By Staff
Coaching Management, 13.3, March 2005, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm1303/bbcoaching.htm
Those who work in the NCAA Division III ranks often talk about how coaching at this level is very different from any other. So, last summer, Haverford College hosted the first edition of what’s envisioned as an annual conference to explore just what it means to coach at a Division III school.
Titled the "Division III Coaches’ Institute," its aim was multifaceted: to help coaches and administrators in D-III get better at their jobs, to talk about the nontechnical aspects of coaching, to encourage networking and pursuing career goals, to discuss developments in the NCAA affecting the division, and to appreciate the Division III philosophy.
The Institute also aimed to help coaches align their coaching aspirations with their own institution’s goals and mission. "Division III coaches are charged with the task of not only creating successful programs on the playing fields, but also with the educational piece and the institutional-mission piece," says William Roth, the Institute’s Executive Director and Executive Director of Development at Goucher College. "In addition, the coaching is really much more intense and involves more grooming and teaching of athletes than in other divisions."
Session titles included "Recruiting and Admissions," "Ethics and Sportsmanship," "Appreciating Institutional Mission and Culture," "The Value of Winning and Success," and "Division III Philosophy and Practice."
For Monica Severson, Head Women’s Basketball Coach and Associate Director of Athletics at Wartburg College, the sharing of ideas with others working in Division III was the best part of the Coaches’ Institute. Ideas gleaned from the event that are either in place or planned at Wartburg include having Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members usher at campus music events, regularly holding an athletic director-captains’ lunch, and surveying student-athletes for their views on sportsmanship.
Severson also enjoyed, is that everything was considered from the Division III perspective. "There’s a need out there for more discussion among Division III institutions," she says. "I’ve been to conferences that were open to people from Divisions I and II, and they often focus on issues from those divisions. I’m much more focused on Division III because that’s where I am."
The second Division III Coaches’ Institute will be held June 12-14 of this year, and will include a new session on the many-hats aspect of coaching in D-III, called "Other Duties as Assigned." The cost is $475 for registration by April 22 and $525 for registration through June 3, and covers housing on campus. This year, the event will be held at nearby Swarthmore College.
For coaches who aren’t in Division III but are interested in learning about a possible career in the division, the fee is $375. "We know that this can also be a really nice networking opportunity for folks who want to know what it’s like to be in college coaching and how to become a part of it," Roth says.
For more information about the Institute, contact William Roth at: (410) 337-6097 or wroth@goucher.edu.