COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

FOUNDATION COURSES

LTC 501 Athletic Administration: Philosophy, Leadership Organizations and Professional Development
The flagship course of Leadership Training serves as an overview for interscholastic athletic administration. This course introduces the philosophy of educational athletics then focuses on the roles of the NIAAA, the NFHS, the State Athletic/Activity Associations, and the State Athletic Administrator’s Associations. The course also previews the NIAAA Leadership Training and Certification Programs. It is a prerequisite for all levels of certification and includes study materials for the CAA Certification Examination.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Athletic administrators seeking to learn more about educational athletics, national organizations, and those interested in pursuing the certification process. This course is a recommended prerequisite to all other LTP courses.

Required for: RAA, CAA and CMAA Certification

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Inexperienced athletic administrators seeking to define and improve their operational procedures.

Required for: RAA, CAA and CMAA Certification

LTC 504 Athletic Administration: Legal Issues I (Risk Management)
This course has in-depth coverage of all aspects of liability for sports injuries and risk management, including the duties imposed on athletic administrators, coaches, athletic trainers, and other athletic personnel, documentation requirements for an effective risk management program, and development of a strategic plan for risk management in the context of an interscholastic athletic program.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking information concerning Constitutional law and the need of exposure to causes for negligence and to legal “Standards of Care”

Required for: CAA and CMAA Certification

LTC 506 Athletic Administration: Legal Issues II (Title IX, Sexual Harassment)
This course has in-depth coverage of compliance issues regarding Title IX and gender equity in an interscholastic athletic program, including the methodology for a school to perform a Title IX self-audit, and in-depth coverage of the issues and strategies related to the development of an effective policy for the prevention of sexual harassment in an interscholastic athletic program.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking strategies for minimizing legal challenges in each topic area

Required for: CMAA Certification

LTC 508 Athletic Administration: Legal Issues III – (Hazing, ADA, Employment Law)
This course has in-depth coverage of the issues and strategies related to the development of an effective policy for prevention of hazing in an interscholastic athletic program, coverage of the constitutional and statutory issues affecting athletic programs, including the impact of disabilities legislation on school athletics, and coverage of employment law concerns affecting athletic programs, including contract law, equal pay and FLSA issues.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking information concerning Hazing and Employment law and the need of exposure to causes for negligence and to legal “Standards of Care”.

LTC 511 Athletic Administration: Concepts and Strategies for Interscholastic Budgeting and Finance Using Excel Spreadsheets (2009 Release - Split of former 611)

This course of study provides an overview of accepted management practices and strategies. Included are budget models, timelines, documentation practices and suggested strategies for long range planning. A major component of this course will be desktop budget management using Excel Spreadsheets. It is highly recommended that attendees bring a laptop computer with at least Windows 2003, including Excel.

Enrollees who will derive the greatest benefit: Administrators desiring to incorporate Microsoft Excel and computer programs into budget management practices.

OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT COURSES

LTC 608 Athletic Administration: Management Strategies and Organization Techniques
This course is designed to inform athletic administrators how to more effectively organize and manage their time, apply time management principles, be more productive and have balance to life. Instruction will focus on 12 key components and strategies, including proven techniques and tips to teach participants how to: Set Goals and Priorities, Plan for Results, Organize for Success, Process Paperwork, Delegate Effectively, Eliminate Time Wasters, Enhance Decision-Making, Make Meetings Productive, Conquer Procrastination, Utilize Technology, Communicate Effectively and Reduce Stress.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators who are not familiar with the pressures and intensity of athletics administration and who could benefit form orientation to time as an administrative resource

LTC 611 Athletic Administration: Concepts and Strategies for Interscholastic Marketing, Promotions and Supplemental Fund-Raising (2009 Release - Split of former 611)
This course will provide the athletic administrator with strategies and ideas to successfully promote and market the school’s interscholastic programs and to enhance the success of supplemental fund-raising efforts. Promotional activities designed to create interest in, increase enthusiasm for, and enhance the image of, a school’s interscholastic activities program are described. Models of supplemental fund-raising are summarized, including a focused segment on working successfully with booster clubs and safeguarding of funds that have been raised. The potential for raising funds through grants and outreach efforts for major gifts are introduced. Detailed information related to corporate sponsorship is provided. Appendices include sample materials that may be utilized for grant and corporate sponsorship applications, marketing plans, and booster clubs, as well as fund-raising resources.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking strategies to promote and market their school’s interscholastic program, work successfully with booster clubs, increase the success of fund-raising initiatives, and initiate or broaden financial gain from grants and/or corporate sponsorships/donations.

