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AD DIGESTThe Ofcial Newsletter of the CIAAADECEMBER 2022ciaaa.cainfo@ciaaa.ca1.888.618.4530Content:AD Article of the MonthCIAAA CertificationsMembership ActivationPlayVS SurveyWinter Webinar Series National ConferenceDave Rozdeba Award Partnership Providers
AD DIGEST Education and especially scholastic sports have undergone signicant shifts over the last twenty years. The last few years of the pandemic has sped up this process and shown us the great value sports can have on a student’s entire life as well as on an entire school community. At its core, educa-tion should be dynamic, progressive and at the forefront of today’s changing landscape and school athletic programs should be no exception. My hope is that when schools focus on educational athlet-ic programs they will also improve their school culture and make their entire school communities a better place. As someone who understands the purpose of athletics, I have been working towards the goal of widening the outreach and understanding of athletic programs for some time now and hope that my new book “A Global Playbook” is a helpful step in doing just that. This simple way we call our programs can have a big impact on how they are viewed by community members. “Educational athletics” embodies the idea that athletics is an extension of the classroom and that playing sports is an educational activity that provides outstanding opportunities to teach life lessons at the same time. Using this term benets a program in two ways. First it should be that it is not solely about wins and loses. Second it shows that a school, or club for that matter, is also interest-ed in educating its athletes in areas other than Xs and Os. For people that have played a team sport, one important learned skill is the desire to be better every single practice, every single game, and every single day not only for themselves but also for the bene-t of the entire team. Regardless of an individual sport or team sport, playing athletics at a school lets a student-athlete feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves which can give many of them a reason to come to school which can lead to making memories that last a lifetime. I have focused my “playbook” around six key elements that all schools need to excel in: Core, Com-mitment, Care, Culture, Competition and Communication. However, within these six key elements there are a ton of subsections that make up the nuts and bolts of top-notch athletics programs. Su-perintendents, Principals, Teachers, Athletic Directors and Coaches all have a role to play in making a top notch education athletic program, however, I have some tips that each individual coach can do to help “raise their game” even if no one else in the school is interested. Looking rst at the CORE of a program two terms should be added to your vocabulary if they are not already. The rst is the term “educational athletics” which I have already mentioned. The second is the term “co-curricular” instead of “extra curricular.” Co-curricular activities are those activities that are outside of a school’s curriculum but “complement” it in a way that adds to a student’s overall ed-ucation. Extracurricular activities are simply dened as those school-based activities that are not tied to the curriculum but are attached to the school day. Add these terms to your vocabulary and start using them in anything you print or put online and mix it into conversations and meetings. As coaches we ask a lot of our athletes but it is sometimes our COMMITMENT level that makes the dif-ference in a season or even in some of our players lives. I emplor all coaches to be committed to their athletes, not in hours and hours of work but in showing up and working hard for the students when you are there. Focusing on school teams I think it is vital that teachers are also coaches as it shows the students that athletics is an important part of a school. If teachers can go from teaching all day to the gym for practice, then students can as well. For teachers it is another way for them to connect with students outside of the classroom and really make a difference in their lives. Lastly, teacher-coaches are not just a sign to the students but also to the parents and the entire school community that the school’s committed to their student’s overall education. AD Article of the Month “Educational Athletics: A Playbook for Success”- Nick DeForst, International AD
CARE is basically a no brainer, right? You must care about the program and the students in it if you want to have any sort of impact on the lives of the students. As coaches we can really show we care about our students by teaching character and life skills in our practices just like it is a sport-specic skill. Coaches should make time for it in their practice plan, let the athletes know they are teaching it, and why it is important. Of course, many of us do this already and some even do it without realizing, but purposely talking about it is an important step for our students to recognize its value. CULTURE is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. Sometimes the culture of an entire athletics program needs an overhaul but often just individual teams can greatly improve but just focusing on themselves. How do students feel when they are a part of the team? How does the greater school community embrace that team? One way to build your team culture is to introduce a slogan for the season. A team building slogan, or motto, is a catch phrase that summarizes your program’s spirit, mission, and character. These are not quotes from famous gures but rather a short and anonymous tagline such as “The Eagles Way”, or “One Team, One Dream”.A league match or conference tournament is ripe with heated COMPETITION but it is also valu-able for our athletes’ growth to experience competition in other ways. Intramurals can be almost anything you want them to be from which sport, what time of the day or day of the week to single standalone events or a full league and can be a great way to insteal many of the values students learn while competing in a more controlled environment. The idea is to get students out and be active while competing with fellow classmates in a fun and organized way. The importance of accurate, concise, and timely COMMUNICATION is clear. As you look to imple-ment or improve parts of your team, it is important to keep that in mind. You can have the best intentions in the world, but if you do not communicate your ideas with the right people and in the right way and at the right time, it may not feel the same way to others. Then, instead a very positive change could have the exact opposite effect than what you were looking for. Communication with your athletes is key but also with parents, opponents, ofcials, and community members is just as important. A “playbook” is a document that describes plays or schemes that a player or team may run in a game. Like in real life, not all of the plays are run each game so I do not expect that every school’s athletic program should go out and run all of the “plays” that I included in my book. There simply is not enough time or resources to do all of these things at once. Instead, I hope that anyone who reads my book will keep it close by so when they have time and want to improve their program they can get it out, nd that specic section, and “run” a new “play.”Nick DeForest who is originally from St. Catharines, Ontario has been in Vienna Austria since 2000 and works at the American International School Vienna. Nick has a BA in History from Brock University and a Masters in Athletic Ad-ministration and Coaching from Western Kentucky University. Nick founded the Globetrottin’ADs before the onset of the pandemic and has continued to bring the international school community together with his podcast and online conferences ever since. His rst book, A Global Playbook: How Every International School Can Raise Its Game is an attempt to show that a successful athletic program can improve the culture of an entire school community. You can nd A Global Playbook on AmazonTo connect with Nick you can check out his website, send him an email and follow him on Twitter.
