athletic management 24.2

February/March 2012 Vol. XXIV, No. 2 $7.00

Better ScoresNew ideas in academic support

› Rethinking Homecoming › Success in Fundraising › Coaches as Teachers › Gym Surfaces

February/March 2012 Vol. XXIV, No. 2 $7.00

Big Graphics.Big Impact.

BigSigns.comIf you are looking for big graphics for your stadium or facility that make a big impact, BigSigns.com is the place to go. We are experts at designing, manufacturing and installing creative, impactful, stadium graphics that revitalize even the most tired facilities. We have an array of products to meet almost any need and a creative staff that will make your brand stand out. If you are looking to elevate your athletic program’s profile, improve recruiting success and enhance the fan experience with big, dynamic stadium graphics, BigSigns.com is your only choice. Visit our website to see why. Big Graphics. Big Impact. BigSigns.com.

800 790 7611Circle No. 100

ADVANCE | MONDOSPORT I I | MONDOFLEX I I

RAMFLEX | SPORT IMPACT | SPORTFLEX

8 0 0 3 6 1 3 7 4 7 m o n d o @ m o n d o u s a . c o mW W W. M O N D O W O R L D W I D E . C O M

INDOOR

From basketball to badminton, volleyball to tennis,Mondo has the solution for your indoor sport.

Circle No. 100

28 COVER STORY Better Scores At just about every level of play, tougher academic standards are being put in place

or at least discussed. Schools are responding with exciting and innovative ideas to boost grades.

36 FUNDRAISING Breaking New Ground How do you transform an athletic program from an afterthought to a story of

success? At Stony Brook University, a comprehensive and detailed fundraising strategy has been one of the shovels helping to break new ground.

43 COACHING Timeless Lessons Encouraging your coaches to take a page from the Wizard of Westwood can turn

them into teachers, and have a profound effect.

49 PROGRESSIVE PROGRAMS Accepting the Challenge At the University of Oregon, student-athletes are learning the art of teamwork

and communication through a for-credit class called “The Leadership Challenge.”

55 FACILITIES Floor Factors Before purchasing a new gym floor, consider the latest developments in what’s

underfoot: evolving subfloor systems, new standards, and the use of green materials.

63 PRODUCT NEWS Indoor Facilities This section features our annual Guide to Indoor Flooring, ideas for designing an athletic

training room, antimicrobial products, and gymnasium components.

ON THE COVER Jared Cunningham scores for Oregon State University, one of the schools profiled in our cover

story for its successful academic support program. Story begins on page 28.

Contents

AthleticManagement.com | FEB/MAR 2012 1

Feb/March 2012 Vol. XXIV, No. 2

WARMUP

4 New MediaGoing mobile

9 Coaching High school vs. AAU

10 Program GrowthMixing genders

12 Alumni RelationsRethinking homecoming

14 Budget CutsLeaving buses idle

Q&A 17 Denisha Hendricks

Kentucky State University

GAMEPLANS 21 When Drills Go Bad By Dr. Richard P. Borkowski

25 Mentoring Coaches By Holly Gera

72 Advertisers Directory

80 Next Stop: Web Site

4936

10

43

VOL. XXIV, NO. 2 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012

2 FEB/MAR 2012 | AthleticManagement.com

Editorial Board

Elizabeth “Betsy” A. Alden, PhD, President, Alden & Associates, Inc.

Craig Bogar, EdD, Dean of Student Services/Instructor, United States Sports Academy

Dan Cardone, Athletic Director, North Hills High School, Pa.

James Conn, PhD, Professor, Dept. of Health & Human Performance, Central Missouri State University

Robert Corran, PhD, Director of Athletics, University of Vermont

James Cox, Facilities and Events Coordinator and Adjunct Professor, Barry University

Joan Cronan, Women’s Athletic Director, University of Tennessee

Roger Crosley, Coordinator of Athletic Operations, Emerson College

Bernie DePalma, Head Athletic Trainer/Physical Therapist, Cornell University

Tom Douple, Commissioner, Mid-Continent Conference

Jay Gardiner, Director of Athletics, Oglethorpe University

Dale Gibson, EdD, Chair, Dept. of Education and Sport Management, Tusculum College

Tom Gioglio, EdD, Director of Athletics, East Stroudsburg University

Mike Glazier, Partner, Bond, Schoeneck & King

Steve Green, Deputy Director of Athletics, Northwestern University

Kevin Hatcher, Athletic Director, Cal State San Bernardino

Phillip Hossler, ATC, Athletic Trainer, East Brunswick High School, N.J.

E. Newton Jackson, Jr., PhD, Professor of Sport Management and Chair, University of North Florida

Dick Kemper, CMAA, Executive Director, Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association

Bob Knickerbocker, Athletic Equipment Coordinator, Michigan State University

John Knorr, EdD, Professor of Kinesiology, former Director of Athletics, St. Edward’s University

Donald Lowe, MA, ATC, Chairman of the Board, College Athletic Trainers' Society

Robert Mathner, PhD, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Troy University

Tim Neal, Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Medicine, Syracuse University

Fred Nuesch, Coordinator of Athletic External Affairs, Texas A&M-Kingsville

Jamie Plunkett, Head Athletic Trainer, Allegheny College

Chris Ritrievi, Vice President of Development, Indiana University

Matthew J. Robinson, EdD, Associate Professor/Director of Sport Management Program,

University of Delaware

Calli Theisen Sanders, EdD, Senior Associate Athletics Director, Iowa State University

Terry Schlatter, EMC, Equipment Manager, University of Wisconsin

Tim Slauter, CMAA, Assistant Principal, West Lafayette High School, Ind.

Michael Slive, Commissioner, Southeastern Conference

Donald Staffo, PhD, Dept. Chair, Health, Phys. Ed., & Rec., Stillman College

Ellen Staurowsky, EdD, Professor of Sport Management, Drexel University

William F. Stier, Jr., EdD, Director of Sport Management/ Coor dinator of Sport Coaching, State University

of New York at Brockport

Lou Strasberg, University Travel Coordinator, The University of Memphis

E. Michael Stutzke, CMAA, Athletic Director, Sebastian River High School, Fla.

Michael Thomas, Director of Athletics, University of Illinois

Troy Tucker, Athletic Director, Northampton Community College

Michael Vienna, PhD, Athletic Director, Salisbury University

Randy Warrick, Athletic Director, University of South Carolina at Aiken

William Whitehill, EdD, ATC, Director, Athletic Training Curriculum, Middle Tennessee State University

Sister Lynn Winsor, BVM, CMAA, Athletic Director, Xavier College Preparatory, Ariz.

Tom Yeager, Commissioner, Colonial Athletic Association

PUBLISHER Mark Goldberg

EDITOR IN CHIEF Eleanor Frankel

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Dennis Read, Abigail Funk

ASSISTANT EDITORS RJ Anderson, Patrick Bohn, Mike Phelps, Kristin Maki

ART DIRECTOR Pamela Crawford

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR David Dubin

CIRCULATION MANAGER Sandra Earle

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Maria Bise

GRAPHIC ARTIST Trish Landsparger

PREPRESS MANAGER Neal Betts

BUSINESS MANAGER Pennie Small

SPECIAL PROJECTS Natalie Couch, Dave Wohlhueter

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Sharon Barbell

MARKETING DIRECTOR Sheryl Shaffer

AD MATERIALS COORDINATOR Mike Townsend

BUSINESS & EDITORIAL OFFICES

20 Eastlake Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850 Phone: (607) 257-6970, Fax: (607) 257-7328 e-mail: [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATES

Diedra Harkenrider, (607) 257-6970, ext. 24 Pat Wertman, (607) 257-6970, ext. 21

Athletic Management (ISSN 1554-2033) is published bimonthly for a total of 6 times a year, by MAG, Inc., 20 Eastlake Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Athletic Management is distributed without charge to qualified high school and collegiate athletic program and athletic facilities person-nel. The paid subscription rate is $24 for one year/six issues in the United States and $30.00 in Canada. The single copy price is $7. Copyright ©2012 by MAG, Inc. All rights reserved. Text may not be reproduced in any manner, in whole or in part, without permission of the publisher. Unsolicited materials will not be returned unless accom-panied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Periodicals postage paid at Ithaca, NY, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Athletic Management, P.O. Box 4806, Ithaca, NY 14852-4806.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

job number:

date:

client:

advertiser:

please contact thelab at 212-209-1333 with any questions or concerns regarding these materials.

dtp: color: cs: acct: client:

50672_B1_C1-4

10/06/11

MGB

SHA

Circle No. 101

job number:

date:

client:

advertiser:

please contact thelab at 212-209-1333 with any questions or concerns regarding these materials.

dtp: color: cs: acct: client:

50672_B1_C1-4

10/06/11

MGB

SHA

Circle No. 101

IF IT SEEMS LIKE MORE AND MORE FANS AT YOUR CONTESTS HAVE HIGH-END MOBILE DEVICES IN THEIR HANDS, that’s because more and more people are valu-ing the features they unlock. A recent survey from the Nielsen Group found that of mobile phone-owning adults aged 18-24 and 35-44, nearly 54 percent own smartphones—a 20 percent increase from three years ago. That num-ber jumps even higher for those in the 25-34 age bracket, as 62 percent of that group owns smart-phones.

In response, college ath-letic departments are work-ing hard to create mobile applications and sites that satisfy fans’ thirst for cutting-edge access to teams and enhanced gameday experi-ences. Nowhere is this more evident than at Stanford Uni-versity, where a new online venture combines a number of Internet-based elements to enhance the Cardinal fan experience.

Stanford’s initiative starts by offering free Wi-Fi at athletic venues. Once logged in, fans

THE NCAA WILL BEGIN ITS FIRST SEASON OF SAND VOLLEYBALL THIS SPRING, AND HIGH SCHOOLS MIGHT NOT BE FAR BEHIND. In mid-October, the Ari-zona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Executive Board approved a pilot program for girls’ sand volleyball, becoming the first state association to do so.

As of January, 10 schools had committed to adding the sport and a maximum of 32 teams will be allowed. The season will run from early February until April.

“It’s an oppor-tunity for young ladies to participate in an emerging

sport and for us to see what kind of buy-in we will get from the schools,” says AIA Associate Executive Director Chuck Schmidt. “We’re going to test it, work out the kinks, and hopefully next year it will be introduced as a sanc-tioned sport.”

One school that has agreed to participate is Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix. An all-female school of approxi-mately 1,200 students, Xavier College Prep frequently has strong turnouts for sports teams (90 students tried out for indoor volleyball this past fall), so when Athletic Director Sister Lynn Winsor heard the pilot program was approved, she immediately contacted her existing volleyball coaching staff.

“Two of the coaches said they’d love to be pioneers in the sport, and were willing to coach the sand team for no additional pay,” Winsor says. “Many of our girls who already play volleyball are also on club teams, and I don’t imagine they’ll all be playing sand, so this should create an opportunity for other students.”

Sand volleyball squads in Arizona will have five two-player teams, with two alternates, and contests will be scored similar to tennis (and NCAA sand volleyball). Schmidt says there are plenty of sand volleyball facilities in the state and some school districts have even stated that they will consider building courts at central locations in their districts if the sport gains traction.

Xavier College Prep, competing this past fall in the above photo, will be one of at least 10 high schools in Arizona to offer sand volleyball this spring.


WarmUp

High School News

ADDING SAND

of the football, volleyball, and men’s and women’s bas-ketball teams have access to a mobile device-friendly Web site called “Stanford Game-day Live!” (www.stanfordgdl.com) that offers in-game video replays and updated statistics from the contest.

A second aspect of Stan-ford’s fan enhancement push is the free iCardinal mobile app that works with iOS (iPhone) and Android operating systems, the two most popular operating environments for smart-phones. In addition to inte-grating with the Gameday Live Web site, iCardinal links to the school’s social media platforms—such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—allowing fans to share their own photos, videos, and comments.

The app also includes tools that provide fans with great-er event convenience. For example, spectators at Car-

www.gostanford.com/ot/mobile-initiatives.html

New Media

SMART IDEAS

Circle No. 102

dinal football games can use the app to locate their vehicles in crowded parking lots when exiting the stadium. For those attending contests at Stan-ford Stadium and Maples Pavilion, the school invites them to place a food or drink order from their seat using a mobile device and pay for it with a credit or debit card. Once their order is ready, a text message is sent notifying them that their food can be retrieved using a dedicated “Bypass Lane” located at one of the venue’s concession stands.

“We are excited about these mobile technology initiatives and are proud that they sup-port the spirit of leadership and innovation that character-izes Stanford University,” says Stanford Director of Athletics Bob Bowlsby. “From a busi-ness perspective, our athletics department recognizes the need to evolve our methods alongside broader changes

in technology and consumer preferences.”

Seattle University is another school focused on reaching fans through mobile devices. Since its return to NCAA Division I in 2009, the athletic program has worked hard to increase exposure for its teams and one of its endeav-

6 JUNE/JULY 2009 | AthleticManagement.com6 FEB/MAR 2012 | AthleticManagement.com

ors was the recent creation of an iPhone app. Entitled “GoSeattleU” and available for free through the iPhone App Store, it provides updat-ed stories, scores, schedules, and athlete bios for the school’s 17 teams.

Seattle University Associate Athletic Director Eric Guerra

says the app’s ease of use has struck a chord with the school’s fan base. “It’s great because you can add it instantly, on the spot,” he told the Catholic Sports Journal. “We see a spike in people adding the app dur-ing announcements at games. We can track exactly when people add the app, and that’s beneficial.”

The app’s success has spurred Seattle University to investi-gate adding an Android appli-cation in the near future and an iPad app a little further down the road. It is currently working on a paid app fans will be able to purchase to access streaming video and additional features.

“People like to see live con-tent and immediate informa-tion,” Guerra said. “They like to see and hear the game. This would be featured on a premium app, including the possibility to even purchase tickets through it. It’s all

Click on “Mobile Site” in top right hand corner at: www.goseattleu.com

Circle No. 103 Circle No. 104

High-performancefitness flooring for the most

demanding environments.

www.humanemfg.com800.369.6263

about creating excitement through the phones to reach our alumni, fans, and poten-tial students.”

In a move to both improve the game-day experience and cut printing costs, the athletic department at Gallaudet Uni-versity has been experiment-ing with Quick Response (QR) code technology to replace traditional game programs, which they are now only print-ing in limited amounts. A QR code is a computer-generated two-dimensional black and white square that can be read by cameras on smartphones and tablets (such as an iPad) to immediately link it to a mobile device-friendly Web site.

Starting in September, the Gallaudet sports information department began display-ing posters featuring a QR code—and instructions for its use—at game venues. Once the code is scanned in, it is stored in the mobile device


WarmUp

and fans have access to that team’s game program for the entire season with informa-tion updated before each contest. The stored code also allows fans who can’t attend a game to have access to real-time stats and live video from an event.

“It is important for us to utilize mobile technology,” says Gallaudet Sports Infor-mation Director Sam Atkin-son. “We have noticed over the past two years the large amount of printed game programs not being used and later recycled. Now we can send our fans to our Web site where we have set up a Game Day Program area with links to the information they want. Plus, now we are not limited to the amount of information we can share, unlike printed programs, and we can rest assured the information is current and up-to-date.”

www.gallaudetathletics.com/news/2011-12/qrprograms

Gallaudet University QR Code

Circle No. 105

GR

EG M

INTEL

Antiwave Pool ProductsCorrie Lloyd, Project Manager | 521 S Stemmons | Sanger, Texas 76266

Office: 866-736-2183 ext 13 | Fax: 940-458-4943 | E-Mail: [email protected] | Site: www.antiwave.com

“Simply the Best in meeting your aquatic equipment needs”

Lane Lines & Lane Storage – Water Polo Goals and Courses

l Two Competitive Sizes: We offer lanes lines in a

4.75 or 6 inch discs

l Custom Lane Lines: We can build any length.

l Largest Color Selection: We offer seventeen colors.

l Custom Colors: We can match your colors.

l Fastest Lead Time: We ship within two weeks

of the order.

l Our Patented Supertensioner: No wrench required

to tighten your lines and provides twice the tension as other

items like it.

l 3 Year Warranty: We stand behind all our products.

l Extended Life of the Lane Line: We use an

additive to help against Breakage or color fading.

l Competitive & Recreational Racing Lanes

l Water Polo Fields and Goals

l Storage Reels

l Supertensioners

l Starting Block

FACTS:FA :

Circle No. 106

In late October, Carrington organized a symposium to which he invited high school coaches, AAU coaches, and media members in the state, with the goal of beginning a discussion about the conflict. “There’s a gap between the two groups that needs to be bridged,” Carrington says. “If we as coaches all have the athletes’ best interests in mind, we all need to be on the same page—and right now we’re not.”

Nearly 30 coaches met and covered several topics. Areas of discussion included the influence coaches have over their players; a coach’s role in a player’s eligibility, character, and discipline; a coach’s role in educating parents; and the vis-ibility of AAU and high school coaches during their “off” seasons. The agenda allotted between 10 and 25 minutes per subject with coaches exchanging thoughts and looking for common ground.

“I feel one of the biggest problems we have is the issue of a player’s eligibility and character development,” Carrington says. “Let’s say an athlete gets kicked off his high school team as a junior because of his grades or not handling himself correctly. It’s not that big a deal to him if he knows he can just turn around and play AAU ball. I feel there needs to be some type of model where AAU players, just like high school players, need to have a cer-tain GPA and meet certain other standards to be able to play.”

The coaches at the symposium also discussed the need to recognize that players may fill different roles on differ-ent teams. “We came to a common understanding that just because a kid is playing point guard for his AAU squad

doesn’t mean he should be the point guard for his high school team,” Carrington says. “We talked about communicating to the kids and their parents that they have to listen and do what each coach needs them to do to be successful, not just one or the other.”

Carrington would also like to see AAU programs—and especially the players and their parents—focus less on college scholarships. “When I played, the coaches preached to us day in and day out that we were playing AAU ball to improve our game by compet-ing with and against some of the best talent in the area,” he says. “We never had the mindset that we were playing to get a college scholarship. As a result, there wasn’t the selfishness or craziness with parents moving kids from program to program that we see now. If we can get back to that point I think we’ll see a big difference in attitudes.”

Carrington will broaden the audience for his next meet-ing, which he expects to hold in the spring, inviting players’ parents (but not the players themselves). He also plans to have both a college academic advisor and a compliance staffer participate and will ask the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and the AAU to send repre-sentatives as well.

He foresees that this next meeting may be more contentious.“At the first meeting everyone was very respectful,” says Carrington. “To get to the root of the problems and solve them, however, it might have to get a little heated. It’s not going to be all berries and smiles.”

Carrington also hopes to broaden the audience of AAU coaches. “We had ESPN

Coaching

IN THE SAME ROOM

GR

EG M

INTEL

Marque Carrington, Head Boys’ Basketball Coach at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, N.C., organized a symposium last October to help high school and AAU boys’ basketball coaches discuss their differences and issues in the sport. He is planning a follow-up meeting this spring.

recruiting analyst Dave Telep serve as the moderator at the initial meeting and the first thing he said was, ‘You’re all here on a Saturday morn-ing at 8:30 and you traveled across the state on your own dime, so you’re probably one of the good guys,’” Car-rington says. “Now, I feel we have to get some of the guys who are not holding players to a high standard to join us.

“I plan to do some research to find out who these ‘other’

It’s no secret that high school and AAU boys’ basketball coaches don’t always see eye-to-eye. In North Carolina, Marque Carrington, Head Boys’ Basketball Coach at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, is trying to do something about that.

coaches are,” he continues. “Then I’ll put some pressure on them and say, ‘You say you want to do this and that for your players, so let’s do it. Let’s sit down so we can help these players.’ And if they don’t get involved, their name and organization are going to be exposed.”

Carrington’s advice for individ-ual high school coaches inter-ested in tackling the conflicts is to try to bridge the gap with their AAU counterparts. “You have to find out who your kids are playing for in the summer and establish relationships with those coaches,” he says. “It’s not about saying to an AAU coach, ‘You don’t know what you’re doing.’ It is about looking out for the best inter-ests of the kids.”

WarmUp



WarmUp

A small school with 1,200 students, St. Joseph’s College in New York City competes with numerous pro-fessional teams and NCAA Division I schools for local media coverage. But this past fall, St. Joseph’s generated some rare attention for what Athletic Director Frank Carbone considered a rather straightforward decision.

After fielding a co-ed club soccer team for the past few years, the school added men’s soccer in 2011 as part of its move into NCAA Division III, which became official on Sept. 1. With the women’s soccer program not starting until 2012, Carbone decided that any females with sufficient ability would be welcome to join the men’s squad.

Six of them did, with several receiving substantial playing time. Freshman Shannon Rom started all 13 games on defense for the Bears while midfielder Daniela Semilla started 11 and for-ward Christina Abbate started nine.

That caught the attention of two of the city’s major newspapers. “We’ve done some nice things to improve our department recently, but the New York Times and Daily News don’t call us every day,” Carbone says. “The News gave us a full page article right next to a piece on the Jets, and the Times also covered the story. It was nice for people on campus to see that.”

Although publicity was not a factor in Carbone’s decision to field a mixed-gender team, the move has already paid dividends. “I was surprised by the attention, because we didn’t see this as any kind of groundbreaking venture,” he says. “But it has really helped with recruiting, and we’ve had a ton of prospective players visit the campus.”

Program Growth

MIXING GENDERS

St. Joseph sophomore forward Cynthia Gambino was one of six females to compete for the school’s men’s soccer team this year.

ST. JOSEPH

S CO

LLEGE(B

RO

OK

LYN

)/SPOR

TS INFO

RM

ATIO

N

Circle No. 107

Synthetic turf technology has greatly improved with time. It is called “progress” and the word is synonymous with change and improvements. While better in many ways over the old

ones, these new turf systems also have their own problems, which we think could be solved by total glue-down instead of loose-laying turf. More people are realizing that the higher quality and higher initial cost of a total glue-down is worth it in the short run and even more so in the long run.

HISTORY - In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, artificial grass/synthetic turf began to make its mark as an alternative surface in areas where natural grass could not perform such as: a) athletic fields – especially after bad weather or heavily used fields, b) in high foot traffic areas without athletic activities, c) when maintenance is a hazard like highway median strips, d) in areas where grass growing is a problem such as: the desert, boat docks, around swimming pools and areas devoid of sunlight.

In the beginning, most good synthetic turf installations were totally glued-down on both hard surfaces or flexible shock absor-bent bases. However, there were problems with the older turf systems (not related to the adhesive) so a slow evolution began to take place, which eventually led to new and better synthetic turfs; loose-laying the turf over crushed stones instead of gluing to a uniform sub-surface; by simply gluing only 6 inches or less of each side of the turf to seaming tape or even less joining area by sewing (called loose-laying). Then sand and/or rubber granules (called infill) is sprinkled or combed between the grass blades. The newer loose-laid systems with infill have their benefits but the major reason for their selection over total glue downs is their much lower price but not better performance.

Even when infill continues to be used, we think that many of the problems and expenses of repairing loose-laid systems could be prevented and/or avoided if the 15 foot wide turf rolls were totally glued down to a hard or shock absorbent sub-surface.

LOOSE-LAY SEAMS ARE THE BIG BAD WOLF -Artificial turf surfaces that are used for athletic fields, playgrounds, landscaping and other applications, are basically rolls of engi-neered high-tech carpet joined to make one piece that covers the entire surface. In trade jargon, the joining is called “seaming”. Ad-ditional seams are created by purposely cutting or shaving the turf in order to insert lines, logos, numbers and different colored turfs.

An artificial turf surface is only as good as its joined seams because, historically seams are the weakest link of a good synthetic turf installation. Hence, from a seam standpoint, total glue downs are by far the best because high stress from athletic activities, maintenance vehicles, dimensional turf movement such as

expansion and/or contraction due to hourly and day-to-day changes in weather conditions (hot, cold, wet, dry, wind, etc.) are distributed over the entire installation instead of concentrating it only at narrowly joined seams like loose-lay installations. Total glue downs also prevent game line movement (“dancing lines” in trade jargon).

Whether they are 15 foot wide turf rolls or smaller inserts, strong and tightly bonded seams are essential not only for aesthet-ic purposes, but also to avoid injuries from dangerous installations and hazards like tripping or other injuries due to an open seam or shifting turf.

While the types of loose-lay installations that fill the turf matrix with sand and/or rubber granules hold the turf down due to gravity, they do not eliminate either lateral seam stresses and/or line

movement. Also, infill does not hold the turf down when wind gets under the loose-laid turf, causing the turf to act like a sail. A seam break, whether it be accidental due to high stress or an intentionally cut sewn seam by vandals, can cause a completely loose field. Hence, instead of a small localized and easily fixable seam problem of a total glue down, it is often a major problem with a loose-lay. Also, thieves can cut and

remove large sections of loose-laid turf for their home use or to disrupt an upcoming event.

It was easy to remember the problems with the older systems, especially when new problems with the loose-lay systems had not had enough time to surface. It’s no longer the case now that the aging problems of loose-laid installation have surfaced such as: broken or unraveled seams resulting in the entire installation being loose; infill getting underneath cut turf or open seams which must first be removed before repairs; shifting lines, numbers, logos, etc. due to expansion, contraction or machinery moving on the turf; vandalism, such as cutting sewn or glued loose-laid seams; and thievery by cutting and removing a large section of turf.

VALUE SUMMARY BY ANALOGY - We think total glue-downs are gold and loose-lays are silver.

SYNTHETIC TURF: TOTAL GLUE-DOWNS ARE JUSTIFIABLY COMING BACK

Norris Legue is a chemist and President of Synthetic Surfaces Inc. (www.nordot.com). In about 1969, he invented the first urethane adhesive that was used successfully to install synthetic turf athletic fields. His company’s new generations of NORDOT® Adhesives are used to install synthetic turf more than any other adhesive in the world. His peers have dubbed him the “Guru of Glue®”.

Total glue-down by spraying Total glue-down by squeegee Loose-laid narrow seams over stone

Total glue-downs are gold and loose-lays

are silver

Advertisement

SynSur1011_working.indd 1 9/7/11 2:43 PMAB10_SynSur1011.indd 1 2/1/12 10:19 AM

Synthetic turf technology has greatly improved with time. It is called “progress” and the word is synonymous with change and improvements. While better in many ways over the old

ones, these new turf systems also have their own problems, which we think could be solved by total glue-down instead of loose-laying turf. More people are realizing that the higher quality and higher initial cost of a total glue-down is worth it in the short run and even more so in the long run.

HISTORY - In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, artificial grass/synthetic turf began to make its mark as an alternative surface in areas where natural grass could not perform such as: a) athletic fields – especially after bad weather or heavily used fields, b) in high foot traffic areas without athletic activities, c) when maintenance is a hazard like highway median strips, d) in areas where grass growing is a problem such as: the desert, boat docks, around swimming pools and areas devoid of sunlight.

In the beginning, most good synthetic turf installations were totally glued-down on both hard surfaces or flexible shock absor-bent bases. However, there were problems with the older turf systems (not related to the adhesive) so a slow evolution began to take place, which eventually led to new and better synthetic turfs; loose-laying the turf over crushed stones instead of gluing to a uniform sub-surface; by simply gluing only 6 inches or less of each side of the turf to seaming tape or even less joining area by sewing (called loose-laying). Then sand and/or rubber granules (called infill) is sprinkled or combed between the grass blades. The newer loose-laid systems with infill have their benefits but the major reason for their selection over total glue downs is their much lower price but not better performance.

Even when infill continues to be used, we think that many of the problems and expenses of repairing loose-laid systems could be prevented and/or avoided if the 15 foot wide turf rolls were totally glued down to a hard or shock absorbent sub-surface.

LOOSE-LAY SEAMS ARE THE BIG BAD WOLF -Artificial turf surfaces that are used for athletic fields, playgrounds, landscaping and other applications, are basically rolls of engi-neered high-tech carpet joined to make one piece that covers the entire surface. In trade jargon, the joining is called “seaming”. Ad-ditional seams are created by purposely cutting or shaving the turf in order to insert lines, logos, numbers and different colored turfs.

An artificial turf surface is only as good as its joined seams because, historically seams are the weakest link of a good synthetic turf installation. Hence, from a seam standpoint, total glue downs are by far the best because high stress from athletic activities, maintenance vehicles, dimensional turf movement such as

expansion and/or contraction due to hourly and day-to-day changes in weather conditions (hot, cold, wet, dry, wind, etc.) are distributed over the entire installation instead of concentrating it only at narrowly joined seams like loose-lay installations. Total glue downs also prevent game line movement (“dancing lines” in trade jargon).

