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Georgia Athletic Directors Association Newsletter
Vol. 5 No. 6 
January 2014
Dear GADA member,
 

Gary Long

It is hard to imagine that the fall semester is over and we are now starting the spring semester! Basketball is already in the second half of the season and preparing for Region Tournaments. Swim teams are winding down and preparing for State. Congratulations to the teams that qualified for State Duals in wrestling.  The race for the Director's Cup is heating up and it is just a few more weeks before the spring sports gear up.  Good luck to all the student athletes as they continue their seasons.

Please remember to get registered for the State Athletic Directors conference that will start on March 22 at the Hilton Savannah Desoto. We have a great conference scheduled with many LTI course's being offered. Dr. Ralph Swearngin will be our featured speaker. We will recognize the new inductee's into the Hall of Fame and recognize the Region and State  AD of the year winners. We look forward to seeing everyone in Savannah.

As I travel to other high schools in the state it never ceases to amaze me the hard work that goes on in each school.  Thanks to each of you for your hard work and efforts for all our students.

 
Gary Long, CMAA   
GADA President 
Director of Athletics 
Mill Creek High School 
 
Milton, others seek changes
Todd Holcomb - GHSF Daily / AJC
Six metro Atlanta schools will argue Tuesday before the GHSA to be moved to another region for the 2014-16 academic years, but none is likely to get its wish. It is rare for the GHSA to grant appeals once it has placed schools in regions.

The biggest school wanting to move is Milton, which wants out of Region 5-AAAAAA and into Region 6 with five other north Fulton County schools. That's not likely to happen. Such a move would place 11 schools in Region 6 and only eight in Region 5. One of those eight would be Roswell, another north Fulton school.

Other metro schools requesting moves are North Fulton (to 7-AAAAA from 6-AAAAA), Grady (to 6-AAAA from 5-AAAA), Pinecrest Academy (to 8-A from 6-A), Southwest Atlanta Christian (to 5-A from 6-A) and Whitefield Academy (to 6-A from 5-A). The GHSA is scheduled to ratify its classification plan Jan. 14.

 

Area athletic directors push GHSA to consider Class AAAAA realignment
By Gabriel Stovall - Henry Daily Herald
Ola High athletic director Curt Miller is joining Henry County AD Vicky Davis and Clayton County AD Kevin May in pushing for Region 6-AAAAA changes. (File photo)
McDONOUGH - Each year the NCAA seems to get closer and closer to creating a world where superconferences - conferences with as many as 16 schools - rule the collegiate sports landscape.

Don't expect that trend to trickle down to the Georgia high school level any time soon.

Or if it does, it won't be popular.

The Georgia High School Association's re-classification committee announced Monday morning that it would alter its meeting schedule, postponing tomorrow's scheduled committee meeting until Tuesday December 17, to meet "for the sole purpose of reviewing the region alignments in Class AAAAA," according to the GHSA's website.

What may be at the front of that meeting's agenda could be the way Region 6-AAAAA currently looks. With 17 teams, it is, by far, the largest region in Georgia, regardless of classification. The next biggest region in Class AAAAA is Region 4 which is tentatively slated to carry 12 teams.

Ola High is one of those 17 teams in Region 6. And Mustangs' athletic director Curt Miller said he, Henry County AD Vicky Davis, Clayton County AD Kevin May and Dekalb AD Horace Dunson were among those leading the charge for the GHSA to, at least, consider tweaking the arrangement. Read more...
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2013-14 GADA High School Female/Male Scholarship Award Nominations
The GADA High School Female/Male Scholarship Award will be presented to two seniors, one male and female who have both represented his/her sport(s) in both performance and leadership.  Each winner will receive a $1000.00 scholarship award.

Please complete and mail the following nomination form with one letter of recommendation attached to the form. Additional information and incomplete entries will not be considered.

 

2014 GADA Spring Conference LTC Offerings
Registration Deadline: March 1, 2014
Courses offered at the GADA Spring Conference on Saturday, March 22, 2014; Sunday, March 23, 2014 & Monday, March 24, 2014 at the Savannah Hilton DeSoto

LTI Session I: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Saturday, March 22, 2014 
LTC 501  Athletic Administration: Philosophy, Leadership 
LTC 615  Athletic Administration: Athletic Field Management 
LTC 703  Athletic Administration: Student Centered Educational Athletics- Performance Beyond the X's and O's

LTI Session II: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Sunday, March 23, 2014 
LTC 502  Athletic Administration: Principles, Strategies and Methods 
LTC 616  Athletic Administration: Management of Indoor Physical Plant Assets 
LTC 705  Athletic Administration: Coach Centered Educational Athletics- A Character Based Coach to Coach mentoring program 

LTI Session III: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Monday, March 24, 2014 
LTC 511  Athletic Administration: Concepts and Strategies for Interscholastic Budgeting and Finance Using Excel Spreadsheets (During Golf)

Free Workshops
Sunday - March 23                    
Workshop A 3:00pm-4:30pm
National School Safety Certification - Jay Hammes

Monday - March 24 (During Golf Time)
Workshop B TBA: 3:00pm - 4:00pm             
Workshop C TBA: 4:15pm - 5:15pm              
                                                 
LTI Cost: $100 per course (prepaid) - GADA and NIAAA Member
LTI Cost: $115 per course (non-member)

*****Deadline: March 1, 2014***** 
*****NO LATE REGISTRATIONS ACCEPTED*****

MS Word Registration Form
PDF Registration Form 
AD Checklist/Reminders For January

