BASIS Independent Schools

Like many in school leadership, my journey started in the classroom as a teacher. As I have progressed from teacher to Dean of Middle School, and into my current role, one thing that I continue to keep at the back of mind is the impact that we have on students. I always keep that in the back of my mind when making decisions and trying to create an environment where students learn, are engaged and have fun. When possible, I try to lean on the students to get their input, as at the end of the day, if they are engaged and having fun, they are more likely to want to come to school, and also re-enroll.

Challenges Facing Student Athletics

In my opinion, the top three challenges facing student athletes are the fact that we are living in a society of instant gratification, lack of resources and funding and lack of space, specifically field space in NY. We are living in a society where social media has taken over, and instant gratification has followed along. While this does not apply to all students, many students end up chasing instant gratification and think that success is linear and end up giving up when it takes longer than expected. Playing sports is not about instant gratification. One of the best parts about sports is that you need to work hard, put in the time and master your craft, which does not happen overnight. We need to continue to remind students that success is not overnight, and of the importance of working hard and never giving up.

Field space in New York is at a premium. There are only so many fields, and almost every school and every club program is fighting for space. We are at the mercy of the parks department which has a tough job of distributing the permits amongst all NYC public and private schools and clubs that need field space. Often times, schools have to use the permits they get for games, and then you end up having to grab a small corner of the field for practice.

Investing in Player Development

Balancing athletic success with student development starts with the Athletic Director (AD) setting proper expectations and goals for their coaches. All ADSs want their teams to win championships; that’s obvious. I think what is more important is that we are developing students as athletes who love the game for the right reasons, but more importantly, as good people with high character. Coaches see and work with the students more than an AD ever will, so it is important that all coaches share the same mission and goal.

At the end of the day, successful programs and teams are the ones who focus on and invest in player development. This starts with youth and middle school programs and ensuring that these environments are ones where students get the chance to play and try different positions, and that they are also places where students don’t get punished for making mistakes. Part of development is making mistakes and learning through trial and error, and when coaches punish mistakes, students feel less inclined to take a risk and try something new.

“I think what is more important is that we are developing students as athletes who love the game for the right reasons, but more importantly as good people with high character.”

Development at the JV and Varsity level is different from that at the youth and middle school level. Coaches have different expectations and goals, so that is a more nuanced approach. For example, this year we added a High School Girls Basketball team, and the majority of girls have never played organized basketball before, but they all have played organized sports. The success of that team wasn’t measured in wins and losses. Instead, it was measured in how the girls developed from the first practice of the season to the last practice of the season. Our Middle School Baseball coach shared this quote with me that he shares during his player and parent meeting with families, “The majority of your kids aren’t going to play a sport in college, but the majority of your kids will GO to college.” This quote goes back to the point I made earlier. I think what is more important is that we are developing students as athletes who love the game for the right reasons, but more importantly, as good people with high character.

With student engagement in today’s educational environment, you need to understand the trends of the times and always be talking to students. It is important to understand what the students enjoy, what they don’t enjoy, and to lean into them. It is important to work with the kids when playing student-facing events. Get them involved and get their input; they know best about what they like and what they think will work best for an assembly, for example.

Advice for Aspiring Leaders

The biggest piece of advice that I can give to aspiring leaders in athletics and student affairs is to drop your ego and understand that, as a leader, you are always learning and evolving. You’ll make mistakes, plenty of mistakes along the way, but what is important is that you learn from those mistakes, understand what went wrong and then make sure you don’t make that mistake again.

Also, don’t take things personally; you’ll get countless emails and phone calls from angry parents or staff who are frustrated. Your job is to hear them out, listen to them and help solve a problem. When someone is angry or frustrated, half of the time, they just want to be heard and acknowledged, and that is part of the job. If you take things personally, you will burn out very fast.