Whether they are 15 foot wide turf rolls or smaller inserts, strong and tightly bonded seams are essential not only for aesthet-ic purposes, but also to avoid injuries from dangerous installations and hazards like tripping or other injuries due to an open seam or shifting turf.

While the types of loose-lay installations that fill the turf matrix with sand and/or rubber granules hold the turf down due to gravity, they do not eliminate either lateral seam stresses and/or line

movement. Also, infill does not hold the turf down when wind gets under the loose-laid turf, causing the turf to act like a sail. A seam break, whether it be accidental due to high stress or an intentionally cut sewn seam by vandals, can cause a completely loose field. Hence, instead of a small localized and easily fixable seam problem of a total glue down, it is often a major problem with a loose-lay. Also, thieves can cut and

remove large sections of loose-laid turf for their home use or to disrupt an upcoming event.

It was easy to remember the problems with the older systems, especially when new problems with the loose-lay systems had not had enough time to surface. It’s no longer the case now that the aging problems of loose-laid installation have surfaced such as: broken or unraveled seams resulting in the entire installation being loose; infill getting underneath cut turf or open seams which must first be removed before repairs; shifting lines, numbers, logos, etc. due to expansion, contraction or machinery moving on the turf; vandalism, such as cutting sewn or glued loose-laid seams; and thievery by cutting and removing a large section of turf.

VALUE SUMMARY BY ANALOGY - We think total glue-downs are gold and loose-lays are silver.

SYNTHETIC TURF: TOTAL GLUE-DOWNS ARE JUSTIFIABLY COMING BACK

Norris Legue is a chemist and President of Synthetic Surfaces Inc. (www.nordot.com). In about 1969, he invented the first urethane adhesive that was used successfully to install synthetic turf athletic fields. His company’s new generations of NORDOT® Adhesives are used to install synthetic turf more than any other adhesive in the world. His peers have dubbed him the “Guru of Glue®”.

Total glue-down by spraying Total glue-down by squeegee Loose-laid narrow seams over stone

Total glue-downs are gold and loose-lays

are silver

Advertisement

SynSur1011_working.indd 1 9/7/11 2:43 PMAB10_SynSur1011.indd 1 2/1/12 10:19 AM

Circle No. 108


FOR MANY COLLEGES, HOMECOMING WEEKEND IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE FALL SEMESTER—IF NOT THE ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR. So why would a school elimi-nate it? St. Cloud State Uni-versity decided to do away with a traditional homecom-ing this year and instead created “Celebrate! St. Cloud State,” a series of four week-end-long school pride events spread throughout 2011-12.

“We wanted to re-imagine how to build Husky pride and create more opportunities to engage our alumni, faculty, staff, and students,” says Wanda Overland, Vice President of Student Life and Development. “So we decided to move to this series of weekends. We think it

will give people more chances to come back to campus and the community.”

The first weekend was held in early October, with the second in January, and events are also scheduled for April and June. The idea is for each weekend to have events that appeal to different people, and that Celebrate! becomes an annual tradition.

The October Celebrate! St. Cloud weekend centered on the school’s football game, providing a familiar atmo-sphere for those seeking a traditional experience. It was paired with the university’s family weekend and featured pre- and post-game receptions, a musical performance, and a gathering for alumni of the

school’s Greek organizations. The school also worked with the city’s downtown council to offer organized tours of his-toric buildings and trolley rides with the mayor, who talked about various city landmarks.

The January weekend included home games for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as the men’s ice hockey team. A street fair was also planned, as well as an event for the opening of an art gallery, and a pond hockey tournament featuring upwards of 75 teams.

“Here in Minnesota, we’re crazy about hockey,” says Margaret Vos, Director of the Atwood Memorial Center and Co-Chair of the Celebrate! St. Cloud State Committee. “So

partnering with the tourna-ment was a great way to bring people back to town and create something fun.”

In the spring, Celebrate! St. Cloud is designed to be a rec-ognition event for alumni and students, chock full of awards. The committee is also work-ing with administrators at the university, as well as faculty, to invite alumni back to cam-pus to speak in classes.

“We want to expand the Homecoming idea beyond just sports and celebrate our students and alumni on the academic side, as well as in the arts,” says Terri Mische, Director of Constituent Engagement and the other Co-Chair of the Celebrate! St. Cloud State Committee.

Alumni Relations

RETHINKING HOMECOMING

When negative student behav-ior at a football game reaches the breaking point, how should a school respond? For Rob White, Athletic Director at Saline (Mich.) High School, the answer was to put together a video that students would view during morning announcements the following Monday.

White had seen the school’s student section at football games deteriorate over the beginning of the 2011 sea-son, with obscene chants becoming a regular occurrence. During a contest

at Huron High on Thursday, Oct. 6, several hundred Saline students left the stands and began mak-

ing their way toward a large inflat-able football helmet Huron players used during pregame introductions. White worked with police at the game to have the students ejected before they could reach the helmet, then started the video project the next day.

Gathering several current and former coaches and administrators, and using the talents of students in a video production class, White was able to create a seven-minute video—short and to the point. Each speaker talked about sportsmanship in a different way, encouraging students to take pride in their actions.

“We selected coaches and adminis-trators who had longstanding ties to the school and whom the students respected,” White says. “Then we encouraged them to speak from the heart.”

The goal of the video was to pro-vide students with an “aha” moment. “We have a lot of tradition at Saline, but our students had forgotten what it meant to be a Hornet,” White says. “The video was a good way to remind them without disrupting the school day, which an assembly would have done.

“It was important to put the video together quickly so we could nip this behavior in the bud,” he continues. “If you wait too long to act, then

Sportsmanship A FAST RESPONSE

> To view Saline High School’s video on sportsmanship, go to: vimeo.com/30315347

Former Activities Director and current Interim Principal Eric Diroff was one of the speakers in the video.

inappropriate behavior becomes the accepted culture.”

Another key was following up the video with additional measures. “We identified the students who were leading the chants and discussed how they could help initiate the change,” White says. “Together, we came up with chants that were appropriate and at the next football game, fans were positive and supportive. We provided the students with encouragement and stressed that we wanted to win with dignity and lose with grace.”


WarmUp

The final event weekend of the year, taking place in June, will be anchored with the Lemonade Concert and Art Fair, a St. Cloud State tradition for nearly 40 years. “We bring in artists from across the coun-try who display their work all over campus,” says Vos. “There are also concerts throughout the day, and in the evening a symphony orchestra perfor-mance, which is free to the community. There are about 10,000 people who come in for that event.”

When the switch from one to four weekends was announced, some local bar and restaurant owners were upset because homecoming weekend is tradi-tionally a big moneymaker for them. To quell their fears, the university involved community organizations in the discussions surrounding the new events.

“We had a number of meet-ings with the hospitality and

lodging associations, and have also invited them to serve on our committees,” Overland says. “There have been numer-ous opportunities for those people to be engaged in the planning.”

The university hopes the new tradition will offer something for everyone, so each alumnus can find reasons to come back to the school at least once a year. “Change is never easy, I’ll admit that,” says Vos. “And

this first time around, we’re kind of building the plane as we’re flying it. But reactions have been good so far. Our goal is, in about three years, to feel like we’ve established a tradition.”

HomePlateBY SPORTS TUTOR

SPORTSTUTOR $6,595$2,895

from $549 From $999

From $1,349

MAKE YOUR TEAM PERFORM LIKE A MACHINE

• Throw a different pitch every 7 seconds• Fastballs, sliders & curves up to 90 MPH

• Fastballs, sliders & curves up to 90 MPH• Hitter sees ball from hand feed to pitch THE PROGRAMMABLE

PITCHING MACHINE

The Sports Machine Company

SOFTBALL

TOO!

SOFTBALL

TOO!

Pushbutton simplicity!

www.sportsmachines.com1-800-448-8867 for FREE CATALOGSports Tutor, 3300 Winona Ave., Burbank, CA 91504

TENNISTUTOR

TENNISTOWER

SOCCERTUTORVOLLEYBALLTUTORBY SPORTS TUTOR

MAKE YOUR TEAM PERFORM LIKE A MACHINE

Circle No. 109


Neighboring Aurora (Colo.) Public Schools also changed its transportation policy in an effort to control costs. However, schools in Aurora have more flexibility than those in Adams, with individual school athletic directors deciding when to bus teams to games vs. requiring athletes to find their own rides. The district also purchased several “microbuses,” which coaches of teams with a small number of players drive to some games.

At Aurora Central, one of five high schools in the district that offer a full slate of sports, Athletic Director Nate Smith says he’ll shave $3,000 to $4,000 off his $75,000 budget thanks to the

new policy. He feels the policy’s flexibility has been important.

“When you have a hard rule in place, it can be a challenge to enforce it and handle issues that may come up,” he says. “We’re allowed to handle transportation on a case-by-case basis, and that makes it work.

“For a team with a lot of athletes, like football or track, or for a game taking place some distance from the school, we’ll usually provide a bus,” Smith continues. “But if it’s a smaller

team and we’re playing a nearby school, I’ll ask the players to find their own way.”

The microbuses are used when a traveling team doesn’t have enough athletes to fill a larger bus. All coaches are required to pass a training course on driving the buses each year, and provide copies of their insurance and driving records. Parents also have to sign a form allowing their child to be driven by the coach.

Like Hartnett, Smith says proper com-munication is critical to getting a positive reception to a policy change like this, and he is teaming with his coaches to make sure parents get the message. “I meet with parents at the beginning of the year and explain the policy, and it’s included in the district paperwork athletes need to sign,” he says. “The coaches communi-cate to their players which games they’ll need to find their own transportation to. They also tell their athletes that by han-dling transportation this way, the school saves money, which allows the program to buy other things it needs.

“Athletes and parents are very receptive when they hear that, and communicating far enough in advance allows them the time to set up rides,” Smith continues. “We haven’t had a single complaint.”

After cutting sports at the middle school level over the past two years, Ed Hartnett, Athletic Direc-tor for Adams County (Colo.) School District 12, was asked to trim his budget even further in 2011-2012. Without many options, he decided to change the district’s transportation policy for student-athletes, which has saved about $100,000.

Starting this fall, buses no longer trans-port athletes at the district’s six high schools to Saturday games, and during

the week, buses do not transport teams to road contests less than a 10-mile drive from their home school. Football was exempted from the policy over concerns that players in full pads would have dif-ficulty driving safely.

“Our financial situation is bleak, and we had to make some cuts,” Hartnett says. “Two years ago, we cut seventh grade sports, and last year, we cut them for eighth graders, but we still needed to make more. After surveying parents, com-munity members, and staff, it was clear that the last thing anyone wanted was for us to cut sports at the high school level.”

Hartnett says that no student-athletes have missed a game so far this year for lack of a ride. The key to making things go smoothly was communicat-ing the logic behind the policy early on and explaining that it was preferable to eliminating teams.

“We communicated this policy to parents and athletes before the season started in a number of ways to make sure they were aware of it,” says Hartnett. “We posted a letter online detailing the changes, and sent a copy home with student-athletes.”

There has also been an unexpected bene-fit that has supplied a bit of a silver lining to the move. “Our schools have seen an increase in attendance at road contests thanks to parents driving their kids to games,” says Hartnett. “And the athletes appreciate the support.”

Budget Cuts

BUSSES IDLE

Student-athletes at Mountain Range High School, in Westminster, Colo., as well as those at other high schools in Adams County School District 12, are now required to find their own transportation to many away contests. The Mountain Range softball team is shown above.

PAM

WA

GN

ER


WarmUp

“I was a little hesitant at first, but it worked out better than I expected,” Lonergan says. “A lot of our students and fans came with us, as did the school mascot. I don’t think the team believed me when I first said we were going to take the Metro, but they enjoyed it. If we play in the Verizon Center again, we’ll probably take the Metro again.”

While the event gave George Washington fans—as well as more than a few surprised Metro riders—a chance to get up close and personal with the team, the greatest benefit to the ride might have been in recruiting. “We’re trying to recruit both locally and nationally,” Lonergan says. “We’re trying to sell that we’re one of the top 50 academic institutions in the country and we’re located in the nation’s capital—with a Metro stop right on campus. Lots of students use it to go downtown for internships, and a lot of my players take it to go to Washington Wizards games.

“Our local recruits know about the Metro, but might not know we have a stop on campus,” he continues. “For our other recruits, seeing that we rode the Metro to the game and how connected we are to Washington, D.C., is a great thing. All those little things can add up.”

THE TRIP FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVER-SITY’S CAMPUS IN THE FOGGY BOTTOM NEIGH-BORHOOD of Washington, D.C., to the Verizon Center in Penn Quarter, where the men’s basketball team had a game scheduled on Dec. 4, is approximately two miles. Rather than spend the money to rent a bus, Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Lonergan had a better idea: to ride the Metro, D.C.’s subway system.

Lonergan originally hatched the plan simply as a way to take advantage of the city’s transportation system, but it soon became much more than that. Director of Athletics Communications Jesse Hooker asked to send out an e-mail blast inviting fans to travel with the team.

Promotions

VIA METRO

A GW men’s basketball player finds a spot among other subway riders and fans.

Circle No. 110

ProGym is our state-of-the-art, multi-sport indoor tile. We put our knowledge and experience to work to create this latest innovation in modular flooring for you. Contact us at www.mateflex.com or 800.926.3539

no boundaries.

ProGym

®

Lock into...

Circle No. 117

AM: You got your undergraduate degree in Physical Education/Athletic Training from the University of South Carolina. How did you get to athletic administration?Hendricks: During my junior year of under-grad, I was assigned to the football team for my clinical experience. I was standing on the sidelines, looking on the field and up in the skyboxes, and I noticed that most of the people on the field looked like me, but there was only one person in athletic administra-tion who looked like me. I thought there was something wrong with that picture. How can all these other people make decisions when there’s a great majority of the population that they really don’t know?

So I wondered how I could get to that point. How could I affect change on a broader scale? I loved athletic training and I still do, but I wanted to be able to help people in a different way. I started working with Harold White, who was the Senior Associate Athlet-ic Director for Academics at South Carolina and the only black person on the depart-ment staff at that time. I started learning more about the administrative side, student support services, and everything else. I was able to get some great direction, then I went on to get my Master’s and Doctoral degrees in higher education administration from Auburn University.

How did you handle being named the youngest athletic director in Kentucky State history?It may have been a problem for other peo-ple, but it wasn’t a problem for me. People

say you have to be in the business for 15 to 20 years before you can be an athletic director, but I thought, “Let me just try. You won’t know unless you try.” I did, and it has worked out well.

What made you know you were ready?Presidential support is key for any athletic director. I didn’t know [Kentucky State’s presi-dent] Dr. Mary Evans Sias prior to coming here, but I knew about her. She had shown herself to be a supportive president to prior athletic directors, and I felt it would be a great situation to work under her. That gave me the confidence to pursue the position.

Also, I had a wonderful situation at Johnson C. Smith, but I felt it was time for me to grow. To do that, I had to leave. I had done all the NCAA leadership programs and other professional development programs, and I was ready to take the next step. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.

What is the key to getting support from the president and other upper-level administrators?Number one, it’s open and honest com-munication. I tell my president all the good things, as well as the bad things. The bad things are hard to tell, but you have to do it. An athletic director should make sure their president is never in a situation where he or she doesn’t know something. That gives the president confidence in you as you lead your particular part of their university. He or she knows that if something comes up, you’re going to handle it, and if it gets to the point

When Denisha Hendricks began plot-ting a career path, she hoped to even-

tually land a job as an athletic direc-tor. But she never thought it would happen so quickly. After working as Senior Woman Administrator at Livingstone College, then Assistant Ath-

letic Director/Senior Woman Adminis-trator at Johnson C. Smith University, Hendricks was hired as Athletic Direc-tor at Kentucky State University at the age of 30.

Now in her third year leading the Thorobreds, Hendricks is helping Kentucky State reach new heights. She has developed a slogan for the athletic department, upgraded the compliance program, and watched the women’s volleyball team win its second straight conference title this past fall.

Hendricks is also very involved on the national level, beginning an appointment with the NCAA Division II Management Council in January and serving on the NACDA Division II Athletic Directors Association Board of Directors. In this interview, she talks about her career path, hiring coaches, and the keys to succeeding in Division II.

Kentucky State’s Tiffany Jones competes in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2011 Southern Intercol-legiate Athletic Conference Championships.

Q & A Denisha HendricksKENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY



answer no to that question. But I craft my questions in ways so that I can figure out what a person is really about. I also look at the accomplishments they’ve had at other schools. If their team had the highest GPA in the conference, then obviously academics are important to this coach. If they’ve had several people on their team who were in student government or won various awards, then obviously making sure players have a well-rounded experience is important.

What do you do to promote the Division II philosophy?We have the “I Chose Division II” slogan on our Web site and it’s displayed throughout our buildings. We use that slogan when we’re recruiting and our coaches have a lot

to say to prospective student-athletes about why they would fit at Division II. We also tell parents and athletes why the staff here chose Division II. For me, I wanted to be at a place where I could be more hands-on with the student-athletes. I know who they are and they know who I am.

What are your current goals for Kentucky State?Last year, our staff went on a retreat where we came up with a theme for the depart-ment, which is “One Team, One Vision: Champions.” One of my goals when I came here was to get everyone on the same page and help them understand that there’s really only one team here. There are different parts to it, but we’re all here for the same purpose.

That theme is now plastered all over the department, and we’re working on expand-ing it even more. It’s in our e-mail signatures, we’re having banners put up in various locker rooms and buildings, and we’ve done some other promotional items for the stu-dent-athletes. The football team this year wore T-shirts that had “One Team, One Vision” printed on the back, and they said those words when they broke their huddle. It’s catching on and the student-athletes are really excited about it.

where you need input, you’ll call and say, “Help me.”

What is your approach to mentoring coaches?It goes back to the same principles of com-munication. I need to make sure all our coaches are comfortable enough to tell me the good and bad things, so I do a lot to connect with them. I don’t often call them and tell them to come to my office. Instead, I go to them. I take the time to get out of my office and talk to them in their space, which has been a really good thing. My coaches also know that they can stop by any time to see me.

Another thing I’ve been doing since I started here is traveling with our teams on road trips, and my assistant athletic directors also do this. At Johnson C. Smith I had begun traveling to away games and saw the dif-ference it made with the teams. For one, a lot of misunderstandings can be avoided if an administrator is at a road contest. But also, I get a chance to see how the coaches work on the road, and they get to know me outside of being in a suit and heels in the office. Then when it’s time to have that evaluation or checkpoint meeting with a coach, I’m talking from I’ve seen, not what I’ve heard.

How have your coaches responded to having an administrative presence on the road?For the coaches who had been here a while, it was a big change, so it was key for me to tell them that I was not going to get in the way. It’s still their show, and my role is just to see what’s going on. But if they need any-thing, I’m there to help, and they’ve appreci-ated that. If something comes up with the school we’re playing or the transportation, I can handle those things and let them focus on coaching. The important thing has been allowing the coach to still be in control.

What is the key to making great coach-ing hires that fit in with your school’s philosophy?We take the Division II philosophy very seri-ously here. This is not a win-at-all-costs environment. The two most important things are student-athlete welfare and academics, and athletics comes third.

I try to infuse that philosophy throughout the hiring process. I might not ask a poten-tial hire, “Do you think academics should come before athletics?” Nobody is going to


Q & A

“The football team this year wore T-shirts that had ‘One Team, One Vision’ printed on the back, and they said those words when they broke their huddle. It’s catching on and the student-athletes are really excited about it.”

Circle No. 112


How have you improved the school’s com-pliance program?That was one of the first things I was asked to do upon my arrival. We’ve gone through the NCAA’s compliance blueprint program and we’re really pleased with the outcome. We’ve developed a lot of manuals and all sorts of forms, so there should be no issues with record keeping. We’ve also enhanced the compliance education piece—not just for the athletic staff, but for all the other areas that impact us, like financial aid, the registrar, and admissions.

In addition to your work on the Division II Management Council, you’ve also served on the NCAA’s Academic Requirements Committee and the Sub-Committee for Initial Eligibility Waivers. Why is national involvement important to you?Being on committees is so important for understanding how the NCAA works. Also, the big, national decisions are being made in these committees, but you can’t get your opinion heard if you don’t have a seat at the table. I think I have a unique viewpoint as an athletic director at a historically black, smaller Division II college, so I have to be involved with committees to have my views heard.

I can then bring all the information I gain from serving on committees back to my campus and conference. That’s the responsibility I have —not only to represent everyone well, but also relay the knowledge and help them under-stand what’s happening at the national level.

What advice would you give to other young athletic directors hoping to get involved in committee work?Apply. A lot of people talk about it, but they don’t take the time to fill out the application. It’s also important for others to know who you are. Don’t just go to the conventions and sit with the people you know—meet new people. It’s important to network so when your name comes up, someone will give you a second look. Being involved on the confer-ence level can also help when it comes to the national committees.

What are your personal goals for the future?I got here much faster than I thought I would, so I had to go back and revamp my plan. I think the next stop for me will be going into general university administration as a vice president or something similar, and then ultimately being a university president. That’s the path I’m working on now.

The great thing about being in athletics is that you work with many different people across campus and you have to understand all the pieces of a university. When I get to the next step, I’ll have a really good working knowledge of how all the various depart-ments function.

Scan here to

see it in action!

Call for our

new 2012

catalog

For the best selection, price and expert advice, call 800-556-7464 • www.performbetter.com

• Great Products and Service!

• Knowledgeable, Friendly Staff

• Cutting Edge Seminars and Workshops!

That’s What Makes UsPERFORM

BETTER

generated at BeQRious.com

530-26256 PB_2-3pg_EliteMedBALL_C1_AM.indd 1 1/23/12 12:13 PM

Circle No. 113

GA

RY H

OV

LAN

D

TEAMS USINGVIPOL-BASED

PRODUCTS

NCAAAlabamaArkansasArmyAuburnAZ StateBowling GreenCentral FloridaCitadelColoradoConnecticutDukeFloridaFlorida StateGeorgiaGA SouthernGeorgia TechIowa StateKansasLSUMarylandMiamiMichigan StateMississippiMS StateNationalsNC-GreensboroNo. CarolinaNotre DameOklahomaPenn StatePittsburghPurdueRhode IslandSamfordSan DiegoSo. CarolinaTCUTennesseeTN StateTexasTexas A&MVanderbiltVirginiaVirginia TechVMIWestern KY

Bench Zone®

Used by NFL &NCAAsince 2005.

800-823-7356 www.aerflo.com

SOLD ONLY BY THE BEST SPORTS DEALERS

VIPOL® MatriXProfessionals prefer VIPOL Matrix to protect turf fields, players, and staff.• Cleats and spikes cannot penetrate.• It’s much lighter, easier to handle.• It contains over 50% more micro-

fibers for super-toughness.• Fluids drain through; do not absorb.• Can be cleaned with water+ antimicrobial

fluid to help protect handlers and players.

Chroma-Bond® IMPRINTINGOur exclusive double coating process produces multi-color custom logos and lettering that are much more durable than digital printing, and it eliminates the white backside problem of digital. Images do not scuff off or prematurely fade due to weathering andsun exposure. Can match team’s PMS colors.

BP Zone®

Tuffy® Windscreen

20 VIPOL Colors Always in Stock

NFL-MLBBearsBrownsBuccaneersCardinalsChargersChiefsDolphins49ersJaguarsMetsPackersPiratesSteelersTexansTitansYankees+ MORE

FL State Windscreen

Made in USA

© 2012 AER-FLO, INC. ALL TRADEMARKS ARE

PROPERTY OF AER-FLO, INC.

HELPS IN FIGHT AGAINST MRSA.

Super Premium Products YET VALUE PRICED for School Budgets.

Circle No. 114

If you’re like most athletic administrators, you encourage your coaches to be cre-ative in coming up with new drills. A goal of any team’s practice is to engage and challenge student-athletes.

However, creative drills should never come at the cost of safety. While push-ing coaches to develop exciting practice situations, administrators must remember to also warn against doing anything that increases the chance of injury.

One of best ways to teach coaches about this topic is to provide examples of drills that are not safe. The following are risky, non-productive ideas that should never be allowed.

Football: The drill is called “Blood Alley.” A ball carrier stands on the 25-yard line. On the whistle, he runs down a five-yard wide gauntlet created by cones or block-ing dummies, with the objective of cross-

ing the goal line. There are five tacklers evenly spaced every five yards facing the ball carrier, the first on the 20-yard line and the last on the goal line.

If the ball carrier is brought down by the first tackler, he gets up and tries to get by the second tackler. The process contin-ues until the ball carrier crosses the goal line. The runner can be tackled five or more times in a very short period.

One coach told me he places the best tackler on the goal line. If the ball car-rier doesn’t reach the goal area, he moves back to the five-yard line and tries again—and again.

The only sure thing this drill does is add names to the injury list. Players don’t get tackled, get up, and run again in a game. This is a punishment drill, not a teaching drill. There is no place for pun-ishing drills in any sport.

Using one ball carrier against one defender in a restricted area offers a bet-ter learning experience. Giving the run-ner a blocker adds another progressive, game-like opportunity.

Soccer: In my first year as an athletic director, I watched our varsity soccer coach instruct his players to do chin-ups on the goal post. He had five to six play-ers doing chin-ups at the same time. I had two concerns. One was that athletes could easily fall or kick the player next to them. Second, was the stability of the goal post—the anchoring system was not built for daily chin-ups.

After telling the coach to discontinue the drill, I installed a tri-level chinning bar outside the locker room. I also reminded all coaches to only use equipment for its intended use. The coach should have asked himself, “Is there a safer way to do chin-ups without misusing equipment?”

Field Hockey: This unsafe drill is also used in lacrosse. Five or more athletes with sticks and balls attempt to score on a goalie from various distances. Each offensive player is supposed to wait until the goalkeeper is ready to defend the shot before shooting. The idea is to con-tinually lessen the time between shots on goal to help improve the reaction time of the goalkeeper.

This is one of those drills that, with very close supervision, can be productive and safe. When coaches become distracted, however, it begins to resemble a shoot-ing gallery.

Wrestling: Since most practice areas for wrestling are limited, almost any drill can turn into an unsafe situation when too many wrestlers are going full speed at

GamePlan Risk Management


GA

RY H

OV

LAN

D

Richard P. Borkowski, EdD, CMAA, is a sport safety consultant based in Narberth, Pa., and the former Director of Physical Education and Athletics at the Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa. His most recent book is titled Game Plan for Sport Safety.

Danger ZoneSport practices need to be full of challenging and dynamic drills. But sometimes coaches can go too far.

By Dr. Richard P. Borkowski

TEAMS USINGVIPOL-BASED

PRODUCTS

NCAAAlabamaArkansasArmyAuburnAZ StateBowling GreenCentral FloridaCitadelColoradoConnecticutDukeFloridaFlorida StateGeorgiaGA SouthernGeorgia TechIowa StateKansasLSUMarylandMiamiMichigan StateMississippiMS StateNationalsNC-GreensboroNo. CarolinaNotre DameOklahomaPenn StatePittsburghPurdueRhode IslandSamfordSan DiegoSo. CarolinaTCUTennesseeTN StateTexasTexas A&MVanderbiltVirginiaVirginia TechVMIWestern KY

Bench Zone®

Used by NFL &NCAAsince 2005.

800-823-7356 www.aerflo.com

SOLD ONLY BY THE BEST SPORTS DEALERS

VIPOL® MatriXProfessionals prefer VIPOL Matrix to protect turf fields, players, and staff.• Cleats and spikes cannot penetrate.• It’s much lighter, easier to handle.• It contains over 50% more micro-

fibers for super-toughness.• Fluids drain through; do not absorb.• Can be cleaned with water+ antimicrobial

fluid to help protect handlers and players.

Chroma-Bond® IMPRINTINGOur exclusive double coating process produces multi-color custom logos and lettering that are much more durable than digital printing, and it eliminates the white backside problem of digital. Images do not scuff off or prematurely fade due to weathering andsun exposure. Can match team’s PMS colors.

BP Zone®

Tuffy® Windscreen

20 VIPOL Colors Always in Stock

NFL-MLBBearsBrownsBuccaneersCardinalsChargersChiefsDolphins49ersJaguarsMetsPackersPiratesSteelersTexansTitansYankees+ MORE

FL State Windscreen

Made in USA

© 2012 AER-FLO, INC. ALL TRADEMARKS ARE

PROPERTY OF AER-FLO, INC.

HELPS IN FIGHT AGAINST MRSA.

Super Premium Products YET VALUE PRICED for School Budgets.

GamePlan Risk Management

the same time. This results in unplanned contact among athletes. When teams are practicing takedowns, injury potential is increased even further.

