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Leadership Training Institute

Overview

The NIAAA athletic administrator certification program objectives are:

  • To promote the professional standards, practices and ethics

  • To encourage self-assessment by offering guidelines for achievement

  • To improve performance by encouraging participation in a continuing program of professional growth and development

  • To identify levels of educational training essential for effective athletic administration

  • To foster professional contributions to the field

  • To maximize the benefits received by the school community from the leadership provided by certified athletic administrators

Certification Benefits

  • Develops a sense of personal and professional satisfaction

  • Demonstrates a commitment to excellence in the profession

  • Provides growth of professional knowledge and expertise

  • Enhances the perception of the profession

  • Increases the potential for employment opportunities or incentives

  • Participates in a nationally registered certification program 

Leadership Training Courses

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

FOUNDATION COURSES

LTC 501 Athletic Administration: Philosophy, Leadership Organizations and Professional Development
The flagship course of Leadership Training serves as an overview for interscholastic athletic administration. This course introduces the philosophy of educational athletics then focuses on the roles of the NIAAA, the NFHS, the State Athletic/Activity Associations, and the State Athletic Administrator’s Associations. The course also previews the NIAAA Leadership Training Institute and Certification Program. It is a prerequisite for all levels of certification and includes study materials for the CAA Certification Examination.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Athletic administrators seeking to learn more about educational athletics, national organizations, and those interested in pursuing the certification process. This course is a recommended prerequisite to all other LTP courses.

Required for: RAA, CAA and CMAA Certification

LTC 502 Athletic Administration: Principles, Strategies and Methods
This course takes a basic approach to the fundamentals and methods of athletic administration and alerts and educates athletic administrators regarding potential problems and possible solutions in areas such as budgets, transportation, and scheduling and parent/student/coach conflicts. The course also touches upon sample athletic/activity program philosophies, department organizational charts, activity procedures/checklist, public relations, coaching applications/assessments and emergency plans.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Inexperienced athletic administrators seeking to define and improve their operational procedures.

Required for: RAA, CAA and CMAA Certification

LTC 504 Athletic Administration: Legal Issues I (Risk Management)
This course has in-depth coverage of all aspects of liability for sports injuries and risk management, including the duties imposed on athletic administrators, coaches, athletic trainers, and other athletic personnel, documentation requirements for an effective risk management program, and development of a strategic plan for risk management in the context of an interscholastic athletic program.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking information concerning Constitutional law and the need of exposure to causes for negligence and to legal “Standards of Care”

Required for: CAA and CMAA Certification

LTC 506 Athletic Administration: Legal Issues II (Title IX, Sexual Harassment)
This course has in-depth coverage of compliance issues regarding Title IX and gender equity in an interscholastic athletic program, including the methodology for a school to perform a Title IX self-audit, and in-depth coverage of the issues and strategies related to the development of an effective policy for the prevention of sexual harassment in an interscholastic athletic program.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking strategies for minimizing legal challenges in each topic area

Required for: CAA Certification (January 1, 2011); CMAA Certification

LTC 508 Athletic Administration: Legal Issues III – (Hazing, ADA, Employment Law)
This course has in-depth coverage of the issues and strategies related to the development of an effective policy for prevention of hazing in an interscholastic athletic program, coverage of the constitutional and statutory issues affecting athletic programs, including the impact of disabilities legislation on school athletics, and coverage of employment law concerns affecting athletic programs, including contract law, equal pay and FLSA issues.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking information concerning Hazing and Employment law and the need of exposure to causes for negligence and to legal “Standards of Care”.

Required for: CMAA Certification (January 1, 2011)

LTC 511 Athletic Administration: Concepts and Strategies for Interscholastic Budgeting and Finance Using Excel Spreadsheets
This course of study provides an overview of accepted management practices and strategies. Included are budget models, timelines, documentation practices and suggested strategies for long range planning. A major component of this course will be desktop budget management using Excel Spreadsheets. It is highly recommended that attendees bring a laptop computer with at least Windows 2003, including Excel.

