Meeting Room: Salon 7
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Registration | CHAMPION FOYER
12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Exhibits Open | CHAMPION FOYER
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Speaker: Tim Green, Athletics Consultant, Southern Teachers
Division Level: Middle & Upper
The role of athletic director has continued to grow each year. The coaches in your program can be the most effective or most troublesome part of your responsibility, yet we often do not have systems in place to properly hire, train, or evaluate them. This presentation will explore systemic methods for the crucial parts of any coach’s development: training, mentoring, evaluating, and hiring.
Participants will:
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Break
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Speaker: Jim Daughdrill, Director of Business Development, Enrollment Management Association
Healthy enrollment requires partnerships across the school community to deliver a first-class experience for students and families, and athletics plays a major role in this process, even for non-athletes. In this session, we’ll explore the levers of the Strategic Enrollment Management Spectrum through the lens of athletic directors. Drawing on the latest research and trends from the Enrollment Management Association, we’ll share productive ways that ADs can help fuel healthy, sustainable enrollment (including admissions!) at your school.
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Speaker: Larry Salley, Athletic Director, Porter-Gaud School
The expectations for players, coaches, and parents can be very different for middle school, JV, and varsity teams. Establishing and clearly communicating these differences early can drive decisions across the program, from hiring through evaluation, from practice habits through playing time.
During this session, participants will:
Evaluate and articulate current priorities at each level of play within their own programs
Be able to thoughtfully reinforce or change those current spoken or unspoken priorities
Come away with tools to communicate these priorities, before, during, and after each season
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Reception | CHAMPION FOYER
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Breakfast Buffet | SALON 6
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Speakers: Gabriella Pelosi & Danielle Vallas, Co-Founders, and Allison Gasuik, Wellness Coach, D&G Wellness Consulting
In this session, participants will learn why athletes are susceptible to mental health conditions, obtain information regarding mental health conditions that commonly pertain to athletes (ex. anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse), and learn to recognize red flags and warning signs. By understanding the ever-changing role of the coach, participants will acquire skills for early intervention and prevention to help their athletes approach and manage their mental health effectively in order to enhance their athletic skills. They’ll leave feeling more comfortable having conversations about mental health with their athletes, inspired to enhance their team culture to support mental health, and learn how to lead with vulnerability.
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Speaker: Jeff McGinnis, Executive Director, Nashville Coaching Coalition
In this session, we’ll discuss how to handle the ever-changing environment of sports. To give your all to your coaches and players, you must give your full self. You will be invited into a new way of leading during this presentation through instruction, reflection, and discussion. Join us in remembering why you got into coaching, where your passion lies, those that influenced you, and how to impact those you lead.
12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Lunch Buffet | SALON 6
1:15 PM – 2:30 PM
Speaker: Ernest Robertson, Jr., Director of Sports Enrichment Programs/Auxiliary, Palmer Trinity School
Division Level: All
This session will offer best practices and innovative ways to enhance the parent-coach relationship. Participants will learn insightful strategies for coaches and athletic administrators to discuss playing time without actually discussing playing time. Discover how keeping the student-athlete at the center of the parent-coach relationship is most rewarding on the field and in the classroom. Common athletic mistakes made by coaches and administration will be discussed. The rights parents should be afforded, creative parent meeting ideas, a system of communication, program commitments, and playing time guidelines will be presented.
Participants will learn:
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Speakers: Jeff Schroeder, Middle School Athletic Director, and Mike Walker, Director of Athletics, Second Baptist School
Chasing championships and advancing facilities are always going to get prioritized in high school athletics, but too often school leaders neglect to prioritize sub-varsity sports and eventually come to realize the direct impact that can have on retention and admissions. Giving students and families a great experience at the middle school, freshman, and junior varsity levels can create a positive word-of-mouth marketing benefit, impact overall retention and admission numbers, and intentionally create a culture that aligns with your mission in the lives of students much before they are competing on a varsity team.
In this session, participants will learn:
4:00 PM – 4:15 PM
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM
SMALL GROUPS | SALON 7
8:00 AM – 11:30 AM
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Speaker: Patrice Elder, Director of Athletics and Co-Curricular Programs, Oak Hill School
This session will assist participants in connecting the dots between athletics and the various departments (development/fundraising, admissions, diversity, equity, and inclusion, etc.) at their school. Attendees will identify possible blind spots in their program and discuss possible solutions for connection.
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM
10:15 AM – 11:15 AM
Speaker: Jesse Olvera, Director of Athletics, The Covenant School of Dallas
This session will focus on how to prepare for a growing athletic department while staying true to your school’s mission.
The Covenant School of Dallas has grown in the last seven years: participation numbers, teams, facilities, coaches, budgets, and travel. Within seven years, the school has renovated the gym floor, added new turf on the football field, made HOA amendments to add lights, added new locker rooms, created an athletic handbook, and oversaw over 90 coaching positions.
This session will address questions schools may not be aware of, how not to handcuff programs because of facilities, and the challenges of a growing school community. Come with questions about your growing athletic programs!
Participants will be able to:
11:15 AM – 11:30 AM
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Speakers: Daniel Russell, Athletic Director, Chattanooga Christian School, and Jay Watts, Director of Athletics, Girls Preparatory School
Room: Salon 7
Session description coming soon!
12:30 PM
Adjourn
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