Pending Data Share Implementation with MHSAA

We’re excited to share some upcoming developments that will greatly benefit streamline operations for high school athletic administrators. As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, we are in the process of implementing a data share in collaboration with MHSAA.  This is in addition to our active support of helping you get data from our products into facility management software, referee, software, school calendars, phones, etc.  Click here to learn more or talk to your rep! 

The MHSAA initiative aims to seamlessly integrate relevant athletic data between Schedule Star and the MHSAA site. This data share will ultimately save you valuable time by eliminating the need for double data entry.

While we are optimistic about the potential benefits this data share will bring, we want to ensure transparency regarding the complexities involved in the implementation process. Our team, alongside MHSAA, is diligently working to address any challenges that may arise to ensure a smooth and successful rollout.

We will provide regular updates as we progress towards implementing the data share!

Branded Parent/Coach Communication Guide For High School Athletic Directors

A few high school coaches and former athletic directors here at BigTeams collaborated with some colleagues to develop a comprehensive guide aimed at fostering a positive and cooperative culture among parents and coaches.

Want us to add your school’s branding to it for free? Click here to submit your request for branding.

Below are a few copies of the guide in various formats:

Parent / Coach Communication Guide

[School Name] ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

Communication You Should Expect From A Coach

Both parenting and coaching are extremely difficult vocations. By establishing an understanding of each position, we are better able to accept the actions of the other and provide greater benefit to children. As parents, when your children become involved in our program, you have a right to understand what expectations are placed on your child. This begins with clear communication from the coach.

Parent / Coach Relationship

  1. The coach’s philosophy.
  2. The expectations the coach has for your child as well as all the players on the squad.
  3. The locations/times of all practices & games.
  4. Any team requirements (i.e. fees, special equipment, off-season conditioning).
  5. The procedure followed in the event that your child is injured during athletic participation.
  6. Any discipline that results in the denial of your child’s participation.

Communication Coaches Should Expect From Parents

  1. Concerns expressed directly to the coach.
  2. Notification of any schedule conflicts well in advance.
  3. Specific concerns in regard to a coach’s philosophy and/or expectations.

As your children become involved in athletics, they will experience some of the most rewarding moments of their lives. There also may be times when things do not go the way you or your child wishes. At these times discussion with the coach is encouraged.

Concerns That Are Appropriate To Discuss With Coaches

  1. The physical & mental treatment of your child.
  2. Ways to help your child improve.
  3. Concerns about your child’s behavior.

It can be hard to accept that your child isn’t playing as much as you’d like. However, coaches are professionals who make decisions based on what they believe is best for all students. While some topics are appropriate to discuss with the coach, others should be left to their discretion.

Issues That Are Not Appropriate To Discuss With Coaches

  1. Playing time
  2. Team strategy
  3. Play calling
  4. Other student-athletes

There are situations that may require a conference between the coach and the parent. These are to be encouraged. It is important that both parties involved have a clear understanding of the other’s position. When these conferences are necessary, the following procedure should be followed to help promote a resolution to the issues of concern.

What can a parent do if the meeting with the coach did not provide a satisfactory resolution?

Call and set up an appointment with the Athletic Director to discuss the situation. Together, you can determine the appropriate next step.

Since research indicates a student involved in co-curricular activities has a greater chance for success during adulthood, these programs have been established. Many of the character traits required to be a successful participant are exactly those that will promote a successful life after high school. We hope the information provided within the booklet makes both your child’s and your experience with the athletic program less stressful and more enjoyable.

Call to set up an appointment. If the coach cannot be reached, call the Athletic Director. The athletic director will set up a meeting for you.

Please do not attempt to confront a coach before or after a contest or practice. These can be emotional times for both the parent and the coach. Meetings of this nature do not promote resolution.

Do not circumvent the coach when it comes to expressing concern. The coach should be the first point of contact when an issue develops.

If You Have A Concern To Discuss With A Coach

  1. Support your child’s efforts toward success.
  2. Work to promote a positive environment that is conducive to the development of the student-athlete.
  3. Become familiar with and review the rules and regulations of the sport with your student-athlete.
  4. Communicate any concerns in a timely manner, according to the district protocol.
  5. Treat all coaching personnel with courtesy and respect and insist your student-athlete do the same.
  6. Encourage your child to communicate their concerns in a respectful manner to the coaching staff. Athletes who do not feel comfortable discussing an individual problem with the head coach may consider talking to an assistant coach.
  7. Understand that not all athletes will like their coaches. However, athletes should accept the concept that you can still work with others toward a common goal, despite your personal feelings towards the individual.

