“SUPPORTING MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION”

PRESENTED BY Mary T. Donnellan, CAA Retired DSA – RCPS – Virginia NIAAA Conference –Dec. 2012

PRESENTER - (Mary Donnellan) BACKGROUND

• Coached 3 sports for 20 years • Coached 2 sports for 25 years • Retired after 36 years in public high school • Last stop DSA - 5 years at Spotswood High School, Virginia. In 2007 Spotswood HS had 1480 students. In 2010, 681 students moved to a new HS. Leaving 799 students. DATA SPOTSWOOD H.S. 2007-08 / 2008-09 - 1480 students •20 Varsity Sports – 11 JV Sports •Coaches – 30 - 1 sport / 11 – 2-sport / 2 - 3 sport •445 athletes

2011-12 - 799 students •SPORTS – 20 V 10 JV •COACHES – 17 -1 sport/ 17 -2 sport / 4-3 sport •384 athletes

DATA con’t 2011-12 School Year SPWD HS 799 EAST ROCK HS (611) ATHLETES 384 290 2 SPORT 109 87 3 SPORT 38 26 (253 one sport / 145 two or more) (177 one sport / 113 two or more)

LAST YEAR PRIOR TO THE SCHOOLS SPLITTING = 2009-10 - 22 Three Sport Athletes (1480 students)

In 2012 = a combined 64 Three Sport Athletes and increase of 42 Three Sport Athletes CHALLENGE: • Develop an environment which gives athletes an opportunity to participate in multiple sports. • Maintain the quality of the athletic program following a decline in school population due to a new HS opening.

KEY COMPONENTS: • Coaches • Weight room • Dead Periods • Multi-sport rewards • Spread out events calendar for athletes • Middle school schedules (access to sports) COACHES All Coaches needed to become part of the “ATHLETIC PROGRAM TEAM” •Develop philosophy that the athletic department is a team and not just individual teams. •Coaches need to coach multiple sports. •Coaches need to work in the weight room with all athletes. •Need to coordinate out of season calendar with all sports.

WEIGHT ROOM • DEVELOP A WEIGHT PROGRAM with equal access for all athletes. • Training of coaches and a common program developed. • All athletes develop an Individual Exercise Program (IEP). • Coordinate weight program with PE curriculum. • After school program – 3-4 PM In season athletes in weight room. WEIGHT ROOM – CON’T Weight Room Schedule – •3-4 PM Weight room open for in season teams, while out of season athletes meet with a coach and participate in a conditioning workout. •4-5 PM In season athletes report to team practice, out of season athletes report to weight room. •STAFFING – One person M-F supervise the weight room 3-5. Out of season coaches work one day per week with out of season athletes from 3-4 PM.

DEAD PERIODS

Designated DEAD PERIODS were set the first 2 weeks of each sport season (Fall, Winter, Spring).

NO OUT OF SEASON ATHLETE CAN MEET WITH A COACH OR PARTICIPATE IN WEIGHT ROOM, CONDITIONING OR SPORT SPECIFIC ACTIVITY.

AWARDS PROGRAM Establish an Athletic Department AWARD to recognize 3 sport athletes. EXAMPLE: •Name the Award. •Establish Criteria – must participate in 3 sports at any level. •Award Tiers – Certificate to 3 sport athlete, Plaque to 3 sport athlete maintaining a 3.0 GPA. •Present in front of student body or at end of year athletic program. •Make a plaque that hangs in athletic hall with names from year to year on display. COORDINATE out of season CALENDAR • The coaching staff met and adjusted out of season calendars so that camps for teams did not conflict. • They also scheduled out of season practice schedules to give more athletes an opportunity to attend. EG: Football and Boys Basketball set different camp schedules. Football scheduled spring 7 on 7 nights on Monday’s. School did not schedule any Monday night baseball. MIDDLE SCHOOL • Established meeting with Middle School staff and explained the goals of the program. • The middle school established a calendar so that each sport had their own season. They did not have overlapping schedules. ONE SPORT IN SEASON AT A TIME. • Meant change to Middle School Conference schedule….. 4 other county and 1 city school schedule.

PROGRAM SUCCESS 2007-08 – 4 District Titles / 2 Region / 1 state runner up – 4 teams advanced START OF 3 SPORT PROGRAM 2008-09 – 8 District / 4 Region / 0 State 2009-10 – 11 District / 2 Region / 2 in final 4 of BKB. 2 teams runner up. SCHOOL’S SPLIT 2010 –11 –9 District / 6 Region / 4 teams in final 4 of state. EVERY SPORT BUT ONE WENT ON TO REGION COMPETITION. 2011-12 – 7 District/ 4 Region (4 runner up) / 3 final 4 team in state.