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  • Schedule and disseminate agendas for upcoming athletic coaches meetings.
  • Check, check and double check winter sports eligibility forms.
  • Attend scheduled region meeting.
  • Begin academic and residency checks for upcoming spring sports for eligibility purposes.
  • Schedule spring sports picture day.
  • Meet with current winter sports booster clubs.
  • Review and audit concessions receipts and revenues.
  • Review and adjust if necessary all basketball, wrestling and swimming game day
  • preparation as needed.
  • Check spring sports scoreboards to insure that they are operational.
  • Attend weekly administrative meetings.
  • Inform faculty on upcoming athletic events. Talk about the positive things that are
  • happening in the athletic program.
  • Update your athletic website.
  • Finalize fall sports schedules for next year.
  • Finalize wrestling weight class rosters for upcoming area duals.
  • Update transportation of any changes or adjustments to winter team travel schedules.
  • Pay outstanding invoices from fall sports.
  • Review region standings for seeding possibilities for upcoming basketball tournaments.
  • Review spring sports officiating schedules and associations. Give association president or booking secretary a phone call to confirm all schedules.
  • Forward spring sports schedules and assignments to all gate workers.
  •  

This should give you a start in your preparation for the month of January. Good luck!  

 

Jeff Beggs CMAA 
GADA Past President
Director of Athletics

Atlanta Public Schools

 

Click HERE to download the check list.

 

Help us stay up to date!
Update your contact information!
Another school year is here and we know many of you have moved onto new opportunities.  Please help us update our records. 

A quick EMAIL with your name, school, job title(s) and email address will be very helpful! 
 
 
Concussion tests provide baseline for student athletes
By G.G. Rigsby - Savannah Morning News/Savannahnow.com
Athletes at Effingham County schools are among students at 21 high schools in Southeast Georgia who are undergoing computerized screening tests to determine if they're able to return to play after a suspected concussion.

In the last two years, Optim Healthcare has conducted more than 3,300 free baseline concussion assessment tests on student athletes in the region, using a program called ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing).

The tests set a baseline that allows physicians to assess cognitive performance of student athletes after a suspected injury.

In the last two years, 4.8 percent of the student athletes, or 158 people, were tested after an injury to assess if a concussion had been sustained.

Of those, 1.9 percent, or 63 students, did not pass the first ImPACT screening test -- a sign of a potential concussion.

And .5 percent, or 17 students, did not pass the second or third tests.

The ImPACT test is on a computer and takes about 25 minutes. It measures verbal and visual memory, processing speed and reaction time.

Baseline tests are suggested every two years. If a concussion is suspected, the baseline report serves as a comparison to a repeat ImPACT test, giving physicians something concrete to use in assessing potential changes or damage caused by a concussion.  Read more... 

 

Cobb schools take umbrage with GHSA's changes
by Carlton D. White - Marietta Daily Journal
Allatoona administrators and coaches looked forward to continuing their rivalry with Rome when the GHSA set new regions two weeks ago, but plans changed Tuesday. Special photo by Daniel Varnado Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - Cobb schools take umbrage with GHSA s changes
Allatoona had the best of both worlds.

Nestled right up against Paulding County and 10 minutes from the Bartow County line, it had the perfect scenario two weeks ago when the Georgia High School Association announced its region alignments for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years.

Allatoona was slotted into a new Region 5AAAAA with four schools from Paulding County and two from Bartow, as well as Rome and Dalton.

It was an ideal situation for Allatoona, a natural rival for the Paulding and Bartow county schools. The Buccaneers had also established rivalries with Dalton and Rome under previous region alignments.

"It was the best we could possibly ask for," Allatoona athletic director Benji Morrell said.

However, the GHSA's reclassification committee met again Tuesday to review the eight Class AAAAA regions, and Allatoona will now be in a Region 5 not all that different from what it's faced the past two years.

Instead of taking on Dalton, Rome and the schools from Bartow County, the Buccaneers will maintain rivalries from the current Region 5 with Lithia Springs, New Manchester and Villa Rica. Chapel Hill and Alexander, two Douglas County schools, will also be added.

Allatoona will still face the same Paulding County schools - aside from North Paulding, which is going into Class AAAAAA - in the restructured region. Read more...

 

We value your comments and feedback. We encourage you to submit articles and items of interest for the newsletter and the new website.

Sincerely,

Gary Long, CMAA
President
Georgia Athletic Directors Association
www.gadaonline.net   
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GADA/NIAAA Membership
In This Issue
Milton, others seek changes...
Area athletic directors push GHSAtle PED's
GADA Scholarship Award Nominations
2014 GADA Spring Conference LTC Offerings
AD Checklist/Reminders For January
Help us stay up to date!
Concussion tests provide baseline
Cobb schools take umbrage with GHSA
GHSA November 2013 Newsletter
2014 GADA Conference News
NIAAA's Guide to Interscholastic Athletic Administration

GHSA November 2013 Newsletter


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2014 GADA Conference News
Hilton Desoto, Savannah, GA March 22-25, 2014
Safe Sport Zone and NIAAA Certification
 
FREE TO ALL GADA MEMBERS

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Athletic directors must address the risk management issues in athletic competition. Author of Contest Management, Jay Hammes will address these issues to assure a safer environment. Identified in the course are issues related to fans, athletics, facilities maintenance, evacuation procedures and applications for most other emergencies. By attending the course, members will receive a certification endorsed by the NIAAA.
 
 
NIAAA's Guide to Interscholastic Athletic Administration
Featuring Decatur AD and past GADA President Carter Wilson
NIAA_Book"It is an honor to have served as a contributor to Human Kinetics' NIAAA Guide to Interscholastic Athletic Administration.  The goal of this publication is to serve as a comprehensive guide for athletic administrators in Georgia and throughout the country.  I am proud to be a member of the GADA and the NIAAA and I hope that this publication will assist others in their service to young people." - Carter Wilson 

Click HERE to purchase the guide.