Wrestling coaches must continually make tough decisions regarding space. Buffer zones need to be in place, and safety should never be sacrificed. Coaches can

always have the extra wrestlers involved in an off-mat activity.

Basketball: Take a full court five-on-five practice scrimmage, eliminate out of bounds, disregard all fouls, and you have my contender for the number one “drill from hell.” I have seen kids running up rows of bleachers for a loose ball and chasing each other down the hallway for the ball. I have also seen this drill played with five basketballs at the same time!

This is supposed to be a conditioning and toughness drill. But it is really turning basketball into uncontrolled mayhem. Besides being obviously dangerous, the drill is counter-productive. You don’t play basketball without rules.

Swimming: If they don’t have a dedicat-ed pool for diving, many swim coaches are tempted to have swimmers and div-ers working out in one pool at the same time. The diver times his or her entrance into the water as the swimmers doing laps swim away from the diving area, and then gets out of the pool before any swimmers return.

This is akin to playing Russian roulette, and should never be allowed. Coaches must separate diving and swimming

practice. I know of schools that practice one group prior to the start of school. Others send their divers to a local college that has a diving pool.

Boys’ lacrosse: A ball is placed in the middle of a 10-yard circle with eight to 10 players on the circumference. Each player is given a number. The coach calls two numbers. Those two players sprint at full speed in an attempt to secure the ball, often making contact with their heads down.

There are several drills that accomplish the same objective without subjecting players to unnecessary risks. For example, rolling the ball and having two players start out side by side is more realistic and safer. Limiting the distance to the ball can also lower the chance of injury.

Tennis: Each court has two servers and two receivers. Server 1 serves the ball to Receiver 1. Server 2 waits for the results and then serves to receiver 2.

When the timing or accuracy are off, you risk someone being hit with a ball. Ten-nis balls can hurt, especially when they hit an eye. The coach must recognize the basic fact that tennis balls do not always go where you want them to go.


� Is this drill relevant to what I want to teach?

� Am I forfeiting safety for expediency and repetitions?

� Can this drill be properly controlled and supervised?

� Have I considered and done everything that is reasonable to lower the potential of injury?

FOUR Q’SHere are four questions coaches should ask themselves before employing a new drill:

20.42 MA edoC 05841 YN ,acahtI .dR ekaltsaE 02 • .cnI ,GAM

Name:

Street Address:

City:

State:

Zip:

Daytime Phone: (To be used if there’s a problem with your order)

Email address:

� U.S. check made payable to MAG, Inc. enclosed (sorry, only US orders)

� VISA � MasterCard � Discover � AmerEx

Credit card #: ________/________/________/________

Expiration date: _____/_____ 3 or 4 digit code: _______

Cardholder Name PRINTED:

Cardholder Signature:

0-$49.99 = $8.00 $50-$99.99 = $9.00 $100-$149.99 = $10.00 $150-and up = $12.00

ORDER FORM PLEASE PRINT INFO.

Fax this order to 607-257-7328 or Mail this order to

MAG, Inc., 20 Eastlake Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Subtotal $ + Shipping $ NY residents add sales tax $ = TOTAL $

QUANTITY ITEM # TITLE PRICE

100GP Game Plan For Sport Safety

I T E M

New Book on RiskManagement

PAYMENT METHOD SHIPPING PRICES

$1995240 PGS

For more information, go to www.athleticmanagement.com

Authored by Dr. Richard P. Borkowski and published by Athletic Management, Game Plan For Sport Safety offers a common sense, reader-friendly approach to managing risk and reducing liability.

Circle No. 115

Circle No. 111

Institutional Basketball Systems

877-272-5430

Portable Systems | Wall MountCeiling Upgrades | Playground

Side Court Goals

Composite

ww

w.w

allpaddingsolutions.com

Rampage SystemsRampage SystemsFrom $1891

•30”- 48” base to board extension•Height adjustable•36” x 60” acrylic backboard•Base padding•1050 lbs loaded

Fury Select

Main Court Goals

Composite

ww

w.institutionalbasketballsystem

s.com

Thunder SystemsThunder Systems

From $5118

•48”- 66” base to board extension•Height adjustable•42” x 72” temp. glass backboard•Base padding•1900 lbs loaded

Storm ArenaMention this ad and receive $30 OFF backboard padding!The right systems for your application since 1999.Let me price your systems. You will not be disappointed!

-Tom Nicotera

MAP Pricing. Call for best.

MAP Pricing. Call for best.

877-272-5430www.tipnrollbleachers.com

Circle No. 144

online

Be sure to check

out the new DIGITAL

version of

the Athletic

Management

Buyer’s Guide

with expanded

product listings

at:

www. athleticmanagement.com

Circle No. 118

Personal Service • Multi-Brand Selection • Custom Solutions

BSN SPORTS gives you the most bench strength in the business.

800.527.7510Say S4 Get 15% OffBSNSPORTS.com

STACKYOURBENCH

Circle No. 118

I am often asked two things about being an athletic director. What is the best part of your job, and what is the most chal-lenging? My answer to both questions is the same: working with my staff.

It is what I enjoy most because coaches tend to be hard working, motivated, and driven to succeed. The difficulty comes from leading a diverse group of individu-als toward common goals, which takes effort, creativity, and persistence.

Managing staff in NCAA Division III presents some additional, unique chal-lenges. There are typically no bonuses for performance, no endorsement contracts, and smaller camp and clinic proceeds. Coaches need to be motivated not by money but by the competitive spirit and pride in success.

To provide this motivation, there are some basic principles that I believe are critical when mentoring a staff:

� Get to know and respect your staff members as individuals. � Clearly outline expectations and offer regular and substantive feedback. � Provide sincere and consistent support.

As IndividualsIn recognizing coaches as individuals, it’s important to begin by understanding what level they are at. There are those who are longtime, proven performers, those who have some experience but are still growing in their positions, and rook-ies who are just establishing themselves. The challenge is to mentor and motivate coaches at every level.

When working with the experienced coach, it is essential to recognize their knowledge and expertise. Change may be difficult for these coaches. But if you ask for their input and collaborate with them, they will more easily adapt to any transitions. This will also yield valuable

Holly Gera is in her 14th year as Director of Athletics at Montclair State University. She

also serves as Past Presi-dent of the National Asso-ciation of Division III Athletic Administrators and is a member of the NCAA Division III Championships Committee. She can be reached at: [email protected].

GamePlan Leadership


GA

RY H

OV

LAN

D

input and help encourage buy-in from other staff.

You should also consider that long-term staff members might sometimes feel they are in a rut. They may not be interested in giving up coaching, but require some-thing to re-energize them. Suggestions for committee work, campus initiatives, or special projects within the department may pique their interest.

Employees with less experience are look-ing for guidance and support. First-year head coaches will be making decisions they’ve never faced before. At this stage, it is important for the athletic director to spend as much time as possible with the coach and to be available for discussions and to answer questions. Also critical is articulating a clear and consistent mis-sion so that new staff will have the best opportunity to assimilate into your orga-nization and be successful.

In addition to recognizing where employees are in their career, it is impor-tant to understand individual personali-ties. An approach that might motivate one person may not work well for someone else. For example, some staff may respond well to straightforward and

Providing DirectionIn NCAA Division III programs, coaches are often at very different levels of experience. Mentoring and motivating them entails a unique strategy.

By Holly Gera

Personal Service • Multi-Brand Selection • Custom Solutions

BSN SPORTS gives you the most bench strength in the business.

800.527.7510Say S4 Get 15% OffBSNSPORTS.com

STACKYOURBENCH

BSN AthMgmt Ad S4 Base.indd 1

direct feedback, while others might react better to a gentler, suggestive approach. There are individuals who have to see something written out to understand it, while others do well with verbal communication.

Provide FeedbackConstructive feedback can be one of the most effective tools in managing and motivating staff. Good reviews and negative reviews both provide valuable information and a blueprint for what comes next. No matter how busy one’s schedule is, you need to find time to provide feedback.

One common method is your institution’s formal evaluation process, but that should only be a starting point. Another way to provide feedback is by walking around. I take time out of my day to stop into various offices to touch base with people. I think that coaches appreciate seeing me on their turf and may feel more comfortable receiving constructive criticism there than in my office. I have also had many productive conversations in hall-ways or stairwells.

Somewhere between the formal review and the casual conversa-tion is the occasional one-on-one meeting. I conduct these with each head coach at the conclusion of their traditional season. This offers an opportunity for coaches to review the previous season and to talk about what needs to be done to prepare for next year. Other meetings are scheduled as the need arises and around special projects.

Whenever offering feedback, especially if it is negative, it is important to provide a clear context and background for the critique. If previous meetings identified joint goals and objec-tives, it will be easier to set this context. The conversation should be calm and professional. The tenor should be positive and the focus on goals and action items for the future.

Sincere SupportCoaching is full of peaks and valleys, from winning a big game to a tough talk with a struggling freshman. Mentoring coaches through this landscape requires offering a special type of con-sistent support. Here are some keys I have found helpful in this area:

Be accessible. Coaches and staff need to know that you are available. Every day there are issues that arise that are best dealt with promptly. Staff should be welcomed and encouraged to stop at your office and to touch base regularly. (My staff will tell you that a fully stocked candy dish helps facilitate this.) Athletic directors’ schedules are demanding, but you should have a pres-ence in the office.

Be a good communicator. If knowledge is power, then it is important to share knowledge to empower your staff. Whether it is university news or department issues, take the time to pass it on to your staff so they are up to date on what is going on. This helps to reduce coaches’ fear of the unknown and enables them


We all have good days and bad days, but consistency in response and consistency in policy are very important to creating an atmos-phere of trust.

Circle No. 119

to feel part of the larger whole. While news isn’t always good, it helps everyone feel more grounded if they know what is going on.

Keep in mind that you have many options on how to communicate. Not everyone responds best to e-mails. Some staff relate better to a phone call, others to a face-to-face meeting. Knowing your staff well enough and communicating in a way they prefer greatly improves how well your mes-sages will be received.

Holding monthly staff meetings that are productive and efficient is another good communication tool. Meetings should have a clear agenda and discussions should stay on topic. Long and meandering meetings do not facilitate communication.

Be consistent. We all have good days and bad days, but consistency in response and consistency in policy are very important to creating an atmosphere of trust. Coaches should not have to wonder if a certain question or issue will result in an outra-geous response from the athletic director. Calm and careful consideration in all mat-ters encourages staff to bring issues to you rather than try to handle them on their own. Consistency encourages conversations.

Be fair and equitable. Each sport is unique. Even sports like men’s and women’s bas-ketball are different from each other. It is important to ask questions and get input from staff to determine the things needed for each program. I encourage staff to eval-uate their teams by what they need rather than by comparing them to other teams. As an administrator, fairness is important, and working to provide appropriate facilities, equipment, and staffing for each program is critical to success and to keeping coaches motivated.

Foster collaboration. I look at my staff as my “team,” and continually encourage all coaches to learn from each other. When coaches discuss things like recruiting, man-aging budgets, hiring assistant coaches, and navigating the university, it not only builds teamwork, but also provides them with good information. Athletic directors can get much more “bang for their buck” if all the staff are involved in orienting a new coach to the department. Given lim-ited resources at most of our institutions, this sense of collaboration can enable staff to significantly maximize resources.

In addition to fostering collaboration amongst the staff, the athletic director should ask for suggestions and ideas. An administrator can sometimes become removed from the day to day issues of the department because of the myriad of meetings, committee work, and other priorities. If staff are encouraged to bring ideas forward, it creates a great two-way

communication model. Asking for help, setting up committees, and involving staff in processes is critical to buy-in and to creating and maintaining a positive work environment.

Have a second in command. A strong assistant or associate director who can assist in supervising and mentoring staff is critical. This person should be someone you trust implicitly and who will address issues in a manner consistent with how you do so. He or she should also be approachable. Sometimes coaches want a sounding board before bringing an idea

or request forward to the athletic direc-tor—an associate director can help the coach make decisions about next steps and offer suggestions. Proper mentoring and strong communication with this person is critical to the process.

Intercollegiate athletics, like most profes-sions, is ever changing. There are always new trends and issues developing. Howev-er, one constant is the importance of build-ing a productive “team” of coaches who will work toward department and univer-sity goals. A motivated and well-managed staff is a successful staff.


GamePlan Leadership

Circle No. 120

Varco Pruden Buildings is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc.

BYU Football Practice Facility

College or Professional. Publicly-Owned or Private.

Big or Small. Call Varco Pruden.

Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, Iowa

University of Pittsburgh/Steelers Practice Facility

YMCA, Bradenton, Florida

Developing a new sporting facility? Looking for cost-effi cient building solutions? Varco Pruden provides attractive and affordable structures for gymnasiums, spas and indoor pools, ice hockey and skating arenas, indoor soccer or football practice facilities for college and pro teams.

And, our nationwide network of more than 1,000 independent authorized builders have decades of steel construction experience that you can rely on. With our value-engineered steel framed building systems, recycled material content and long-life “cool paint” choices, VP Buildings can help you meet sustainable construction and

LEED certifi ed project plans as well. Energy-effi cient structures can help curb operating costs. Go to

www.vp.com/ad/AM to request this free brochure today.

LEED certifi ed project plans as well. Energy-effi cient structures can help curb operating costs.

www.vp.com/ad/AM

Oregon State University is helping its student-athletes make the transition from high school to college coursework through its BEST program. Here, Beaver Jared Cunningham demonstrates one of his better scores outside the classroom.

COVER STORY


hen Warren Central High School in Indianapolis began tracking semester grade point averages for its student-athletes in the spring of 2009, 67 percent were at or above a 2.0. Two years later, that figure was 86 percent. Over the same two years, the percent of j.v. and varsity football players at 2.0 or better leaped from 61 to 82. And the freshman football squad more than doubled the number

of athletes making the grade, going from 40 to 81 percent.

The increases didn’t come simply from luck or a shift in demographics. Instead, they were the result of Warren Central’s comprehensive academic support program for student-athletes. The program uses moti-

vational tools, grade tracking, and study tables, as well as coaches’ efforts, to increase students’ academic performance.

Warren Central is one of many schools, at both the high school and college levels, taking a hard look at ways to boost academ-ic success among student-athletes. For high schools, the impetus is two-fold. Across the country, many school districts are imple-menting tougher academic standards for student-athletes. And for those who have aspirations to play NCAA Division I, they will see the grades needed to compete as a freshman upped once again.

At a historic NCAA Division I Board of Directors meeting in October, where many large-scale changes were approved, univer-sity presidents voted to raise the minimum

By Mike Phelps

W At just about every level of play, tougher academic standards are being put in place or at least discussed. Schools are responding with exciting and innovative support programs.

Mike Phelps is an Assistant Editor at Athletic Management. He can be reached at: [email protected].

COVER STORY


high school GPA a college freshman athlete needs to play in games from a 2.0 to a 2.3, effective for the 2015-16 school year. Addi-tionally, all incoming student-athletes will be required to have completed 10 of the 16 required core courses before the start of their senior year of high school.

Division I student-athletes with high school GPAs between a 2.0 and 2.3 will be required to take an academic redshirt year, meaning they will be eligible to receive athletically related financial aid during their first year on campus and be allowed to prac-tice with the team, but they will be unable to compete in any games or travel. According

to the NCAA, 43 percent of freshmen who played men’s basketball in 2009-10 wouldn’t have qualified for Division I competition under the new GPA standard.

At the college level, NCAA Division I schools continue to see more rigorous team-based standards put in place. A change introduced in October that will be phased in over the next few years requires teams to reach a four-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 930 to be eligible for postseason competition, including football bowl games. Under the measure, the 2011 national men’s basketball champion, the University of Connecticut, wouldn’t have been eligible for the NCAA tournament.

In Division II, the Presidents Council will hold a special summit in 2013 to discuss the future of academic requirements in its division. Between now and then, the Divi-sion II Academic Requirements Committee will study academic research data and how it relates to initial-eligibility, progress-toward-degree, and transfer rules.

Results of a pilot study at the Division III level, announced in January, reveal stu-dent-athletes’ graduation rates are better than those of the general study body, and Division leaders are now studying whether to further this research and possibly tout the data. The academic prowess of its student-athletes is a great talking point for Division III schools, but it may put more pressure on athletic departments to continually have high graduation rates.

To meet these increasing academic demands, many athletic departments are experimenting with new ideas and pro-gressive programs. While some schools are raising expectations and others are trying to smooth the bumpy transitions, all are finding it key to show student-athletes that their performance in the classroom is as important as their athletic exploits.

KEEPING TRACK

School policy at Warren Central requires a student-athlete with a GPA below a 2.0 or an F in any class to attend study sessions twice per week. However, the academic

support program is much more than study sessions—it’s a multi-pronged approach.

“It starts at the top with the school leadership putting academics at the forefront and saying it’s important,” says Jennifer Jensen, a math teacher at Warren Central who conducts the grade tracking for the program. “And it continues with personal interaction. It is about the student-athletes under-standing that we don’t just care about

what’s happening on the field and winning a state title. We care about them as students.”

In addition to attend-ing before or after school study sessions, strug-gling student-athletes are required to have individ-ual meetings with their coaches. At these one-on-one sessions, the coach outlines expectations and provides a plan for helping players improve. “What we’ve seen is that as coaches have become more concerned with student achievement, the students are also more interested in it,” Jensen says.

Another way that Warren Central empha-sizes academics to its student-athletes is through its Leadership Kickoff, which was held for the third time this past fall. The event includes all athletes, and serves to start the athletic year. It features a motivational speak-er and athletes receive T-shirts with the ath-letic department’s slogan for the year, which references the importance of academics.

The main event at the Leadership Kick-off, however, centers on announcing the stu-dent-athletes’ past academic achievement. Each squad’s team GPA from the previous year, as well as the percentage of members in pre-defined GPA ranges, is shared with everyone in attendance. Prizes are awarded

The main event at Warren Central’s Leadership Kickoff centers on announcing the student-athletes’ past aca-demic achievement ...

to the teams with the highest marks in sepa-rate small- and large-team divisions.

“The event generates a sense of pride,” Jensen says. “The kids talk about it, and it has made them more excited about being good students.

“There was one situation where a team scored very low, and they were basically called out in that meeting,” she continues. “The next year, that team doubled the number of athletes who were above a 2.0. This event also makes the coaches more aware of academics, and has increased coach support.”

Athletes also get frequent reminders of their academic achievement via “data walls” in the athletic office and weightroom, which provide team GPA stats. “There are goals we establish for the year, such as getting more than 90 percent of athletes above a 2.0,” Jen-sen says. “Additionally, students in Indiana have to pass an assessment in Algebra I and English 10 in order to graduate. Last year we started tracking whether student-athletes were passing those tests, as well.”

Jensen believes the key to the program is adults emphasizing academics. “What tutors or coaches say makes a big impact with stu-

dents,” she says. “When kids know that you care and are concerned about them, they’ll run through a brick wall for you.”

SIMPLY THE BEST

For student-athletes at the college level, the first semester of the freshman year can be a rough time. The transition from high school to college brings a myriad of changes to work through—and it’s easy to struggle academically. Oregon State University is helping to solve this problem through its BEST (Bridge Encouraging Successful Tran-sition) summer session.

The program is designed to help incom-ing freshman student-athletes prepare for

... Each squad’s team GPA from the previous year, as well as the percentage of members in pre-defined GPA ranges, is shared with everyone in attendance. Prizes are awarded to the teams with the highest marks.

More gear than you know what to do with…until now.

GearBoss® Shelving

Worksurface

Lock Box

GearBoss® High-Density Storage Carts

We listened. We learned. We created a full line of GearBoss® Storage to meet every need and every budget.

You’ve got more gear than you know what to do with. That’s why Wenger created GearBoss high-density storage systems. Three versatile systems that can take mounds of gear and keep it all organized. Fact is, GearBoss has a system to meet every storage need. Including our newest gear solution – GearBoss II,® a highly efficient and cost-effective way to store gear and keep your budget in check. You can even combine all three systems to get

exactly the storage solution you need. Even better, GearBoss high-density storage systems have received GREENGUARD certification.

For more information, visit our website www.wengercorp.com/GearBoss or call 1-800-4WENGER.

TranSport Cart

GearBoss® High Density Storage System

X-Cart and Team Cart

GearBoss II™ High Density Storage

GearBoss® Shelving and SportCart

More gear than you know what to do with…until now.

GearBoss® Shelving

Worksurface

Lock Box

GearBoss® High-Density Storage Carts

We listened. We learned. We created a full line of GearBoss® Storage to meet every need and every budget.

You’ve got more gear than you know what to do with. That’s why Wenger created GearBoss high-density storage systems. Three versatile systems that can take mounds of gear and keep it all organized. Fact is, GearBoss has a system to meet every storage need. Including our newest gear solution – GearBoss II,® a highly efficient and cost-effective way to store gear and keep your budget in check. You can even combine all three systems to get

exactly the storage solution you need. Even better, GearBoss high-density storage systems have received GREENGUARD certification.

For more information, visit our website www.wengercorp.com/GearBoss or call 1-800-4WENGER.

TranSport Cart

GearBoss® High Density Storage System

X-Cart and Team Cart

GearBoss II™ High Density Storage

GearBoss® Shelving and SportCart

Circle No. 121

college life and goes far beyond traditional orientation programs. “Without a sum-mer program like this, student-athletes first arrive on campus when they begin their summer camps—so their first exposure is all athletics,” says Kate Halischak, Director of the BEST program and Associate Athletic Director for Academic Affairs at Oregon State. “The BEST program is an attempt to make that first experience more holistic—to add in academics and structure their days to what they will be like during the regular school year.”

There are three sessions, and they run for three and a half weeks each. The first session

is specifically for football players, while the others are open to athletes in all other sports. There are approximately 25 student-athletes per session, and their time is structured very carefully by the program staff.

“Their days are planned from early morn-ing to late at night,” Halischak says. “That includes two classes that count toward their degree, mandatory study tables at night, meetings with their advisors, and time for them to work out. The idea is that it mir-rors what their day will be like once the fall semester starts.”

Structuring these activities during a time when the campus is less busy allows the ath-

32 FEB/MAR 2010 | AthleticManagement.com32 FEB/MAR 2012 | AthleticManagement.com

o help student-athletes focus on their classwork, it’s key for them to see the value of education. But, in the bigger picture, it can also be important for faculty to understand the impor-tance of athletics.

The University of New Haven is taking steps in this direction through a faculty liaison program started in the fall of 2010. Headed by Faculty Athletics Representative Chuck Vigue, it pairs Chargers athletic teams with New Haven faculty and

staff members who focus on showing support for student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom.

“The goal is to build a stronger connection between the academic side of campus and the athletic side,” says Vigue. “Sometimes there’s a wide gulf between academics and athletics, and we’re trying to get more faculty involved in what the students are doing outside the classroom.”

The first step to creating the program was coming up with a list of activities the liaison could be involved in with his or her assigned team. Some of those ideas included attending games, team meet-ings, and other events, providing academic advice to student- athletes, having lunch with coaches or team captains, and encouraging colleagues to attend games.

Vigue recruited faculty and staff members to participate in the pro-gram by sending mass e-mails and personally asking some people he thought might be interested. “The perfect liaison is someone who isn’t going to be shy about participating,” he says. “Some sports will have two or three liaisons, depending on how active they are. If I find someone who’s very active and dedicated, I’ll have them operate by themselves. But sometimes we have people who aren’t quite as involved, so I’ll assign additional liaisons to that team.”

One key to making the program work is buy-in from the coaching staff. “I explain to the coaches that this has to start with them,” Vigue says. “The faculty members can’t just walk into a team meet-ing, they have to be invited and build a rapport.”

For anyone interested in implementing a similar program at their school, Vigue suggests starting with faculty and staff members who are already attending sporting events. “This program has evolved slowly, but it does work,” he says. “The students really like it when they see faculty and staff show up for their games. It means a lot to them.”

FAC

ULTY A

SS

IST

T

letes to meet people they’ll work with for the next four years in a more relaxed setting. “For example, academic advisors are going to be significant people in their lives, so we want to introduce these advisors to the athletes right away,” Halischak says. “Knowing their advisor ahead of time makes things easier once the hustle and bustle of fall term begins.”

For their classes, athletes take one core general education course such as sociol-ogy or math, and a second that focuses on how to be a successful college athlete. “That class covers personal, cognitive, and cultural identity development,” Halischak says. “It leads to a lot of sharing among the students in attendance and by the time fall semester starts, they’ve developed great relationships with other athletes.

“Also, all the students in one session will take the same two classes,” she continues. “It’s cohort learning, and it’s very important that they experience the same things together.”

Participants in the BEST program are also involved in volunteer work and other weekend activities. “Everything they do has a learning outcome,” Halischak says. “Stu-dent-athletes at Oregon State often go into the community to do things like read to kids in schools. This is an introduction to that kind of work and what it means.”

Participation in BEST is voluntary. All recruits receive information about it during their official visit and coaches talk up the program. One reason for the program’s suc-cess has been coaches embracing it.

“Everyone here understands that this program is where incoming athletes begin to develop their university identity,” Halischak says. “They’re not just a football player or basketball player or rower. They’re part of this much larger academic community and if they can see themselves in that role from the get-go, that’s very significant.”

ENSURING ELIGIBILITY

In the summer of 2010, South Washing-ton County Schools in Cottage Grove, Minn., moved from a semester to a trimester system for its three high schools. As a result, the schools’ grading periods now closely align with the fall, winter, and spring sports sea-sons. That prompted athletic directors in the district to revisit how they track their student-athletes’ grades.

“Previously, if a student had enough credits at the beginning of the season, we deemed them eligible and basically let them go on their way,” says Phil Kuemmel, Ath-letic Director at Park High School in South Washington, explaining that one failed class puts student-athletes on probation and two F’s makes them ineligible. “But after look-


COVER STORY COVER STORY

ing closer at the issue, we decided students needed more guidance and monitoring dur-ing the season itself.”

The new policy, which was approved by the school board and adopted for the 2010-11 school year, requires teachers to talk to coaches or the school’s athletic director when a student is struggling. The policy also includes increased monitoring of student-athletes’ grades throughout the year. This is designed to get student-athletes the help they need before they start failing a class.

“The intent of the new policy is to avoid a situation where a kid is eligible for one season, then we’re surprised because he or she suddenly can’t play the next season,” Kue-mmel says. “It allows us to help kids in the middle of the process when they’re having some problems, as opposed to getting to the point where a kid has so many F’s that they can’t even try to be eligible.”

So, instead of just looking at end-of-term grades to determine eligibility, Kuemmel now uses student-athletes’ mid-term grades to get a feel for which kids are having trouble and might need assistance. If a student is strug-gling with one or more classes, they’ll be

placed on academic probation, which makes them temporarily ineligible.

“For example, if we find a student is hav-ing a hard time in science class, we’ll first give them time to improve that grade,” Kuemmel says. “If the improvement isn’t there, the stu-dent becomes temporarily ineligible until the grade comes up. Students having trouble in a number of classes may be required to attend study table sessions. If there’s just one par-ticular class causing trouble, the coach and teacher will communicate directly to put a plan in place, perhaps with the student com-ing in after school for one-on-one help. We had already done some of that, but the new policy makes it more formal and official.”

To help monitor student-athletes’ grades, the athletic department has created forms student-athletes bring to their classes to be filled out by their teachers weekly or bi-week-ly and sent to their coaches. “I didn’t want to create a ton of extra work for the teachers, so the forms are designed to be filled out quickly,” Kuemmel says. “They include space for the student’s current grade, thoughts on their effort and behavior, and any missing assignments.”

One other major change is how the district views incoming freshman athletes. Previously, students’ eighth grade marks were used to determine eligibility, but now all ninth graders arrive in high school with a clean slate and are immediately eligible.

Kuemmel admits he was skeptical of the idea at first, thinking it might reduce motiva-tion for middle schoolers to keep their grades up. Now he thinks it was the correct decision. “We want kids to get into sports and be a part of our program as freshmen,” he says. “We want to bring them in and get them the assistance they need, rather than telling them, right off the bat, they can’t play because of grades. A lot of times in that scenario, the student will quit sports and then there isn’t assistance available to them.”

For other athletic directors going through similar changes, Kuemmel suggests keeping an open mind. “When I came into this posi-tion, there were policies in place and they were good ones,” he says. “But it was important to be open to the idea that there might be better ways of using athletics as a motivating tool.

“It’s also been very helpful to have a clear school board policy,” Kuemmel continues.

Circle No. 122


“Now, any time a parent has a question, I let them know what we do is not just some-thing I created myself. It’s a school board policy and it’s black and white. It makes my

job easier to have the backing and support of the school board.”