Strategies for Fostering Multi-Sport Participation

Sandy Searcy, IHSAA Assistant Commissioner NIAAA Conference, December 2012 MULTIPLE SPORT ATHLETES MULTIPLE SPORT ATHLETES DEION SANDERS

2 Super Bowl Wins Only person to play in Super Bowl and World Series ABBY WAMBACH Olympic Gold Medal, World Cup Champion Lettered in basketball in high school TONY GONZALEZ

12 time pro bowler Leads all TE in receiving yards and touchdowns Cal Basketball team made it to Sweet Sixteen CHARLIE WARD

1993 Heisman Winner 1st round pick of the NY Knicks

Golf, Track and Field, Baseball 2 Gold Medals, AAU National Championship Founding member of LPGA LISA LESLIE

4 Olympic Gold Medals State Champ in long jump and high jump

TONY GWYNN

8 Batting Titles 7 Silver Slugger Awards Hall of Fame in 2007

Basketball at San Diego State Records for assists in a season and career TAMIKA CATCHINGS

NCAA Champion, WNBA Champion, and Olympic Gold Medalist Volleyball State Champion in high school PAT RILEY

NBA champion coach Drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1967 MISTY MAY-TREANOR

3 Olympic Gold Medals State Runner-up in high jump in 1993 JIMMIE JOHNSON 5-time NASCAR Champion Participated in water polo, swimming and diving at Granite Hills High School JACKIE JOYNER-KERSEE

3-time gold medalist in track 19th all time leading scorer in basketball at UCLA #1 on Sports Illustrated list of Top 50 Female Athletes BO JACKSON

1985 Heisman Trophy Winner 4th all-time SEC rushing leader All-Star for the Kansas City Royals WHY DO KIDS PARTICIPATE IN SPORTS?

1989 Michigan State University Study on Sport Participation

1. To have fun

2. To do something I’m good at

3. To stay in shape

4. To learn new or to improve my skills

5. To play as part of a team

“To win” was the 8th ranked response BENEFITS OF MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION

 Improved Health & Wellness

• Injury rate will decrease – ending that “never ending cycle with no off-seasons in one sport.”

• American Academy of Pediatrics – blames parents; recommends training at correct level, having qualified coaches, and avoid specializing until as late as possible.

• Overuse issues reduced BENEFITS OF MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION

 Improved Athletic Performance

 Development of other athletic skills

 Athleticism

 Teamwork & Leadership skills

 Mental aspects

BENEFITS OF MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION

 College participation and scholarship opportunities improve.

 Academic scholarships to athletic scholarships 70:1.

 Recruiting opportunities increase.

BENEFITS OF MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION

o Character Development

o Student athlete learn how to adapt to different coaching styles

o Student athlete develops team loyalty and pride

o Experimentation

MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION

 With a college scholarship being the end goal for some athletes, how do you encourage high school students to play more than one sport?

 Indiana Athletic Directors offered ideas on what strategies and programs they have implemented to promote multi-sport athletes. LEADERSHIP FROM THE TOP DOWN

 Hire coaches who really believe in the multi- sport concept.

 Incorporate language into the annual coach’s evaluation document.

 Meet with head coaches on a regular basis to discuss the importance of promoting multi-sport participation.

LEADERSHIP FROM THE TOP DOWN

 Identify multi-sport participation as the number one priority.

 Actively promote sports outside of a coach’s season.

 Encourage coaches to promote multi-sport participation by being visible at other sporting events.

LEADERSHIP FROM THE TOP DOWN

 Require all coaches to meet together to talk about yearly plans prior to each season.

 Do not permit out-of-season coaches to conduct open facility time on the same night as a regularly scheduled in-season contest.

 Restrict use of facilities for strength and conditioning during peak practice times after school.

LEADERSHIP FROM THE TOP DOWN

 Require meetings of coaches with student athletes who wish to participate in multiple sports in the same season.

 Either coach can refuse to allow such participation which ends the process.

 A written contract is created by both coaches and filed with the AD.

LEADERSHIP FROM THE TOP DOWN

 Schedule summer workouts as an athletic department, not as individual sports.

