We've been out of classes for one week, and I will admit that it was probably one of the hardest weeks I've had all summer. Spending virtually every day for 8 weeks with the same small group of people results in bonds and friendships being established that are hard to break. And going from seeing everyone every day to not seeing anyone was a rude awakening.
America's Team has touched my heart. America's Team are the 25 other people I spent my summer with learning, growing, playing, laughing and who knows what else together. I learned a lot from my classes over these 8 weeks, but I learned just as much from my classmates. We got eerily close very quickly and we've been told by many that we're all way too comfortable with each other. But in an industry like ours, I'm glad to have these 25 on my side - on my team. These are the people I'll be moving through the ranks with, the people who may hire me when their institution has an opening and visa versa. These are the people I want working in the athletics departments at the schools my future kids will attend.
As I start the next chapter in my story with the start of my internship at Florida Atlantic University for the next 9+ months, it is a calming feeling to know that I have a support system that spans the country (literally). So as I jump into this new adventure, I wish the rest of America's Team luck as they too take their first steps into the world of intercollegiate (and interscholastic) athletics. See you in October kids!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Sociology of Education - Reflection on Wk. 8
And so this week brings to a close our crazy summer course load. 8 weeks of readings, guest speakers, panels, projects, group work, and papers. This week worked to tie together everything we'd covered over the 7 previous weeks.
We took a good look at the groundwork that is set for many students coming into college (if they even get there) and realized that as educators, as leaders in athletics, we can make a difference. And that that difference can be as simple as believing in a child and showing them that someone cares for them and their well being - someone wants them to succeed.
Not every kid is lucky enough to have numerous opportunities growing up or the support of family and community. For many, school is an escape from the troubles and hard times they face at home. By making school a place that they want to be, students are given opportunities to succeed on their own, despite their environment.
The reason I went back to school and joined this program is because I want to be that person, that support for students. College, and intercollegiate athletics, is an entirely unique beast to tackle, but it is my goal to provide student-athletes with the support and the services and challenges they deserve, both athletically and academically. I want to see these students earn their degrees and feel that sense of pride in accomplishment. I want to give them something to hang their hat on besides their athletics. I know it will be hard to compete with $45 million contracts to play professionally, or unsupportive families, or the struggles that came before college, but I'm willing to give it a try - and I'm hoping to win some of these battles.
We took a good look at the groundwork that is set for many students coming into college (if they even get there) and realized that as educators, as leaders in athletics, we can make a difference. And that that difference can be as simple as believing in a child and showing them that someone cares for them and their well being - someone wants them to succeed.
Not every kid is lucky enough to have numerous opportunities growing up or the support of family and community. For many, school is an escape from the troubles and hard times they face at home. By making school a place that they want to be, students are given opportunities to succeed on their own, despite their environment.
The reason I went back to school and joined this program is because I want to be that person, that support for students. College, and intercollegiate athletics, is an entirely unique beast to tackle, but it is my goal to provide student-athletes with the support and the services and challenges they deserve, both athletically and academically. I want to see these students earn their degrees and feel that sense of pride in accomplishment. I want to give them something to hang their hat on besides their athletics. I know it will be hard to compete with $45 million contracts to play professionally, or unsupportive families, or the struggles that came before college, but I'm willing to give it a try - and I'm hoping to win some of these battles.
You can't just mail out your resume - Reflection on Wk. 7
Week 7 brought us up against Human Resources in Intercollegiate Athletics, which was a lot less HR and hiring policies and a lot more leadership within intercollegiate athletics.
Hearing the first hand experiences of how not only our instructors got started in the industry and worked their way up, but the stories of how all our guests did the same thing was refreshing. It was great to hear how many of them returned to sports after spending some time in other fields, as that's where I'm coming from. Spending four years in the advertising world made me realize that I wanted back into college sports, and knowing that it is possible to get a later start and still succeed was a great reassurance.
I also learned a lot about the decisions and challenges that face everyone at every level of an athletic department. I realized that athletics directors and people who work in athletics departments get put up against EVERYTHING under the sun. Being able to make sound, logical decisions quickly is a key characteristic that will lead to success in this field. The ability to have a cool head in stressful situations, to see the big picture, and to make the tough calls can only bode well for someone entering into this industry. I also learned that you've got to be willing to make those tough decisions. There are going to be choices and decisions that can be uncomfortable to make, but as an administrator you've got to make them regardless of how unpopular they may be. I'm excited to be challenged in this way. As I start my career with my internship, I'm ready to start my climb up the ladder.