PERFECT SCORE

Three years ago, the Binghamton Univer-sity men’s basketball program made national headlines for all the wrong reasons. Six play-ers were dismissed from the team—includ-ing one who was arrested and charged with possession and sale of cocaine—Head Coach Kevin Broadus was placed on administrative

leave and later resigned, and Athletic Direc-tor Joel Thirer stepped down. Its APR also bottomed out at 893 in 2009-10, costing the squad scholarships.

Now, new Head Coach Mark Macon is working hard to restore the Bearcats’ reputation, including their academic prowess. He recently made great progress, as the team achieved its first perfect APR score of 1,000, boosting the program’s four-year average to a level where it can regain its full scholarship allotment. What has Macon done to get his players’ grades up?

He says the most important step has been putting a clear emphasis on academics and making it a continual topic of conversation. “I constantly talk to my players about the edu-cation of life,” Macon says. “I can take basketball away from them, but nobody can take away what they learn. That’s something my father told me a long time ago when I was in school—what you learn can never be taken away from you.”

He also talks to his athletes about the reality of life after basketball. “Most of them are not going to be able to play sports as a career, so they have to think about doing something else,” Macon explains. “The only way they’ll really be able to do that is to get an education. A lot of my guys now want further education and are looking at getting master’s degrees.”

Another key is making sure athletes use all the resources available to them, including

academic advising, study halls, and tutoring sessions. “I want to give them every opportu-nity to be successful as students and athletes,” says Macon. “They have to be at study hall,

Binghamton’s new Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Macon is working hard to restore the Bearcats’ reputation, includ-ing their academic prowess ... “I constantly talk to my play-

ers about the education of life. I can take basketball away from them, but nobody can take away what they learn.”


COVER STORY COVER STORY

getting individual tutoring with one of their other teachers.”

The grant covered funds for teachers who worked with Carter to develop the curricu-lum and then served as tutors in the pro-gram. “Our main focus was to give the kids time to get their homework going and have help available if they needed it,” he says. “We also wanted to get the point across that high school is about growing up, making good choices, and learning to manage your time.”

Carter and Jenkins hope to continue the

program next year and possibly expand it to the off-season and other sports. “We always talk about shooting high—for example, try-ing to make the honor roll instead of just try-ing to pass,” Carter continues. “This program helped show that we’re committed to their success in the classroom, and they grasped that idea. For some of the students, the struc-ture and situation here is better than anything they’ll find at home. I don’t know whether a kid will ever tell you they enjoyed study hall, but they certainly appreciated it.” �

make their meetings, and go to their tutoring sessions. The responsibility we have as educa-tors is to make sure they know what’s available to them and that they use them.”

To drive his point home, Macon frequently explains to his players how their education will impact the rest of their lives. “College is about perseverance,” he says. “It’s about working hard to get through it. You have to persevere through college and do the right things to stay eligible so you can do something you really like to do.”

Macon also mentions the responsibility stu-dent-athletes have to the program. “It takes a full team commitment to sustain excellence,” he says. “With the APR, someone who doesn’t want to go to class affects the athletes who come after him. Not only are they hurting themselves, they’re hurting the entire program.”

ON THE RIGHT FOOT

As Mike Carter, Head Football Coach at Bloomfield (N.J.) High School, looked over the grades of his freshman players from the past few years, he noticed a disturbing trend: Many of them were failing classes and needed help. So after talking with some of his assistant coaches, including the freshman team coach, he applied for and received a grant through the Bloomfield Educational Foundation to start a program specifically aimed at ninth grade football players.

This past fall, the school created a manda-tory in-season after-school program for its 42 freshman football players. Before practice each Monday through Thursday, players gathered in classrooms for 50 minutes. Three teachers helped the student-athletes with homework and sometimes gave lectures about time man-agement, decision making, and other ways to succeed in high school.

“We have found that our freshmen are traditionally eligible in the fall and winter, but come spring there are problems,” says Bloom-field Athletic Director Steve Jenkins. “A lot of them don’t understand the ramifications of their actions early in the school year and either put themselves into a big hole coming out of the gate in the first marking period, or they do well initially and slack off in marking period two. This program helps ensure they get off on the right foot and maintain what it takes to succeed.”

The root of the issue is the transition from eighth to ninth grade. “We found that the kids needed some extra help in making the adjustment from middle school to high school,” Carter says. “This was not an optional program—all the freshmen had to partici-pate, whether they were struggling or getting straight A’s. We only excused kids if they were

“I constantly talk to my play-ers about the education of life. I can take basketball away from them, but nobody can take away what they learn.”

Circle No. 125

Circle No. 126

Special offers ONLY at www.CoverSports.com/AM For price quotes, sizes, fabric specs and samples, visit www.CoverSports.com/[email protected] • 800-445-6680

We make covers for all athletic surfaces: Field Covers, Windscreens, Mats & PaddingWe make covers for all athletic surfaces: Field Covers, Windscreens, Mats & PaddingWe make covers for all athletic surfaces: Field Covers, Windscreens, Mats & Padding

Premier Mobile Storage Rack

Check out new GymGuard® Plus with raised pattern. Provides enhanced slip resistance.

Only CoverSports® makes the safest and strongest gym floor covers.

Lowest pricing 15 colors 5 weights

ADA compliant

FUNDRAISING

JOH

N K

EATIN

G

I consider myself very fortunate to work at one of the more power-ful and incredible institutions in the country. Stony Brook University, which is part of the New York state public higher education system, has established excellence in academics and research along with an outstanding medical center and is a member

of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU).

In 1999, Stony Brook moved its athletics program to the NCAA Division I level with a goal of increasing the profile, brand, and image of the University, while improving the overall success of its sports teams. The administration wanted athletics to reach the

level of prestige other parts of the campus enjoy. For the first three years, this was a struggle, with teams capturing only one conference championship.

Fast forward to 2012 and we have now won 19 conference championships, upped student-athletes’ GPAs to consistently over 3.0, upgraded our football program from

By Jim Fiore

The Powerof Projection

Can’t hear your announcements clearly? Try theOctasound solution.

With extra high ceilings

and soundreflecting surfaces,

gymnasiums can be an acoustic nightmare.

Octasound’s discrete horns project sound in all

directions to give you true projected not reflected sound.

The large woofer radiates bass. High efficiency drivers give you clean,

clear sound. This gymnasium has flexible divider walls that can be lowered to create

separate gyms. To provide clear sound for each gym when the walls are lowered, we’ve supplied the

180 version of the Octasound speaker and placed two units close to either side of the divider wall.

KDM Electronics Incorporatedwww.octasound.com 1-800-567-6282

Cutaway View of 360 model

Special thanks to The Peterborough Sport & Wellness Centre in Peterborough, Ontario for their help in making this ad.

F lex ib le D iv ider Wal l

KDM-Gymad-09-AM.indd 1 10/1/09 2:51:36 PM

Breaking New Ground How do you transform an athletic program from an afterthought to a success story? At Stony Brook University, a comprehensive and detailed fundraising strategy has been one of the shovels helping to break new ground.

Stony Brook alumnus and MLB player Joe Nathan and his wife Lisa Nathan (center) were the lead donors for the Seawolves’ baseball stadium, one of several new athletic facilities recently built on campus. Author JIm Fiore is second from right.



The Powerof Projection

Can’t hear your announcements clearly? Try theOctasound solution.

With extra high ceilings

and soundreflecting surfaces,

gymnasiums can be an acoustic nightmare.

Octasound’s discrete horns project sound in all

directions to give you true projected not reflected sound.

The large woofer radiates bass. High efficiency drivers give you clean,

clear sound. This gymnasium has flexible divider walls that can be lowered to create

separate gyms. To provide clear sound for each gym when the walls are lowered, we’ve supplied the

180 version of the Octasound speaker and placed two units close to either side of the divider wall.

KDM Electronics Incorporatedwww.octasound.com 1-800-567-6282

Cutaway View of 360 model

Special thanks to The Peterborough Sport & Wellness Centre in Peterborough, Ontario for their help in making this ad.

F lex ib le D iv ider Wal l

10/1/09 2:51:36 PM

Circle No. 127

zero scholarships to 63, fully funded all of our women’s sports, and brought in record crowds for our FCS football team this fall. We have new athletic facilities and have increased our exposure both locally and nationally.

Before this success, not surprisingly, we faced a need to increase fundraising. Since coming on board in 2003, a large part of my job as Director of Athletics has been to educate and sell staff, university leaders, politicians, community members, recruits, parents, alumni, and friends on why Stony Brook athletics is a place worthy of invest-ment.

Along the way, I have found that fundraising is a unique blend of science and art. It takes communication on many levels, creative ideas, and working hand-in-hand with central administra-tors to be successful.

STARTING OFF

While athletics fundraising may end with the all-important “ask,” there are many steps to be taken before getting to that point. The first is to create a plan to get potential donors excited about an athletics program.

Why should someone invest in Stony Brook? It’s essential that a department has a clear mission statement and a vision for the future to answer that question. We established a case statement and goals, and then developed a comprehensive plan with strategies and well thought out steps.

The goals I proposed were lofty, and I held myself accountable to them. They included winning championships, bettering our 2.7 GPA, and instilling a belief that we could turn around and energize the culture of our program.

The mission statement became critical in educating potential donors about what we were trying to do. It was the building block for showing them how their gift could make an impact in allowing our student-athletes to flourish. People want to be a part of something special—whether it’s winning, a great atmosphere, or ambitious ideas. We educated supporters about every facet of our department, what it would take for Stony Brook to achieve success across the

board, and the financial challenges we faced in order to realize our vision.

The catch-22 is that it can be very dif-ficult to show progress and illustrate that you are serious about your goals without some funding to start. That’s why another critical early step is to have the support of upper-level administrators. I believe that “coaches win games and administrators win championships.” I have been fortunate to work for two great presidents during my nine-year tenure at Stony Brook, and with their support, we have moved from zero scholarships in football to the full FCS scholarship allotment, built new facilities,

and increased staff and salaries. These things are key to upgrading an athletics program and can only happen with the unyielding support of a president who believes that ath-letics fits within the overarching University mission and is willing to direct dollars into the program to start.

For example, I felt that an academic sup-port center was critical to improving our student-athletes’ success in their classes and staff recruiting efforts. With the support of our president, we were able to secure a lead gift of $500,000 from one of our most prominent alumni, which led to our state-of-the-art Goldstein Family Student-Athlete Development Center, built in 2005. Our student-athletes now boast an overall GPA of 3.0 with many athletes entering medical school and law school or immediately secur-ing jobs after graduation. This is something we are very proud of and relay to our donors and recruits.

Our upper-level administrators also sup-ported athletics working hand in hand with the Department of University Advancement, which has been important. We collaborate on prospect development, strategies, and the engagement process. We share infor-mation regularly and celebrate all gifts at Stony Brook regardless of where they are designated. Creating a dynamic working relationship across the campus also helps to further athletics’ reputation and good stand-ing within the University administration.

Another synergy that is needed is among all external services. In the Stony Brook

athletic department, we have structured these entities to fall under one umbrella to ensure that communications, marketing, ticket sales, and the advancement staff are all working together to achieve our common goals. This allows us to interact with donors across multiple platforms and make good use of all the technology at our disposal. For example, online giving has risen dramatical-ly over the last few years, and that can only happen if you use technology to make it easy for people to donate through a Web site.

We have also expended a great deal of energy to expand our national expo-sure. One of the most effective mediums

in accomplishing this has been television. Shortly after my arrival at Stony Brook, we signed a multi-year agreement with the MSG Network, which has helped expand our reach to our alumni throughout the region. In the years since, we have made many appearances on other regional sports networks and ESPN, and recently signed a contract with Cablevision to broadcast our games locally to its three million custom-ers on Long Island. Television exposure has elevated Stony Brook’s profile and helped us “tell our story” about our top-notch Univer-sity and all that it has to offer.

DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS

With building blocks in place, we were able to begin developing relationships with potential donors. A donor-centric philoso-phy has been one of the major keys to our success at Stony Brook. This means every-one in our organization believes that donors who give either time or money are vital to our success—we cannot do what we do without them. They are not a means to an end, but rather a way to help us unlock our potential to do good work for the benefit of our student-athletes and University.

That philosophy also means we work hard to build trust and respect with our donors, friends, and fans. We are com-mitted to always being truthful with our constituents and doing the right thing. For example, we encourage our donors to give at a level that is comfortable—but never pressure them past that. There are many

Jim Fiore was the youngest Director of Athletics in NCAA Division I when he was named to the position at Stony Brook University in August of 2003. In his tenure, he has dramatically increased athletics fundraising with regard to major gifts, annual giving revenue, and number of donors, and he currently serves on the NCAA Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet. He can be reached at: [email protected] or followed on Twitter: @JDFiore.


Following meetings with potential donors, we are diligent in comparing notes on what we “heard.” Those follow-up sessions are often very interesting and show us the next steps in the process.

places where donors can give their hard-earned dollars and feel their gift has made an impact—which nurtures a strong attach-ment to the program—from scholarship funding, capital projects, and recruiting efforts, to providing budget enhancement to a particular area.

Educating donors is a constant process as we aim to raise the profile, brand, and image of our program. Whether in an interview, public appearance, press release, e-mail, or social networking outreach, we always seek to tell our story and generate excitement about our University and athletic programs. Often, potential donors are unaware of the chal-lenges we face, the accomplishments of our gifted student-athletes and coaches, and the great work that is going on across the Uni-versity. Taking the time to educate them on those finer points has gone a long way toward helping our advancement process evolve.

We also take the time to listen to potential donors. This is arguably the most important aspect to our fundraising efforts. With clear-ly defined goals and a mission, it is easy to become highly focused on achieving those benchmarks. However, we must be careful

not to become locked in on what we want and not take the time to listen to concerns the donor is expressing.

Following meetings with potential donors, we are diligent in comparing notes on what we “heard.” Those follow-up ses-sions are often very interesting and show us the extremely important next steps in the fundraising process. I encourage our fundraisers to be “pleasantly persistent” with potential donors, but to also listen to our donors’ wants and desires.

At the same time, we try to use our efforts wisely. A smart allocation of resources is essential for any department in this economy. I strongly believe that the majority of our time should be spent on major gift develop-ment because those donors help produce the greatest results. As our program has matured during my nine years at Stony Brook, we have moved our fundraising efforts away from an event-driven model toward a major gift oper-ation. As a result, we have experienced some spectacular results—last year, we secured the largest donation ever given to a SUNY (State University of New York) athletic department with a $4.3 million gift for a state-of-the-art


FUNDRAISING

strength and conditioning facility provided by a former football and lacrosse student-athlete.

Not too long ago, we spent much of our time on “friend-raising” events such as dinners, golf outings, and alumni days. We discovered that for the amount of time we were spending organizing those programs, we were not generating enough revenue for the department. While such events are a necessary part of the fundraising process, we realized they did not maximize our revenue generation efforts.

Most fundraising experts will tell you that cultivating donors takes time. I have found it also takes the right person. And that per-son will change depending on the situation. Whether it is a coach, administrator, uni-versity president, or a key volunteer, we are careful to enlist the right person or people at specific points in the fundraising process.

For example, we were making a presenta-tion to a donor at one point about a com-prehensive capital project and we thought it would be useful to include the architect. He was able to appropriately articulate different construction options, details on the project,


Just imagine what you can do!

Contact us to talk to your local sales representative TODAY!

1-800-228-9028www.allamericanfr.com

SINCE 1968

TAP

PIN

G A

LUM

S


and potential solutions much better than we would have been able to. I believe his part of the presentation was a critical reason why the donor ultimately decided to support the project.

Coaches can also play an integral role in this endeavor. I have been blessed with an incredible coaching staff that fully under-stands the need to raise revenue. Our coach-es are completely engaged and are a huge part of building our donor database and solicitation efforts. A great coach must first be a great recruiter, and who better than your best recruiter to sell a prospective donor on your vision and mission?

Throughout the process of building rela-tionships, stewarding donors is essential. We have been fortunate at Stony Brook to see tremendous growth in our fundraising efforts over the last few years, and I think a big part of that has been a renewed focus on thanking and communicating with our fans and friends. We send an annual report to each of our donors—no matter the size of their gift—to thank them and once again let them know how their contribution has helped write Stony Brook’s story. Also, along with a general University thank you, each donor to athletics receives a special thank you postcard from our coaches or admin-istrators.

With significant donors, we try to do something special and unique whenever possible. In one case, which involved a facility project, we worked with our general contractor to have the lead major donor and his family all sign and date a steel beam that would be used in the structure of the building. Creating this fun and permanent opportunity for the donating family helped to further thank and connect them to the project.

Finally, it’s important to not lose sight of the finish line. You need to always be work-ing toward the “ask,” whether it is part of the annual giving program, corporate partner-ships, or a major gift. Ask appropriately and in a timely manner—but be sure to ask.

My good friend and current Princeton University Director of Athletics Gary Wal-ters once said, “Communication is a contact sport.” That statement is absolutely true when it comes to raising money at the intercollegiate level. Articulate the mission, educate the donor, celebrate the success, continue to build the relationship, and ask when the time is appropriate and prepara-tion has been completed.

PLANS IN PLACE

Along with cultivating our donors, we have a few game plans in place. We focus on

three types of giving—annual campaigns, sport-specific fundraisers, and major gifts.

The annual giving plan is developed in conjunction with University Advancement and usually entails two “ask” letters, one in the fall and one in the spring. The University Telefund staff members then follow up those letters with phone calls and use varying strat-egies to get, renew, or upgrade the gift.

Our advancement officers create and develop sport-specific plans with each coach to meet their needs and focus on tapping alumni in their sports. These plans vary by sport and usually include a mix of our overall annual giving plan, direct outreach, events, and perhaps even a particular initia-tive that is solely dedicated to that sport. We round out our annual giving efforts through fundraising events, alumni days, golf out-ings, and stewardship initiatives.

Major gift development has become the primary component of our fundrais-ing efforts. In this area, we create specific strategies for each donor and execute them throughout the year. Each plan is unique in its complexity, length, and management.

The first step in the process is for us to identify prospects who have the ability and desire to make a major gift. From there, our advancement officers develop a portfolio and assign those prospects to an appropriate

RESEARCHIn the last 10 years, Stony Brook has made the commitment to research and “clean” its fundraising database. Until recently, our efforts to recon-nect with student-athlete alumni were severely hampered by incorrect personal information on addresses, graduation year, and sport played, so we took the necessary steps to update it all.

EVENTSSport contests provide a natural forum where alumni can have a great time and once again become interested in what is taking place on campus. Unique cultivation events

can also prove effective. In fall 2010, we played our first football game against an FBS opponent when we faced Big East Conference mem-ber University of South Florida in Tampa. Florida is the home to many Stony Brook alumni and more than 600 people attended our pregame tailgate party at Raymond James Stadium. Most of the alumni at the party had not been back to campus in more than a decade and the game was a way to get them excited about their alma mater.

COLLABORATIONWe team with the Alumni Associa-tion, University Advancement, and

other key departments to maximize our resources. Homecoming, con-certs, galas, award dinners, and other events can all serve to get a positive reaction from alumni who are yearning to reconnect with their school.

ALUMNI LEADERS In a few instances, we have had great success by enlisting the help of highly enthusiastic alumni who would like to serve as “ambas-sadors” in helping to grow the pro-gram. If you can identify the correct people, they can help reach out to former teammates and other genera-tions to get them back involved.

At Stony Brook, one of our greatest challenges has been reconnecting our STUDENT-ATHLETE ALUMNI to the University and our department. Since we are a relatively young institu-tion with a rapidly growing athletic program, we needed to get alumni to “re-discover” their University and feel proud about its past, present, and future. Here are some of the strategies we have utilized to do this:


person. The portfolio outlines the donor’s capacity and inclination for giving, where their interest may lie, and a course of action for the staff member over a prescribed period of time.

Once that plan is in place, we meet regularly to discuss next steps and whether we need to alter our strategy in any way. The overall length of the pro-cess varies with each prospect, but we normally take 18-24 months to secure a major gift. During that time, it usually becomes quite clear as to the level and purpose of the “ask.” At the appropri-ate time, we then decide on how to make the ask and who should attend the meeting. It is very important that each prospect is treated as a unique opportu-nity. Once the gift is secured, we set up a detailed plan to properly honor, recognize, and celebrate their meaningful gift.

Recently, we have had great success with this strategy as it led to the building of a brand new baseball stadium thanks to Stony Brook alum and perennial MLB All-Star Joe Nathan. His lead gift of $500,000 set the tone and last spring we unveiled beautiful Joe Nathan ’97

Field. Our dedication ceremony included inviting all of Nathan’s teammates from the 1995 conference championship team, a rib-bon cutting ceremony, and a ceremonial first pitch involving Joe, our university president,

and the other major donors to the project. As a special memento, all of those in attendance received an autographed Joe Nathan baseball that commemorated the event.

Nine years ago, we had some bold plans for the future of Seawolves Athletics. With a lot of hard work and a commitment to raising revenue the right way, we have been

very fortunate to meet many of our goals, and believe our best days are still ahead of us. In fact, we recently received two more sig-nificant gifts to the Stony Brook Department of Athletics—one for $1 million to be used

towards our new $20.3 million basketball arena, and the other for $500,000 to be used at my discretion in consultation with the donor. We are blessed to work in an exciting field that can make a tremendous impact on the lives of our student-athletes, and we do not take that privilege and responsibility lightly. �

FUNDRAISING

Our coaches are ... a huge part of building our donor database and solicitation efforts. A great coach must first be a great recruiter, and who better than your best recruiter to sell a prospective donor on your vision and mission?

Circle No. 130

TOP:

DA

YTO

N N

EWS/

TEES

HA

MC

CLA

M (U

SED

WIT

H P

ERM

ISSI

ON

)

15,000 Square Ft. Showroom Open to the Public

UNBEATABLE

PRICES & QUALITY

160 Home St., Elmira, NY 14904

Tel: 800-446-1833

Fax: 607-733-1010

Email: [email protected]

BENCHES, CALF MACHINES

DUMBELL RACKS, LAT MACHINES

PLATE HOLDERS, POWER RACKS

SMITH MACHINES, PLATES

HEX DUMBELLS, BARS,

WEIGHT SETS

STRONGMAN EQUIPMENT

AND MORE!!

New York Barbell of Elmira, Inc.

SINCE 1974

WWW.NEWYORKBARBELLS.COM

C82626-WP

GLUTE & HAM STRING MACHINE

KETTLE BELLS

SOLID OR ADJUSTABLE

SPECIAL POWER LIFTING BARS

(IM-0260-O) MEGA TRICEP CURL BAR - 86" LONG-$199

(IM-0250-O) MEGA BOW BAR - 92" LONG-$199

(IM-0240-O) MEGA SPL. OLYMPIC BAR - 92" LONG-$189

Cr. Collars

Included

FARMER’S WALK - 2” & 5”

Im5634 WEIGHTED

VEST 50 lb.

ONE SIZE FITS ALL

ADJ. 2LB - 50 LB.

$129

BLACK FINISH WITH CHROME COLLARS

1000 lb. Capacity

Deep Knurled for Better Grip

1.25" Dia. Steel Bar - Knurled & Chrome Plated

Plates, Stand & Collars are not included

MEGA SHRUG BAR

#IM-0063-O

$249

SERVING THE INDUSTRY FOR OVER 30 YEARS!

2” : $129

5” : $299

8” : $489

C-PRO92580

TITAN POWER RACK-96”

$849

3" X 3" X 11 Gauge Steel Tube Construction

Self Locking Jumbo Steel Pins

Self Locking Jumbo "J" Hooks

Front Deep Knurled Chinning Bar

33" Space between front & Rear Posts

*Plates not included

$499

Extra Wide Diamond Toe Plate for Foot Support

Adjustable Horizontal & Vertical Slide

Special Contoured Seat, Front & Rear Hand Grips

Call for Special Discounts for

Government & military orders

2” X 4” Base for Stability

$199.95

PLATE RACK-$249

TITAN SQ. PLYOMETRIC PLTFORMS

Available Sizes: : 12”, 18”, 24”, 30”, 36 & 42”

Top: 3/4” CD Plywood base with

3/4” US Made Non Toxic, Non Skid Rubber

POWER LIFTING BELTS

½” Thick Top Quality Leather

Soft Suede Lining & Padded Back

for increased Support.

$44.95

XS, S, M, L, XL & XXL

LEATHER DIP BELT

$34.95

C91416-WALL MOUNT KIP CHIN/PULL UP UNIT

LEATHER HEAD GEAR

$24.95

101011

Up To 200 lb.

4-WAY SUPER HIP SLED

C-91663

$995

WIDE BASE POWER RACK # C8517

$699

33” Distance between Posts

2 ½”Sq. Tube

2 Plate Holders Included

Two Pair Band Holders Included

Distance between

holes-2”

1” SOLID STEEL

PINS

2” Dia

Pull Up Bar

21 1/4” Dia Pull Up Bar

Circle No.131

COACHING


The hero of this story, Fairmont (Kettering, Ohio) High School Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Hank Bias, celebrates a win in 2010, and poses with John Wooden (inset).TO

P: D

AY

TON

NEW

S/TE

ESH

A M

CC

LAM

(USE

D W

ITH

PER

MIS

SIO

N)

VERY COACH TODAY, whether they are a rookie or a veteran, and no mat-ter their sport, knows of UCLA’s John Wooden—and for good reason. His

men’s basketball teams earned 10 NCAA titles in 12 years, reeled off an 88-game win streak, and won 38 straight tournament games. He was named NCAA Coach of the Year six times, and Men’s College Coach of the 20th Century by both the Naismith Hall of Fame and ESPN.

Little wonder he was so successful, some say. He coached several of the greatest duos in collegiate basketball history, including Hazzard and Goodrich, Abdul-Jabbar and Warren, Wicks and Rowe, and Walton and Wilkes. But Wooden believed there was a second factor contributing to his success at UCLA: teaching.

He often said what he learned about pedagogy as a high school English teacher in the 1930s helped him become a better coach. He acknowledged whole-heartedly that few coaches can be successful without talent, but he insisted even superstars must be taught to play as a team. While teaching

Encouraging your coaches to take a page from the Wizard of Westwood can turn them into teachers, and have a profound effect.

E

By Dr. Ronald Gallimore, Dr. Bradley Ermeling, and Swen Nater

Timeless Lessons

15,000 Square Ft. Showroom Open to the Public

UNBEATABLE

PRICES & QUALITY

160 Home St., Elmira, NY 14904

Tel: 800-446-1833

Fax: 607-733-1010

Email: [email protected]

BENCHES, CALF MACHINES

DUMBELL RACKS, LAT MACHINES

PLATE HOLDERS, POWER RACKS

SMITH MACHINES, PLATES

HEX DUMBELLS, BARS,

WEIGHT SETS

STRONGMAN EQUIPMENT

AND MORE!!

New York Barbell of Elmira, Inc.

SINCE 1974

WWW.NEWYORKBARBELLS.COM

C82626-WP

GLUTE & HAM STRING MACHINE

KETTLE BELLS

SOLID OR ADJUSTABLE

SPECIAL POWER LIFTING BARS

(IM-0260-O) MEGA TRICEP CURL BAR - 86" LONG-$199

(IM-0250-O) MEGA BOW BAR - 92" LONG-$199

(IM-0240-O) MEGA SPL. OLYMPIC BAR - 92" LONG-$189

Cr. Collars

Included

FARMER’S WALK - 2” & 5”

Im5634 WEIGHTED

VEST 50 lb.

ONE SIZE FITS ALL

ADJ. 2LB - 50 LB.

$129

BLACK FINISH WITH CHROME COLLARS

1000 lb. Capacity

Deep Knurled for Better Grip

1.25" Dia. Steel Bar - Knurled & Chrome Plated

Plates, Stand & Collars are not included

MEGA SHRUG BAR

#IM-0063-O

$249

SERVING THE INDUSTRY FOR OVER 30 YEARS!

2” : $129

5” : $299

8” : $489

C-PRO92580

TITAN POWER RACK-96”

$849

3" X 3" X 11 Gauge Steel Tube Construction

Self Locking Jumbo Steel Pins

Self Locking Jumbo "J" Hooks

Front Deep Knurled Chinning Bar

33" Space between front & Rear Posts

*Plates not included

$499

Extra Wide Diamond Toe Plate for Foot Support

Adjustable Horizontal & Vertical Slide

Special Contoured Seat, Front & Rear Hand Grips

Call for Special Discounts for

Government & military orders

2” X 4” Base for Stability

$199.95

PLATE RACK-$249

TITAN SQ. PLYOMETRIC PLTFORMS

Available Sizes: : 12”, 18”, 24”, 30”, 36 & 42”

Top: 3/4” CD Plywood base with

3/4” US Made Non Toxic, Non Skid Rubber

POWER LIFTING BELTS

½” Thick Top Quality Leather

Soft Suede Lining & Padded Back

for increased Support.