LTC 612 Athletic Administration: Technology I – Basic Computer Application
This course is an excellent resource and a useful tool in the everyday responsibilities of the athletic administrator when making presentations to community groups, booster clubs, boards of education, etc. Attendees will receive basic instruction and procedures in Word and PowerPoint. The hands-on course offers the athletic administrator an opportunity to actively create Word documents and PowerPoint presentations during the presentation of the course. Attendees will receive a resource disk to watch training sessions as many times as they want while they practice in Word and PowerPoint. For maximum benefit, it is highly recommended that attendees bring a laptop computer with at least Windows 2003, including PowerPoint, to the class.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking basic computer Word and PowerPoint skills for everyday office operations and presentations.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking advanced computer skills for advanced office operations and presentations.

LTC 614 Athletic Administration: Technology III – Enhancing Public Presentations
This course is designed for those who would like to learn to use some of the advanced features of PowerPoint such as action buttons, master slide design, narration, sound and video insertions. Participants will also learn to use Photo Story 3 as a means of creating video stories and converting PowerPoint to video. Innovative methods of presentation and steps to better presentations, as well as public speaking, are included in the course. The hands-on course offers the athletic administrator opportunities to actively take part in the presentation of the course. For maximum benefit, it is highly recommended that attendees bring a laptop computer with at least Windows 2000, including PowerPoint and Photo Story 3, to this class.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to improve their speaking and presentation skills as well as those who wish to improve their ability to use technology to enhance public presentations.

LTC 615 Athletic Administration: Athletic Field Management
This course provides athletic administrators with a practical, cost-effective and scientific approach to turf management. Upon completion, administrators will have developed skills and knowledge required to maintain, safe, resilient and attractive fields. The course will help athletic administrators develop long range, operational and assessment plans and a documentation process for outdoor playing surfaces.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators desiring strategies for management and enhancement of existing playing fields or to resolve a persistent turf problem

LTC 616 Athletic Administration: Management of Indoor Physical Plant Assets
This course will consider spectator facilities, special use gymnasia, natatoriums, laundry rooms and locker rooms and the various systems that support them. Mechanical system checklists for use in regular inspections and maintenance programming will be provided. In addition, considerations and issues related to construction and remodeling programs will be discussed.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking guidance concerning management, maintenance and construction or remodeling of sport facilities and methods to enhance customer satisfaction and safety

LTC 617 Athletic Administration: Administration of Interscholastic Sports Medicine Programs
This course will examine the role of the athletic director and other school administrators in supporting and developing the interscholastic sports medicine program within a school or district. In this regard, topic coverage will include: (1) philosophy of sports medicine services; (2) roles and responsibilities of the Certified Athletic Trainer (A.T.C.); (3) roles of other members of the sports medicine team; (4) the high school sports medicine center – specifications and equipment; (5) helping parents, athletes and the general public understand the role of athletic trainers; (6) legal issues and risk management strategies; and (7) contemporary administrative issues and response strategies.

A series of appendices will also be developed to provide athletic directors and athletic trainers with helpful information. These appendices include: (1) physical plant floor plans and photographs; (2) contract format for employment of off-duty emergency response personnel for emergency care; (3) samples of multi-purpose student athlete information card; (4) sample site-specific emergency response plan; (5) a descriptive sports medicine handbook for coaches and parents; (6) position proposal guide for Certified Athletic Trainers in secondary school athletics programs; (7) public presentation power point slides and bullet point lecture to develop for a sports medicine program; and (8) references and resources.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking methods to better support sports medicine programs in high school programs.

LTC 618 Athletic Administration: Management of Interscholastic Athletic Player Equipment
This course will make use of principles, strategies and best practices for fitting, adjusting, managing, reconditioning and maintaining athletic apparel, footwear and protective equipment. All methods and techniques discussed will be drawn from American Equipment Managers Association standards and practices.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators who are inexperienced with techniques and methods for maintenance of competitive player equipment

LTC 619 Athletic Administration: The Power of Curb Appeal
The power of curb appeal is highlighted in this course. Visitors to a school often form an opinion of the school and community based on first impressions of the appearance of the facilities. This course discusses the power of curb appeal and how communication can enhance curb appeal. Strategies and methods are provided for maintaining structures and facilities as well as a comprehensive and thorough study of “Best Turf Field Maintenance Practices” as well as “Best Operational Management Practices.”