Hearing the first hand experiences of how not only our instructors got started in the industry and worked their way up, but the stories of how all our guests did the same thing was refreshing. It was great to hear how many of them returned to sports after spending some time in other fields, as that's where I'm coming from. Spending four years in the advertising world made me realize that I wanted back into college sports, and knowing that it is possible to get a later start and still succeed was a great reassurance.
I also learned a lot about the decisions and challenges that face everyone at every level of an athletic department. I realized that athletics directors and people who work in athletics departments get put up against EVERYTHING under the sun. Being able to make sound, logical decisions quickly is a key characteristic that will lead to success in this field. The ability to have a cool head in stressful situations, to see the big picture, and to make the tough calls can only bode well for someone entering into this industry. I also learned that you've got to be willing to make those tough decisions. There are going to be choices and decisions that can be uncomfortable to make, but as an administrator you've got to make them regardless of how unpopular they may be. I'm excited to be challenged in this way. As I start my career with my internship, I'm ready to start my climb up the ladder.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
The art of friendraising - Reflection on Wk. 6
Week 6 gave me the amazing opportunity to learn from Mr. Andy Geiger, one of college athletics most accomplished athletics directors. It also brought us face to face with the one class I was dreading most of all: Development and Fundraising.
I've never been a fan of asking people for favors, let alone money. But what I learned from Mr. Geiger was that it's not always just about the ask, it's about the relationship; and developing relationships is something I can do. I can Friend-raise.
If I learned nothing else this week it's that developing relationships are key to success, both in fundraising and in a career. When you believe in something - your institution, your colleagues, a project - it shows through and people are drawn to that. This ties back to the first week in class when we learned that "While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship or a life – any single conversation can." By taking the time to develop relationships, by making people feel connected to something you believe in, you make the connections that enable you to ask the tough question when it comes to it (or to know who to have ask the tough question).
After this week, while I am still not comfortable in the "fundraising" role, I do think that I can do the development portion of this relationship. I may not be a "Rain-maker" but I am a Friend-maker. And I'm comfortable with that. Who knows I may become a rain-maker yet.
I've never been a fan of asking people for favors, let alone money. But what I learned from Mr. Geiger was that it's not always just about the ask, it's about the relationship; and developing relationships is something I can do. I can Friend-raise.
If I learned nothing else this week it's that developing relationships are key to success, both in fundraising and in a career. When you believe in something - your institution, your colleagues, a project - it shows through and people are drawn to that. This ties back to the first week in class when we learned that "While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship or a life – any single conversation can." By taking the time to develop relationships, by making people feel connected to something you believe in, you make the connections that enable you to ask the tough question when it comes to it (or to know who to have ask the tough question).
After this week, while I am still not comfortable in the "fundraising" role, I do think that I can do the development portion of this relationship. I may not be a "Rain-maker" but I am a Friend-maker. And I'm comfortable with that. Who knows I may become a rain-maker yet.
Friday, August 20, 2010
A rule book the size of Manhattan's phone book - Reflection on Wk. 5
Week 5 brings us to Legal Issues in Higher Education. Like accounting, the law classes I took during my undergrad, were not fun and were dry and dragging and full of case studies that made me want to claw my eyes out and enroll in a class to learn legalese because that's the only way you could get through any of them. 4+ years later, case studies haven't changed.
And then we were introduced to the NCAA Division I Manual. Mind blown. 431 pages covering 33 basic bylaws that get dissected into 15+ subsections whose 10 subsections each have 5 more subsections. REALLY?! And they're self imposed rules. Everyone is afraid that everyone else is going to cheat so they want to do everything they can to stop it. In reality what these rules are doing is ruining sport for the kids who end up playing them. Most of these rules cause so much confusion that it's no wonder there are minor violations every year by virtually every institution in the country. Who can keep up with all of them?
I'm glad I have a general understanding of the bylaws and what's allowed and what's not, but like accounting, I'm glad there are compliance departments who can keep track of all of this because there is just way too much to stay on top of! I also learned that if you're not sure, ask. Because while in some cases it's better to jump first and ask forgiveness later, sometimes it's not and you never want to play with a student-athlete's career, because if you put it in jeopardy it will come back to bite you.
And then we were introduced to the NCAA Division I Manual. Mind blown. 431 pages covering 33 basic bylaws that get dissected into 15+ subsections whose 10 subsections each have 5 more subsections. REALLY?! And they're self imposed rules. Everyone is afraid that everyone else is going to cheat so they want to do everything they can to stop it. In reality what these rules are doing is ruining sport for the kids who end up playing them. Most of these rules cause so much confusion that it's no wonder there are minor violations every year by virtually every institution in the country. Who can keep up with all of them?