Expectations of Parent / Guardian

  1. Support your child’s efforts toward success.
  2. Work to promote a positive environment that is conducive to the development of the student-athlete.
  3. Become familiar with and review the rules and regulations of the sport with your student-athlete.
  4. Communicate any concerns in a timely manner, according to the district protocol.
  5. Treat all coaching personnel with courtesy and respect and insist your student-athlete do the same.
  6. Encourage your child to communicate their concerns in a respectful manner to the coaching staff. Athletes who do not feel comfortable discussing an individual problem with the head coach may consider talking to an assistant coach.
  7. Understand that not all athletes will like their coaches. However, athletes should accept the concept that you can still work with others toward a common goal, despite your personal feelings towards the individual.

The Next Steps

If you have a concern to discuss with a coach:

  1. Support your child’s efforts toward success.
  2. Work to promote a positive environment that is conducive to the development of the student-athlete.
  3. Become familiar with and review the rules and regulations of the sport with your student-athlete.
  4. Communicate any concerns in a timely manner, according to the district protocol.
  5. Treat all coaching personnel with courtesy and respect and insist your student-athlete do the same.
  6. Encourage your child to communicate their concerns in a respectful manner to the coaching staff. Athletes who do not feel comfortable discussing an individual problem with the head coach may consider talking to an assistant coach.
  7. Understand that not all athletes will like their coaches. However, athletes should accept the concept that you can still work with others toward a common goal, despite your personal feelings towards the individual.

If the meeting with the coach did not provide a satisfactory resolution:

  1. Call and set up an appointment with the Athletic Director to discuss the situation. Together, you can determine the appropriate next step.
  2. Since research indicates a student involved in co-curricular activities has a greater chance for success during adulthood, these programs have been established. Many of the character traits required to be a successful participant are exactly those that will promote a successful life after high school.
  3. We hope the information provided within the booklet makes both your child’s and your experience with the athletic program less stressful and more enjoyable.

Call to set up an appointment

If the coach cannot be reached, call the Athletic Director. The athletic director will set up a meeting for you. Please do not attempt to confront a coach before or after a contest or practice. These can be emotional times for both the parent and the coach. Meetings of this nature do not promote resolution.

Do not circumvent the coach when it comes to expressing concern. The coach should be the first point of contact when an issue develops.

Actual High School Athletic Director Salaries That Mean Something

Doing a Google search for “High School Athletic Directors Salary” narrows it down to somewhere below the poverty line and somewhere among the top 1% of Americans. Websites like “Salary.com” aren’t helpful either, so we have started to compile hard data.

Here is our first attempt at providing hard data that a person can actually wrap their head around, including demographics, school type, etc. We are happy to add to this list if you’d like us to focus on a specific area of the country, larger schools, private schools, etc. We can pull source material from actual government websites. It takes real digging to find it, but it’s possible.

Click here to see the data.

Click here to request more schools and/or give us some advice on how to make the data set better.

The Most Influential Women in Sports

As a part of Women’s History month, BigTeams finds it important to highlight the most influential women in sports. These women have carved out a path for girls who never really had a sports hero to look up to, whether it be on or off the field, court, or track. We have women from the past and present that represent up-and-coming generations.

Serena & Venus Williams

“If the sun comes up, I have a chance.” – Venus Williams

“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.” – Serena Williams 

You know we had to start with this dynamic duo, straight outta Compton. Serena and Venus Williams took over the tennis world and their names are known globally, whether you are into tennis or not. Serena has won 23 grand slam singles titles and Venus has won 7. Notably, Venus was the first black woman to be ranked number 1 in the world for singles back in 2002. The sisters teamed up to take home 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles throughout their careers. Off the court, Venus supports various charities, for example, American Heart Association, American Stroke Association, Elton John AIDS Foundation, and many more. Serena actually started her own charity, self-named, the Serena Williams Fund. This fund focuses on making people’s lives better by promoting equity; through education, gender, race, disability, or anything else that stands in the way of someone achieving their goals and living their best possible life (Charity Buzz). These two incredible athletes are inspirations on and off the court and that is why we needed to recognize them.