Enrollees who will derive the greatest benefit: Administrators desiring to incorporate Microsoft Excel and computer programs into budget management practices.

OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT COURSES

LTC 608 Athletic Administration: Management Strategies and Organization Techniques
This course is designed to inform athletic administrators how to more effectively organize and manage their time, apply time management principles, be more productive and have balance to life. Instruction will focus on 12 key components and strategies, including proven techniques and tips to teach participants how to: Set Goals and Priorities, Plan for Results, Organize for Success, Process Paperwork, Delegate Effectively, Eliminate Time Wasters, Enhance Decision-Making, Make Meetings Productive, Conquer Procrastination, Utilize Technology, Communicate Effectively and Reduce Stress.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators who are not familiar with the pressures and intensity of athletics administration and who could benefit form orientation to time as an administrative resource

LTC 611 Athletic Administration: Concepts and Strategies for Interscholastic Marketing, Promotions and Supplemental Fund-Raising
This course will provide the athletic administrator with strategies and ideas to successfully promote and market the school’s interscholastic programs and to enhance the success of supplemental fund-raising efforts. Promotional activities designed to create interest in, increase enthusiasm for, and enhance the image of, a school’s interscholastic activities program are described. Models of supplemental fund-raising are summarized, including a focused segment on working successfully with booster clubs and safeguarding of funds that have been raised. The potential for raising funds through grants and outreach efforts for major gifts are introduced. Detailed information related to corporate sponsorship is provided. Appendices include sample materials that may be utilized for grant and corporate sponsorship applications, marketing plans, and booster clubs, as well as fund-raising resources.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking strategies to promote and market their school’s interscholastic program, work successfully with booster clubs, increase the success of fund-raising initiatives, and initiate or broaden financial gain from grants and/or corporate sponsorships/donations.

LTC 612 Athletic Administration: Technology I – Basic Computer Application
This course is an excellent resource and a useful tool in the everyday responsibilities of the athletic administrator when making presentations to community groups, booster clubs, boards of education, etc. Attendees will receive basic instruction and procedures in Word and PowerPoint. The hands-on course offers the athletic administrator an opportunity to actively create Word documents and PowerPoint presentations during the presentation of the course. Attendees will receive a resource disk to watch training sessions as many times as they want while they practice in Word and PowerPoint. For maximum benefit, it is highly recommended that attendees bring a laptop computer with at least Windows 2003, including PowerPoint, to the class.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking basic computer Word and PowerPoint skills for everyday office operations and presentations.

LTC 613 Athletic Administration: Technology II – Advanced Computer Application Skills
This course is designed for those individuals who would like to use some advanced features in Word, e-mail applications, EXCEL and PowerPoint to improve the quality and presentation of materials. Additional areas covered in the overview are mail merge using Microsoft Word, and creating charts in Microsoft Excel. The course is an extension of LTC 612, and each lesson requires the student to interact with the software in the process of developing presentations and daily administrative reports. Attendees will receive a resource disk to watch training sessions as many times as they want while they practice in Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. For maximum benefit, it is highly recommended that attendees bring a laptop computer with at least Windows 2003, including PowerPoint and Excel, to the class.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking advanced computer skills for advanced office operations and presentations.

LTC 614 Athletic Administration: Technology III – Enhancing Public Presentations
This course is designed for those who would like to learn to use some of the advanced features of PowerPoint such as action buttons, master slide design, narration, sound and video insertions. Participants will also learn to use Photo Story 3 as a means of creating video stories and converting PowerPoint to video. Innovative methods of presentation and steps to better presentations, as well as public speaking, are included in the course. The hands-on course offers the athletic administrator opportunities to actively take part in the presentation of the course. For maximum benefit, it is highly recommended that attendees bring a laptop computer with at least Windows 2000, including PowerPoint and Photo Story 3, to this class.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to improve their speaking and presentation skills as well as those who wish to improve their ability to use technology to enhance public presentations.

