SPEAKER_00 0:04

You're listening to the Hanging with the AD podcast, where we break down hot topics in athletic administration and lessons learned through leadership. Now, here are your hosts, Josh Matthews and Don Baker.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

What does excellence really look like in a high school athletic department? Is it wins and championships? Is it the experience that we create for student athletes? Is it developing leaders, building community, teaching sportsmanship, or maybe it's finding a way to do all those things well? On this episode of Hanging with the AD, we sit down with Britney Spencer Grant, Director of Athletics at Oregon High School in Oregon, Wisconsin. Brittany has spent more than a decade in athletic administration and has become a respected voice in the profession at both the state and national levels. She has served as the president of the Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association, been recognized with the Wisconsin State Award of Merit, presented at the National Athletic Directors Conference, and continues to serve the profession through leadership, professional development, and the NFAA. But this conversation is about much more than the resume. We talk with Brittany about what excellence should look like in high school athletics and the importance of continuing to grow as a leader regardless of how long you've been in the chair. She shares the impact of seeing women in leadership positions and what it means now to provide that same example for the next generation of athletic administrators. We also dive into student athlete leadership, NIL, at the high school level, creating first class experiences for college-bound athletes and the responsibility we have to teach sportsmanship while still encouraging our students, families, and communities to show up, get loud, and support their teams. It's a conversation about leadership, intentionality, growth, and creating an athletic program that represents something bigger than the scoreboard. So settle in and join us for another episode of the Hangin' with the AD podcast with our guest, Brittany Spencer Grant.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Brittany, we're so glad to have you joining Donami for this episode of Hanging with the ADs. Thanks for being with us.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

So for our listeners, Brittany Spencer Grant is a director of athletics at Oregon High School in Oregon, Wisconsin. Don't get that confused. Oregon High School is a long way from the state of Oregon. She is not on the West Coast. A little different there. Brittany, otherwise known as Smoke, at least one of our common friends, is active on the national scene as an athletic administrator. She has presented at the national conference. She is a member of the Coaches Education Committee for the NIAA. At the 2025 NADC, she presented with Don on NIL and the impact it is having on high school athletics. She served as the president of the Wisconsin AD Association in 2025-26, as well as previously serving as the WADA Awards chairperson for five years and serving as an LTI instructor for the WADA there as well. She is acclaimed in the AD world, winning the Wisconsin State Award of Merit in 2022. And by my count, this is year 12 for Brittany Spencer Grant as athletic administrator. So we'll stop right there and let her tell us a little bit more about herself and her journey through athletics. Brittany, we call it the back of the baseball card bio. So please take a minute and tell us what the back of Britney Spencer Grant's baseball card might look like.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

Okay, well, thank you for having me today. Um as was mentioned, my name is Britney Spencer Grant. I am currently serving as the director of athletics at Oregon High School. Uh, this is year six for me here. I spent 12 years in New Glaris prior to serving in Oregon, where I was a FIA ed and health teacher and also served as AD for nine of those years. Uh coming here to Oregon, the school's about four times bigger than it was in New Glaris. So now I am solely focusing on athletics and getting to enjoy hearing the bell ring and not having to stop what I'm doing to go teach a class. Um, so that's been nice. I've got two girls at home. They're in eighth grade and fifth grade now. So kind of, you know, living the busy life of chat trucking them all over the place to their activities and whatnot, and you know, supporting kids here at school. And my youngest is a big fan of coming and helping mom at work. So you might see her in the ticket gate from time to time and running around with my keys. So that's just a quick and quick overview of my backstory.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Good deal. You're you're in that uh we're in a similar mode at my house. So three days a week. My daughter has soccer practice, and so we it's like, okay, we're gonna eat dinner at 4:30, and then we're gonna go to practice and we'll come home have second dinner, and then we'll just kind of keep it moving. So uh I get it. They will start driving eventually. It it'll save you tons of time. Uh, I'm just gonna go ahead and tell you that. You'll need you, you will you will find time that you had no idea you had. So hang in there. Now, Britney, we talk a lot on this podcast about excellence, and I I don't use that term lightly. I think that that's reserved for kind of an upper echelon program or or team or whatever you may call it. But at the high school level, excellence can't simply be measured by wins and championships. I don't know if it can be measured that by that way anywhere, right? I think that's kind of the cherry on top, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're not doing things at a high level. So in your mind, what does an excellent high school athletic department look like? And how do we know when we're getting it right, if that makes sense?