I'm glad I have a general understanding of the bylaws and what's allowed and what's not, but like accounting, I'm glad there are compliance departments who can keep track of all of this because there is just way too much to stay on top of! I also learned that if you're not sure, ask. Because while in some cases it's better to jump first and ask forgiveness later, sometimes it's not and you never want to play with a student-athlete's career, because if you put it in jeopardy it will come back to bite you.
Who are our student-athletes - Reflection on Wk. 4
Week 4 brought us into a class titled Student Populations & Experiences in Higher Education. I'm not naive enough to think that everyone entering any given college has had the same upbringing or background. I realize they haven't all been lucky enough to have a top notch high school education nor the family support or ability to help them through these developmental years. And yet the glaring inequities and the variance in the scale of what parents can and are willing to provide their children opens eyes and breaks hearts.
On the one end, you've got the parents we were introduced to when we looked at the book Game On by Tom Farrey. The parents in this book started training, coaching, teaching and pushing their kids almost from the day they were born. This attention and drive, or in my opinion over attention and pressure, on children at that young an age scares me. I look at that and all I can see is the future for these kids: over-specializing at an early age, burn-out, resentment, and lack of a real childhood. Parents pushing these children to be the best so young means these parents are determining their kids lives for them before they even have a say in it. They're raising athletes, not young boys and girls. When do the kids just get to be kids?
On the other end you've got the kids who are coming from nothing. They don't have the resources to have the top of the line equipment or facilities, and they're raised with the impression that professional sports or entertainment are the only ways they are going to have to "escape" their hometowns. These students focus so much on their athletics growing up that their academics are rarely up to par, and they are frequently admitted to schools through special-admits for their athletics not their academics which only perpetuates the problem, as these students continue to focus on their athletics in order to keep their scholarships rather than on their academics. Many times the schools are forced to accept these students, knowing they don't have the services to assist them academically, which robs the student of the complete experience.
This class made me really look at the sort of services provided to student-athletes at different universities and to establish a "best practices" proposal that I would like to see at any university I work at. It makes you think hard about the different services an institution needs, to be able to meet the academic, athletic, social, and personal needs of its athletes so that they may get the most out of their college experience. I also realized that it may be more of a challenge than I expected. You've got to merge the children of both of the above examples and make sure that you're providing the proper services and support to them to not only help them, but assuage their parents and get them to let go for a bit and finally just let the kids be kids.
Bring it on, Challenge. I'm ready.
On the one end, you've got the parents we were introduced to when we looked at the book Game On by Tom Farrey. The parents in this book started training, coaching, teaching and pushing their kids almost from the day they were born. This attention and drive, or in my opinion over attention and pressure, on children at that young an age scares me. I look at that and all I can see is the future for these kids: over-specializing at an early age, burn-out, resentment, and lack of a real childhood. Parents pushing these children to be the best so young means these parents are determining their kids lives for them before they even have a say in it. They're raising athletes, not young boys and girls. When do the kids just get to be kids?
On the other end you've got the kids who are coming from nothing. They don't have the resources to have the top of the line equipment or facilities, and they're raised with the impression that professional sports or entertainment are the only ways they are going to have to "escape" their hometowns. These students focus so much on their athletics growing up that their academics are rarely up to par, and they are frequently admitted to schools through special-admits for their athletics not their academics which only perpetuates the problem, as these students continue to focus on their athletics in order to keep their scholarships rather than on their academics. Many times the schools are forced to accept these students, knowing they don't have the services to assist them academically, which robs the student of the complete experience.
This class made me really look at the sort of services provided to student-athletes at different universities and to establish a "best practices" proposal that I would like to see at any university I work at. It makes you think hard about the different services an institution needs, to be able to meet the academic, athletic, social, and personal needs of its athletes so that they may get the most out of their college experience. I also realized that it may be more of a challenge than I expected. You've got to merge the children of both of the above examples and make sure that you're providing the proper services and support to them to not only help them, but assuage their parents and get them to let go for a bit and finally just let the kids be kids.
Bring it on, Challenge. I'm ready.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Know what you don't know - Reflection on Wk. 3
I was never good with accounting. I passed my undergraduate accounting classes because I had an awesome TA who was able to make the complicated seem easy. That doesn't mean I don't understand the importance of having at least a basic understanding of accounting concepts, procedures and policies. As a business owner I understand them all to well.
Coming away from our class in Budgeting and Financial Reporting in Intercollegiate Athletics, I have a renewed respect for having a basic understanding of accounting. We entered this class and were told to "know what you don't know". We're not expected to be accountants. For some of us that wouldn't be the best career path. But in knowing what we don't know, we then also know where we need to find people to help us with those things. To find the experts.