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking techniques and methods to enhance public confidence in the administrator’s ability to maintain athletic facilities and to project a positive image to the community

LTC 625 Athletic Administration: Management of Game and Event Announcing
This course is designed to assist the athletic administrator in understanding his/her role in managing the public address program for athletic contests. Topics include the role of the athletic administrator and announcer, announcing guidelines for addressing emergency situations, security situations, and unsportsmanlike situations, pre-game, during contest and post game announcements; halftimes; preparing student announcers and understanding sound systems. Attendees will receive announcing guidelines endorsed by the NIAAA, NAIA and the NJCAA. A CD addresses key issues regarding public address announcing and demonstrates proper and improper announcements.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators interested in using contest announcement techniques to project a positive image, to assist in maintaining high standards of sportsmanship and spectator safety

LTC 630 Athletic Administration: Interscholastic Contest Management - Planning, Preparation and Methods (New Course - 2009 Release)

This course examines the historic foundations and precedents for contest management as an extension of educationally sound sports programs. Planning methods for contest management are examined including selection of supervisory personnel, suggested need assessment tools, and checklists for the development of supervision plans and policies. In addition, an overview of methods is suggested for creation of an educationally sound competition environment among players, coaches, students and other spectators. Course appendices provide assessment tools and examples of contemporary management practices. These tools are also contained on an attached compact disc for local reproduction, discussions and planning.

Enrollees who will derive the greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to increase knowledge of event planning methods in order to develop policies, enhance safety and provide assessment surrounding contest management.

LEADERSHIP COURSES

LTC 700 Athletic Administration: Administration of Middle School Athletic Programs
This course provides insights and strategies for the leadership of developmentally sound educationally compatible middle level school athletic programs. Middle school philosophy is discussed along with the relationship it has to the psychological and physical development of the middle school child. This course also focuses on concerns and/or challenges raised about the value of middle school sports programs in today’s educational setting.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Athletic Administrators and coaches with limited perspective of the role of middle school sports and the developmental needs of the middle school students.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to develop student leadership and school citizenship programs as well as implementing leadership strategies among coaches

Enrollees who will derive the greatest benefit: Athletic Administrators seeking methods and strategies to recognize, maximize, and enhance model student behaviors.

LTC 705 Athletic Administration: Coach Centered Educational Athletics—A Character Based Coach to Coach mentoring program
Character based coach to coach mentoring programs utilize the talents, strengths and qualities of the entire team of coaches to maximize the potential of the coaching staff. Mentoring is an attitude, a relationship and an investment which provides coaches the opportunity to support and nurture each other professionally, personally and ethically. This course will highlight mentoring models that demonstrate key behaviors to implement when establishing an effective mentoring program. It will also provide athletic administrators strategies and methods to develop and enhance successful coach to coach mentoring programs.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Athletic Administrators seeking methods and strategies to maximize and enhance the strengths of their coaching staff.

LTC 707 Athletic Administration: Assessment of Interscholastic Athletic Programs and Personnel
This course examines a philosophic rationale and a variety of methods that may be used to assess athletic programs and personnel. The goals of this program are to improve the performance of athletic coaches and other athletic department personnel, improvement of program operations and improvement of satisfaction among players, parents and employees. A central theme is to encourage assessment of needs, interests and opinions that can enhance goal setting and planning priorities. The course will examine a philosophic rational for assessment in high school sport programs, discuss basic statistical concepts, focus on Affective Assessment, describe various Personnel Assessment methods and concepts and details various Program Assessment techniques.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators with no background in personnel and program assessment and administrators seeking templates for assessment

LTC 709 Athletic Administration: Leadership, Management, Supervision and Decision-Making in Interscholastic Sports Programs (2009 Release - Split of former 709)

The purpose of this course is to examine the concepts, methods and best practices available to athletic administrators in the skills of leadership, management, supervision and decision making. These methods have been researched from strategies currently used in education, government and business. The implications of those disciplines relevancy for athletic administrators will be emphasized throughout the course.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators who are not familiar with the effect of personal preferences on communications, leadership and decision-making styles.

LTC 710 Athletic Administration: Current Issues in American Sports
A panel of secondary level athletic administrators and outside experts will lead small group discussions of important issues and effective response strategies for 3-5 topics of contemporary issues selected annually. The topics will be examined by using a moderator to guide the discussion and cover certain aspects of the topic. Participants will have an opportunity to participate in the discussion. The instructional format of the course will consist of lecture, seminar discussion and audience interaction.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking discussion of current issues and problem resolution strategies.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to understand the role of human personality in defining a challenging personality or behavior and seeking strategies for dealing with extremely aggressive, rigid, sarcastic passive or condescending personalities.