SPEAKER_03 5:47

Yeah, it's a good question. Um, I think if you ask me that question on different days, I might respond differently. It's good. Um I I think excellence is kind of this evolving um framework too. And I think it actually can look very different program to program within an athletic department. Um I have some teams who are have achieved at very high levels and have been very successful in terms of kind of wins, losses, and you know, other things that they're doing outside of the sport itself within the community. Um so I would define some of that as, you know, they've reached excellence. Um now the challenge for a team in that position is how do they sustain it? You know, what can they do to not be complacent with where they're at? Right. Um, you know, one of the things that we've actually implemented this year is a new coaches professional development series to try and help educate our coaches and provide them with some of the tools and resources so that they can kind of help their programs get closer to that excellence. Um, you know, we we talk a lot with our kids about how we have high expectations for them. And so just kind of reiterating that with our coaches and providing them the resources, um, you know, to the best of our ability to help with that. Um I, you know, another piece of it I'd say is putting the best people in the position to help our kids and our coaches. Um, so sometimes, you know, that's that's the head coach, sometimes it's their supporting staff, and sometimes it's the other personnel involved. We have a wonderful athletic trainer who helps us, you know, keep our kids as healthy as they can be. And, you know, she's helping us to achieve excellence in in kind of her way. You know, our groundskeeper plays a role. So yeah, there's just so many different components that go into it. Um, our teachers, you know, with obviously we're working with student athletes, so they got to be a student first. So they're they're a big role too in in allowing our kids the chance to participate, really.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

All right, let's go ahead and chase the squirrel like right out of the gate because this is not part of our original script, but you mentioned that professional development series. I think that that is critical uh right now. Uh, I don't know about you guys in Wisconsin. I know here in Georgia we have more and more. We call them community coaches. Uh, they are not certified teachers in our building, they are people in the community that we are having to bring in to help supplement the coaches that we have in the building just because it's getting harder and harder to find coaches. Maybe kind of lean in on that, what that professional development series is, what it looks like, because that's something that I'm gonna go ahead and steal. So go right ahead.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

Yes. So it was an evolving thing. You know, we've always wanted to do something for our coaches, but we do know not all of them are educators by trade. Um, so you know, what could we offer to our coaches to kind of get them some sort of professional development beyond like the basics of their sport? A lot of our coaches will attend their coaching clinic. Um, and then our state, you know, has a few coaching specific requirements, but outside of that, we weren't really doing a lot. Um, and the big topic that kept coming up was what are we doing to educate our coaches on the topic of mental health? Um, so worked with our district office, they were able to give me some money specifically for this. So I'm using the money to compensate coaches for their time. I really did not want this going into their contract. I wanted it to be something paid separately so that they could see, you know, I, you know, I came, I did this thing, my time is valued, therefore I was compensated for it. It's not huge dollars. I would love for it to be more, but it's something. Um, and we do, as a district, our educators do have to do some professional development throughout the year as part of their contract. So I was able to work with our teaching and learning director, where this can actually count towards some of those hours if that's what our teachers are wanting it to do. Um, but in terms of topics, our we had our first one in August. Right now we're trying a Sunday night at six o'clock. There's never a good time to try to, you know, ask people to give an hour and a half for something like this. Um, but I'm gonna seek feedback throughout the year and figure out is that our sweet spot? Do we need to change it? You know, what might work best for all of our coaches? Um, but we were doing mental health was our first topic. Um, culture is our topic coming up in November. I've got a January date on mental performance. And then um feedback is our fourth one. So those are kind of the four topics that we're hitting for the year. About an hour is a guest speaker each time, someone who's kind of a quote unquote local expert on our given topic. And then we've got about a half hour for our own discussion, you know, athletic department, logistics, stuff like that. And I'm really trying to have it not be things that could be sent as an email. Um, but you know, I think what I found was valuable after the first one, too, was the conversations after we were done, you know, coaches sticking around and engaging within, you know, across seasons, across sports, kind of all that too, and just relying on the expertise in the room was pretty cool to see.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