$44.95

XS, S, M, L, XL & XXL

LEATHER DIP BELT

$34.95

C91416-WALL MOUNT KIP CHIN/PULL UP UNIT

LEATHER HEAD GEAR

$24.95

101011

Up To 200 lb.

4-WAY SUPER HIP SLED

C-91663

$995

WIDE BASE POWER RACK # C8517

$699

33” Distance between Posts

2 ½”Sq. Tube

2 Plate Holders Included

Two Pair Band Holders Included

Distance between

holes-2”

1” SOLID STEEL

PINS

2” Dia

Pull Up Bar

21 1/4” Dia Pull Up Bar

well might not always trump talent, he felt it made a critical difference in his career as a coach. In speaking to groups, he said, “when I was teaching at UCLA …”

Wooden also believed that teaching can be improved, and that dedicated teachers and coaches should never stop trying to get better. During every year of his career, he identified an area of his teaching he thought needed improvement. Based on his research each off-season, he developed and tried out various instructional adjustments, took notes during practices, and refined his prac-tice lessons until he was satisfied that players were progressing. He thought anyone who is “through learning, is through.”

But does any of this apply to today’s coaches? Should an athletic administrator insist and help coaches work on continu-ously improving their teaching? After all, Wooden coached his last game in 1975. Some might argue times have changed—

what worked so well in Wooden’s era might not be effective today.

At least one high school coach in Ohio has found Wooden’s lessons to be relevant. In fact, they saved his career. The story of what this coach learned and its effects on his teaching is a great example of the effects of using continuous improvement.

WITH A PHONE CALL

In 2003, Henry “Hank” Bias, Head Boys’ Basketball Coach (and Physical Education Teacher) at Fairmont High School in Ketter-ing, Ohio, had just finished his third consecu-tive losing season and was profoundly discouraged by his team’s 3-17 record. He questioned whether he had what it takes to coach basketball and mulled changing careers.

Thinking about going to graduate school, Bias went to see Dr. George DeMarco, a professor at the University of Dayton, who


urged him to do some research on coaching and teaching before making a career change. One of the articles DeMarco recommended was a 1976 study of Wooden’s pedagogy based on live observations of practice ses-sions in 1975. Bias was intrigued and asked one of the researchers, Dr. Ron Gallimore, if he had any films of Wooden coaching. The answer was yes, but Bias would need the coach’s permission to borrow them. He was given John Wooden’s home phone number.

After some initial hesitation, Bias mus-tered up the courage to dial Wooden’s number. As Bias started to leave a message, Wooden picked up and said hello. Bias began to explain that he was a high school basketball coach in the Dayton area and had some ques-tions about teaching the game of basketball. Wooden interrupted and started asking ques-tions himself. To Bias’s surprise and delight, they talked for 20 minutes about teaching basketball and how to improve as a coach.

Ronald Gallimore, PhD, is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at UCLA who conducts research on teaching and its improvement, and counts what he learned from John Wooden about teaching as the opportunity of a lifetime. Bradley Ermeling, EdD, is an Educational Researcher at UCLA and recipient of Learning Forward’s 2010 Best Research Award who conducts research and development on teaching and performance improvement. Former UCLA and NBA player Swen Nater is staff member at BeLikeCoach, and author and blogger on the subject of pedagogy and continuous improvement as the means to teaching and coaching success. They can be reached at: [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].

Circle No. 132

Celebrating 55 Years!

1-800-553-2476Kay Park & Recreation

Contact us now!FREE 80 PAGE CATALOGUE

[email protected]

w w w . k a y p a r k . c o m

Benches, Bleachers, Fountains, Pedal Boats,

Picnic Tables, and much more!

Hundreds of products...

America’s Finest Since 1954

Then, Coach Wooden invited Bias to come visit him so they could discuss coaching and teaching at length.

A few days later, Bias was sitting in Wood-en’s condo, which was crammed to the ceiling with mementos and memorabilia. Wooden shared many bits of advice, but one of the most important was that better instruction was the answer Bias was seeking, and the way to get it was to relentlessly and continu-ously work on improving teaching, one prac-tice session after another. Bias went back to Ohio and began following Wooden’s advice immediately.

The first season after he met with Wood-en, Bias’s team doubled its win total, finishing 6-15. The team improved again the next year, nearly hitting .500 at 9-11. In the third year of Bias’s efforts to become a better teacher, the Firebirds’ record was 17-6. After winning the Greater Western Ohio Conference (GWOC) East championship, the team went deep into the state tournament and Bias won a local co-coach of the year award.

In the five seasons after Bias began imple-menting Wooden’s lessons, Fairmont’s win-ning percentage was 62 percent, compared to 29 percent in the seasons prior to Bias meeting Wooden. This was the best five-year record for the school since the 1920s, and it was accomplished with no signifi-cant improvement in talent level—during a period when the Firebirds’ competition got tougher.

Behind the scenes, Bias’s story is one of steady effort, day after day, week after week. Bias continued to communicate with Wooden and was also helped by Swen Nater, a former UCLA player for Wooden who played professionally for 11 years. But mostly, Bias worked on his own to become a better teacher. He practiced a form of self-guided, continuous improvement, which other coaches can also use to become better teachers of their sport.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

The concept of Continuous Improve-ment (CI) applied to teaching and coaching is neither a Wooden creation nor a novel idea. Brad Ermeling identified four actions Wooden used to improve his teaching on the practice floor that bear a striking resem-blance to common elements of CI employed in various fields:

1. Identify critical instructional issues.2. Prepare and implement instructional

plans.3. Use evidence to drive reflection, analy-

sis, and next steps.4. Persistently seek detectable improve-

ments.

COACHING

For Bias, these four steps were the founda-tion of turning around his program. In one sense, they are simple—figure out how to teach the game well. But, in another sense, they are complex—teaching is an art that requires constant self-analysis and revision. Here is how Bias tackled each one:

Identify instructional issues: Contem-plating what to work on first, Bias recalled one incident that haunted him for a long time. “I remember a player named Brandon com-menting that it seemed like we were doing a lot of drills, but none of them applied to the games,” he says. “To soften the blow, he said, ‘you’re a good coach,’ but I think he meant my coaching didn’t add up to anything, because the team was not getting better.”

As he critiqued his approach to teaching, Bias realized he had no consistent principles to plan and conduct practices. He had col-lected a pile of resources from clinics and other coaches, and he haphazardly picked from this file to plan and teach. He looks back now and describes himself as a bull in a teaching strategy China shop, charging full speed here and there without a coherent plan or pedagogical approach. He was a student of the game, but not a teacher of it.

He also realized that practices had a lot of dead time. There was too much stoppage, where he would take extended time to correct mistakes and lecture.

Bias identified two specific improvements he wanted to make. First, he would spend more time developing practice plans that had specific learning goals for each day. Second, he would try to eliminate long lectures and stoppage of activity, and instead relay short, concise corrections to players.

Prepare instructional plans: In order to accomplish his first goal, Bias began prepar-ing more detailed practice plans for every day, and stuck with them. In the past, he would write out his practice plans, but didn’t always adhere to them. If a drill was going badly, he sometimes extended it, cutting into time for other drills, and causing practice to be extended.

One of Wooden’s philosophies was to set a strict limit on the length of practices—no time was added if drills didn’t go well or his

players’ efforts fell short of expectations. Bias followed this idea, focusing on making prac-tices intense, demanding, and precisely two hours long. Players then knew what to expect, and there was no need to conserve energy for fear the session might be extended. He also began finishing every practice with an activ-ity the players considered fun.

In addition, because Bias’s practice plans were laid out minute by minute, his managers and assistant coaches knew when and where to locate equipment. This cut out wasted time between drills because players did not have to wait or search around for what they needed.

Bias’s second goal was to curtail the amount of time he spent talking during practices, which he realized resulted in fewer

active opportunities to learn and interrupted the flow of learning. Wooden told him that corrections should last no longer than 10 seconds if possible, the player should be addressed by first name, nothing should be mentioned that would discourage the player, and the correction should be packed with practical information. For example, “Kyle, make your cut at the right time. You were a little early. Wait a second and see what hap-pens. Try it again.”

Bias also started delivering corrections and praise when players learn the most—immediately after they do something—and being concise. “Justin, way to go, you cut off the driver … Sam, good crisp, fast outlet pass … Mark, don’t pull the ball down when you rebound, keep it up.”

Use evidence to reflect, analyze, and change: While working on planning and practice talk for several years, Bias kept notes and records of his practices. Team play had improved, wins were coming more frequently, and Fairmont started building a reputation as a tough and competitive team. Bias felt practices were better organized and more efficient, and he was confident he had become a more disciplined “instructional talker.”

But something was missing. His changes were not adding up to the gains in student learning he thought were possible. During games, his players were sometimes confused by what he asked them to do and were not

Wooden’s teachings also emphasize that correc-tions during games must feel similar to what was said in practice ... The team then plays the way it practices.



executing well—they were not “connecting the dots.”

At this point, Bias put even more effort into assessing and reflecting on what he was doing. He realized that while his players were mastering the drills during practice, they were not learning principles to apply in games when suddenly confronted with unex-pected moves by their opponents. They could not improvise and adapt on the court. Bias returned to his previous research method: reading what he could find and talking to Wooden, Nater, and anyone he felt could teach him something.

As he dug deeper into his analysis and reflection, Bias realized he needed to organize drills so that in practice, players were con-fronted with decision-making opportunities. They needed to face exactly the same deci-sion points they would in a game. Precisely at those points, he had to teach them the vari-ous options and how to choose among those options. For instance, if in a game, a team-mate got in the wrong rebounding position after a shot went up, Bias would make sure to say the same thing he said in practices: “Brad, when Jamal gets out of position, remember to fill in as the short rebounder at the free throw line.”

Wooden’s teachings also emphasize that the corrections must feel similar to what was said in practice. Along with being the same content, they should be the same tone and intensity. The coach needs to act the same during practices as during games. The team then plays the way it practices.

“I always wished Brandon could come back and practice with us now,” Bias says. “I think he would say, ‘Okay Coach, I know I’m going to be facing every one of those situa-tions in the game on Friday night, and there’s a connect with what we are doing in practice right now.”

A few years after he left for college Bran-don came for a visit. A current player was hurt, so Brandon filled in. After the practice

session ended, he said, “Coach, if we would have practiced like that when I played here, we would have been a much better team.”

Persistently seek improvements: A CI process is never truly finished. Becoming a better teacher is a career-long journey. Along with continuing to read and research about basketball and pedagogy, Bias adopted several important routines to aid his improvement efforts:

> Making notes on file cards during and immediately after practices. For example, if a drill was proving inadequate for the goal intended, Bias made a note. He tallied how many repetitions of each offensive or defensive set the team finished with a goal of 100—Coach Wooden had a rule that full mastery required 100 repetitions. On his 3x5

cards, he noted drills that required refine-ments, activities that needed more or less time, and specific instruction an individual player might be helped by.

> Reviewing each practice mentally for 15 to 20 minutes afterwards to see how it could improve. Bias thought about what went well and what did not, what he said, and how players reacted.

> Asking questions of other coaches, for-

mer players, and anyone who might have insights. Questions included technical details on offensive and defensive strategies, what drills work best for specific skill sets, and any feedback or criticism anyone cared to offer.

> Monitoring the pace of practice. Bias often used the scoreboard clock to check how on task he was during practices.

By continually assessing his practices, he was able to constantly improve his teaching. Some of the specific upgrades he made in later years included:

> Tweaking drills to make them more game like. Bias did this by either increasing the speed or intensity of the drill or the intel-lectual process the player must manage. He added a clock and score to a number of drills. And he developed more drills that helped the players practice reacting.

> Identifying areas of needed improve-ment for individual players, and schedul-ing brief instructional periods for them just before formal practices began.

> Adding a player-led offensive execution time during preparation for summer league games, so that his athletes had an opportu-nity to be in the “teaching/leading” role and build joint ownership of the team’s offense and defense.

> Not making adjustments on the fly. When a drill was not going well, instead of changing it immediately, Bias learned to sim-ply stop the drill and move on. “I learned from Coach Wooden that it’s better to end a drill instead of trying to think on the spur of the moment of improvement,” he says. “Instead, I made adjustments in the next practice plan.”

> Working with coaches of the sub-varsity teams with the goal of getting them to adopt a common approach to teaching basketball.

APPLYING THE STORY

Bias’s story has inspired those who know it. But it is prudent to keep in mind that


DEFIN

ING

SU

CC

ESS

Along with working hard to improve his teaching of student- athletes, Fairmont High School Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Hank Bias wanted to further his individual sense of success. He wanted to enjoy coaching to its fullest and not feel burdened by its pressures.

He worked to adopt for himself John Wood-en’s definition of suc-cess: doing the best possible teaching instead of focusing only on the win-loss column or the final score. This was reinforced by a note he received from Wooden at one point.


Dear Hank:

Never forget that the only pressure

about which one should be concerned is

the pressure one puts on oneself. And

that must always be present. Those who

succumb to outside pressure will tighten

up and will not perform to their own

level of competency.

BE YOURSELF AND

ALWAYS KEEP LEARNING.

The key to Bias’s success was his commitment to learning how to become a better teacher.

it is an anecdote. Even the least skeptical observer might wonder how much of Bias’s experience can be repeated by other coaches. After all, few get direct input from a coach-ing legend and a former pro player.

However, Nater and Wooden both insist-ed that while Bias benefited from the encour-agement they provided, the real key to his success was his willingness to change and relentless commitment to learning how to become a better teacher. Bias’s experience points to at least four specific actions athletic directors can apply in developing the coaches on their staffs.

Adopt the CI Process: First, urge your coaches to adopt the CI process Bias used: identify critical instructional issues, plan and implement better kinds of instruction, collect and reflect on evidence, and persist until there are tangible signs of player prog-ress. Bias’s initial focus was practice plan-ning and “instructional talk,” but the choice of an initial CI focus ought to be based on each coach’s careful evaluation and analysis.

Team Up: While Bias used a mainly self-guided approach, CI teams have been shown to improve instruction in the educational context. Ask coaches to team up in either small or large groups that meet regularly. This allows opportunities to share goals, ideas, and findings, and provides a setting that supports sustaining continuous improvement efforts.

Provide Support: CI effort often needs some support and facilitation to stay focused, some kind of protocol or guidelines to follow, and access to resources such as local experts, reading materials, or face-to-face talks. As athletic director, you can play the role that John Wooden did for Hank Bias, connecting coaches to new possibilities for addressing critical instructional issues.

Be Patient: Coach Wooden taught that big changes don’t come quickly—they require steady work and incremental improvements—but when they come, they last. CI takes time, commitment, and per-sistence to get tangible gains in learning and performance. Administrators and coaches that decide to begin a CI journey should also agree to stick with it over a period of years.

The commitment to improvement some-times leads to wins and championships. But perhaps more importantly, it leads to suc-cess as Wooden defined it: “peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” Few lessons could be more important for administrators and coaches, and few lessons could be more valuable to model and teach student-athletes. �


800 790 7611

Big Impact.BigSigns.com

BigBigBigBigBig Impact.Impact.Impact.Big Graphics.

Visit www.bigsigns.com, or call us today to learn about the many ways we can help you celebrate your teams accomplishments.

Circle No. 133

Circle No. 134

For quotes and specials visit www.CoverSports.com/AMWS [email protected] • 800-445-6680 • www.coversports.comWe make covers for all athletic surfaces.

FenceMate® TuffPrintTM will make a lasting impression.DIGITAL:• Precise reproduction of your image• Multiple colors, shading and more

SCREEN: • Long-lasting durable ink• Most economical process

Full-range printing at cost-effective prices.

Digitally printed

QUICK TURNAROUND • ALL PRINTING DONE IN-HOUSE • PROOF SENT FOR OK

Screen printed

COACHING

UN

IVER

SITY

OF

OR

EGO

N A

THLE

TIC

S/ER

IC E

VA

NS

(HO

FFM

AN

, LO

KO

MB

O &

KA

DD

U)

& S

TEV

E D

YK

ES (

WEE

MS)

.

NEW FROM ATHLETIC MANAGEMENT

In the Fight Against Concussions: Reliable Resources PARENTS’ GUIDE TO SPORTS CONCUSSIONSTo help athletes fully recover from concussions, athletic trainers, coaches and athletic directors need an important ally — athletes’ parents. We’ve produced a comprehensive guide on concussions specifi cally created for the parents of the athletes you work with. It includes:

❚❘ Symptoms to watch for post-concussion

❚❘ What you need to know about neurocognitive testing, and

whether to seek additional testing

❚❘ Understanding return-to-play guidelines

❚❘ How to communicate and work with your athlete’s coaches

and athletic trainers after the concussion

❚❘ Questions to ask your physician

❚❘ Information on choosing the right helmet

Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Daytime Phone: (To be used if there’s a problem with your order.)Email address:

I T E M S

ORDER FORM MAG, Inc.20 Eastlake Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850 AM24.02

PAY M E N T M E T H O D❑ U.S. check made payable to MAG, Inc. enclosed (sorry, only US orders)❑ VISA ❑ MasterCard ❑ Discover ❑ AmerExCredit card #: ________/________/________/ ________Expiration date: _____/ _____ 3 or 4 digit code: _______Cardholder Name PRINTED: Cardholder Signature:

S H I P P I N G P R I C E S

0-$49.99 = $8.00 $50-$99.99 = $9.00 $100-$149.99 = $10.00 $150-and up = $12.00

Fax this order to 607-257-7328 or Mail this order to MAG, Inc., 20 Eastlake Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850

Subtotal $ + Shipping $ NY residents add sales tax $ = TOTAL $

**PLEASE PRINT INFO.

TITLE PRICE QUANTITY TOTALParents’ Guide to Sports Concussions $14.50Athletic Management Concussion Kit $65.00

$1450

TEAM DISCOUNTSpecial bulk pricing for orders of 20 or more books

$950

PARENTS’ GUIDE TO SPORTS CONCUSSIONS A comprehensive guide on concussions specifi cally created for the parents of the athletes you work with.

CONCUSSION: AN EDUCATIONAL DVD Information on concussion and post concussion syndrome for athletic trainers, coaches, and educators.

CONCUSSION POLICY GUIDE A step-by-step approach to developing a successful and comprehensive concussion program in schools.

SPORTS CONCUSSION: FROM THE PLAYING FIELD TO THE CLASSROOM This tip card on concussions in sports helps coaches, athletic trainers, parents and school personnel recognize and monitor early and late concussion symptoms in student-athletes.

CONCUSSION EDUCATION: IN THE STUDENT-ATHLETE’S NEIGHBORHOOD This tip card provides checklists and practical strategies on educating everyone on the signs and symptoms of concussion in student-athletes with tips for support and accommodations.

Call 877.422.5548 Ext.11 for more

information.

A GREAT RESOURCE TO PROVIDE THE PARENTS OF YOUR ATHLETES

ALSO AVAILABLE

Athletic Management Concussion KitIncludes:

Circle No. 135

PROGRESSIVE PROGRAMS

UN

IVER

SITY

OF

OR

EGO

N A

THLE

TIC

S/ER

IC E

VA

NS

(HO

FFM

AN

, LO

KO

MB

O &

KA

DD

U)

& S

TEV

E D

YK

ES (

WEE

MS)

.

t every institution, student-athletes are expected to be leaders. Coaches demand it and society expects it. But leadership is not a quality that magically appears. Rather, it must be taught, developed, coached, and critiqued.

That’s why, here at the University of Oregon, we have developed a for-credit course specifically to help student-athletes further their leadership skills. Called

“The Leadership Challenge,” it is a way for our students to gain self-awareness, become part of a network of leaders, learn more about the process of leadership, and have fun while they’re at it.


By Katie Harbert

At the University of Oregon, student-athletes are learning the art of teamwork and communication through a for-credit class called “The Leadership Challenge.”

Justin Hoffman, Josh Kaddu, Darrion Weems, and Boseko Lokombo (clockwise from top left) were four of 10 football players who took the UO leadership class last summer.

Accepting The Challenge

A

Leadership skills can be taught through a myriad of ways, based on each institution’s needs, goals, and resources. The class we developed uses experiential learning, which we feel best fits the culture and resources we have at Oregon. Rather than getting lectured on what leadership is, students explore the idea, play with it, and try to figure it out for themselves.

STRUCTURE & SETUP

The class began in 2003 under the direc-tion of Karen Nelson, who was the Assistant Athletic Director of Student Services and has since retired. It was a four-day inten-sive course and largely used activi-ties, speakers, breakout groups, and reflection to teach and develop leadership skills. The class was held again in 2009 and 2011, with the curriculum, structure, and activi-ties changing somewhat based on new leadership literature and the personnel involved.

In its current form, the Leader-ship Challenge course is offered for three credits and takes place over two weekends in the summer. Having the course on the weekend ensures it does not conflict with student-athletes’ other classes and workout schedules. While it is geared towards leadership development among student-athletes, the course is open to all students on campus.

The curriculum is designed to teach participants a variety of leadership theories, styles, skills, and practices. It then chal-lenges students to apply these principles. The teaching tools we use include assigned readings, breakout sessions, many hands-on activities, speakers, reflections, presenta-tions, and a final paper. Students have the opportunity to work individually and in groups, while interacting with each other, facilitators, administrators, and speakers.

As mentioned above, we utilize experi-ential learning, which is a process of activity and reflection that is personal to the partici-pant. Students experience a concept through an activity, then are asked to reflect and pro-cess the questions of “What? So what? And now what?” We’ve found that when discus-sions are relevant to the real-life situations student-athletes find themselves in, they are more open and honest in their discussions, which leads to better learning. The process also allows the students to explore potential

solutions together rather than in silos, mak-ing group trust and open discussion a vital part of the course.

The class is designed to accommodate 20 to 26 students, with some activities involving the full class and others for smaller breakout groups. We have discussed opening the class to 40 or 50 students but always conclude that greater numbers would compromise the ability for the group and individuals to go in-depth with their leadership training. Another benefit to the small number is that students are able to get to know each other on a deeper level.

Most years, I am the lead instructor for

the course, and we divide the class into two separate “teams,” each led by two facilita-tors. Our staff of facilitators has included academic advisors, directors of operations, assistant athletic directors, and learning spe-cialists. These facilitators volunteer to par-ticipate and are trained in the curriculum and the role of facilitation.

When recruiting students to take the class, we start with upperclass student- athletes recommended by coaches. Once this group has had the opportunity to register, we begin recruiting younger students who might be interested. Ideally, most class members are entering leadership roles on their teams and have some leader-ship background.

Each year we’ve taught the class, we have ended up with a widely diverse group by age, sport, gender, and race, which has pro-vided for a rich learning opportunity. The course has been the starting point for many diverse, lasting friendships. The opportunity for students to go into in-depth conversa-tions provided by the experiential learning atmosphere has been key to this important dynamic.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

There are so many wonderful ideas and dynamic activities that have been developed around teaching leadership, it’s easy for a course to be a hodge-podge of items. But it’s better if a curriculum has specific learning


objectives that tie together. We developed five objectives for our course, and then put together instruction that would support those goals.

1. Understand and apply relational leadership and the skills necessary for effec-tive leadership in campus, community, and organizational settings.

There are many books and articles about leadership. While we feel it’s important to introduce to the students the many theories of leadership, for the purpose of this class we wanted to narrow in on one definition. We chose the Relational Leadership Model as defined by Susan R. Komives, Nance

Lucas, and Timothy McMahon in Explor-ing Leadership: For College Students Who Want to Make a Difference, since it can be applied in organizational structures like athletic teams and is very transferable to student-athletes. Relational leadership is a vision-driven, collaborative process where personal relationships and ethics provide the foundation for making positive change.

Selected chapters from this text are used as reading assignments, and class activities support the Relational Leadership Model by focusing on group dynamics and allow-ing students to interact with experienced leaders. In addition, we are lucky enough to have one of the authors, Timothy McMa-hon, on our campus and have been able to use him as a consultant to advise us on the learning objectives, process, and structure of the class.

2. Increase awareness of their own personal leadership style, including their skills, values, and personal philosophy of leadership.

A main goal of the class is to teach stu-dents to apply leadership concepts to their own lives. To bring this idea to the forefront, we start the course by having each student assess their own leadership style and abili-ties. Part of this process is self-evaluation, in which students take an in-depth look at their own beliefs and clearly define them. They are given a list of values and asked to circle all those they claim as their own, then

Katie Harbert is Coordinator of Student-Athlete Development at the University of Oregon. She plans and implements the Leadership Challenge course at UO and can be reached at: [email protected].

We start the course by having each student assess their own leadership style and abilities. Part of this process is self-evaluation … Another part is feed-back from others through a 360-degree assessment administered online.

asked to narrow it down to their top three. From there, we have a discussion about our personal values and how they come to be.

Another part is feedback from others. Each student is asked to complete the Stu-dent LPI (Leadership Practices Inventory), a 360-degree assessment administered online. This inventory includes a self-assessment but also gets feedback from observers, which may include coaches, teammates, peers, teachers, mentors, and anyone else involved in the student’s life. Student-athletes enter the e-mail addresses of the people they want to complete it on their behalf and then a report is compiled summarizing feedback in five core areas: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Pro-cess, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. These are completed before class commences.

3. Learn the basics of group roles, dynamics, and decision making in order to function constructively in group settings.

Student-athletes find themselves in a wide variety of groups where they may need to exercise leadership skills, from their sports teams to campus groups to classes. Learning

about group dynamics helps them to be more effective members of those groups.

The text we use to highlight this is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni. The five dysfunctions he defines are: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Account-ability, and Inattention to Results. Although its content is geared towards the business setting, it can be easily transferred to the world of college athletics. We teach the text using several activities and by having small groups teach one of the five dysfunctions to the larger group.

We also ask students to further their group dynamic skills through an assign-ment. All participants are placed in groups in which they work to address critical issues in leadership and intercollegiate athletics, and then develop a 10- to 15-minute pre-sentation to be delivered on the last day of the course. A key part of the activity is individuals working together as a group. (And to put a little extra pressure on the students, we invite all of the class speakers, athletic department staff, and sport coaches to attend the presentations.)

4. Understand the importance of cul-tural awareness and its role in effective leadership and successful groups.

Cultural awareness and competency is a core concept of relational leadership and is woven throughout the class. Because our group is always quite diverse, it is not dif-ficult to have meaningful discussions about inclusion and diversity. Additionally, most of the experts who join us speak about this topic within their presentations so students do see it is an important piece of leadership. They get the idea that cultural awareness should be a part of everything we do as leaders.

Students also learn about cultural com-petency from one of our speakers, Johnny Lake, who is a local educator and leader-ship trainer. Dr. Lake captures the students’ attention by speaking about his personal experience as a black youth growing up without much interaction with white peo-ple. He then makes his presentation more personal by asking students to define and share experiences that have impacted them, asking them to question stereotypes and recognize how they affect others.



Circle No. 136


5. Develop a personal leadership vision and action plan that demonstrates critical thinking about the application of leader-ship theory.

One major assignment is to create a leadership vision and action plan, which is to be based on students’ learning in the class, the feedback they receive, and their Student LPI. The idea is for them to put on paper their philosophy and vision of leadership, how they expect to continue developing and exercising their leadership, and a specific action plan they want to implement using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attain-able, Realistic, Timely) goal-setting method. Students are asked to apply relational lead-ership and other core concepts learned to their vision and action plan.

FOUR ACTION-PACKED DAYS

With the above five learning objectives as our compass, we break our two-weekend course into specific activities. Class instruc-tors look at the learning objectives and spend a lot of time making sure each piece of the class supports one or more of those goals.

The first weekend of the course is intend-ed to build trust among students and to cre-ate an environment that allows for in-depth discussion and personal development. To do this, we take the group to Bend, Ore., which is a two-and-a-half hour drive east of our campus.

Upon arrival in Bend, the class partici-pates in a GPS EcoChallenge in the high desert guided by an outdoor adventure com-

pany. Students are divided into groups of three through an ice-breaking game. They are then given a backpack with a GPS device and several resources and let loose in “Amaz-ing Race” style to discover and answer clues, reach various checkpoints, and eventually find their final destination.

After the EcoChallenge, the group recon-venes at the hotel. They debrief, share a meal together, and then learn about some leader-ship ideas, such as the Johari Window, the DiSC assessment, relational leadership, and group dynamics. This piece of the curricu-lum is taught by lead instructors and facilita-tors and complemented with activities and discussion to help students digest the mate-rial further. After about 8:30 p.m., they have free time to get to know their new friends and make use of the hotel pool.