LTC 719 Athletic Administration: Leadership, Management/Supervision and Decision Making Concepts, Methods and Applications (2009 Release - Split of former 709)
This course examines relevant strategies and principles that can be utilized to enhance the skills of athletic administrators in the areas of leadership, management and decision-making. Learning begins with an introduction to the differences between leadership, management and supervision and continues with an in-depth investigation of each. Through the analysis of specific leadership and management characteristics and techniques, students will be able to apply specific skills to improve their leadership effectiveness. Concepts and techniques of decision making strategies are discussed and demonstrated through various in-class exercises. Appendices provide relevant materials, instruments and assessment procedures that support text materials and principles.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to understand the effects of individual personality on leadership, management and decision-making and who want to enhance their own skills and abilities in these areas.

LTC 720 Athletic Administration: Community Centered Educational Athletics—A Character Based Approach to Identifying and Unifying the Whole Team
Character based educational athletics can only truly succeed when the entire community—School Board, Superintendent, Principal, Parents and Boosters—support and embrace the values and views lived daily in the school setting by the student athletes, coaches, athletic department and school faculty. Without question, teachable moments in athletics prepare students for life when the whole community supports and reinforces those life lessons. This course will empower the athletic administrator to motivate the entire community to walk the talk by creating strategies to use in your school community.

LTC 723 Athletic Administration: Administration of Professional Growth Programs For Interscholastic Athletics Personnel
Since enactment of Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, the number of high school sports programs has increased geometrically. This pattern of growth has created an ever-increasing demand for trained coaches at tall levels of high school and middle school competition. While the term “trained” may be defined variously, legal definitions, court cases and professional standards of care have clearly identified various competencies and performance expectations for coaches. In courts, these standards have placed increased responsibilities on athletics directors. First, is an obligation to carefully screen candidates for coaching positions carefully during the hiring process. Second, is the responsibility to provide in-service training opportunities to ensure that all coaches are prepared for their work with children of variable skill and maturity levels.

These obligations are so important that NIAAA Leadership Training Course 504, Legal Issues and Strategies has identified 14 legal duties that describe those requisite competencies in detail. The 14th and final duty or moral obligation places direct responsibility for the hiring and training of coaches on the athletics director and other administrators who may be linked to the hiring process.

• Topic Coverage includes:
  a. Philosophic overview and rational for ongoing professional growth training for athletic department personnel.
  b. Various methods currently used to deliver state of the art information to athletics department personnel at relatively low cost.
  c. Incentives that can be extended to coaches and other athletics department personnel to encourage their ongoing participation in professional growth and development activities
  d. Of various resources for training and instruction of high school and middle school coaches
  e. Samples of curriculum taught via the Internet and other methods.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to provide in-service training opportunities to ensure that all coaches are prepared for their work with children of variable skill and maturity levels.

LTC 724 Athletic Administration: Stress Management Methods, Techniques and Systems
The demands of high intensity daily work, evening and weekend supervision requirements, demanding public expectations, challenging interactions and limited resources place the athletics director in a stressful position. Needed are ways of intervening stress, managing its onset and using proven methods for reducing its impact.

Stress will ALWAYS be present. Our perceptions of it determine the way we react and also help define the methods we choose to intervene. Because of the individual nature of perception and preferred response this course will provide an overview of individual methods (breathing control, muscle relaxation and mindfulness) along with systems drawn both from conventional Western medical practices and Eastern alternative or complementary medicine. In the latter area, an introduction to Yoga/Meditation, Tai Chi, Ai Chi, Acupuncture and Healing Touch will be used to complement the more traditional pain and stress management practices.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking new concepts, methods and additional strategies for dealing with stress in their daily activities.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to become instructors in the Leadership Training Program

LTC 799 Athletic Administration: Standards of Excellence in Interscholastic Athletic Programs
Leadership Training Course 799 has two purposes and potential benefits for high school athletics directors.

For newly or recently appointed directors, the course provides an overview of eleven NIAAA Leadership Training Courses (LTCs) including key concepts, strategies and best practices. Whether working to improve a program or looking for long range planning guidance, this overview of eleven NIAAA course components can be of value. At the close of each of the nine chapters contained in the course manual, other LTCs are cited wherein an athletics director can derive more detailed information on a particular topic addressed within each 799 chapter.

For more experienced directors, the same planning and guidance benefits can be derived. However, an additional benefit and incentive can be realized by seeking NIAAA and NASPE Recognition of Program Excellence in one of three categories (Meritorious, Distinguished and Exemplary). For this purpose, the course provides an assessment instrument that describes in detail important components of an educationally sound interscholastic athletics program.