Pat Summitt

“Success is a project that is always under construction.” – Pat Summitt

We’ve all had a coach who we looked up to and truly believed in. Pat Summitt was this coach for many basketball players. She grew up playing basketball herself and even went to the point of winning the gold at the Pan-American games in 1975. Did we mention Summitt was even the co-captain of the team the following year? Talk about star power! She took the position of coaching the American collegiate women’s basketball team for the University of Tennessee in 1974. This turned into an impressive 38-year coaching career. Throughout those years, she led her team to 8 National Championships and won 1,098 games. More games than any other NCAA basketball coach, men’s or women’s. Literally incredible if you ask us! This record was recently broken 2 years ago by Tara VanDerveer at Stanford University. Summit was recognized as NCAA Coach of the Year 7 times and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. Pat Summitt left a mark on the sports world and continues to inspire players and coaches to this day.

Megan Rapinoe

“When we, as a nation, put our minds to something, when we truly choose to care about something, change always happens.” – Megan Rapinoe

Not only is Megan Rapinoe an influential leader for the United States Women’s National Soccer Team, but also in the LGBTQIA+ community and the gender equality fight. She helped lead her team to the World Cup, triumphantly winning it in 2015 and 2019. Rapinoe was named the best female player in the world when she was awarded the Ballon d’Or and FIFA’s Women’s Player of the Year. The performance of her and her teammates was unstoppable, but their paychecks from their own organization didn’t reflect that. The field conditions, transportation, pay, respect, etc. were severely lacking for the USWNT compared to their male counterparts, so Rapinoe and her teammates decided to take a stand. They ended up in court with the United States Soccer Federation to fight for equal pay. After a long battle, the USWNT settled its case against the USSF for $24 million dollars. This has been an inspiration for women everywhere who are victims of the gender pay gap. Rapinoe is also a huge advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. She’s not afraid to use her platform and voice to stand up for what she believes in and that’s what makes her a fearless leader.

Danica Patrick

“I’ve never really seen myself as a ‘girl driver’. I’m just a driver.” – Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick has had the need for speed since the age of 10. For many of her accomplishments, she was the first woman to reach those feats. She was the first woman to be presented as Rookie of the Year back in 2005. She was quickly becoming popular when she was named the most popular driver in 2005, 2006, and 2007 by Indy Racing League. When racing in the Indianapolis 500, which only 3 other women before her did (Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James, and Sarah Fisher), she lead the race three times for a total of 19 laps. Another first for women that Patrick has achieved. Later in her successful career, Patrick moved to NASCAR full-time and landed the pole position in the Daytona 500. Take a guess, was she the first woman to start a Sprint Cup from the pole position? Yep! As you can see, Danica Patrick broke through the barrier of this male-dominated sport and conquered it.

Mo’ne Davis

“I throw my curveball like Clayton Kershaw’s and I throw my fastball like Mo’ne Davis.” – Mo’ne Davis

We have talked about some really iconic names, but have you heard of Mo’ne Davis? When only 13 years old, Davis was the talk of the town at the Little League World Series. She was a baseball pitcher from Philadelphia who was throwing 70 mph fastballs. She was the first girl to win a Little League World Series game and the first to pitch a shutout game. Since then, Davis has been pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at Hampton University. She hasn’t hung up her hat quite yet. She made the switch to softball to play for her University’s team. Davis was playing three sports at the varsity level in high school; soccer, basketball, and softball. With the skills and knowledge she possesses of sports, Davis has dabbled in sports broadcasting. Mo’ne Davis is still figuring out what she wants to do in life, but she has set the record straight that she is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Pat Summitt, Megan Rapinoe, Danica Patrick, and Mo’ne Davis have at least one thing in common: Being some of the most influential women in sports. We have been looking up to these relentless, courageous leaders to give us the inspiration to better ourselves. Whether it be the fight for equal pay or giving your all in the game, you can look to these ladies to give you the grit.

Works Cited

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Danica Patrick. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Danica-Patrick

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Megan Rapinoe. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Megan-Rapinoe

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Pat Summitt. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pat-Summitt

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Serena Williams. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Serena-Williams 

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Venus Williams. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Venus-Williams 

Where is mo’ne davis now? Little League World series legend working to become a broadcaster. Sporting News. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2022, from https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/mone-davis-little-league-world-series/1k12um9z8gibo11m94x5snjnx0