So, Brittany, obviously, I think you uh you you made it pretty clear, but it's in person, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:00

So far we've been in person. I've been asked if there's a virtual option, and and so far we're saying no. Um, because really so much of the value is you know the feedback and being present in the space.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Yeah, I I was that's that was going to be my question. As you're talking, I'm like, I wonder how she's doing this. Is it in person or virtual? I th I agree with you. I think you get more bang for your buck if they're there and they're they're not distracted and pulled in different directions. But I think that's a great idea. I don't think that you can do enough of that, uh, especially now to your point when you've got people that are coming from outside of education. They don't necessarily think the way that we do uh all the time. You know, things don't register to them necessarily, and it's not necessarily their fault, it's our job to tell them. Uh so I I think that's a that's a home run of a deal. Look forward to kind of leaning into that a little bit later. Now, Brittany, we mentioned your involvement with the NIAA. There are roughly 17,000 NIAA members and many more athletic administrators across the country. As a woman who has found tremendous success in this profession, how important has it been in your career to see women in leadership roles that allowed you to envision yourself there? I think there's great power in seeing yourself in a seat, both for our young people and even for adults. And now that you're in that position, what responsibility do you feel to provide that same example for that next generation behind you?

SPEAKER_03 12:22

It's funny you bring that up. I never envisioned myself doing anything like this. Um, I grew up in a family of educators. Uh, you know, grandma was a teacher, dad was a teacher, my brother's a teacher. So it was like, yeah, I'm gonna be a teacher.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

Family business. I get it. Yep. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 12:35

So, you know, start out teaching, and three years in at New Glaris, I'm pregnant with my first, and uh the former AD announces that she's gonna retire. And it was it was a 25% position there. So 75% of the contract was teaching, 25% AD. And they're like, hey, are you interested in doing this? And I was like, Yeah, you know, have a baby in February and you know, take over as AD then with a newborn. Um it was awesome. Yeah, uh, so that was kind of my first taste of it um in that district. And what I really learned to love was serving in that dual role. And, you know, I knew the kids from teaching them in class and then getting to see them kind of compete and do what they love on the on the like extracurricular side of things was just like so valuable for me. So I knew like, man, I'm really liking this AD gig. How can I do it more? Right. Um, I wasn't willing to move, unlike some on the screen who are willing to, you know, pack up, pick up shop and move across the country.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

There we go. I love I love I love Josh catching strays. That's good. Yes. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 13:45

Um, so I was not willing to move anywhere. And I I loved my job. So I wasn't in any rush to kind of make that change. Um, had applied a couple a couple places in the Madison area, um, had a couple interviews, and then all of a sudden the Oregon job opened up, um, applied, was fortunate enough to get selected for it. And yeah, now I'm in year six, kind of serving in this role. Um, you know, the the women and leadership piece for me, we actually have a female superintendent here. Our principal's a female now. Um, so I think like here in this community, it's something that's been valued. Um, I wouldn't say at all, I don't feel like it's been a determining factor in, you know, who to give a job to or anything like that. I don't think they're discriminating. Um, but I do think it's empowering to see and to feel supported by other people who have maybe walked your shoes in in a way, obviously a different career itself. Um, that's been helpful. And I think in terms of you know, what I'm doing for others is just showing, you know, pursue what you want. Um there's not as many of us, but you know, we can be mighty when we want to be. And, you know, we're always resources for one another. And, you know, that's the little part that I can play to to maybe help someone else see that vision. There was one year for back to school. My daughter said that she wanted to be an AD. I asked them on the first day of school and the last day of school, what do you want to be? You know, we do the little photo with the board. Yeah, uh, it was short-lived because it was just that one time.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

There we go. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

We'll see if it comes back.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

That's good. Yeah. Wanted to be an AD, but not now. For a hot minute. Yeah, 180 days later, it changed. That that's probably true for all of us, right? We we love being an AD August 1st, but then uh May 22nd. Uh, I'm not so sure. Give me the summer and I'll rethink about it. But hey, that's great. Um I I have a question. I'm gonna put you on spot a little bit. I'm curious because I imagine you've had coaches like we've had who walk in and say, Hey, I need to back away from doing two sports or three sports or maybe even coaching in general to start a family or to raise my kids or whatever. You took a job as A D with a newborn. I mean, you took the job that doesn't have a finish line, right? Um how do you respond to those coaches?

