Athletic Director
Athletic Director
I was just curious as to what kind of qualifications it would take to be an AD at an international school? At least in the state I am in, it is almost impossible to break in to this position with so few positions. I've coached in the past, and played competitively in multiple sports through high school and one in college. Yes, I am a teacher. However; I have no AD experience. Thoughts?
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liketotravel
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:58 pm
P.E. background + coaching experience would help greatly. I've held a few A.D. positions in international schools and that was the background I used to get in. I feel my coaching and player experience has really helped the most in my job. I got my first job at a fair and it has seemed like the door is open to find an A.D. position worldwide, if a school doesn't hire internally there is not much competition.
I agree 100% with liketotravel. The easiest way to get an AD job is to find a PE job then get hired internally after you have been there a year or two, but the market for an AD at the fairs has been pretty thin. I got an AD job at a fair with PE+coaching and had one year as a MS AD at a private school in the states. I now have no desire for an AD job, but the last fair I attended I was shortlisted for every AD job available just because of that experience.
Reply
I agree with the other posters. AD is typically and internally hired position. Starting as aPE teacher (certification) and coaching experience, then move internally to AD position. There arent many AD positions that are available/advertised, literally just a couple, and then they want you to have had AD experience. In my experience football (soccer) is the dominant sport, and thats usually what they look for in an AD. You should also understand that many small and medium schools dont even have ADs. Its really only the large schools that need an AD. At a smaller school its more likely to have a "head" coach in the PE department if there isnt an AD, which is more of a HOD position.
If you have AD experience in the USA you might be able to land a position at an international school. I've seen it be done a few times but these were AD jobs that international educators did not want because the schools had bad reputations or were in countries nobody wanted to go to. Most of the time they will hire from within. The ability to coach soccer is not as big a factor as other posters have mentioned. Some schools won't require the AD to coach anything while others will want you to coach everything. Going to one of the early job fairs might be your best bet. If you have aspirations of being an AD at an international school then you should ask how long a school's AD has been in place when you are interviewing for a PE position. Long term athletic directors (more than 5 years) probably won't be going anywhere.
There just aren't that many AD jobs out there. Or maybe it depends how you define it, but if you're looking for full-time AD with no teaching, you're looking at a bigger school with a very active program. And if it's a bigger school with a very active program, they will want someone with experience doing the job. It would be very hard to take a chance on someone with no experience since the skill set is so different than that of a PE teacher.
My advice is to look for PE positions in medium-sized schools, small schools if you can't get medium. While there, get heavily involved in organizing sports meets, tournaments, finding hosts for visiting teams, etc, etc, etc, until you are the de facto AD even though the school doesn't officially have one. Maybe convince the school to give you the title even if there's no change in pay or teaching load. Build the program as you go if that's what it takes. As an added bonus, work with the activities program and not just sports. The other schools will love this when you apply - they often would like the AD to be Activities Director, not just Athletic Director, but they can't always find the right person.
FYI, pretty much every applicant for our open PE position makes it clear that they would like to be AD, which is not open. But almost none of them shows any evidence of having the skill set. Which is not the same thing as not having the skills, it could mean they just haven't explained the situation well. My point? You have a lot of competition, but you could easily rise to the top of the pile by showing that you are experienced in doing the things that an AD does.
It might take a few years, two at least if you haven't started piling up AD-style experience yet, but you can do it!
My advice is to look for PE positions in medium-sized schools, small schools if you can't get medium. While there, get heavily involved in organizing sports meets, tournaments, finding hosts for visiting teams, etc, etc, etc, until you are the de facto AD even though the school doesn't officially have one. Maybe convince the school to give you the title even if there's no change in pay or teaching load. Build the program as you go if that's what it takes. As an added bonus, work with the activities program and not just sports. The other schools will love this when you apply - they often would like the AD to be Activities Director, not just Athletic Director, but they can't always find the right person.
FYI, pretty much every applicant for our open PE position makes it clear that they would like to be AD, which is not open. But almost none of them shows any evidence of having the skill set. Which is not the same thing as not having the skills, it could mean they just haven't explained the situation well. My point? You have a lot of competition, but you could easily rise to the top of the pile by showing that you are experienced in doing the things that an AD does.
It might take a few years, two at least if you haven't started piling up AD-style experience yet, but you can do it!
Clarification
To clarify you dont have to coach football (soccer), but you need to be familiar with the sport, and the rules governing competition, etc as it is the dominant sport in ISs. If you went into an interview for an AD position and didnt know about football (soccer) you wouldnt be a competitive candidate.