 Coaches must meet with the student-athlete and their parents to discuss schedules and find a way to make it work.

LEADERSHIP FROM THE TOP DOWN

 Encourage coaches to promote their athletes to run track in the Spring as a way to condition and build their athleticism.

 One Twenty sports, ONE team. - multiple teams must come together as one if they are going to be successful.

 Allow in-season athletes to attend open gyms of other sports should they choose .

LEADERSHIP FROM THE TOP DOWN

 Establish a schedule for out of season weightlifting supervision which can be utilized by all athletes not in season.

 Do not allow off-season conditioning programs to begin until after Labor Day in the fall and not until after Thanksgiving in the winter.

 Hire a strength coach specifically for conditioning.

MARKETING MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION

 Recruiting Video – Jeffersonville High School http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OHbeE96R8Y

 Name a captain from each fall sport to help recruit kids to our sport.

 Attend the contest of a different sport as a team to demonstrate support.

 Conduct drill sets in practice that recreate soccer footwork, or football blocking so that kids know that our sport and their sport mesh. MARKETING MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION o Send postcards to kids in other sports when they are successful. o Talk about their sports during practice. o Consistently pass out literature and recognize those who are participating in other sports. o Use FACEBOOK AND TWITTER to consistently tell keep the school community up to date.

MARKETING MULTI-SPORT PARTICIPATION

 Conducts SPORTS PERFORMANCE Class (advanced PE).

 Student athletes from 20 different sports work together lifting weights and doing footwork drills.

 They are told they are one team and they need to pull for each other.

JEFFERSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

 Created a power point presentation to encourage football players to come out for wrestling Jeffersonville Red Devil Wrestling

FOOTBALL TO WRESTLING A GREAT COMBINATION! WINTERIZE OUR FOOTBALL TEAM “Wrestling is a sport for discipline and it breeds toughness, it has helped me tremendously!!."

Roddy White – All-Pro Receiver, and wrestling state champion

SUMMER PARTCIPATION

 IHSAA rules permit coaches to work with their student athletes during the summer with no limitations.

 Many athletic departments have established strategies which allow student athletes to participate in multiple sports without schedule conflict. SUMMER PARTCIPATION

 Schedule all camps and open gyms for the winter sports in June, and schedule Fall sports conditioning in July.

 The summer conditioning program should be open to all sports - boys and girls.

 The top 3 grades work together - there is a separate class for incoming freshmen.

 Hire an outside group athletic training group that will work with the athletes during the summer.

SUMMER PARTCIPATION

 Coaches plan summer schedules to allow players to participate in multiple sports.

 Summer: 1st 3-4 weeks are reserved for spring and winter sports.

 The last 4 weeks of the summer are reserved for fall sports.

SUMMER PARTCIPATION

 Schedule conditioning sessions several times throughout the day so that all student- athletes can participate.

 Designate specific sport days. Monday = Fall, Tuesday = Winter, Thursday = Spring.

 Hire a strength and conditioning coach to over- see all summer workouts.

RECOGNITION PROGRAMS

 Many schools offer incentives for participating in multiple sports.

RECOGNITION PROGRAM

 Award a letter jacket to the student-athlete who:

 Earns 4 varsity letters, or 3 in one sport and;

 “Defends” these letters by playing the sport through their senior year. RECOGNITION PROGRAM

 A letter jacket may only be earned by a two or more sport student-athlete.

 Athlete-Of-The-Year Award is issued to the senior boy and girl who have accumulated the most points during their four-year career. RECOGNITION PROGRAM

 Point system for Participation 1 unit of credit - Freshman or JV level 2 units of credit – Varsity level

 Athletic Clock - 12 units, with at least 8 at the varsity level

 School Blanket - 18 units, with at least 14 at the varsity level

 Athletic Ring - 23 units RECOGNITION PROGRAM

 The local newspaper recognizes a male and female senior who has participated in 3 varsity sports.

 Award a watch to any student-athlete who is a 3-sport athlete for four years.

 Start encouraging multi-sport athletes in grade school. One small high school awards a trophy to any student athlete who participates in 6 sports their 7th and 8th grade years. RECOGNITION PROGRAM

 Loyalty Award is provided for student athletes who participate in 10 sports and earn 5 varsity letters.

 The highest athletic award, a blanket, is awarded to an athlete who participates in 3 sports a year for a minimum of 3 years - one being his or her senior year. Questions?