The following day, the group has a morn-ing session about LPIs with Rich Burke, a sea-soned leadership development professional who has worked with executive teams at For-tune 500 companies. Burke brings the group to a new level of vulnerability and bravery by asking each student to stand up and answer two questions:

> What are you most proud of?> What do you want to be remembered

for? Burke then walks students through the

theory behind the Student LPI, how to read their reports, and what to do with the feed-back. This is one of our students’ favorite activities of the weekend. They are able to obtain others’ opinions about their leader-ship from their coaches and teammates in a safe and productive way, which allows them to develop a plan to work off their strengths and to improve upon their weaknesses.

The culmination of the weekend is a whitewater rafting excursion on one of Oregon’s most pristine and powerful rivers, the McKenzie. The class is typically split with half the students having been rafting before and the other half thinking they never would! This is a great time for people’s leadership skills to surface, as the veteran rafters get the opportunity to encourage and teach the novices.

Though very busy, the students thor-oughly enjoy the short stay in Bend. Atti-tudes are great, smiles and laughter abound, and the student-athletes are genuinely engaging with the material in a personal way. The stage is set.

The second weekend begins with a review of the first weekend, followed by a discussion about the group presentations. Student-ath-letes then split into groups to work on topics for their presentations, which are to address a “big issue” that they find important and

One student-athlete’s perspective on Oregon’s Leadership Challenge class.

Last spring, I was told about a class called the Leadership Challenge, which would be offered during the summer. I was interested in improving my leadership skills, so I signed up. That proved to be a great decision.

What I found most helpful about the course was interacting with other student-athletes on the topic of leadership. By sharing past experiences, we grew to better understand when and how we could each step up and be leaders on our teams.

I also appreciated the feedback we got through the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). I was able to discover my strengths and weaknesses, and realized I am most comfortable leading by example. But I also came to understand the importance of being a vocal leader, and have been working on that.

This fall, it felt great to use what I learned to help my team. I was more confident providing a hand to others and speaking up. When an underclassman did something wrong, I was comfortable correcting him.

Another thing I learned is that being a follower is just as important as being a leader. For example, we had a team meeting this past season during which seniors talked to the team and asked us what we can improve. By practicing similar situations through the Leadership Challenge course, I had enough confidence to offer my point of view. A year ago, I would have said nothing in that situation.

I also think the class helped make our team stronger as a unit. Ten of us participated in the course, and we all took what we learned back to the team. We communicated bet-ter and understood when to lead and when to follow.

Everyone is a leader, but not everyone knows how to lead. This class helped me and my teammates develop leader-ship skills we used on the field this year—and will continue to use throughout our lives.

ON

THE FIELD

BY BOSEKO LOKOMBOSophomore linebacker and journalism major at the University of Oregon

want to create change around. Facilitators assist each group to narrow their focus to topics that they could directly impact with their plan of action. This past year, topics included stereotypes and student-athlete perception, redefining amateurism, and student-athlete unity and com-munity service.

Next, the full group comes back together for several activities, includ-ing those on decision-making, cul-tural awareness, and visioning and action planning. The students also work more on their presentations, and have a facilitated discussion with three professionals who are consid-ered leaders in their fields of work.

On the last day of class, students do some wrap-up activities and lis-ten to a final speaker. Last year, our speaker was former NFL head coach Tony Dungy, whose son plays football at Oregon. To end the class, students deliver their final presentations.

Evaluations from students about the class last year were very encouraging. They appre-ciated the balance of hands-on activities with

classroom-like learning and the diversity of speakers. They said they learned a tremen-dous amount and were eager to put their new ideas into action. Their only criticism was they wished the class was longer.

It is rare after completing a class that students take the time to send a thank you note. But two students from the 2011 class did just that. “I just wanted to say thank you so much for such a great leadership class,” said one student. “I absolutely had a blast and I wish that the class was still going on.

I learned a lot and I’m so anxious to tell my parents about it and put my new skills to the test!”

The Leadership Challenge doesn’t com-pletely fill the gap in leadership develop-

ment among student-athletes, but it is a start. To other administrators who are con-sidering developing a leadership program of their own I strongly suggest taking a col-laborative approach and using all resources possible, especially from the department and campus. �



Evaluations from students about the class last year were very encouraging. They appreciated the bal-ance of hands-on activities with classroom-like learning and the diversity of speakers. They said they learned a tremendous amount and were eager to put their new ideas into action.


Fitness Centers ■ Weight RoomsBudget-Priced

48" x 72"GYMATTS

Single-PiecePOWERPADSup to 6' x 16'

Low NationwideFreight Rates!Factory-Direct

Prices!

TOP MAT IIRolls, Squaresor InterlockingTiles

Linear Rubber Products1-800-558-4040 rubbermats.com

RUBBER FLOORINGUse the No.1 Selling, Most Trusted In-Game

Presentation System to Generate Additional Revenue.

Three tools for raising school spirit and attracting company sponsors at your home games!

Plays any audio clips on your PA system

Instant replay system for your facility, with ability to include team and sponsor logos

Complete system serving both video and audio clips - works with all video board manufacturers

1-615-460-7330www.clicke�ects.com

Bona is excited to officially announce our partnership with the National Basketball Association.

Bona Sport products have always been a finish of choice for many NBA teams and their respective arenas. As the 2011-2012 season unfolds a majority of NBA teams are playing on Bona finished floors. NBA teams, their players and the arenas rely on Bona Hardwood Floor Finish and Paint for a safe surface, long-lasting durability and aesthetic appeal.

Visit Bona.com today to learn how your gymnasium or multi-purpose room can have the same finish as the NBA and contact our Sport team today!

Scan for more information on Bona Sport products.

bona.com

Official HardwoodFloor CarePartner ofthe NBA

2155_AthMgmt_fullpagead_8.125x10.875_02.09.12.indd 1 2/9/12 12:57 PM

Circle No. 139

FACILITIES

f you’re an athletic admin-istrator who is considering purchasing a new flooring system for your basket-ball or volleyball facility, rest assured that there are many choices for any bud-

get. Factors such as performance, aesthetics, safety, maintenance, and cost all can influ-ence the decision behind a flooring system, whether it’s a wood or synthetic surface, or a combination of the two.

“It’s a matter of finding the right applica-tion at the right price point, and balancing that with need for performance and safety,” says Joel McCausland, Director of Sport-Court Products for Connor Sport Court International in Salt Lake City, Utah. “There are a lot of options out there.”

While both maple flooring and synthetic surfaces have been around for decades, man-ufacturers continue to evolve their products, both to improve performance and respond to environmental concerns. This article will

take a look at some of the recent trends in the sport court industry.

BENEATH THE SURFACE

When it comes to flooring systems, what’s beneath the surface is often most important. “The subfloor makes all the difference in the world,” says Joe Covington, Jr., President of the Covington Flooring Company in Birmingham, Ala. “If you give customers a basketball to try out on some sample floors, every time they’ll go to the most expensive


By Jim Catalano

Before purchasing a new gym floor, consider the latest developments in what’s underfoot: evolving subfloor systems, new standards, and the use of green materials.

I

Floor Factors

floor system without you saying anything because of the way the floor feels and the way the ball bounces.”

Floating floor systems still comprise the majority of installations, but fixed or anchor-resilient subfloor systems have become increasingly popular over the past decade. “They’re systems anchored to the concrete substrate, but they have resilient properties within the subfloor that give them the resilient benefit of a floating floor,” says Daniel Heney, Executive Director of the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA). “Tradi-tionally, there always have been floating floors and anchored floors, but the anchored floors didn’t have resiliency in them. They were very hard or fast floors. With the development of

anchor-resilient subfloor systems, now you get the benefit of both. It’s a forgiving floor, but it’s also a fast-playing surface.”

Those systems can also help to eliminate dead spots. “They do provide great continu-ous ball bounce and feel as you walk across the floor,” Covington says. “If you have two layers of plywood or sleeper and plywood and maple on top, and the slab is not super flat, you’ll get voids in that slab and you’ll have dead spots. The anchored resilient sys-tem allows you to pull that down within rea-son to keep from having those dead spots.”

Another recent trend has been the devel-opment of combination systems, in which a synthetic surface is installed over an anchor-resilient subfloor system usually found under a wood floor. “Certain facilities have a lot of activities with lots of traffic—everything from basketball games to sit-down dinners—so the athletic directors will want a synthetic surface that’s easy to just scrub and clean rather than worrying about recoating a wood floor,” Covington says. “But they’ll also want a ball bounce and shock and force reduction that’s better than what you’d get when you just glue a pad to the concrete. So if you put that synthetic surface over the same type of subfloor used under a wood floor system, you’ll get a good shock absorption and a good ball bounce.”

These systems also have been installed in large facilities that have both wood and

synthetic surfaces on the same playing level. “We’ve done a couple of monster field houses, 36,000 to 40,000 square feet, where we have a wood floor surrounded by the synthetic surface,” says Michael Foster, President of Foster Specialty Floors in Wixom, Mich. “There’s no threshold between them, so you can run seamlessly from one to the other. And they share a common subfloor.”

Schools also continue to use virgin vul-canized rubber for their gym floors. “Vul-canized rubber does not require any type of sealer or finish, thus making it less vulner-able to scratching or removing the wear layer,” says John Gayhart, Southwest Terri-tory Manager at Mondo USA, Inc. “Rub-

ber products are designed to be extremely durable against tables and chairs, which allows owners to hold events directly on the surface without the use of a protective floor cover. Vulcanized rubber products offer the quick turnaround time due to not requir-ing a finish and the durability desired for a multipurpose gymnasium, and it is available in a wood-grain design.”

SETTING A NEW STANDARD

Carl Franceschi, Principal at DRA Archi-tects in Newton, Mass., notes that athletic administrators are becoming more aware of standards that describe the performance of sport floors. “There are different require-ments for surfaces depending on the sport,” he says. “And there are now more tests out there that describe the properties needed for each sport.”

After more than a decade of work, the MFMA recently released its Performance and Uniformity Rating (PUR) for sports floor systems. Basketball is the first sport to have a set of standards, with aerobics and volleyball standards coming in the next year or so.

“For years we used DIN standards that were developed in Europe, and recently they’ve been replaced by the EN standard, which is also from Europe,” Heney says. “But those standards weren’t necessarily devel-oped to address wood floors.”

The MFMA PUR standards for basket-ball floor systems measure the following performance requirements: shock absorp-tion, area of deflection, basketball rebound, vertical deflection, and surface friction (see “PUR Standards” on page 59 for details). These stringent PUR standards, which are verified by a third-party testing company for each system before earning certification, will benefit athletic administrators and archi-tects in several ways.

“From the architects’ perspective it makes their lives a lot easier, because they’re not trying to evaluate all these contractors who are telling them stories about their products to get them specified,” Foster says. “For an athletic director looking to choose a flooring system, it finally raises the bar where you can say you want to write a specification that’s based on performance criteria, not necessar-ily on construction.

“All of these systems have some type of shock device,” continues Foster. “So from the end users’ perspective, they can say they want their floor to pass—and it’s pass/fail—the strictest and most uniform testing criteria in the world. And that’s the MFMA PUR-certified flooring system. That guaran-tees they’re getting a very uniform system that is cutting-edge technology from all of the various maple mills.”

“Anytime you can put something together to have a better installation and end product for the customer, that’s a good thing,” Covington says of the PUR standard. “It makes sure the people who are installing things are doing it the right way.”

Manufacturers of synthetic surfaces have adopted the EN standards for their prod-ucts. “There are multiple levels to the EN standard for the various systems,” Foster says. “Like the PUR standard, this allows architects and athletic directors to specify that they want a certain level of a synthetic surface, rather than a particular product. They can say to a contractor, ‘Here’s the test criteria it has to match—when you submit the bid, submit the suitability report.’

“The PUR and EN standards make it easier on the architect and really guarantee results for the owner,” he continues. “They don’t have to wade through a bunch of sales-people. They can just specify what level EN or PUR they want their floor to be.”

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

As with many industries, indoor sur-face manufacturers continue to develop and refine their products in response to environ-


Jim Catalano is a freelance writer and a former Assistant Editor at Athletic Management.

FACILITIES

Robbins pioneered the use of DIN in North America more than 20 years ago and continues to be the industry leader with more than 25 patents and numerous floor systems innovations. Robbins latest design, Eclipse SB, was built to be a COMPETITION CLASS FLOOR that will not only withstand the rigors of every-day use, but will also handle heavy rolling loads such as bleachers, portable basketball goals, and heavy equipment like fork lifts. And to top it off , we also designed it to be AFFORDABLE. So whether you’re in charge of an elite NBA, NCAA or high school program, or just looking for the best value for your money at any level of play, you owe it to yourself to take a look at what Eclipse SB has to offer.

Performance, Durability, Affordability... Plus Superior High Loading Capability

MA

PL

E F

LO

OR

ING

SY

ST

EM

S

Robbins, Inc. | 4777 Eastern Avenue | Cincinnati, OH 45226

robbinsfloor.com | 1.800.543.1913

ST1 ®E c l i p s e S B ™

Eclipse was the FIRST, and ONLY, sports floor to be 3rd party certified to exceed all industry standards worldwide. From MFMA’s PUR standard to EN 14904 Type 4, all the major sports flooring standards share a common vision:

Safeguard the well-being of the athleteEnsure good game play performanceProvide good structural integrity

*Anchored System Shown

Compressed

compressed

Scissor Lift PadWheel

SystemSubfloor isfully

Scissor Lift

4777 Eastern AveCincinnati, OH 45226

Robbins Eclipse SBLoaded View

View of heavy load equipment on Eclipse SB floor system. Shows self blocking compression of

Bio-Pad to prevent damage to the floor.

“We’ve done a couple of monster field houses, where we have a wood floor surrounded by the

synthetic surface. There’s no threshold between them, so you can run seamlessly from one to the

other. And they share a common subfloor.”

Robbins pioneered the use of DIN in North America more than 20 years ago and continues to be the industry leader with more than 25 patents and numerous floor systems innovations. Robbins latest design, Eclipse SB, was built to be a COMPETITION CLASS FLOOR that will not only withstand the rigors of every-day use, but will also handle heavy rolling loads such as bleachers, portable basketball goals, and heavy equipment like fork lifts. And to top it off , we also designed it to be AFFORDABLE. So whether you’re in charge of an elite NBA, NCAA or high school program, or just looking for the best value for your money at any level of play, you owe it to yourself to take a look at what Eclipse SB has to offer.

Performance, Durability, Affordability... Plus Superior High Loading Capability

MA

PL

E F

LO

OR

ING

SY

ST

EM

S

Robbins, Inc. | 4777 Eastern Avenue | Cincinnati, OH 45226

robbinsfloor.com | 1.800.543.1913

ST1 ®E c l i p s e S B ™

Eclipse was the FIRST, and ONLY, sports floor to be 3rd party certified to exceed all industry standards worldwide. From MFMA’s PUR standard to EN 14904 Type 4, all the major sports flooring standards share a common vision:

Safeguard the well-being of the athleteEnsure good game play performanceProvide good structural integrity

*Anchored System Shown

Compressed

compressed

Scissor Lift PadWheel

SystemSubfloor isfully

Scissor Lift

4777 Eastern AveCincinnati, OH 45226

Robbins Eclipse SBLoaded View

View of heavy load equipment on Eclipse SB floor system. Shows self blocking compression of

Bio-Pad to prevent damage to the floor.

Circle No. 140

mental concerns. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) stan-dards can often influence which products are chosen for certain projects.

“On the synthetic side, there are a few more options and compositions to consider with an emphasis on green and sustainable,” Franceschi says. “There’s more recycled con-tent that can be incorporated into synthetic floors, and that seems to get consideration when architects are thinking about materials to specify, especially when athletic directors can be part of a whole campus movement to incorporate green into their programs.”

While maple remains the same after all these years, manufacturers are now offering slightly thinner strips of the wood in their flooring product. “We’re using more half-inch thick maple,” Covington says. “Some say it’s not a good thing, but I think it is because it allows you to use less wood. It has the same wear layer as 25/32-inch maple, so we can sand it as much as the thicker wood. Why would you use that thicker wood if you’re going to save the amount of trees used and have less material, less freight, and less weight?”

Developed after more than a decade of meetings among the six mill members of the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association (MFMA), the group’s Performance and Uniformity (PUR) standards for wood bas-ketball floor systems measure the following performance characteristics:

Shock Absorption: measures the flooring system’s ability to absorb impact forces generated by the athlete.

Area of Deflection: measures the floor system’s downward movement during the impact of an athlete landing on the surface.

Basketball Rebound: measures the floor system’s ability to contain the deflected area under an athlete’s impact, mea-sured at 20 inches from the point of impact.

Vertical Deflection: measures the basketball’s rebound response off the sports floor system as compared to the ball’s rebound response off concrete.

Surface Friction: mea-sures an athletic flooring finish’s ability to control the sliding of athletes on a sports surface.

PU

R STA

ND

AR

DS

Circle No. 141

FACILITIES


Circle No. 142

Subfloors are also changing in content. “A lot of manufacturers are starting to develop what they call green subfloors, which are made out of recycled materials,” Heney says.

The finishes used on wood floors con-tinue to evolve, with water-based products gaining traction at the expense of oil-based ones, especially in areas of the country where there are stricter laws. “The EPA and various states have changed the amount of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) allowed in seals and finishes,” Foster says. “So the old high-VOC finishes are being replaced by low-VOC finishes and water-based finishes. The finish manufacturers are working very hard to come up with lower-VOC seals and finishes that won’t glue the floorboards together.”

It’s important that any finish you end up using on the floor can dry in a reasonable amount of time. “After we finish installing a floor, the next guy in is the bleacher guy, and he wants to set up 85,000 pounds of stuff on finish that’s maybe a week old,” says Foster. “So if you’re using a certain finish, depend-ing on the temperature or humidity when the finish is put down, it might be dry in 14

days or it might take 28 days. That can be a challenge.”

The susceptibility of water-based fin-ishes to moisture has led to some new devel-opments in subfloor design. “Water-based adhesives are more sensitive to moisture vapor than oil-based finishes,” Franceschi says. “To counter that, for the subsurface, we’re specifying a moisture mitigation prod-uct and an underlayment—a topping of concrete—over the structural concrete slab on grade. That allows you to not have to gamble that moisture levels might be high come time to put on the finish.”

LOOKING AHEAD

There’s no doubt that indoor floor sys-tems will continue to evolve in the coming years as manufacturers seek to improve per-formance while meeting the varied needs of their customers. There are many ideas cur-rently in the works.

“We have some prefinished and presealed floors that are not quite there yet as far as being able to install the floor and just paint the lines on it,” Covington says. “I’d like to be able to lay down a wood floor, paint the

lines, and leave. Synthetic floors are already at that point, since there are no coatings on poured urethane. It would be awesome to be able to do that with a wood floor. First, you don’t have to allow a week of cure time after you finish the job. And it will look really good, like some of those prefinished products that you can get for your house or commercial use.

“I’d also like to see more wood-grain synthetic floors out there that can perform,” he continues. “We have wood-grained vinyls now, but I think we need something a little tougher or different. Sometimes they look like plastic, and it would be better if they looked more like wood.”

On the standards side, Foster says that performance criteria will continue to be the driving force in specifications. “We’ll be get-ting away from writing specifications around the way the sports floor is constructed, because as the testing criteria develop and become more scientific, the mills will develop systems to meet those standards,” he says. “My prediction is that we’re going to see specifications that are written to performance criteria, not written around products.” �

Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association111 Deer Lake Rd Suite 100 Deerfield IL 60015Phone 888-480-9138 Fax 847-480-9282Web site www.maplefloor.orge-mail [email protected]

The human form was daVinci’s inspiration.The athletic floor is our inspiration. The relationship of technical standards and system design has led us to create uniform standards of performance for sports floors, the MFMA PUR Standards.

For more information visit www.maplefloor.org.

The Blend of Art and Science.

Circle No. 143

FACILITIES

Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association111 Deer Lake Rd Suite 100 Deerfield IL 60015Phone 888-480-9138 Fax 847-480-9282Web site www.maplefloor.orge-mail [email protected]

The human form was daVinci’s inspiration.The athletic floor is our inspiration. The relationship of technical standards and system design has led us to create uniform standards of performance for sports floors, the MFMA PUR Standards.

For more information visit www.maplefloor.org.

The Blend of Art and Science.

Most wood gym floors will eventually get wet from a variety of circumstances. Since wood is a hydroscopic material, it rapidly absorbs free-standing water and reacts to this water by swelling and eventually buck-ling and ultimately completely failing. Benefits of air flow and the role it plays is a key component to ensuring the longevity of your floor. However, some-times floor systems limit air flow, do not provide even distribution of air, or they offer no air flow at all. Lack of air movement, commonly referred to as dead air, combined with dark spaces provides excellent condi-tions for mold growth. However, a new trend is adding technology that allows owners to monitor what is hap-ping under the floor. Monitoring devices can be placed under the floor to help monitor moisture intrusion. Our PowerVent™ Airflow system mechanically forces airflow through the floor system to help prevent or alleviate moisture issues. The PowerVent system will automatically turn on when the conditions underneath the floor change to an unsafe level.

Kevin Barker,Vice President Sales and Marketing

Aacer Flooring

The concern for clean indoor air quality is a rising trend among the building of new schools. Since wood is a natural resource, it is the most sustainable and green option; however, many of the chemical coatings available to protect wood (like oil-modified) are not. Oil-modified solvents can take twice as long to cure than water-based coatings and have a strong, lingering odor. Water-based coatings are non-toxic, have very little smell and are no more harmful than a latex paint. Over the past 20 years, water-based coatings have be-come the leading innovative solution for durability and beauty on sport floors and are now the chosen coating for LEED and green gym floor projects. Bona Sportive™ is the perfect water-based solution for LEED projects. It is GREENGUARD Children & Schools Certified for indoor air quality and is also a member of the Collab-orative for High Performance Schools (CHPS).

Ilene LeBlanc,Marketing Manager

Bona US

Olympic Lifting Platforms are one of the biggest trends in today’s weight rooms. This, combined with fitting as much equipment as possible in the most efficient

manner in the weight room, is of equal importance. Infinity Performance is responding to this trend by cre-ating 1.25” thick Infinity Max flooring that is not only extremely durable, but was specifically designed to be used as the Lifting Platform itself. This creates “flush” platforms in the floor that are no longer tripping haz-ards and opens up the weight room to be used for other training activities.

George Atkinson,President

Infinity Performance, Inc.

The biggest flooring trends Robbins sees are third-party certification requirements for both athletic per-formance along with requirements driven by USGBC’s LEED certification program. Owners are also driving to the trend for more comfortable floors as a result of new designs that damp energy-robbing vibrations. Robbins has responded by designing new systems like MVP and Eclipse that are third-party certified to simultaneously meet all the major industry sport flooring standards worldwide – from PUR to DIN to EN14904 and floors that also improve comfort for the players. On the environmental side, Robbins products are the industry’s first and only padded polyurethane systems that are certified to meet the CA 01350 small chamber test requirements for LEED IEQ contri-butions.

Ken Thomas,Vice President, Marketing

Robbins, Inc.

On-site UV cured water-base finish is the newest trend in coatings for indoor wood sports floors. After application, UV light is used to instantly cure this fin-ish, allowing for immediate full use of the floor. With industry leading low VOCs, very high durability and exceptional shine, UV cured finish is the next step in finish technology. UV finish has the additional benefit of superior tack for excelled game play. Uveeco is the leading UV coatings company for Athletic UV cured coatings. With over 300,000 sq/ft currently in use and with 2-3 times the normal wear of other coatings, many schools districts are demanding to go fully to UV cured coatings.

JC Meyers, ManagerUveeco

OTHER INDOOR SPORTS SURFACING TRENDS

The following are comments from indoor athletic flooring companies on changes in the industry, and how they are meeting these changes


The first cleaner/disinfectant chosen exclusively for use in professional, athletic training rooms.In the every-day battle to shut out pathogens you need defense...strong defense. That’s where PROTEX comes in, killing more thanthirty pathogens including MRSA, H1N1 and HIV. And, since it’s alcohol-free, PROTEX is ideal for use on athletic training tables, exercise mats, gym equipment, counter tops, and much more.

Chosen for it’s unique balance of power and surface safety,PROTEX is now placed throughout athletic training rooms atNew Jersey’s Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils,Men’s & Women’s Professional Basketball, NCAA Men’s Division 1Basketball, as well as 100 other events every year.

To defend against pathogens and save your surfaces visit:

www.parkerlabs.com/protexProtex is available for sale only in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

DEFEND YOUR TERRITORY WITH

Protecting the

© 2012 Parker Laboratories, Inc. Protex is a trademark of Parker Laboratories, Inc. Prudential Center logo is a registered trademark of Devils Arena Entertainment, LLC. Prudential “Rock” is a registered trademark of Prudential Financial.

THE KEY TO WINNING IS SOLID

DEFENSE

ISO 13485:2003

Protex_DEFENSE_AthleticManagement 1/26/12 1:01 PM Page 1

Circle No. 147


Straight Talk

Anyone who has been associated with high school, college, or professional sports knows

that the athletic training room is the epicenter of any program. It is the place where an athlete can find solace, concentrate on recovery, or prepare for practice or the big game. It is also a pre-practice hub where many come to meet and socialize.

At the college level, a well-equipped athletic training room has also become an important part of tours given to recruits and their families during official school visits. For example, the University of Oregon

has arguably the finest athletic training room in the world (thanks to a large Nike donation). This facility is the very first stop on the recruiting tour for all athletes, and there is no mystery why so many families look no further. Parents very quickly get the impression that there will be a great facility and staff looking after their child.

While most athletic departments do not have the funds to pull out all the bells and whistles for an athletic training room, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make this facility shine. It simply takes a commitment to making the room

an important part of an athletic program.

The first priority is to secure adequate space. At a high school, this means getting out of the janitor’s old closet and obtaining the use of a classroom or other large room. It is always preferable to be on the ground floor since you will have a constant stream of injured athletes, many of them on crutches. There is nothing worse than having to go up or down stairs on crutches to receive treatment! It is also ideal for the athletic training room to have outside access. This allows a much better option for water management,

Efficient Athletic Training Room Layout

By Wally Collins


Straight Talk

as most coolers are filled in the athletic training room then transported out to the buses or fields. The outside access also allows athletes who are injured on the field to easily be transported directly to the athletic training room for evaluation.

The athletic training room is broken down into the following simple component parts:

THE OFFICE: Every athletic training room should have an office where the athletic trainer can have a desk, close the door to counsel student-athletes, and remain HIPAA compliant. It is very important to remember that the athletic trainer is a health care professional first and foremost and needs to be supported as such.

TAPING AREA: I believe the taping benches should be as close to the main entrance as possible. This forces the swarm of athletes waiting to get taped to stay in the hallway until it is their turn to filter into the room, take their place in the empty seats, get taped, and proceed to practice. When the taping area is placed elsewhere, the entire room will swell with bodies and disrupt treatment and rehabs.

TREATMENT AREA: This is where the treatment tables and modalities go. It is best placed in the back of the room so those being treated are not in the middle of all the other chaos that often presents itself in the athletic training room.

MODALITIES: Electrotherapy, ultrasound, and cold therapy modalities

should be located in the treatment area. All college athletic trainers are trained to operate this equipment, and much research shows that these modalities help in the speed of recovery.

REHAB AREA: The amount of space allocated here depends on a number of factors, including the space available, the ability to do rehab, and the rehab equipment on hand. At a minimum, there should be space for some light rehab work (resistant bands, light weights, etc.) to take place. Some schools will want a very large workout area for rehabbing athletes. HYDRO AREA: This is where most ice machines and therapy pools are housed. It is always best to have this area closed off with glass so the athletic trainer can watch what is going on in the room while not hearing the noise from the ice machine or dealing with the heat and moisture from the pools and ice machine. Whirlpool use today has gone primarily from hot

to cold. One reason why hot tub use has declined is the time it takes to fill, empty, and clean a large tub, which is necessary due to MRSA concerns. On the other hand, the simplicity of filling a tub with water and ice and having athletes stream in post-workout to flush their legs has most cold tubs going all afternoon. Many are now using free standing or built-in, self-contained, no maintenance, salt water filtration polar tubs. The hydro area is also often the source of cooler filling and storage, thus it’s always a good idea to have an industrial sink there.

EXAM ROOM: If a team doctor regularly spends time in the athletic training room, there should be an exam room for his or her use. It should allow privacy for the athlete and physician.

As far as flooring is concerned, it is never advisable to use carpet. Since bodily fluids such as blood are a part of athletic training rooms, and carpet fibers absorb fluids, it can become a breeding ground for MRSA and other infectious diseases.

The secret to having a functional athletic training room starts with organization and cleanliness. No matter how much space you do or do not have, utilizing all of the components mentioned above neatly within the space makes the room work.