LTC 615 Athletic Administration: Athletic Field Management
This course provides athletic administrators with a practical, cost-effective and scientific approach to turf management. Upon completion, administrators will have developed skills and knowledge required to maintain, safe, resilient and attractive fields. The course will help athletic administrators develop long range, operational and assessment plans and a documentation process for outdoor playing surfaces.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators desiring strategies for management and enhancement of existing playing fields or to resolve a persistent turf problem

LTC 616 Athletic Administration: Management of Indoor Physical Plant Assets
This course will consider spectator facilities, special use gymnasia, natatoriums, laundry rooms and locker rooms and the various systems that support them. Mechanical system checklists for use in regular inspections and maintenance programming will be provided. In addition, considerations and issues related to construction and remodeling programs will be discussed.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking guidance concerning management, maintenance and construction or remodeling of sport facilities and methods to enhance customer satisfaction and safety.

LTC 617 Athletic Administration: Administration of Interscholastic Sports Medicine Programs
This course will examine the role of the athletic director and other school administrators in supporting and developing the interscholastic sports medicine program within a school or district. In this regard, topic coverage will include: (1) philosophy of sports medicine services; (2) roles and responsibilities of the Certified Athletic Trainer (A.T.C.); (3) roles of other members of the sports medicine team; (4) the high school sports medicine center – specifications and equipment; (5) helping parents, athletes and the general public understand the role of athletic trainers; (6) legal issues and risk management strategies; and (7) contemporary administrative issues and response strategies.

A series of appendices will also be developed to provide athletic directors and athletic trainers with helpful information. These appendices include: (1) physical plant floor plans and photographs; (2) contract format for employment of off-duty emergency response personnel for emergency care; (3) samples of multi-purpose student athlete information card; (4) sample site-specific emergency response plan; (5) a descriptive sports medicine handbook for coaches and parents; (6) position proposal guide for Certified Athletic Trainers in secondary school athletics programs; (7) public presentation power point slides and bullet point lecture to develop for a sports medicine program; and (8) references and resources.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking methods to better support sports medicine programs in high school programs.

LTC 618 Athletic Administration: Management of Interscholastic Athletic Player Equipment
This course will make use of principles, strategies and best practices for fitting, adjusting, managing, reconditioning and maintaining athletic apparel, footwear and protective equipment. All methods and techniques discussed will be drawn from American Equipment Managers Association standards and practices.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators who are inexperienced with techniques and methods for maintenance of competitive player equipment.

LTC 619 Athletic Administration: The Power of Curb Appeal
The power of curb appeal is highlighted in this course. Visitors to a school often form an opinion of the school and community based on first impressions of the appearance of the facilities. This course discusses the power of curb appeal and how communication can enhance curb appeal. Strategies and methods are provided for maintaining structures and facilities as well as a comprehensive and thorough study of “Best Turf Field Maintenance Practices” as well as “Best Operational Management Practices.”

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking techniques and methods to enhance public confidence in the administrator’s ability to maintain athletic facilities and to project a positive image to the community.

LTC 621 Athletic Administration: Synthetic Fields, Design & Construction Components (New course - December 2010)
This course will review the stages and procedures involved in defining the concept, ensuring a successful design and the selection of a qualified professional to construct a synthetic turf playing surfaces. Discussion will take place regarding specific language, selection criteria bidding strategies and a checklist of contract considerations. In addition, a review of requirements to ensure professional project management, necessary steps to maintain quality assurance and best practices for care and maintenance.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Athletic administrators who are considering the installation of a synthetic turf field.

LTC 625 Athletic Administration: Management of Game and Event Announcing
This course is designed to assist the athletic administrator in understanding his/her role in managing the public address program for athletic contests. Topics include the role of the athletic administrator and announcer, announcing guidelines for addressing emergency situations, security situations, and unsportsmanlike situations, pre-game, during contest and post game announcements; halftimes; preparing student announcers and understanding sound systems. Attendees will receive announcing guidelines endorsed by the NIAAA, NAIA and the NJCAA. A CD addresses key issues regarding public address announcing and demonstrates proper and improper announcements.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators interested in using contest announcement techniques to project a positive image, to assist in maintaining high standards of sportsmanship and spectator safety.

