On this episode of the NIAAA Pulse, Justin is joined by Kat Williams, CAA to discuss her article in the Fall 2025 IAA, "Surviving the First Year as a High School Athletics Director." Together, they cover the importance of communication, setting clear goals, prioritzing tasks, and more!

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The NIAAA's Quality Program Assessment (QPA) is growing and we have Andrea Bell and Josh Mathews on the pod this week to discuss their recent experiences of completing the QPA! Andrea is the District Assistant Athletic Director at Greenville School District and Josh is the Athletic Administrator at Pope High School.

The District QPA Cohort opens this Sunday, September 7 – if you qualify and are interested, make sure to apply!

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Justin is joined by NIAAA Executive Director Phil Rison, CMAA for the first time on the pod! Together, they go over the NIAAA 6th Strategic Plan finalization, 2024-2025 membership numbers, and NIAAA U Cohort updates! Plus, a new legal services form was approved by the Board of Directors for members to use as a resource.

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Let's talk about onboarding coaches! Justin is joined by Dena Scott and Lyndsay Watts to go over their article from the Summer 2025 IAA. Together, they talk about how crucial expectation setting is, ongoing support for coaches, and making sure they feel welcomed to your program.

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We're diving into the triangle offense of education-based relationships! Our guest Don Baker, CMAA wrote an article in our Summer 2025 IAA titled "The Parent-Coach-Athlete Triangle," detailing how each individual relationship in this triangle is extremely important in their own way. We'll break it all down with Don and he'll give us some examples along the way!

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When it comes to girls' sports in interscholastic athletics, on the surface it appears they have equal opportunties compared to boys. In reality, there may be small things beneath the surface that communicate something different to the girls in an athletic department. Authors Dr. Tim Green and Dr. Allison Kelley talk in-depth about this topic in an article in the Summer 2025 IAA. Join us as we discuss the article and more together!

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We're talking with Jeff Sullivan on how you as an athletic administrator can advocate for more resources! What does that practically look like? How long can advocating for resources take? How can you explain to leadership why athletics should be funded? We discuss these questions and more. Make sure to read Jeff's article in the Spring 2025 IAA!

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Justin is joined by the 2025 NIAAA Board President, Steve Throne, CMAA. They discuss the future of the NIAAA and athletic administration as a whole, as well as getting to know Steve a little better.

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Most athletic directors probably have had a tough time, at point or another, balancing their personal life with their work life. Lauren and Cole, authors of the Winter 2023 IAA article "Myths of Work and Personal Life Balance for Athletic Administrators," break down five myths ADs should know about when it comes to this topic.

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Lanness Robinson, CMAA and general chair of the NIAAA's 6th Strategic Plan, hops on with us today in person from Austin, Texas at the 55th National Athletic Directors Conference! We reflect on the 5th Strategic Plan, look towards the future of the NIAAA, and invite members to stay involved with the 6th Strategic Plan as it gets finalized this upcoming year.