The synergistic effort between the consultant and the athletic trainer, administrator or designer guarantees the absolute best result in terms of use of space, design, appearance and product selection for any budget.

Wally Collins is the President at Collins Sports Medicine, which offers free consulting service where all aspects of the project are discussed, drawn and budgeted. He recently worked with the Radio City Rockettes on the design of their new athletic training facility at Radio City Music Hall. “In preparation for the 2011 Radio City Christmas Spectacular season, the Collins Sports Medicine Team played an integral role in the functional design of our new athletic training facility,” said Elaine Winslow-Redmond, Head Athletic Trainer, Radio City Rockettes. “Reflecting the level of athleticism that the Rockettes perform with their renowned precision technique and choreography, the Collins Sports Medicine Team was able to produce an new athletic training facility designed to assist in maintaining the health and wellness of the world-famous dance company.”

WE DO FULL COLOR EMBOSSED LOGOS!

PROTEAM™ is the “team to beat” in athletic training tables and treatment furniture. Our Modular Taping Stations fit any space and any need. As versatile as the Option Play, you can add, change or relocate modules as necessary!

PROTEAM™ COMES TO PLAYOVER 3000 INSTALLATIONS -

INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL, COLLEGE & HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS

*This coupon is worth 25% off all taping station accessories purchased between January 1 & May 17, 2012. Accessories must be included on taping station order. A copy of this coupon must be presented at time of order placement. Excludes contract sales and orders already placed with Hausmann by your dealer. *Excludes all Logos and Logo Plates.

PROFESSIONAL PLANNING AND DESIGNWhether you’re building a brand new athletic training room or just updating the space you have, PROTEAM by Hausmann’s design specialists have the experience & knowledge that you can count on. We will guide you step by step in the practical design of your facility from an empty space, to CAD

drawings, to a professionally finished, efficient & cost effective training room that you will love for years to come. Whether you are a high school, college or professional facility, let us help you design your training room, treatment room, locker room or offices.

www.proteamtables.com(888) 428-7626

www.hausmann.com www.s-wenterprises.com


WE DO FULL COLOR EMBOSSED LOGOS!

PROTEAM™ is the “team to beat” in athletic training tables and treatment furniture. Our Modular Taping Stations fit any space and any need. As versatile as the Option Play, you can add, change or relocate modules as necessary!

PROTEAM™ COMES TO PLAYOVER 3000 INSTALLATIONS -

INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL, COLLEGE & HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS

*This coupon is worth 25% off all taping station accessories purchased between January 1 & May 17, 2012. Accessories must be included on taping station order. A copy of this coupon must be presented at time of order placement. Excludes contract sales and orders already placed with Hausmann by your dealer. *Excludes all Logos and Logo Plates.

PROFESSIONAL PLANNING AND DESIGNWhether you’re building a brand new athletic training room or just updating the space you have, PROTEAM by Hausmann’s design specialists have the experience & knowledge that you can count on. We will guide you step by step in the practical design of your facility from an empty space, to CAD

drawings, to a professionally finished, efficient & cost effective training room that you will love for years to come. Whether you are a high school, college or professional facility, let us help you design your training room, treatment room, locker room or offices.

WE DO FULL COLOR EMBOSSED LOGOS!WE DO FULL COLOR EMBOSSED LOGOS!WE DO FULL COLOR EMBOSSED LOGOS!

www.proteamtables.com(888) 428-7626

www.hausmann.com www.s-wenterprises.com

Circle No. 148

66 FEB/MAR 2012 | AthleticManagement.com AthleticManagement.com | FEB/MAR 2012 67

Guide to Indoor Flooring

Linear Rubber Products manufactures genuine rubber flooring products, including mats, tiles, and runners for commercial athletic venues such as fitness centers, weightrooms, gyms, and more. The company’s products are proven to protect floors against the impact of free weights and exercise equipment while providing acoustical qualities and beautifying the environment.

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:World Gyms, Racine, WIQuads Gym, Chicago, IL

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES:Linear Rubber Products’ PowerPad mats are among the largest available, with widths up to six feet and lengths up to 16 feet. These large mats lie flat and stay flat, and can be installed easily with minimal unsightly seams. In addition, Linear has a complete selection of products at all price points for all budgets, and offers a wide variety of formats, including mats, rolls for long installations, and tiles with interlocking tabs and squares.

Linear Rubber Products800-558-4040 www.rubbermats.comSee ad on page 53 • Circle No. 501

In 1974, the Matéflex Modular Flooring Company was formed to manufacture and market in the United States. The company has been in continuous business at its Utica, N.Y., headquarters ever since, under a parent company established in 1912.

“Matéflex identified the appropriate flooring solution and worked closely with us to complete the project on time and within budget.”

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:New York UniversitySeton Hall UniversitySUNY Institute of TechnologyPatterson (N.Y.) Recreation CenterNorth Carolina Volleyball Academy

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES:Matéflex knows sports and flooring. That’s why the company engineers all its state-of-the-art tiles for peak performance and near bulletproof durability. All of its modular flooring is portable and requires extremely low maintenance. And that’s not all—these tiles are affordable and easy to install. Matéflex is the oldest U.S. modular tile manufacturer. The company has been doing this since 1974 and it keeps finding new ways to do it better.

Matéflex800-926-3539www.mateflex.comSee ad on page 15 • Circle No. 502

Mondo is a leader in rubber floor covering with more than 60 years of experience. The company’s high-performance, durable flooring surfaces have been installed in athletic facilities worldwide.

“In use on our fitness center’s elevated indoor 1/8-mile running/walking track is the Super X Mondo surface. Super X has a great feel to runners, with sufficient cushion to offer some give while allowing for firm footing with excellent traction. It allows for walking, jogging, or accelerated sprinting.”

—Logan Hampton, Director, Donaghey Student Center,

University of Arkansas-Little Rock

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:University of Nevada-Las VegasCornell CollegeSpringfield CollegeLoyola Academy High School, ILUniversity of Arkansas-Little Rock

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES:Mondo’s vulcanized rubber surfaces are resilient, highly durable, easy to maintain, and environmentally friendly.

Mondo800-361-3747www.mondoworldwide.comSee ad on inside front coverCircle No. 503



Aacer Flooring is a world leader in maple performance sports flooring systems. With more than 100 years experience in every part of the wood flooring industry, Aacer manufactures sports performance floor systems designed to accommodate athletes at all levels of play.

“We’ve been very pleased with our floor. They came highly recommended from many people. I spoke to Rick Pitino from Louisville, and the way he talked about his court made it an easy decision for us.”

—Bobby Cremins, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, College of Charleston

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:College of CharlestonUniversity of LouisvilleUniversity of ArizonaIowa State UniversityGeorgia Tech

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES: Aacer Sports Flooring is the newest flooring mill built in North America in the last 15 years, and the company’s quality is unmatched by any competitor. Aacer also believes in bringing technology to owners that will not only work for athletes, but also help protect the largest investment in the field house. Aacer’s patented floor designs, along with these technological advances, provide end users some of the best products in the world. The patented PowerVent™ system and moisture-monitoring device is just one example of these advances.

Aacer Flooring • 877-582-1181www.aacerflooring.com See ad on page 59 • Circle No. 549

Infinity Performance has led the industry in developing the most durable flooring products that are designed specifically for extreme athletic weightroom applications. The company’s new 1.25-inch thick Infinity Max™ is the only product on the market that comes with a 10-year warranty that covers free weight damage.

“Thank you for the great floor and all the support this year. It was truly a great help on the success we had this season.”—Chris Ruf, Director of Football, Baylor University

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:Baylor UniversityDuke UniversityFlorida State UniversityTexas Tech UniversityTexas Christian UniversityUniversity of ArkansasUniversity of Notre Dame

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES: Infinity Performance’s 1.25-inch thick Infinity Max™ is the most durable surface available for weightroom applications, and the company backs that up with up to a 10-year warranty that covers free weight damage. Infinity Performance also works closely with the strength & conditioning coaches and their architect to design the perfect custom colors and logos for their facility. Infinity Performance is also committed to providing the highest quality flooring installations.

Infinity Flooring888-479-1017www.infinityflooring.comSee ad on page 58 • Circle No. 557

MFMA is the authoritative source of technical and general information about maple flooring and related sports flooring systems. MFMA establishes product quality, performance, and installation guidelines; educates end users; and promotes the use of maple flooring products worldwide.

“No one knows more about how a good floor should perform and how it should be installed than the MFMA members.”

—Jay Stoehr

SERVICES OFFERED:Inspection ServicesMFMA Sealer & Finish ListPUR Compliant verificationAccredited Installer CertificationTechnical consultation

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES: MFMA’s PUR Standards have been designed, utilizing exacting testing methodologies, to ensure that customers receive a reliable, well performing, competitive sports surface. As an organization representing the worldwide sports flooring industry, our goal is to balance technical standards with practical flooring system design in order to create uniform standards of performance for competitive sports floors. When a flooring system is an MFMA PUR Compliant floor, it is understood that the floor has passed strict testing for both performance and uniformity.

Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association847-480-9138www.maplefloor.orgSee ad on page 60 • Circle No. 545



Working as wood floor contrac-tors for many years, Uveeco de-cided there had to be a better way to do floor finish, so the company developed its own proprietary blend of finish to meet or exceed the demands of a rapidly changing marketplace.

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:University of Wyoming Men’s Basketball CourtUniversity of Wyoming Women’s Volleyball CourtsBoys & Girls Club, Casper, WYBuffalo High School Gym, WYLaramie Rec Center, WY

Uveeco307-742-2072www.uveeco.comSee ad on page 34 • Circle No. 558

Humane Manufacturing Co. was established in 1907 as a metal fabricating company. In 1972, it started molding rubber mats for weightrooms—that’s nearly 40 years of rubber molding experience. Rubber mats and flooring provide excellent protection for your equipment as well as the floor underneath it.

“I have sold Humane rubber floor mats for more than 16 years to health clubs, prisons, and all types of home gyms. What a great product for the money, and never a problem.” —Rex Reinhart, President, Jesup Gym Equipment

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:Penn State Ice RinkCrestview High SchoolColorado Mountain CollegeHayward High School, CAMitchell High School, SD

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES:With a tensile strength of up to 1,000 PSI and Durometer of 63, Humane’s mats are stronger and softer than similar products. Humane only uses truck grade tire buffings (not passenger tires) and is 100-percent vulcanized, which means they are non-absorbent. The company’s mats also contribute to LEED points for being recycled. Beveled edges are available and molded right into the mats so transition strips are not necessary. These mats are also can be custom-sized and outfitted with logos. Humane’s rubber mats and flooring will protect your equipment and your floor. LOKTUFF™comes in several different thickness and color options. New colors are coming this year.

Humane Manufacturing Co., LLC800-369-6263www.humanemfg.comSee ad on page 6 • Circle No. 559

Robbins is always on the forefront of product innovation. Its latest designs, like Eclipse™ and Eclipse™ SB, are third party-certified to simultaneously pass all industry performance guidelines from MFMA’s PUR, to DIN and EN 14904. The MVP system does the same, plus stands in a class by it-self for vibration damping and ex-treme uniformity. Robbins’ lineup of Pulastic padded polyurethane systems are the first and only ure-thane sports flooring systems to be third party certified to meet the CA 01350 test requirements for LEED IEQ 4.3 contributions.

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:Toronto RaptorsOklahoma City ThunderOrlando MagicRichmond Olympic OvalUniversity of MichiganGeorge Washington UniversityLoyola Marymount University

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES:Robbins doesn’t just design and manufacture the best systems on the market, it also creates cham-pions, like 21 of the past 25 NBA champs and NCAA champions such as Duke, North Carolina, Indiana, and UConn. So whether you’re in charge of an elite NBA, NCAA, or high school program, or just looking for the best value for your money at any level of play, Robbins is the choice you can trust.

Robbins Inc. 800-543-1913www.robbinsfloor.comSee ad on page 57 • Circle No. 560



Bona company background: Since 1919, Bona has pioneered the highest quality hardwood floor products for professionals and homeowners. Our floor care products have protected and cared for distinguished floors such as Westminster Cathedral, Nike World Headquarters, NBA arenas and museums worldwide.

RECENT INSTALLATIONS:Chaparral High School, Parker, CO University of Connecticut Golden State Warriors, CaliforniaSacramento Kings, California University of Oregon

PRIMARY ADVANTAGES:Bona dedicates more resources, both in products and expert personnel, to the research and development of wood coatings than any other company in the world. We develop and manufacture the proprietary polymers and ingredients used in all our products. This unique position as owners of these technologies enables us to maintain the highest level of quality. Our entire program was developed and produced exclusively for sport floors. We manufacture the only sport floor finishing products available that are GREENGUARD Children & SchoolsSM Certified for indoor air quality and are the Official Hardwood Floor Care Partner of the NBA. Our sport systems protect the majority of NBA floors, as well as NCAA Division 1 floors across the country. Our highly skilled sales and training team are also dedicated to our unique product offering and the sport floor industry.

Bona US www.bona.com [email protected] See ad on page 54 • Circle No. 563

Circle No. 155

We’ll Help You Give Athletes The

Recognition They DeserveAthletic Management’s Custom Publishing Services

• Programs for Your Home Games

• Yearbook

• Championship Season Celebrations

• Year-In-Review

• Event Programs

• Championship Season Celebrations

• Athletics Department Newsletters

ANNOUNCING A NEW SERVICEDigital Magazines, Newsletters and

Year-In-Review Reports

We’ll personalize a custom-design concept that captures the spirit of your athletics.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONplease contact

MARK GOLDBERG @ 607.257.6970 EXT. 11 or [email protected]


Gym Components

EXTREME QUALITY Looking for quality weight equipment at an affordable price? Perform Better introduces its new PB Extreme Half Rack. This rack comes complete with weight storage for both Olympic and Bumper plates, safety spot arms, bar holders, hook plates with a safety lock system, a knurled P-grip pull-up bar, and

band attachments. The adjustable pull-up bar allows you to make your rack 7’6” high, 8’ high, or 8’6” high. This rack is constructed of 11-gauge, 3” x 3” steel uprights and is made in the USA. Check out Perform Better’s 2012 catalog for more information. To get your free copy, go online or call.Perform Better • 800-556-7464www.performbetter.com Circle No. 512 STURDY STORAGE

The all-welded, heavy-duty Integrated Frame Locker from Lyon Workspace Products is an ideal locker. It features a doorframe with integral parts that maximize strength and security. The single point, recessed locking device has no moving parts and features a convenient magnetic catch for consistently reliable door closing. The 14-gauge steel doors on single-, double-, and triple-tier models have an 18-gauge pan-type stiffener welded inside the channel-shaped formation on the hinge side for extraordinary strength. Standard diamond-shaped door perforations provide proper ventilation and an attractive appearance.Lyon Workspace Products • 800-323-0082www.lyonworkspace.com Circle No. 511

MULTI-PURPOSE STORAGE RACKPower Systems’ three-tiered racks hold aquatic equipment on mesh shelves, allowing for water run-off and ventilation. The Club Rack has six mesh shelves and the Studio Rack has three mesh shelves. Racks have casters for mobility and are constructed of two-inch hard PVC. Club rack 75” L x 22” W x 70” H, Studio rack 47” L x 22” W x 70” H. The racks come in gray/black and assembly is required. Equipment sold separately. Power Systems, Inc. • 800-321-6975www.powersystems.com Circle No. 509

SAVE SPACEWenger’s GearBoss® and GearBoss II™ storage systems improve inventory management, space utilization, and sanitation. Requiring significantly less space than traditional shelving, these

flexible, high-density carts are easily configurable for a variety of equipment. Carts roll along a fixed track, allowing easy access and minimizing wasted space. The open design enables equipment to dry quickly, improving sanitation. The GearBoss II system incorporates key GearBoss features and innovations at half the cost.Wenger Corp. • 800-4WENGER www.wengercorp.com Circle No. 513

A SAFE ALTERNATIVE If you seek “green” products for your school, consider installing CoverSports EnviroSafe® gym wall padding. EnviroSafe is made from 60-percent recycled/40-percent virgin polyester fiber, and is a safe alternative to Poly and Bonded

foams, yet costs no more. EnviroSafe foam is 100-percent toxin-free and 100-percent recyclable, unlike traditional foam products. The 18-ounce vinyl covering comes in 14 colors and is printable with school letters/logos. Padding is custom-made to your needs. CoverSports • 800-445-6680www.coversports.com Circle No. 541

POWERFUL REVENUE SOURCEClick Effects systems —Click Effects, CrossFire, BLAZE, FlashBack, and Pro Audio—set new benchmarks in providing video and audio content control and delivery for live sports and entertainment events in stadiums and arenas. With a simple point and click, these display systems deliver scheduled and live impulse video clips, audio tracks, graphics, instant replays, animation, and sponsor ads that not only entertain audiences but also provide powerful revenue-generating opportunities.Sound & Video Creations • 615-460-7330www.clickeffects.com Circle No. 550

STAND OUTCabana Banners offers top-quality custom championship banners, record boards, chair covers, scorer’s tables, and wall and floor murals. The company has made advancements in its digital printing to offer fresh and innovative designs. The digital series has a greater spectrum of bright, vivid colors, with excellent definition and high image quality.

From team pictures to realistic mascots, endless possibilities are available in dynamic, vivid, living color. Cabana Banners • 800-697-3139 www.cabanabanners.com Circle No. 539

VERSATILE TABLEThe Model A9088 “6-Leg Split-Leg” Trainers Table features a 30” x 78” upholstered top with optional 69 Gas Spring Backrest. This product has an extremely versatile and functional split leg design with an open storage shelf that is great for towels, pillows, or extra equipment that needs quick and easy access. The table has a natural oak or wild cherry laminate base with a choice of nine Pro-Form vinyl upholstery colors.PROTEAM by Hausmann • 888-428-7626www.proteamtables.com Circle No. 554


Gym Components

MAKE A STATEMENTMany universities, colleges, and sports organizations are improving their facilities by wrapping their bleacher tops with Dura-Mesh™ banners from BigSigns.com. Not only does this brand and promote their school and teams, but it

makes a bold visual statement that can help attract top talent and underscore your home field advantage.BigSigns.com • 800-790-7611www.bigsigns.com Circle No. 510

NEVER SOUNDED BETTERThe MX120A, a user-friendly voice and music sound system/dual-channel mixer, fits into a standard 2020 or 1110 electrical utility box. An internal DIP switch and trimmer adjustments keep the system properly configured and safe from excessive volume. A lockable surface-mounted case is also available. Up to three units can be daisy-chained.

KDM Electronics, Inc. • 800-567-6282www.octasound.com Circle No. 546

fabric structures

A superior environment for training, competing and recreational sports.

TERMS UP TO 7 YEARS RATES AS LOW AS 4.99% AS LITTLE AS 10% DOWN *Subject to credit approval.

F L E X I B L E F I N A N C E S O L U T I O N S O N F A B R I C S T R U C T U R E S *

Call one of our ClearSpan specialists today at 1.866.643.1010 or visit www.ClearSpan.com/ADAM2.

Low in cost per square foot.

Natural daytime lighting.

Easy to relocate.Expandable.

Circle No. 149

BUILD FOR SUCCESSVP Buildings is a world leader in the steel systems construction industry, and is an ideal choice for athletic building solutions. Whether you need a gymnasium, arena, indoor soccer and football practice facility, or other structure, VP Buildings offers not only the design capability but also the flexibility and sophistication to fulfill your needs. VP Buildings • 800-238-3246www.vp.com Circle No. 538

LIGHTWEIGHT TREATMENT TABLEThe Model 7650 Portable Sideline/Treatment Table has a 28” W x 73” L PVC-free urethane upholstery top with push-button height adjustment from 24” to 32.” The lightweight aluminum frame weighs only 30 pounds and the product includes an adjustable face cradle with an ultra-soft face cushion, carrying bag with shoulder sling, and removable two-inch Turf Pad for outdoor use (set of four). Comes in 751 Black as a standard color, with 752 Blue available for special order.PROTEAM by Hausmann • 888-428-7626www.proteamtables.com Circle No. 555


Directory

Circle # . Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page # Circle # . Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page # Circle # . Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page #

142 Aacer Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

114 Aer-Flo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

129 All American Fund Raising . . . . . . . . . . 39

105 American Public University . . . . . . . . . . . 7

136 American Sports Builders Assn. . . . . . . 51

106 Antiwave Pool Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

119 Athletix Products by Contec . . . . . . . . . 26

125 BEAM CLAY® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

152 BigSigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC

133 BigSigns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

103 Bison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

139 Bona Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

118 BSN Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

111 Cabana Banners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

149 ClearSpan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

137 Click Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

134 CoverSports (FenceMate® TuffPrint™) . . 47

126 CoverSports (gym floor covers) . . . . . . . 35

107 Future Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

115 Game Plan For Sport Safety . . . . . . . . . 22

121 GearBoss® by Wenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

153 GreensGroomer® WorldWide . . . . . . . . . BC

128 GymWipes FORCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

122 Heery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

104 Humane Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

141 Infinity Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

144 Institutional Basketball Systems . . . . . . 23

132 Kay Park Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

127 KDM Electronics/Octasound . . . . . . . . . 37

138 Linear Rubber Products . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

130 Lyon Workspace Products . . . . . . . . . . . 41

143 Maple Flooring Manufacturers Assn. . . . 60

110 Matéflex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

100 Mondo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC

155 myTEAMBOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

131 New York Barbells of Elmira . . . . . . . . . 42

117 NIAAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

135 Parents’ Guide to Sports Concussions . . 48

147 Parker Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

113 Perform Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

148 PROTEAM by Hausmann . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

140 Robbins Sports Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . 57

112 Samson Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

101 Sharp Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

102 Spalding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

109 Sports Tutor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

108 Synthetic Surfaces Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

123 Triad Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

124 Uveeco™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

120 VP Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Products DirectoryCircle # . Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page # Circle # . Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page # Circle # . Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page #

549 Aacer Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

543 Aer-Flo (Tuffy® Windscreen) . . . . . . . . . 78

542 Aer-Flo (Vipol® Matrix Material) . . . . . . . 76

530 All American Fund Raising . . . . . . . . . . 78

536 American Public University . . . . . . . . . . 79

532 American Sports Builders Assn. . . . . . . 78

552 Antiwave Pool Products (Flipfloat) . . . . . 75

551 Antiwave Pool Products (lane lines) . . . 75

524 Athletix Products by Contec . . . . . . . . . 76

528 BEAM CLAY® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

504 BigSigns.com (building wraps) . . . . . . . 73

510 BigSigns.com (Dura-Mesh™ banners) . . 71

519 Bison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

563 Bona Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

500 BSN Sports (Court Grip™) . . . . . . . . . . . 79

515 BSN Sports (portable scoreboard) . . . . . 74

520 BSN Sports (Tital Hybrid Volleyball System) . . 75

539 Cabana Banners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

529 ClearSpan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

541 CoverSports (EnviroSafe® padding) . . . . 70

540 CoverSports (GymGuard® Plus) . . . . . . . 73

522 Future Pro (CenterLine Magic) . . . . . . . 74

517 Future Pro (T-Rex basketball system) . . 74

537 GreensGroomer (Groomer/Rake) . . . . . . 78

533 GreensGroomer (LitterKat) . . . . . . . . . . 79

527 GymWipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

548 Heery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

559 Humane Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

557 Infinity Flooring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

547 Kay Park Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

546 KDM Electronics/Octasound (MX120A) . 71

544 KDM Electronics/Octasound (SP860A) . 73

501 Linear Rubber Products . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

526 Lyon (Antimicrobial Lockers) . . . . . . . . . 76

511 Lyon (Integrated Frame Locker) . . . . . . 70

545 Maple Flooring Manufacturers Assn. . . . 67

502 Matéflex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

503 Mondo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

535 New York Barbells (Bio Incline Bench Press) 79

531 New York Barbells (Deltoid & Shoulder Machine) 78

534 NIAAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

525 Parker Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

512 Perform Better (Extreme Half Rack) . . . 70

508 Perform Better (Extreme Jam-Balls) . . . 73

507 Power Systems (Plus kickboard) . . . . . . 75

509 Power Systems (three-tiered racks) . . . 70

555 PROTEAM (Portable Sideline/Treatment Table) 71

554 PROTEAM (Split-Leg Trainers Table) . . . 70

560 Robbins Sports Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . 68

506 Samson Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

561 Schelde North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

521 Sharp (PG-D3050W) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

518 Sharp (PN-L702B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

550 Sound & Video Creations (Click Effects) 70

514 Spalding (Arena® Portable Backstops). . 75

523 Spalding (Volleyball Ball Cart) . . . . . . . . 74

562 Sports Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

516 Sports Tutor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

553 Triad Technologies (ADA Easy Stair) . . . 75

556 Triad Technologies (product launch) . . . 79

558 Uveeco™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

538 VP Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

513 Wenger (GearBoss®/GearBossII™) . . . . . 70

505 Wenger (GearBoss® lockers) . . . . . . . . . 73

Advertisers Directory


Gym Components

GREAT FOR CATCHING AND THROWINGPerform Better’s PB Extreme Jam-Balls are the company’s most popular non-bouncing medicine ball. These durable balls are soft and feel like a gel-filled ball. Their textured shells allow for easy catching, gripping, and throwing, and are great for using when you do not want the ball to bounce. These Jam-Balls are perfect for using with rebounders or for doing medicine ball slams. They are only available through Perform Better and come in 12 different weight increments, and two diameters. For more information, visit Perform Better’s Web site or check out the company’s new 2012 catalog. Call for your free copy.Perform Better • 800-556-7464www.performbetter.com Circle No. 508

BIG VISIBILITYBuilding wraps are universally recognized as an attention-grabber and an excellent way to turn a building into a huge corporate identity billboard or platform for promoting your brand, event, or

project. If your goal is to raise brand awareness, celebrate an achievement, or promote an event, building wraps from BigSigns.com are a highly visible and effective solution.BigSigns.com • 800-790-7611www.bigsigns.com Circle No. 504

ENHANCE TEAM PRIDEGearBoss® team room lockers strengthen program pride and enhance team room functionality. This product features more than 1,000 possible configurations—

sizes, features, and accessories—with either metal or wood construction and is available in a variety of colors/finishes, from school colors to wood-grain laminates. Metal AirPro™ lockers feature an open grid design that promotes airflow, sanitation, and visual inspection. The integrated, hinged seat saves valuable floor space and is lockable over a security box and footlocker.Wenger Corp. • 800-4WENGER www.wengercorp.com Circle No. 505

SPRINTING TOWARD STRENGTHThe new Samson Sprinter is yet another way the company is leading the way in heavy-duty custom equipment. This unique piece allows your athletes to perform a sprint motion while in a biomechanically sound running position.

