How Gulliver’s AD is helping high schools navigate sports during the coronavirus pandemic
.JPG "A screenshot of a recent National Athletic Director Resources Network Zoom call. Gulliver Prep AD Ira Childress (first row, second from left), one of the founders of the network, said more than 500 athletic directors from across the county have participated in at least one of the weekly calls so far.")
It was nearly two months ago, shortly after high schools in South Florida shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, when Gulliver Prep athletic director Ira Childress started receiving phone calls from other athletic directors.
They all shared the same general issue: How were they going to work through this? Their spring sports were most likely going to be canceled — the Florida High School Athletic Association made that official on April 20. What sports will look like when school comes back in the fall is still unknown.
And then, after speaking with a fellow athletic director in California, an idea struck.
“Why don’t we put together a national Zoom call for ADs to really kind of come on and shape the future of what we’re trying to do as we work through this pandemic?” Childress told Amanda Waters, the AD at Carlsbad High School in California.
And thus, the National Athletic Director Resources Network was born.
Childress and Waters host the virtual call every Wednesday at 1 p.m. where they discuss various topics related to how the athletic directors handle their jobs when everyone is working from home.
Among the topics discussed so far:
▪ Finding ways to keep as much of a normal routine during social distancing (Gulliver Prep, for example, held a virtual awards ceremony and did senior days for their spring sports over Zoom video calls.)
▪ Preparing for the 2020-2021 season.
▪ Giving advice to seniors who were hoping to use their final season to get scholarship offers and didn’t get the chance to compete in front of scouts.
They have guest speakers at almost every meeting, a list that has so far included Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly, NCAA Division 1 Council member and Winthrop University athletic director Ken Haplin, Northwestern University athletic director Jim Phillips, NCAA Eligibility Center director of outreach Glen Terry and University of Miami sports psychologist Dr. Eric Goldstein.
“The big thing for us is we think we’re doing the best we can to help people on a weekly basis,” Childress said. “It’s been really good for a lot of ADs in South Florida and around the country to connect.”
When they held the first call on March 18, Childress said there were about 50 people participating. Overall, Childress said, there have been more than 500 athletic directors who have been on at least one of the eight calls.
“I had no idea it was going to be this big when we started. It just continued to grow week after week,” Childress said. “A big part of it is, from an athletic standpoint, we’re just trying to utilize this to navigate this whole COVID-19 pandemic and do the best we can for our student-athletes.”
Athletic directors interested in participating in future calls can sign up here.
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