for a specific purpose such as renovating the weight room, or some other visible project that can be used by multiple teams. It normally is easier to get booster club members, parents, teachers, and out-of-season coaches to volunteer to help. Utilize individuals who volunteer for essential services such as ticket sellers, scorekeepers, scoreboard operators, and concession workers.  This too saves money and increases the profit potential.

Amenities such as a hospitality room for the coaches and officials are a nice feature even if it doesn’t help to generate additional revenue. This element is a unique touch, and it is something that the coaches and officials will remember. It will create another factor why they — both teams and officials — might want to return. By getting booster club members to prepare food and provide beverages for this extra step, it is possible that there would be no or minimal cost.

If you are going to host a wrestling tourney, you may want to consider a few additional items. After weigh-ins, wrestlers normally like to eat and drink something. The grapplers will continue doing this throughout the day between their matches to maintain their energy and hydration. If you allow the teams and wrestlers to take food into your gym, you will have a major mess to clean up after the event.

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To avoid this problem, post signs and have volunteers at the entrance to your gymnasium informing all participants, coaches, and parents that no food or beverage is allowed inside. Instead, arrange and open up your cafeteria for the wrestlers to use, or put tables and chairs, with extra trash containers, in your lobby as a designated area for everyone to eat and drink. Also, during a wrestling tournament — because it will stretch over eight to ten hours on a Saturday — spectators may want to leave and reenter. While you always record the starting number on the ticket roll for accounting purposes, your ticket takers cannot realistically check each ticket to see if it was purchased that day. To accommodate these fans, use a hand stamp and make sure to utilize a different one for the second day of the tourney — assuming that it started on a Friday afternoon.

Does an invitational tournament take some planning, work, and long days during the two-day event? Absolutely! But when you consider the competitive opportunities for your athletes, the increased exposure for your program, and the potential ancillary funds that are raised, it is worth it.

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In part, codes of conduct stem from two philosophical foundations. First, participating in athletics, unlike basic education, is not a right. It is a privilege, and the courts have continuously upheld and maintained this stance. This means that student-athletes have to meet certain standards to play.

In addition, the education-based athletics concept expects that student-athletes grow and develop, and this involves life-long values and qualities. These elements would typically include integrity, ethics, serving as a role model, and many others. Quite often, these are some of the aspects that are rightfully included in documents detailing expected standards for athletes.

Where do you start to put together your code of conduct? Check with your colleagues and see what they include in their code to get ideas. Please avoid, however, merely deleting their school’s name and inserting yours. Unless you give full credit to this school or the person who created this document, taking the complete set of expectations, or even specific parts of it, would constitute plagiarism.

Some expectations are relatively standard and would be found in many codes of conduct. In most cases, you would come across many of the following. Student-athletes would be expected to:

• Attend and participate in classroom activities, complete assignments, and maintain good academic standing in all of their courses. In addition, student-athletes should be on time, cooperate, and not be a destructive influence in class.
• Always display good sportsmanship and serve as a positive ambassador for his or her team, program, and school. This would include being respectful to the officials, coaches, and opponents.
• Be a good, supportive teammate. This would include encouraging and helping other athletes during practice sessions and games. Even if a student-athlete is competing for the same position as one of his or her fellow players, the welfare and goals of the team should always come first.
  Never be involved with hazing and bullying, this would also include cyberbullying. There is no place for this type of negative, destructive behavior in high school athletics, and it should never be tolerated. It is also imperative that student-athletes should report any suspected or actual incidents, and do their part to protect other athletes.
• Be respectful and follow the directions of the bus or van driver. Since the safety of everyone on board and the other vehicles on the road is at risk, proper deportment during team travel is a requirement.
• Traveling to away contests has to be done with the team on a bonded school vehicle unless an athlete has a pre-approved and signed parent release form.
• Be responsible for and take care of issued uniforms and equipment. An athlete would be expected to return all items after the season and to pay for anything lost or damaged.
• Respectfully interact with officials and opponents. This is, after all, a key part of sportsmanship, and is a foundational piece of the education-based athletic concept.
• Serve as a positive role model and ambassador for the team, program, and school. This expectation extends beyond participating in a game or contest; it includes in school, throughout the community, and even after the season ends.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, cigarettes, anabolic steroids, illicit drugs, and other dangerous substances.
• Report all injuries to the athletic trainer and follow all directives. Just as with dangerous substances, when an athlete does not follow the instructions of the athlete trainer, he or she can also put others at risk and possibly exacerbate the injury or create a problem for treatment and rehabilitation.
• Regularly attend, provide complete effort, and participate in all practice sessions. Any athlete with an injury should follow the protocols developed by the athletic trainer, and he or she should attend, observe, and support teammates, if possible.
• Quite commonly, a student-athlete code of conduct may conclude with a general, overlapping statement something to the effect of: “Beyond the expectations and standards listed in the student-athlete code of conduct, all participants are also expected to conform to and meet all standards as detailed in our district’s student code of conduct.” Since athletics is a co-curricular offering, this is a reasonable and logical addition.

Since many school settings are somewhat unique, you should also include aspects and items that represent your program and school community. Through experience, and in consultation with coaches and administrators, always include items that will guide your student-athletes to meet your school-specific standards and norms.

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Typically, an athlete would be expected to sign and date a copy of the code of conduct. This indicates that they have read the document and agree to follow the provisions in it. Obviously, all signed documents should be kept on file, and if there is ever a problem or lack of compliance the signed copy would be used to hold the student-athlete accountable.

As with most elements of an athletic program, it would be wise to annually review your student-athlete code of conduct, and make any adjustments as necessary. There may be some new situations or aspects that warrant being added to your document, or something may no longer be required or relevant. It is vitally important that your code accurately and completely provides positive guidelines, expectations, and standards for your student-athletes.

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