SPEAKER_03 16:12

Well, you know, you always want to support someone. I'm never gonna force someone to stay in a role that they're not fully invested in. Um, you know, so letting them know that I understand the decision that they're going to make and or that they are making and going through, and that the door is always open if they want to come back. Um, I always tell people don't be a stranger, you know, stay involved with our program in any way that you can, whether that's, you know, a day a week as a volunteer, whether that's going away for a couple of years and then coming back when the time is right. And then, you know, when they do come back, it's actually like following through on what I said I was gonna do. And, you know, I might not have a paid position open right now within the program that they were a part of in the past, but you know, here's something that we can offer. Um, I had one recently. There was a gal who was doing uh basketball for us, stepped away to have a family. She then kind of started volunteering with our basketball program, and now she's our JV head coach, kind of coming into this next season. Um, so just making sure that doors aren't ever always closed for good people to kind of come back. Um you know, the the big thing for me at the time was like, I don't even think I knew what I was getting into. Um otherwise, it probably would have been like a hard pass. Like the time's not right now, but maybe later, you know, that there was a lot of pumping those days. Um, so you know, staying after school just kind of like extended those duties, and the mom guilt was there for sure. Um, but I had a supportive husband at home who, you know, let me do what I loved. Um and you know, to your point earlier about, you know, some days it's it's rough. Right. Um and and there's moments, but the you know, the big thing I try to remind myself are there's a lot of good moments on top of some of those rough ones. Um, so really latching onto those, and you know, same things with the kids and the coaches, and yeah, there's a lot of good.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

That's good. So officially you are the nicest person on this podcast, even though you're throwing shots at me, because I would pray if if I would have been in your shoes, I think Don would have been the same way. I would I'd laugh at somebody if they came in and had that excuse of not coaching, and you took on AD as a mother of a newborn. So that's that's pretty awesome. Um Brittany, we talked about it before, we kind of laughed uh or mentioned it earlier. One of our mutual friends, whether we want to admit it or not, is our buddy in Oklahoma, Justin Smith. I think you do something, and I want to get in the weeds of with this a little bit, uh, similar to what he does with his student athletes uh there at Broken Arrow, and that is your student athlete leadership conference. Can you talk about this, how you organize it, what it involves, and most importantly, how has it impacted your athletics and your school?

SPEAKER_03 18:51

So we kind of have done this two different ways. Um, we did a school-based one where we invited kind of student leaders in. We had them nominated not only by our coaches, but also our other co-curriculars. Um, you know, my position is a little bit unique in the area in that I only oversee athletics, whereas a lot of the other ADs in the area have activities kind of under their umbrella too. Um, but I know that, you know, our kids who are involved in other activities, they're also involved in sports and they're also in our student section. So, like, why wouldn't we want to kind of hype them up and educate them too? So we brought in some coaches, we brought in some kids, and we just kind of had a an in-person leadership um conference or summit, for lack of a better phrase, that we hosted just right here in-house. Um, gave everybody an Oregon leadership team kind of journal that they could kind of take with them, you know, just as a little thank you for being a part of it. Um, and they also, we fed them, you know, the way to my heart sometimes is food, like that's no different for our kids. Um, so that's was something really impactful. We've also done it at the conference level where we've hosted student leadership conferences. Every school was able to bring six to eight kids. You could bring a coach or, you know, another adult if you wanted. Um, and we actually hosted it here in Oregon and we kind of shared the workload on that one. Different ADs kind of took different parts of the day. Um, there was one where we brought in a guest speaker and he kind of spoke to our students about um sportsmanship and the different things they can do on and off their field of play to kind of help promote that within their programs and their schools. So that's been really powerful. Um, but I'm due up to have another one. Um I'm also due to have a meeting with some of our student section leaders because just Friday night I looked at the bleachers after our football game and I said, like, what are we doing? Like it was disgusting and it was a home game. Um, so we've got some work to do to kind of help our kids help us keep our spaces, you know, nice. Um, and if we're doing that at home, like, my goodness, what are we doing on the road?

