Off Duty ADs - A High School Sports Podcast

Off Duty ADs

Sports EN ↓ 211 episodes

The Off Duty ADs are one active and two former high school athletic directors discussing the state of high school athletics today while they're off the clock. This podcast is intended for anyone within the world of high school athletics.

Author

Off Duty ADs - A High School Sports Podcast

Category

Sports

Podcast website

offdutyads.libsyn.com

Latest episode

Aug 26, 2025

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Episodes

What is Failure?: Episode 137 11.01.2021

The Off Duty ADs talk about defining failure and how to manage those definitions.  They also discuss running shoes, 2020 vocabulary, Cincinnati, how (or if) any amount of winning and losing correlates to failure, the difference between individuals or teams failing, the difference between failure at the college/pro and high school levels, locker room music favorites, Ryan's continued venture into b...

Budget Cuts: Episode 136 04.01.2021

The Off Duty ADs talk about potential upcoming budget cuts.  They also discuss Ryan's fundraiser and 1,000 mile run, recent fandom sadness, comparing reduced expenditure differences within self-sufficient or general fund based departments, philosophically managing cuts, using intramurals to take pressure off of participation opportunities, reducing levels of competition, avoiding program cuts, REM...

NADC Recap and Office Parties: Episode 135 28.12.2020

The Off Duty ADs recap the National AD Conference then sidetrack into holiday office parties.  They also discuss Iowa missing the Outback Bowl, Mike's mom, missing chit-chat at the NADC, keeping some virtual aspects to future conferences, gifts at season end banquets, skipping office parties, winter sports still moving around, being Smartless, and Ryan's whiskey collection.

Just Three Fans Talking About Football: Episode 134 21.12.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about college football.  That's pretty much it.  There are maybe a couple other things in the episode somewhere, but we're pretty much just three fans sitting around chatting about football.  Seriously...it's pretty much all fandom in this episode.

Balancing Development and Winning: Episode 133 14.12.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about how to balance the concepts of developing individual players alongside winning as a team.  They also discuss the magic of the McRib, Uncle Bill's promotion, wrestlers shaking hands, the Columbus Crew, Davey O'Brien award winners, playing kids out of position, finding the best result for each kid, the Dunning-Kruger effect in youth sports, Mark's portrayal of a pirate, a...

What's in a Pause?: Episode 132 07.12.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about the current pauses, delays, and suspensions of their winter sports.  They also discuss the absence of Mike from CO, Big Ten Minute, listener emails, making up games, fitting competition into the safety discussion, in-person learning, how Everclear relates to winter sports, color coding, casual profanity, traveling with kids, Squatter's Brewery, and Mark's family getting...

Enjoying Our Jobs a Little Bit: Episode 131 23.11.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about some of the things they've been thankful for in their profession this year.  They also discuss the return of Uncle Bill, MACtion, a little bit of covid update, appreciating our colleagues within and outside our districts, enjoying problem-solving, learning what's significant, our favorite (and Mike's least favorite) fictional Presidents, and a pepperminty porter for the...

Grappling with Wrestling: Episode 130 16.11.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about starting and managing the wrestling season.  They also discuss popular TV series that they've ignored, Big Ten Minute and college football, where our states currently are in opening up wrestling, creating new schedules, making practices safer, sacrificing competitive growth for safety protocols, hosting winter sports vs. sending kids to private clubs, Ryan's economics d...

A Conversation with Jen Brooks: Episode 129 09.11.2020

The Off Duty ADs use Jen from Missouri ( www.jenbrooks.com ) to answer a listener email about females in the AD world.  They also discuss Mike's ruined Saturday, college football rolling towards the playoffs, Jen's experience as an athletic director in a male-dominated profession,  The Global Community of Women in High School Sports ( https:// globalcommunityofwomeninsports .com/ ), advice to youn...

Hacking Around the Golf Course: Episode 128 02.11.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about their golf programs.  They also discuss the return of the Big Ten Minute, Uncle Bill's promotion to Executive Director of Nebraska's IAA, more reduced fan difficulties, selecting golf lineups, the wide variety of "whys" among high school golfers, live scoring at tournaments, coaches missing school time, getting good golfers into the program, making baseball more excitin...

Athletic and Activities Directors: Episode 127 26.10.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about the various coordination between athletics and activities directors.  They also discuss musically based child-raising, listener-based research, Uncle Bill's Corner, smoke alarms, overseeing fine arts and other activities, different association structures, comparing football coaching to band directing, NFL confusion, conflicts between activities, custodial duties, shovel...

A Pile of Randomness: Episode 126 19.10.2020

The Off Duty ADs discuss a little bit of everything.  They talk about the frustration of Mike's mom, listener email, Uncle Bill's hip replacement, our ferocious dogs, fan requests within ticket restrictions, a new t-shirt idea, Colorado football, professional bowling, streaming playoff games, association reserve funds, ignoring signage, a dead deer you gotta minute, Ryan's top 10 albums, Mark's pr...

