A Day in the Life of an AD: Game Time!
As we continue our “A Day in the Life of an AD” blog series, we finally make it to the evening, when an AD’s job really gets going.
GAME TIME!
3:00 PM: Coaches Sprint
Many coaches will want to see the athletic director at this time. Coaches who also teach during the day just finished school and now must run off to practice or a game. There is a short window in between when school ends and the campus must be cleared from students for a coach to meet quickly with the AD. Sometimes, it is just a quick handing in of some paperwork or a heads up on a recently discussed issue. However, it could be much larger, like a situation that occurred throughout the day or a transportation issue. With whatever it is, this is an important part of the day for an AD to be available for their coach. This is a common face to face time for coaches and ADs.
4:00PM: Wrap Up
This is when it will start to get quieter in the office of a high school. A perfect time for the athletic director to wrap tasks that need to be completed that day, follow up on their emails, or call parents back. This is usually a very busy time, because the AD is trying to cram a lot of work into this time period- which is going to be one of their longest uninterrupted time throughout the day.
5:00PM: Decisions, Decisions
This time of the day is really dictated by a couple of variables.
- Are there games that night?
- Which sports?
- Which levels?
- What are the game times?
- What’s the location of the game?
Based on start times and locations, maybe you can use this time to run somewhere and get dinner. Maybe you choose to stay in your office and get some more work done. Maybe you have to head out to a field.
5:30PM: GAME TIME!
If the start time is 5:30 for a JV game, gates need to be open 30 minutes prior to the start, so the above was already decided for you. During this time, the AD interacts with parents, students, boosters, and community members. But it doesn’t stop there. It is important to meet and greet the officials when they arrive, as well as the visiting team.
From this time on, it’s the AD’s responsibility to make sure there is sufficient support, ensure smooth operations, monitor the crowd, and address any issues that may arise.
It is essential to be on extra alert in between games. There are more moving parts and people during these times, and gates may become busier.
7:30PM: Latest Start Time
This is one of the latest start times for games. At this point, all of the games for the evening should have been started, and the first game crowd should have exited and this games’ fans should be settled.
During this time, it is a great idea to keep track of what your attendance looks like.
It is also a best practice to take notes during the game. You are likely going to need to remember specifics or have reminders of items that need to be addressed the next day, so recording important points this evening will make it easier tomorrow for the AD.
10:00PM: Closing Time
If the game tonight wasn’t football, then the event is most likely over and the AD has either cleared the area or is currently working on that. All students must be picked up prior to the athletic director leaving to make sure everyone left safely and there are no issues. Unfortunately, this means the AD cannot necessarily leave after the event clean up has been completed. If a student has not been picked up yet, the AD cannot leave.
10:30PM: Home
On a good night, the AD is hopefully home by now. But showering and unwinding are still necessary, and that alarm goes off early. Check out the first blog in this series: Good Morning as a reminder of just how early.
In this series, we have briefly gone through an athletic director’s day, and it took three blog posts to do it. HomeTown appreciates all of the work ADs do in their long days, and we are happy to be a part of making some of their tasks easier. If you are interested in how HomeTown can do that for you, please reach out to us for more information, we’d love to help!