Having the basic knowledge though can only be beneficial for us as administrators in intercollegiate athletics because if we have the ability to see the whole picture even if we don't understand the nuts and bolts, it will put us a step ahead. If I can look at a balance sheet or an income statement and see that something isn't adding up properly, even if I don't know what it is exactly, I can then have the people who do know take a look and figure out where the error is. Even having the most basic understanding will give me that much more insight into my athletics department and how it runs and how it's financed, so that I might have a better grasp on the overall picture. By understanding how things are recorded, what transactions are made and when, allows leaders to make informed decisions about moving a department forward. By noting trends or where the money is going, you can make an informed decision on whether you really can afford the new coach's salary or whether the soccer team gets new uniforms this year.
I understand that I will never be a CPA (there's a reason I didn't select that as my major in undergrad), and I thank the powers that be that there are accounting departments to help out with that sort of thing. But I do also understand the importance of being able to grasp even the littlest bit of information as it pertains to my department's finances and budgets so that it can function successfully and I can make informed decisions to enable it to do so.
Coming away from our class in Budgeting and Financial Reporting in Intercollegiate Athletics, I have a renewed respect for having a basic understanding of accounting. We entered this class and were told to "know what you don't know". We're not expected to be accountants. For some of us that wouldn't be the best career path. But in knowing what we don't know, we then also know where we need to find people to help us with those things. To find the experts.
Having the basic knowledge though can only be beneficial for us as administrators in intercollegiate athletics because if we have the ability to see the whole picture even if we don't understand the nuts and bolts, it will put us a step ahead. If I can look at a balance sheet or an income statement and see that something isn't adding up properly, even if I don't know what it is exactly, I can then have the people who do know take a look and figure out where the error is. Even having the most basic understanding will give me that much more insight into my athletics department and how it runs and how it's financed, so that I might have a better grasp on the overall picture. By understanding how things are recorded, what transactions are made and when, allows leaders to make informed decisions about moving a department forward. By noting trends or where the money is going, you can make an informed decision on whether you really can afford the new coach's salary or whether the soccer team gets new uniforms this year.
I understand that I will never be a CPA (there's a reason I didn't select that as my major in undergrad), and I thank the powers that be that there are accounting departments to help out with that sort of thing. But I do also understand the importance of being able to grasp even the littlest bit of information as it pertains to my department's finances and budgets so that it can function successfully and I can make informed decisions to enable it to do so.
You've got to stand for something - Reflection on Wk. 2
I realize I'm behind a bit on my posting. Each of these should have gone up immediately following the class each week, but I'm finally catching up and you will now get to see my foundational nuggets from each class.
After week 2, the key point I came away with was that
You have to stand for something. If you don't you'll fall for anything.
This stuck with me because I feel that I have always tried to stand for something in everything I do. In my life I've always tried to stand up for the underdog, the underrepresented, and the unheard. It's in my nature.
Through this class we came to realize that there are many challenges facing intercollegiate athletics today that are only going to continue to grow unless someone steps in and makes a change. That someone is going to have to be my classmates and me. The new blood infusing the world of intercollegiate athletics administration. We will be the change makers. The ones to end the battles that were started many years ago.
As I mentioned in my last post, we also took a good look at where our moral compass pointed. For me family and integrity were the 2 values that I simply couldn't give up. The strength of these two values I think will do well for me in my future career.
By forcing us to boil everything down to the most basic concepts we now know where we stand on many different topics and issues, which will enable us to enter the industry with a clear head and an understanding of where we are and where we want to go.
After week 2, the key point I came away with was that
You have to stand for something. If you don't you'll fall for anything.
This stuck with me because I feel that I have always tried to stand for something in everything I do. In my life I've always tried to stand up for the underdog, the underrepresented, and the unheard. It's in my nature.
Through this class we came to realize that there are many challenges facing intercollegiate athletics today that are only going to continue to grow unless someone steps in and makes a change. That someone is going to have to be my classmates and me. The new blood infusing the world of intercollegiate athletics administration. We will be the change makers. The ones to end the battles that were started many years ago.
As I mentioned in my last post, we also took a good look at where our moral compass pointed. For me family and integrity were the 2 values that I simply couldn't give up. The strength of these two values I think will do well for me in my future career.
By forcing us to boil everything down to the most basic concepts we now know where we stand on many different topics and issues, which will enable us to enter the industry with a clear head and an understanding of where we are and where we want to go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)