LTC 627 Athletic Administration: Administration of Interscholastic Sports Strength & Conditioning Programs(New Course - December 2011 Release)
This course will examine the role of the athletic director and other school administrators in supporting and developing the interscholastic strength & conditioning program within a school or district.  In this regard, topic coverage will include:  (1) philosophy of strength & conditioning for ages 12-18; (2) function of strength & conditioning in rehabilitation of injury; (3) roles and responsibilities of coaches and athletic administrators; (4) the interscholastic weight room – specifications and equipment; (5) financial issues and strategies; (6) helping parents, athletes and the general public understand the role strength and conditioning; (7) legal issues and risk management strategies; (8) certification of strength & conditioning personnel; (9) performance enhancing substances in interscholastic strength & conditioning; and (10) contemporary administrative issues and response strategies.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking methods to better support strength & conditioning programs in middle and high school programs.

LTC 630 Athletic Administration: Interscholastic Contest Management - Planning, Preparation and Methods

This course examines the historic foundations and precedents for contest management as an extension of educationally sound sports programs. Planning methods for contest management are examined including selection of supervisory personnel, suggested need assessment tools, and checklists for the development of supervision plans and policies. In addition, an overview of methods is suggested for creation of an educationally sound competition environment among players, coaches, students and other spectators. Course appendices provide assessment tools and examples of contemporary management practices. These tools are also contained on an attached compact disc for local reproduction, discussions and planning.

Enrollees who will derive the greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to increase knowledge of event planning methods in order to develop policies, enhance safety and provide assessment surrounding contest management.

LEADERSHIP COURSES

LTC 700 Athletic Administration: Administration of Middle School Athletic Programs
This course provides insights and strategies for the leadership of developmentally sound educationally compatible middle level school athletic programs. Middle school philosophy is discussed along with the relationship it has to the psychological and physical development of the middle school child. This course also focuses on concerns and/or challenges raised about the value of middle school sports programs in today’s educational setting.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Athletic Administrators and coaches with limited perspective of the role of middle school sports and the developmental needs of the middle school students.

LTC 701 Athletic Administration: Administration and Application of Middle School Athletic Programs
This course provides strategies for the development of middle school athletic programs and concentrates on the role of the middle school coach and coaching principles. Middle level athletics is an essential part of the total educational process and an excellent opportunity for the home, school and community to work together in order to provide a positive educational experience for middle level children.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to develop student leadership and school citizenship programs as well as implementing leadership strategies among coaches.

LTC 703 Athletic Administration: Student Centered Educational Athletics—Performance Beyond the X’s and O’s
This student centered program will provide learning experiences for student athletes beyond the X’s and O’s. This course will support a value based curriculum that will demonstrate model behaviors and qualities that students should emulate both in and out of the athletic arena. Teachable moments beyond the classroom—center court, centerfield or center ice—provide the opportunity to promote and maximize the achievement of these educational goals and life skills. This course will provide the necessary strategies, methods and resources to implement this initiative within your own school.

Enrollees who will derive the greatest benefit: Athletic Administrators seeking methods and strategies to recognize, maximize, and enhance model student behaviors.

LTC 705 Athletic Administration: Coach Centered Educational Athletics—A Character Based Coach to Coach mentoring program
Character based coach to coach mentoring programs utilize the talents, strengths and qualities of the entire team of coaches to maximize the potential of the coaching staff. Mentoring is an attitude, a relationship and an investment which provides coaches the opportunity to support and nurture each other professionally, personally and ethically. This course will highlight mentoring models that demonstrate key behaviors to implement when establishing an effective mentoring program. It will also provide athletic administrators strategies and methods to develop and enhance successful coach to coach mentoring programs.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Athletic Administrators seeking methods and strategies to maximize and enhance the strengths of their coaching staff.