AD DIGESTThe CIAAA is looking for passionate Athletic Directors to develop and/or deliver 60 minute workshops to present at our National Conference this April. Presenters will receive an $125 honorarium in gift cards or as a conference discount. Grace College Masters Students can often use the development of a workshop as part of your degree. Please note: anyone presenting a workshop agrees that the CIAAA will retain your presentation on le to present in the future. Initial workshop authors will be properly recognized in future presentations.Our conference relies on presenters from within our community of Athletic Directors. Please email caleigh@ciaaa.ca if you have an interest in presenting a workshop. We will work to support the development of your presentation in any way necessary.Call for Workshop Presenters For the 2023 national conferenceRemember to activate your annual CIAAA Membership to take full advantage of perks & registrations.Athletic Administrators from partner provinces (BC, AB, SK & PEI) have purchased their memberships directly through your Provincial body, at can ac-tivate at no charge. If you have not received your activation code for membership, please reach out to info@ciaaa.ca.
Registration for the Spring ‘23 Esports Season on PlayVS is open! If your school is interested in getting started, please ll out this survey and a member of the PlayVS team will reach out to answer any and all of your questions. CIAAA Spring 23 Esports Interest Survey Important dates to remember:Pre-season: Weeks of 1/30/23 and 2/6/23Regular season: Weeks of 2/13/23 - 4/3/23Playoffs & Finals: Weeks of 4/10/23 - 4/24/23School Registration deadline: 2/10/23As a small token of our appreciation, PlayVS will randomly select 5 completed survey responses to receive a $20 CAD Amazon giftcard. Additionally, by lling out the survey your school will receive a special discount to enroll for the Spring 2023 season to help your program get started.WORKSHOPS Motivating Our Athletes - Jan. 23 @ 2:00 PM Building Successful Teams - Jan. 25 @ 10:00 AMLTP COURSES502C: Athletic Administration in Canadian Schools503C: Ath. Admin: Enhancing School-Based Athletic Programs506C: Legal Issues II - Enhanced Legal Topics for the Athletic Administrators608C: Management Strategies and Organization Techniques633C: Creating Inclusive Opportunities for Athletes with a DisabilityJoin us for our Winter Webinars featuring both Leadership Training Program courses & some free workshops. Check out the full schedule and register online at ciaaa.ca/ltpcourses. Registering for multiple LTPs? Use the coupon #Take20#Take20 for 20% off two or more courses
AD DIGESTOur 2023 Conference is back in-person and we are excited to welcome everyone to Vancouver. Early bird registration pricing is NOW OPEN until January 31. Check out the Conference Website for registration, schedules, hotel booking & ight discounts. Remember to speak to your schools and districts to see what Professional Development funds may be accessible for you. We looking forward to welcoming you all to Vancouver!2023 ConferenceHonouring the memory of Dave Rozdeba, a dedicated athletic director and CIAAA instructor who exemplied in-tegrity and sportsmanship, ad-vocated for empowering stu-dent athletes, and inuenced the landscape of educational athletics. Each year the CIAAA recognizes one Athletic Direc-tor who is outstanding in their eld. Nominations for deserving Athletic Directors that embody the strengths and values of Dave, are now open. The Award winner will be presented at the 2023 Conference Banquet and will receive a free conference registration. Deadline February 13, 2023NOMINATE TODAY
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