Athletic Department Audits for Independent Schools
We audit how your athletics program runs, design the structure that fixes the gaps, and embed it so it survives staff turnover.
Most independent school athletic departments still run on a structure built for an earlier era. The AD is overloaded. Coaches are hired and left to figure it out. Roles, decisions and communication live in people’s heads.
When it breaks, families leave. Rarely does anyone trace it back to athletics.
That is the problem this work solves. Every engagement starts with listening and is led personally by Mike Marich from start to finish.
The Athletic Department Audit
Know how your department actually runs, and what to change first.
The audit looks at five areas:
Role clarity. Who owns what, and does everyone agree?
Documented workflows. What happens when the person who knows how it works leaves?
Communication systems. How do decisions reach coaches, families and the Head?
Decision-making authority. Who decides, and who thinks they do?
Seasonal planning. Is the year planned, or reacted to?
Running through all five is one question: does what students and families experience match what your school says athletics is for?
How it works
1. Diagnosis
A listening tour with your Head of School, Athletic Director, and key stakeholders, plus an on-campus visit. We review roles, workflows, budget, and the shape of the athletic calendar.
2. Design
A written report on what is working and what is not, with a prioritized roadmap. Each priority has an owner and a cadence.
3. Embed
Structure only helps if it holds. We work with your AD to put the roadmap into practice: role descriptions, documented workflows, communication rhythms and a seasonal calendar.
Why this approach
Mike has been the athletic director, the dean of co-curriculars, and a head coach, so he knows what the athletic director role looks like on a Tuesday in February. He also spent more than fifteen years in human resources and recruiting at Citi, Morgan Stanley and Deloitte, designing roles, hiring processes, and performance systems.
After the audit: build the leaders and keep the structure
Athletic Director Leadership & Mentoring
A four-month, one-on-one engagement for new ADs, experienced ADs who want a thought partner, and aspiring ADs. Sessions focus on what you are facing: hiring, communication, budgeting, parent relations, culture-building, or managing up to a Head or board.
Coaching Coaches
Your coaches carry your culture. This program gives them personalized evaluations, targeted training and practical frameworks built on four cornerstones: Culture, Communication, Connection and Craft. Offered with Taryn Sheehan of Morrigan Athletics. Learn More
The Full Roster
Professional development for everyone who runs your program, from first-year coaches and PE teachers to head coaches and assistant ADs. Cohorts meet virtually and are built across schools, so people share. Offered with Will Bladt of ElevatED Leadership Coaching. Learn more
Mission & Goal Setting Workshops
A smaller first step. A facilitated session that gives your coaches and staff shared language, measurable goals and a way to hold each other accountable, built around your school’s own values. The output is a framework your team uses, not a document that sits on a shelf.
For coaches preparing to become Athletic Directors
Most coaches who want to become ADs have no clear path. This program covers the role itself, budgets, hiring, building trust with Heads and parents, and how to position yourself in the interview. It is for coaches and educators who expect to move into athletic leadership in the next one to three years.
Who this is for
Heads of School and Athletic Directors at independent day and boarding schools. It is most useful when you are seeing signs like these:
A new AD, or an AD search coming
Parents or trustees asking to add programs without a plan
Re-enrollment softness among athletes
A strategic plan underway that needs an athletics answer
Start with a Conversation
A 30-minute call is the first step.