LTC 707 Athletic Administration: Assessment of Interscholastic Athletic Programs and Personnel
This course examines a philosophic rationale and a variety of methods that may be used to assess athletic programs and personnel. The goals of this program are to improve the performance of athletic coaches and other athletic department personnel, improvement of program operations and improvement of satisfaction among players, parents and employees. A central theme is to encourage assessment of needs, interests and opinions that can enhance goal setting and planning priorities. The course will examine a philosophic rational for assessment in high school sport programs, discuss basic statistical concepts, focus on Affective Assessment, describe various Personnel Assessment methods and concepts and details various Program Assessment techniques.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators with no background in personnel and program assessment and administrators seeking templates for assessment.

LTC 709 Athletic Administration: Leadership, Management, Supervision and Decision-Making in Interscholastic Sports Programs

The purpose of this course is to examine the concepts, methods and best practices available to athletic administrators in the skills of leadership, management, supervision and decision making. These methods have been researched from strategies currently used in education, government and business. The implications of those disciplines relevancy for athletic administrators will be emphasized throughout the course.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators who are not familiar with the effect of personal preferences on communications, leadership and decision-making styles.

LTC 710 Athletic Administration: Current Issues in American Sports
A panel of secondary level athletic administrators and outside experts will lead small group discussions of important issues and effective response strategies for 3-5 topics of contemporary issues selected annually. The topics will be examined by using a moderator to guide the discussion and cover certain aspects of the topic. Participants will have an opportunity to participate in the discussion. The instructional format of the course will consist of lecture, seminar discussion and audience interaction.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking discussion of current issues and problem resolution strategies.

LTC 714 Athletic Administration: Dealing With Challenging Personalities
This course examines the causes of challenging or difficult personalities in society, with specific reference to interscholastic athletic programs. Basic management strategies include the use of emotional intelligence and transactional analysis considerations and methods. Specific protocols will be defined for dealing with individuals who “must be right,” “must win,” “must be logical” and “must be accepted.” In addition, techniques will be covered for preventing or responding to anger, sarcasm, denigration, complainers and backbiters and rigid-obstinate personalities. A model will also be discussed for creative interaction with parents who demand involvement in athletic department decision-making or who seek to influence the decisions of senior administrators.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to understand the role of human personality in defining a challenging personality or behavior and seeking strategies for dealing with extremely aggressive, rigid, sarcastic passive or condescending personalities.

LTC 719 Athletic Administration: Leadership, Management/Supervision and Decision Making Concepts, Methods and Applications
This course examines relevant strategies and principles that can be utilized to enhance the skills of athletic administrators in the areas of leadership, management and decision-making. Learning begins with an introduction to the differences between leadership, management and supervision and continues with an in-depth investigation of each. Through the analysis of specific leadership and management characteristics and techniques, students will be able to apply specific skills to improve their leadership effectiveness. Concepts and techniques of decision making strategies are discussed and demonstrated through various in-class exercises. Appendices provide relevant materials, instruments and assessment procedures that support text materials and principles.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to understand the effects of individual personality on leadership, management and decision-making and who want to enhance their own skills and abilities in these areas.

LTC 720 Athletic Administration: Community Centered Educational Athletics—A Character Based Approach to Identifying and Unifying the Whole Team
Character based educational athletics can only truly succeed when the entire community—School Board, Superintendent, Principal, Parents and Boosters—support and embrace the values and views lived daily in the school setting by the student athletes, coaches, athletic department and school faculty. Without question, teachable moments in athletics prepare students for life when the whole community supports and reinforces those life lessons. This course will empower the athletic administrator to motivate the entire community to walk the talk by creating strategies to use in your school community.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Athletic Administrators seeking to learn more about character based athletics and strategies needed to implement these programs within the entire community.

LTC 721   Athletic Administrations:  Positive Sporting Behavior-For the Love of the Game (New Course - December 2011 Release) In this course students will learn to implement appropriate strategies and techniques, designed to create a positive, productive learning environment, which will support a system that encourages character and self-discipline and sportsmanship. This class will provide opportunities for self assessment and reflection in regards to prior performance. In addition students will participate in class discussions, and activities which will increase their knowledge and skills of the effective components of successful character, citizenship and sportsmanship to share with their students, coaches, parents and communities.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking strategies and concepts to implement and/or enhance the understanding of and involvement in a positive sporting environment for staff, students and community.