Fall 2020 Tournament Management: Episode 125 12.10.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about tournament management in the Fall of 2020.  They also discuss lack of citations and accurate quotes, the NL/AL Garbage, Ryan's Browns, parent criticism, the lack of tennis ADs, reserved seating at cross country meets, giving kids a chance to compete, fan control at tournaments, the potential intersection of high school tournaments and American Gladiators, fan parking, a...

Covid Crowd Management: Episode 124 05.10.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about managing crowds amid the unprecedented covid-related fan protocols.  They also discuss adults losing the focus on kids, bringing dogs to games, how high school football relates to Jurassic Park, previewing the eventual collapse of our baseball teams, refusing to wear a mask in the stands, using SROs for crowd control, Dr. Seuss, being right vs. doing right, bad movies t...

Selecting Captains: Episode 123 28.09.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about selecting captains for their teams.  They also discuss dad jokes, California's competitive balance formula, AAC women's rowing, the MLB, Mike doing ad reads, the weakness of team voting, popularity vs. leadership, preferred qualities in a captain, intentionally teaching leadership, a long field goal in North Dakota, the return of Ryan's regular tastebuds, and the passin...

Competitive Balance Formulas: Episode 122 21.09.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about competitive balance formulas.  They also discuss advocating for your kids vs all kids, the return of Uncle Bill, Ryan's chairs, qualifying teams for various playoff brackets, multiple divisions within a state, scheduling to fool the balance formula, live Cubs vs. Cardinals updates, creating parity while encouraging competition, wristband failures, fans always lobbying f...

It's a 3-Pod Pod: Episode 121 15.09.2020

Mark joins the guys from the Beyond the Bench and The Globetrottin' ADs podcasts to talk about starting their podcasts, the pros and cons of podcasting, balancing leadership and entertainment, and the similarities and differences between the podcasts.

Being Flexible in the World of Covid: Episode 120 14.09.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about managing quick changes and unexpected problems this fall.  They also talk about the current location of Ryan's chairs, Uncle Bill's absence, updates from Iowa, Ohio, and Colorado, forgetting the regular tasks of the day, HIPAA, the intersection of staying healthy and avoiding quarantine, the pressure of trying to stay safe while saving your seniors' seasons,  the import...

Being the New AD in the Room: Episode 119 07.09.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about being the new AD in a room full of ADs.  They also discuss getting their football seasons up and running, punitive teachers, coaching for a resume, fan entrance/capacity/income issues, Mike getting sidetracked, a resilient cricket, sunk cost fallacy, Mark's busy day, Ryan moving chairs around, and the loss of a friend in the AD world.

Sports Despite Virtual Learning: Episode 118 31.08.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about hosting sports even if the school utilizes virtual learning.  They also discuss spectator limits, late rule changes, pausing a game, mask rant #2, a pay per view suggestion, rationale for justifying a sports program when classroom instruction has gone virtual, prioritizing school for everyone, Ohio snow days vs. North Dakota snow days, socioeconomics, senior seasons, ou...

It's Time to Just Vent: Episode 117 24.08.2020

The Off Duty ADs take a day to just vent about stuff.  They also discuss removing a podcast favorite from the favorite's list, Big Ten Minute, working on AD island, trying to vent at work instead of home, being happy to deal with normal issues, being accessible all day long, transitioning from planning to fixing, officials and bus drivers, Mark's new interest in dystopian entertainment, and lots o...

Starting Fall 2020: Episode 116 17.08.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about getting their fall seasons started in the 2020-21 school year.  They also discuss sneaking out of facilities, potential professional development for the NADC in Tampa, an angry Big Ten Minute, college athletics structure, scheduling tweaks to this fall, dealing with anxiety, different targets this year, choice to play, fan attendance, a mask rant, and a nice old-fashion...

Mistakes as a New AD: Episode 115 10.08.2020

The Off Duty ADs talk about some of the many, many, many mistakes they made as new athletic directors.  They also discuss lefthandedness, some covid changes, getting locked in the bathroom, pretending they knew everything, their first scheduling meetings, learning how to evaluate, schematic advantages, Mo Money, signing day, and our favorite summer beverages.

Covid Update with Joe from WA: Episode 114 03.08.2020

In the absence of Ryan, the Off Duty ADs freely discuss their covid updates along with recurring guest Joe from Washington.  They also talk about other things related to the Pacific Northwest, emails from loyal listeners, the return of baseball, comparing this fall to the past spring and summer, redefining success this year, various details in our planning, considerations moving forward, a Tacoma...

Behind the Curtain of Covid Prep: Episode 113 27.07.2020

The Off Duty ADs discuss some of the fall 2020 decisions and hurdles taking place out of the public's eye.  They also discuss receiving the perfect email, the return of baseball, concern from Mike's mom, tempering the public's emotions, busing problems, schedule changes, questions about quarantining, local control decision making, auxiliary functions, hosting sports during distance learning, parti...

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