Adding resistance is made easy with the plate-loaded weight horns that are designed to prevent any plate movement. Created with comfort, durability, and adjustability in mind, the new Samson Sprinter will fit every athlete comfortably, and just like any other Samson piece, it will last a lifetime.Samson Equipment • 800-472-6766www.samsonequipment.com Circle No. 506

ENHANCED SLIP RESISTANCE CoverSports has expanded the GymGuard® gym floor cover product line to include GymGuard Plus. GymGuard Plus has a unique raised pattern that provides enhanced slip resistance and costs no more

than standard GymGuard. GymGuard Plus offers an advanced level of safety and durability for ultimate gym floor protection. GymGuard Plus is available in 27- and 32-ounce weights and gray and tan colors. Contact CoverSports for test results or GymGuard samples.CoverSports • 800-445-6680www.coversports.com Circle No. 540

REVENUE-GENERATING STRATEGIESCollegiate sports facilities reflect the traditions of their schools. They have moved beyond grandstands and bleachers. Today, they are spectator entertainment venues equipped with full-service restaurants, luxury suites, and comfortable seating. These new facilities not only create a better experience for the fans, they’re also good for business. Heery’s expertise in master planning, design, engineering, and construction management helps clients by developing revenue-generating strategies, such as facility flexibility and amenity options. Heery also understands that a comfortable, clean facility brings an entire family to a sporting event, cultivating the next generation of fans.Heery International • 800-52-HEERYwww.heery.com Circle No. 548

OUT LOUDThe SP860A is the newest flagship model in the Octasound line of 360-degree speakers designed for large spaces such as gymnasiums, ice rinks, recreational facilities, large convention facilities, swimming pools, retail areas, and warehouse spaces. Octasound speakers take advantage of the efficiency of horns in projecting the mids and highs, utilizing not one but four horns to spread the sound. The downward-facing woofer rounds out the bottom end. The SP860A is similar to the SP840A in configuration but uses larger, upgraded components, including an 18-inch downward-facing woofer/midrange driver with a 100-ounce magnet and 4-inch voice coil, and four exponential horns driven by compression drivers with voice coils and 24-ounce magnets. KDM Electronics, Inc. • 800-567-6282www.octasound.com Circle No. 544


VERSATILE SCOREBOARDThis portable scoreboard from BSN Sports scores basketball, and volleyball as well as wrestling, and other sports. It can also be used as a metronome, stopwatch clock with alarm, or program timer. The wireless remote allows the operator to change the score and start/stop the

clock at a distance up to 100 feet. There’s no need for a scorekeeper. It features four user-programmable frequency settings for operating multiple units independently in the same area. The Indoor Tabletop Scoreboard includes digital periods, bonus, team fouls, and possession indicators. BSN Sports • 888-566-8966www.bsnsports.com Circle No. 515

AT YOUR SERVICEBoth the Gold and Silver models of the Volleyball Tutor can vary ball trajectory and speed to produce any desired set or pass, while delivering serves at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. The Silver model’s 5.5-foot high release point is perfect for sets, and it features a separate dial to control the amount of topspin and underspin on serves. The Silver

model can also be angled down to practice dig drills. The Gold model can automatically throw six volleyballs at intervals ranging from five to 20 seconds. The unit is completely portable, and is available with either AC or battery power. Volleyball Tutor models start at under $1,000. Sports Tutor • 800-448-8867www.sportsmachines.com Circle No. 516

MAKING THE BEST BETTEREvery T-Rex basketball portable system has a new deadlock tensioning devise that gives these portables absolute rigidity during play. Bison makes four models of T-Rex portables for competition, side court, club, and recreation use with features for low maintenance, one-person set up, and seven- to 10-foot height adjustment. For more

information, contact Future Pro, the authorized Bison dealer that offers everything Bison at the most competitive pricing.Future Pro, Inc. • 800-328-4625www.futureproinc.com Circle No. 517

EASY TO INSTALLBison’s new LED system is easy to install behind virtually any manufacturer’s 42- or 48-inch glass backboard. With no drilling or visible hardware, this system gives you six pre-assembled LED light strips mounted in aluminum tracks with high tack, self adhesive mounting tape for a quick and easy installation. The system includes LED strips for two backboards, transformers, and all necessary components except wiring. Bison, Inc. • 800-247-7668www.bisoninc.com Circle No. 519

Basketball & Volleyball Equipment

LIGHTWEIGHT CARTSpalding’s Volleyball Ball Cart is lightweight and easy to move around the court. It includes a nylon carry bag with shoulder strap that allows you to easily take it to different locations. This cart collapses for easy packaging and storage with a classic 18-1/2” deep square design. It holds approximately

20 volleyballs, so if you are practicing spiking or serving, it will keep multiple volleyballs an arm’s length away.Spalding Volleyball Equipment • 800-435-3865www.spaldingequipment.com Circle No. 523

NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON’TThe Centerline Magic volleyball system collapses to store in a 32-inch deep floor well. For set up, rigid aluminum telescoping tubes lift easily and twist to lock in place. Magic has the same features and lifetime warranty on posts and 26:1 worm gear winch as all Bison-made Centerline volleyball systems. A complete package includes free padding lettering and free lettered side tape covers. Contact Future Pro for competitive pricing on everything Bison. Future Pro, Inc. • 800-328-4625 www.futureproinc.com Circle No. 522

MAGNIFICENT MONITORThe PN-L702B is a high definition (1920 x 1080) LED-LCD monitor and interactive whiteboard display. This product features touch-screen operation with pen or finger, is engineered for 24/7 commercial use with a three-year onsite limited warranty, and is available as a complete package with optional floor stand and PC. The monitor has a 70-inch class (69 1/2-inch diagonal) screen, which provides exceptionally large high-definition images for viewing by the entire team.Sharp Electronic Corporation • 866-484-7825www.sharpusa.com Circle No. 518

GREAT IMAGE QUALITYThe PG-D3050W projector has several unique features, including BrilliantColor DLP technology for high image quality and reliability, a sealed DLP chip with filter-free design for lower maintenance and operating costs, a wide-format display for improved playback of high definition videos, and is 3D-ready with DLP Link technology. This projector also has outstanding brightness, contrast, and resolution: 3000 lumens, HD compatible WXGA resolution (1280x800), and 2000:1 contrast ratio. It is also portable and lightweight (only 6.2 pounds), which makes it great for team viewing, even when traveling.Sharp Electronic Corporation • 866-484-7825www.sharpusa.com Circle No. 521


Basketball & Volleyball Equipment

HIGH-LEVEL BACKSTOPSSpalding’s Arena® Portable Backstops are recommended for the highest level of competition. One person can easily operate the backstop without hydraulics or electric motors. The standard backstop is equipped with a SuperGlass Pro Backboard, Slam-Dunk

Precision 180 Goal, and E-Z Bolt Backboard Padding. Spalding is the official backstop of the NBA, basketball equipment supplier to the NFHS, and the backstop and backboard supplier to the NCAA Final Four.Spalding • 800-435-3865www.spaldingequipment.com Circle No. 514

DURABILITY AND GREAT VALUEThe Titan Hybrid Volleyball System features three-inch O.D. rigid high-strength steel lower poles with aluminum inner poles for reduced weight. The

telescopic inner poles allow multiple height adjustments, which include laser engraved markings for official men’s, women’s, and junior’s heights. The Titan system offers high quality construction and durability at a reasonable price. BSN Sports • 888-566-8966www.bsnsports.com Circle No. 520

KICKBOARD PLUSAquatic kickboards are designed to provide stability and buoyancy during water workouts and activities. The Plus model is one of the longest in the industry and offers a larger surface area, which provides more control and buoyancy, and its curved underside increases stability. The Plus is constructed of strong, durable closed-cell foam. It comes in blue and measures 27” L x 19” W x 2” thick.Power Systems, Inc. • 800-321-6975www.powersystems.com Circle No. 507

Aquatic Facilities

IT FOLDS, IT FLOATSThe Flipfloat is a folding, floating water polo goal. This competition-size goal folds flat for storage, and it’s very easy to handle with a total weight of 85 pounds. Made from powder-coated aluminum,

it is covered against breakage or defect by a three-year warranty. A net is included, and some assembly is required. This goal is great for meeting your budget and space needs. Antiwave Pool Products • 866-736-2183www.antiwave.com Circle No. 552

GREAT LANESCompetitive and recreational Antiwave lane lines are available in 17 standard colors with custom color capabilities. They come in 4.75” and 6” sizes for competitive use and a 2.25” size for recreational use, in custom and standard lengths. All lane lines come with a supertensioner attached, and they’re covered against breakage or defect by a three-year warranty. Antiwave offers some of the fastest lead times in the industry. Antiwave Pool Products • 866-736-2183www.antiwave.com Circle No. 551

REMOVABLE POOL STAIRSTriad announces the new ADA Easy Stair, which is based on the widely accepted 25-year-old Easy Ladder Design specifications. Molded from marine-grade fiberglass, the ADA Easy Stair is portable, removable, requires no pool modification or anchoring, is custom trimmed to fit properly,

includes all the safety and entrapment skirting, and has non-conductive handrails requiring no pool bonding connections. This product is an economical solution for all larger pools requiring a secondary means of pool access. The ADA Easy Stair can be removed quickly and easily, meaning lap swim and competition swim meets are not compromised.Triad Technologies, Inc. • 800-792-7514www.triadtec.com Circle No. 553

A CLASSY ADDITIONSchelde Sports has expanded its line of custom graphic scoring tables with the recent introduction of its new backlit model. Custom team graphics are printed on a durable, translucent substrate, and protected by unbreakable clear polycarbonate for long-lasting, vibrant images. Scoring tables are fully padded, easily moved with built-in casters, and fold up for easy storage. Custom lettering is available on side pads. Design assistance is available and the structure carries a five-year limited warranty.Schelde North America • 888-724-3533www.scheldesports.com Circle No. 561

LIGHTWEIGHT CARBON UPRIGHTSports Imports has raised the bar again with Stealth, Senoh’s lightweight carbon upright. The Senoh Stealth volleyball upright is the first competition net system to feature aerospace composite technology. It provides an unbelievably lightweight competition net system with three times the strength and deflection of aluminum. This unit weighs 26 pounds and fits all three-inch sleeves. It also adapts to all other sleeves without compromise. Sports Imports 800-556-3198www.sportsimports.com Circle No. 562


Anti-Microbial Prevention

QUICK AND CONVENIENTAthletix Disinfectant Wipes are a quick and convenient way for your employees to disinfect surfaces in your health club, fitness facility, or spa. Most effective when used on hard non-porous surfaces, Athletix Disinfectant Wipes are pre-moistened, ready to use, and ideal for disinfecting athletic and gym equipment, cycling equipment, weights, yoga mats, fitness balls, benches, lockers, and more.

Athletix Products by Contec, Inc. • 864-503-8333www.athletixproducts.com Circle No. 524

SAFE ON SENSITIVE SURFACESProtex™ one-step cleaner/disinfectant is effective against more than 30 pathogens including HIV, H1N1, and MRSA, while remaining safe for sensitive surfaces. Available as a pre-moistened wipe or spray, Protex provides unmatched convenience. Protex is now being used in athletic training rooms at New Jersey’s Prudential Center — home of the New Jersey Devils — men’s and women’s professional basketball,

and Division 1 collegiate sports, as well as 100 other events every year.Parker Laboratories, Inc. • 800-631-8888www.parkerlabs.com Circle No. 525

SHOW BACTERIA THE DOORLyon Antimicrobial Lockers are finished with an advanced powder-coating technology that inhibits mold, bacteria, and odor buildup on locker surfaces. It also inhibits the touch transfer of microbes on locker handles and doors. Any moisture triggers the controlled release of powerful ions to provide superior antimicrobial protection for decades. The antimicrobial

compound is completely inorganic, less toxic than ordinary table salt, less irritating than talcum powder, and has been approved by the EPA, FDA, and NSF for medical devices and food contact applications.Lyon Workspace Products • 800-323-0082www.lyonworkspace.com Circle No. 526

Easily Clean and Disinfect Your Weightroom

Fitness facility employees and strength trainers have multiple tasks throughout the day—especially with weightroom equipment. Athletix Products™ make one task easier.

Athletix Products™ introduces Athletix Disinfectant Wipes, an easy-to-use product for employees to clean and disinfect weightrooms and accessories. In just minutes, the Athletix Disinfectant Wipes protect your weight equipment and patrons by killing H1N1, MRSA, and many other organisms. Coupled with Athletix™ Equipment Cleaner wipes, which are used by patrons prior to or after using weight equipment, this two-step approach knocks out potential illnesses found in your facility and keeps equipment in working order.

The Equipment Cleaner wipes now come with 200 more wipes at no additional cost. The Athletix Products™ team of experts recommends that all disinfectants be used by trained employees to ensure the proper use of the products. Don’t forget to ask about the company’s new Foam Hand Sanitizer.

Athletix Products by Contec, Inc.864-503-8333www.athletixproducts.com

Company News

PROTECTS AGAINST PATHOGENSThe GymWipes product line offers full-spectrum protection and cost-effective solutions to safely clean and sanitize all fitness equipment surfaces. Bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal, the EPA-registered disinfecting/sanitizing formulas protect against 50-plus dangerous pathogens. Containing no alcohol, phenol,

or bleach, the line is tested and approved by leading manufacturers. Packing ranges from 700 to 1,200. Attractive dispensers and stands are available. GymWipes • 888-977-3726www.2xlcorp.com Circle No. 527

PROTECTS GRASS FROM CLEATSThe Vipol® Matrix Material’s non-absorbent mesh does not retain water and body fluids like felt-type fabrics, can be cleaned with water/antimicrobial spray, and helps in fight against MRSA. With 50-percent more micro-fibers than conventional

mesh, this extraordinarily strong material protects grass from football/baseball cleats, plus makes the world’s toughest windscreen for courts and fields. This product is available in 20 colors. Vipol Matrix is used in Aer-Flo products such as Bench Zone® Sideline Protectors and Tuffy® Windscreen. Aer-Flo, Inc. • 800-823-7356www.aerflo.com Circle No. 542

Sometimes, one loss can lead to an enormous gain.

The University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio had stopped offering ice hockey as a varsity sport in 2004 because of its low enrollment and increasing costs. That left behind a building that, while largely unused, had plenty of potential remaining. The university decided to capitalize on it, and to adaptively reuse it as a health club and intramural facility. The new facility, which would become known as the Koehler Fit-ness and Recreation Complex, was to house a weight room as well as a jogging track, plus space for basket-ball and volleyball. Other planned amenities were a student lounge, recreation area and restaurant/snack bar, as well as offices, wi-fi, storage, conference room, rest rooms, lockers and showers. But making the building take an about-face after being an ice rink for so long was no easy task, according to athletic surfacing contractor Brion Rittenberry of Kiefer Specialty Floor-ing (Lindenhurst, Illinois). “As the ice was removed from the slab, there was a one-inch expansion joint between the concrete where the ice itself had been, and the remain-ing concrete slab for the building,” Rittonberry notes. “To accommodate new flooring material, the existing expansion joint needed to be re-

moved one inch below the top of the concrete slab surface.” The new floors had to be prepped to prevent any moisture problems, and a new synthetic sport surface installed. Kiefer used custom colors for the flooring and also installed water jet-cut inlaid custom-made logos, a dif-ficult process since the logos were 12 feet in diameter, and some required a five-week lead time for fabrication. The facility also includes a state of the art rock-climbing wall for stu-dents’ use as well as a three-lane, two-color track surfaced in a rubber sheetgood. One of the facility’s other attractions is, in Rittenberry’s terms, its “impressive weight room” measur-ing 95’ x 35’ and featuring a Mondo USA surface. Participating companies began work as soon as possible. One chal-lenge facing the team working on the project was the timeframe. Construc-tion began in the spring when school let out and continued throughout the summer while students were away. “The moisture-sealing, custom colors and personalized logos created a crunch to accomplish all within the customer’s pre-determined schedule,” Rittonberry noted. “Summertime workloads are always extremely heavy for the production and installa-tion crews,” writes Rittenberry. “Time coordination and team effort was necessary by both the manufactur-ers and the installers to accomplish

this feat. The deadline was met due to the commitment and extended work days of all involved. The date for the dedication ceremony of the building — September 7 — remained in effect and went off without a hitch.” The completed program is a favorite of students who use every aspect of it, of the school that is pleased with the usage level — and even with an industry that recently recognized the excellence of the design and con-struction of the completed project. The Koehler Fitness and Recrea-tion Project was awarded the Indoor Multi-Purpose Facility of the Year by the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA). ASBA, the as-sociation of designers, builders and suppliers in the sports facility indus-try, presents its awards each year to recognize outstanding examples of sports facility construction. Facilities are recognized in various categories, including Tennis Courts, Running Tracks, Sports Fields and Indoor Multi-Purpose Facilities. The Koehler facility, which won its top honors in the Indoor Multi-Pur-pose category, is a facility that fits its category description in all respects. With students now able to run, jog, play volleyball, basketball and rock-climb, or train in the weight room, instead of having a campus facility that stands empty and unused, the college is working to keep its student body healthy and happy.

Former Ice Hockey Facility Gets New Use As Fitness Center

ASBA 2011 Indoor Multi-Purpose Facility of the Year Specialty Athletic Con-tractor: Kiefer Specialty Flooring, Inc. (Linden-hurst, Illinois) Flooring in weight room: Mondo USA (Canada)

Koehler Fitness and Recreation Complex , at the University of Findlay (Findlay, Ohio)

Wins Industry Award For Design And Construction

by Mary Helen Sprecher

For more information, and a complete list of 2011 award winners contact American Sports Builders Association: www.sportsbuilders.org


Sometimes, one loss can lead to an enormous gain.

The University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio had stopped offering ice hockey as a varsity sport in 2004 because of its low enrollment and increasing costs. That left behind a building that, while largely unused, had plenty of potential remaining. The university decided to capitalize on it, and to adaptively reuse it as a health club and intramural facility. The new facility, which would become known as the Koehler Fit-ness and Recreation Complex, was to house a weight room as well as a jogging track, plus space for basket-ball and volleyball. Other planned amenities were a student lounge, recreation area and restaurant/snack bar, as well as offices, wi-fi, storage, conference room, rest rooms, lockers and showers. But making the building take an about-face after being an ice rink for so long was no easy task, according to athletic surfacing contractor Brion Rittenberry of Kiefer Specialty Floor-ing (Lindenhurst, Illinois). “As the ice was removed from the slab, there was a one-inch expansion joint between the concrete where the ice itself had been, and the remain-ing concrete slab for the building,” Rittonberry notes. “To accommodate new flooring material, the existing expansion joint needed to be re-

moved one inch below the top of the concrete slab surface.” The new floors had to be prepped to prevent any moisture problems, and a new synthetic sport surface installed. Kiefer used custom colors for the flooring and also installed water jet-cut inlaid custom-made logos, a dif-ficult process since the logos were 12 feet in diameter, and some required a five-week lead time for fabrication. The facility also includes a state of the art rock-climbing wall for stu-dents’ use as well as a three-lane, two-color track surfaced in a rubber sheetgood. One of the facility’s other attractions is, in Rittenberry’s terms, its “impressive weight room” measur-ing 95’ x 35’ and featuring a Mondo USA surface. Participating companies began work as soon as possible. One chal-lenge facing the team working on the project was the timeframe. Construc-tion began in the spring when school let out and continued throughout the summer while students were away. “The moisture-sealing, custom colors and personalized logos created a crunch to accomplish all within the customer’s pre-determined schedule,” Rittonberry noted. “Summertime workloads are always extremely heavy for the production and installa-tion crews,” writes Rittenberry. “Time coordination and team effort was necessary by both the manufactur-ers and the installers to accomplish

this feat. The deadline was met due to the commitment and extended work days of all involved. The date for the dedication ceremony of the building — September 7 — remained in effect and went off without a hitch.” The completed program is a favorite of students who use every aspect of it, of the school that is pleased with the usage level — and even with an industry that recently recognized the excellence of the design and con-struction of the completed project. The Koehler Fitness and Recrea-tion Project was awarded the Indoor Multi-Purpose Facility of the Year by the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA). ASBA, the as-sociation of designers, builders and suppliers in the sports facility indus-try, presents its awards each year to recognize outstanding examples of sports facility construction. Facilities are recognized in various categories, including Tennis Courts, Running Tracks, Sports Fields and Indoor Multi-Purpose Facilities. The Koehler facility, which won its top honors in the Indoor Multi-Pur-pose category, is a facility that fits its category description in all respects. With students now able to run, jog, play volleyball, basketball and rock-climb, or train in the weight room, instead of having a campus facility that stands empty and unused, the college is working to keep its student body healthy and happy.

Former Ice Hockey Facility Gets New Use As Fitness Center

ASBA 2011 Indoor Multi-Purpose Facility of the Year Specialty Athletic Con-tractor: Kiefer Specialty Flooring, Inc. (Linden-hurst, Illinois) Flooring in weight room: Mondo USA (Canada)

Koehler Fitness and Recreation Complex , at the University of Findlay (Findlay, Ohio)

Wins Industry Award For Design And Construction

by Mary Helen Sprecher

For more information, and a complete list of 2011 award winners contact American Sports Builders Association: www.sportsbuilders.org


More Products

EVERYTHING FOR YOUR INFIELDEverything you need to maintain and improve your infields is supplied by BEAM CLAY®, makers of infield mixes, mound and batter’s box clays, and red warning tracks for every state and climate from regional plants nationwide. BEAM CLAY®

also supplies more than 200 other ballfield products from bases to windscreens and has supplied every MLB team, most minor league and college teams, and thousands of towns and schools from all 50 states and worldwide.BEAM CLAY • 800-247-2326 www.beamclay.com Circle No. 528

STRUCTURE SOLUTIONSClearSpan Fabric Structures provides design-build solutions for your athletic and recreational structure needs.

Hercules Truss Arch Buildings feature abundant natural light and spacious interiors without support posts for a superior training

environment. With minimal foundation requirements, the structures can be permanent or temporary, and are easy to relocate. Made in the USA, they can be built to any length and up to 300 feet wide, and are designed to meet local wind and snow load requirements.ClearSpan Fabric Structures • 866-643-1010www.clearspan.com Circle No. 529

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR BUILDERSThe American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) is a national organization for builders, designers, and suppliers of materials for tennis courts, running tracks, synthetic and natural turf fields, and indoor and outdoor synthetic sports surfaces. ASBA publishes Buyer’s Guides with information on the process of selecting a site, choosing a contractor, identifying a surface, and so forth. Visit the ASBA’s Web site for a searchable database of members.American Sports Builders Association • 866-501-2722www.sportsbuilders.org Circle No. 532

HIGH QUALITY MACHINEThe C-79101W Deltoid & Shoulder Machine features industrial quality pillow block bearings at the pivot point. This machine has independent arm movement, a thick contour seat, a rear extra “U” frame to support heavy weights, and plate holders that are designed for both Olympic and standard plates. The shoulder press has

four different hand grips for a wide range of motion. This product weights 145 pounds and measures 34”W x 42.5”D x 48”H.New York Barbells of Elmira, Inc. • 800-446-1833www.newyorkbarbells.com Circle No. 531

GREAT FUNDRAISING OPTIONSAll American Fund Raising’s main programs focus on gift giving, with brochures detailing the items it offers, from gift-wrap and deli items to fine chocolates. Each order is carefully packaged in-house,

with each order itemized for the individual student. The company also offers valuable prizes and incentives for the school and the student sellers. Sales representatives have a full selection of ways to encourage organizations in their fundraiser. All American Fund Raising • 402-779-2000www.allamericanfr.com Circle No. 530

GROOMING SYNTHETIC FIELDSThe Synthetic Sports Turf Groomer and Spring Tine Rake allow fast, efficient grooming of all infill synthetic sports fields. The Groomer lifts the turf fibers, leaving them in a plush, upright position, and moves fill material into low spots and depressions left after play. The Spring Tine Rake, attached to the groomer, combs through the infill to relieve compaction, releasing trapped turf fibers and ensuring a level playing surface. GreensGroomer WorldWide, Inc. • 888-298-8852www.greensgroomer.com Circle No. 537

SAVE YOUR FENCESThe newly patented Tuffy® Ballasted Windscreen can save chain link fences from high wind damage. Each unit is attached only at the top, and the bottom edge is weighted to keep the screen vertical in low winds. As wind velocity exceeds 20 miles per hour downwind sections begin to billow out, allowing damaging wind to escape through. This product is engineered to save fences in winds up to 90 miles per hour. It is available in 20 Vipol® colors and with Chroma-Bond® Multi-color imprinting.Aer-Flo, Inc. • 800-823-7356www.aerflo.com Circle No. 543

A DISTINCTIVE LOOKFiberglass players’ benches from Kay Park Recreation add team color to your field and enhance team spirit. They come in six-, eight-, and 15-foot lengths (with or without backrests) and with your choice of stationary or portable lets. Many colors are available to meet your needs. Custom school colors can be matched, and emblems can be inlaid for a distinctive look. Other products offered by Kay Park include bleachers, tables, bike racks, and planters. Call today for a free catalog. Kay Park Recreation Corp. • 800-553-2476www.kaypark.com Circle No. 547


More Products

GREAT EDUCATION, GREAT VALUEYou are one degree away from changing your world. You are one degree away from achieving more. Which one will it be? American Public University has 87 online degrees. APU’s tuition is far less than other top online universities so you can further your education without breaking the bank. APU was recognized in 2009 and 2010 for best practices in online education by the prestigious Sloan Consortium.American Public University • 877-777-9081www.studyatapu.com/athletic-mgmt Circle No. 536

SUPPORTING ADMINISTRATORSThe National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) preserves, enhances, and promotes

the educational values of interscholastic athletics through the professional development of its members in the areas of education, leadership, and service. The NIAAA is committed to providing programs, resources, and support to

athletic administrators as they provide safe and quality participation opportunities for students. Promoting the development of strategic alliances with other education-based agencies is an important role of the NIAAA.NIAAA • 317-972-6900www.niaaa.org Circle No. 534

DUPLICATES NATURAL MOTIONThe CL-95840 Bio Incline Bench Press features 2” x 3” steel tube construction, bi-angular arm movement to duplicate your natural motion, four-way handles, and chrome-plated weight holders and storage. Adjustable arm rests allow for variable starting points,

and the arms rotate on four industrial-grad ball bearings. This product weights 190 pounds and measures 54”W x 68”D x 41”H (49” arms wide).New York Barbells of Elmira, Inc. • 800-446-1833www.newyorkbarbells.com Circle No. 535

DEBRIS GOES, INFILL STAYSThe LitterKat synthetic turf sweeper is a commercially built, ground-driven sweeper that is designed to remove debris from the turf surface without displacing infill material. With dual 12-volt vibrators in the collection baskets, any infill material that is collected is quickly returned to the field. The LitterKat is also equipped with a powerful six-foot tow-behind magnet that pulls unwanted ferrous material from deep within the infill. GreensGroomer WorldWide, Inc. • 888-298-8852www.greensgroomer.com Circle No. 533

Court Grip™

BSN Sportswww.bsnsports.com888-566-8966Circle No. 500

Unique features:• BSN Sports is the exclusive supplier of Court Grip™• Court Grip™ will give athletes a safer and more dynamic on-court experience

Benefits for the user:• When applied to the bottom of the athlete’s shoe, this product will instantly improve traction on the court• Save money on mats and court mops

Product Launch

ADA Easy Stair Triad Technologies, Inc. www.triadtec.com800-729-7514Circle No. 556

[email protected] for ADA Easy Stair information

Unique features:• Portable and remov-able• No pool anchoring required• Custom trimmed• Included entrapment skirts• Requires no pool bonding

Benefits for the user:• Cost-effective solution for pools requiring a secondary means of pool access• Quick and easy removal from pool, meaning lap swim and competition swim meets are not compromised

OUR REDESIGNED WEB SITE FEATURES...• Headlines of the day • Back issues

• Special digital supplements • A searchable database of articles

• A blog dedicated to high school and college athletic administration

VISIT US AT:

ATHLETICMANAGEMENT.COM

INTRODUCING OUR

NEW LOOK

Big Graphics.Big Impact.

BigSigns.comIf you are looking for big graphics for your stadium or facility that make a big impact, BigSigns.com is the place to go. We are experts at designing, manufacturing and installing creative, impactful, stadium graphics that revitalize even the most tired facilities. We have an array of products to meet almost any need and a creative staff that will make your brand stand out. If you are looking to elevate your athletic program’s profile, improve recruiting success and enhance the fan experience with big, dynamic stadium graphics, BigSigns.com is your only choice. Visit our website to see why. Big Graphics. Big Impact. BigSigns.com.

800 790 7611Circle No. 152

ADVANCE | MONDOSPORT I I | MONDOFLEX I I

RAMFLEX | SPORT IMPACT | SPORTFLEX

8 0 0 3 6 1 3 7 4 7 m o n d o @ m o n d o u s a . c o mW W W. M O N D O W O R L D W I D E . C O M

INDOOR

From basketball to badminton, volleyball to tennis,Mondo has the solution for your indoor sport.

© 2012 GreensGroomer WorldWide, Inc. All rights reserved. Patents Pending

FIELD SANITATION JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT EASIER

GreensGroomer.com888-298-8852

� e day has arrived when fi eld safety can be achieved without the use of harmful chemicals and scarce water resources. Facility Managers can now address the risks of MRSA and HIV on all sports surfaces and do so in the most cost eff ective manner possible. Designed by GreensGroomer WorldWide® the GreenZapr® uses the power of UVC technology to destroy harmful germs inherent in sports turf surfaces.

Germicidal UVC has been used in the eradication of pathogens, viruses, mold, and fungus for over 100 years. Now adapted for mobile use, the GreenZapr uses the strength of UVC in a simple tow-behind unit. With an on-board generator with intelligent power regulator, the GreenZapr effi ciently sends and controls power to the light banks. � e spring tine rake module lifts material, preparing it for exposure. Total immersion in the UVC is executed with a three-pass technique that results in a 99.9% kill factor. Get all the facts, studies, white papers, and product data at GreensGroomer.com or contacts us toll free at (888)298-8852.

DELIVERS 99.9% KILL FACTOR OBLITERATES THE ORGANISM’s DNA

RELIABLE ON-BOARD POWER

� e miniZapr is also available, which is a great solution for hard to reach spaces, locker rooms, weight rooms,

fi tness areas, bathrooms, and all athletic surfaces.

STERILIZATION WITHOUT CHEMICALS SAFE & EASY TO USE

PROVEN BY INDEPENDENT STUDIES

Circle No. 153

athletic management 24.2

Documents