LTC 723   Athletic Administration:  Implementing Continuing Education Programs for Interscholastic Coaches
Course Description:  This course will assist the athletic administrator in satisfying the legal duty of training and educating coaches by providing strategies and rationale for developing season long professional development opportunities for interscholastic coaches.  The National Standards for Sport Coaches will be reviewed with a discussion of how they are applied to a professional development program.  The course will identify coaching education programs that satisfy individual state requirements.  Time will be spent identifying key elements of a model professional development program.  There will be an overview of the NFHS Coach Education/Certification Program as a primary educational program or as a supplement to an existing program. Topics include Why Educate Coaches, National Standards for Sport Coaches, Programs that Satisfy State Coaching Requirements, Components of a Model Professional Development Program and NFHS Coach Education/Certification Program.

Enrollees who will derive the greatest benefit:  Administrators seeking to improve coaching prepare new coaches and provide remediation to coaches who need improvement.

LTC 724 Athletic Administration: Stress Management Methods, Techniques and Systems
The demands of high intensity daily work, evening and weekend supervision requirements, demanding public expectations, challenging interactions and limited resources place the athletics director in a stressful position. Needed are ways of intervening stress, managing its onset and using proven methods for reducing its impact.

Stress will ALWAYS be present. Our perceptions of it determine the way we react and also help define the methods we choose to intervene. Because of the individual nature of perception and preferred response this course will provide an overview of individual methods (breathing control, muscle relaxation and mindfulness) along with systems drawn both from conventional Western medical practices and Eastern alternative or complementary medicine. In the latter area, an introduction to Yoga/Meditation, Tai Chi, Ai Chi, Acupuncture and Healing Touch will be used to complement the more traditional pain and stress management practices.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking new concepts, methods and additional strategies for dealing with stress in their daily activities.

LTC 790 Athletic Administration: Leadership Training Instructional Methods and Techniques
This course is designed to provide instructors with an awareness of the expectations that are placed upon them in presenting LTI courses. The course examines teaching and learning styles and provides strategies for instructors to use in teaching LTI courses. It provides for interaction between current national faculty instructors and potential LTI instructors in the exchange of ideas used in the successful implementation of courses. To instruct any LTI course, one must complete LTC 501, LTC 790 and the course that one will be instructing.

Enrollees who will derive greatest benefit: Administrators seeking to become instructors in the Leadership Training Program.

LTC 799 Athletic Administration: Standards of Excellence in Interscholastic Athletic Programs
Leadership Training Course 799 has two purposes and potential benefits for high school athletics directors.

For newly or recently appointed directors, the course provides an overview of eleven NIAAA Leadership Training Courses (LTCs) including key concepts, strategies and best practices. Whether working to improve a program or looking for long range planning guidance, this overview of eleven NIAAA course components can be of value. At the close of each of the nine chapters contained in the course manual, other LTCs are cited wherein an athletics director can derive more detailed information on a particular topic addressed within each 799 chapter.

For more experienced directors, the same planning and guidance benefits can be derived. However, an additional benefit and incentive can be realized by seeking NIAAA and NASPE Recognition of Program Excellence in one of three categories (Meritorious, Distinguished and Exemplary). For this purpose, the course provides an assessment instrument that describes in detail important components of an educationally sound interscholastic athletics program.

NDIAAA Certification

Leadership Training Institute


Leadership Training Institute

The NIAAA Leadership Training Institute is a professional development education program established in 1996 to:

  • Promote the professional growth and prestige of athletic administrators

  • Provide an opportunity for athletic administrators to participate in the nation's largest professional organization whose activities are directed exclusively to high school and middle school athletic administrators

  • Provide education programs as a resource tool for athletic administrators

  • Promote quality in all programs conducted at the national, state and local level