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Yeah, that's a good one. That's a great conversation to have. And um, yeah, I I'll be interested to follow up when we see each other in December and see how that went and see what changes for me. That's good.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Good deal. Now, uh Brittany, let's talk about growth in the profession. So you've been an athletic administrator for long enough to have gone through a lot of different experiences, right? Both highs and lows. At this point in your career, where are you intentionally trying to grow as a leader? And why has that become important to you right now?

SPEAKER_03 21:38

Um, you know, my my family will sometimes joke that I never sit still, that I'm always got to be doing something. Um, so you know, working through, you know, working through college, kind of getting that first job. Um, I was coaching high school girls hockey for eight years before I had kids. Um, and if you want to talk about doing something crazy, I was on the ice while pregnant. I couldn't tie my skates all the way because my feet were swollen. But I was still out there pushing pucks and having a good time. And Emmy caught her first hockey game at two days old because we had been discharged from the hospital and we were playing in the sectional final. So I wasn't going to miss that game. So my sisters came along and helped watch her while I was on the bench coaching. It was probably the quietest I've ever been as a coach because I couldn't yell. It hurt. But I could have some conversations, you know, once they got over to the bench. So that, you know, was a little piece of it for me is making sure that that's still there. In terms of growth, I, you know, got a first master's and then, you know, I got hired here, and part of my contract allowed me to get another degree if I wanted. So I was like, all right, I'm going to get, you know, my master's in administration then. So it went through that process, got a second master's, um, you know, worked through the NIAA process, becoming a CAA and then a CMAA, and you know, just continuing to take LTI classes. And then most recently it was, okay, like, what are we going to do now? Well, now I'm starting the QPA process. Um, so just joining this cohort that's just kicking off, and you know, we'll have that hopefully completed by this time next year. Um, the NIAAU was a really beneficial experience for me. And now getting to serve as a mentor on that has been rewarding. So, you know, I'm part of it's selfish. You know, I want to learn and grow to make people better. But, you know, if there's stuff that I can steal from the people within those rooms too, like all the better.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

Well, why don't we lean into that certification piece? Uh, you know, you got your CAA, you you continue to get your CMAA. It sounds like you're curious, right? And that's a good thing, that you're always trying to find that next thing. But specifically with certification, maybe speak to that for just a minute. Why do you think that's an area that other athletic administrators should pay attention to? I know that when I I get up and and and speak to my ADs and I kind of beat them over the head with it, that this is something that will make you better, right? Uh, but maybe kind of take it a step further. Why is that something they should pay attention to? Maybe getting into that pipeline of certifications.

SPEAKER_03 24:16

Yeah, I think, you know, starting with the coursework, you know, finding that first class, and you know, they're a little bit intimidating at first glance. You know, I'm gonna do what for four hours? Um, and you know, not all states have requirements for continuing ed credits or anything like that. So, like part of it is truly like, as an individual, I want to learn and grow, and I'm gonna take this class to kind of help me do those things. Um, so once you kind of take that first one, I was like, you know, I'm I was hooked. I really enjoyed it. You know, now there's so many more options too within the certification for, you know, webinars. Um, some of them are available just as you know, courses that you can take at your own speed asynchronously online. Um, state associations are offering them in person at their conferences. So there's ways for people to take some of those classes. And I know I was ready to go for my CAA before I had the points that I needed to, you know, sit down and actually take the test. Um, so just kind of familiarizing yourself with what that process actually entails. And then like the CMAA process, like that was a little intimidating too. I thought I was gonna have to recreate all this stuff, but when I really sat down and looked at it, like I had all this stuff already. Right. It was just a matter of kind of compiling it and putting it together and then presenting it to a panel of peers, um, which was a really rewarding experience. I also shared it with our administration at the time, like, hey, look at all this stuff we've done, you know, in support of our kids and our coaches. So it was it was rewarding. And then, you know, to get the certification at the end was was a nice little carrot.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Yeah. Good. That's really good. Speaking of hot topics, and you talked about QPA there. I think that's a hot topic within our world. Uh, we mentioned that you and Don presented on NIL at the 2025 NADC in Tampa. What have you seen from NIL at the high school level? Has it been more of a ceiling breaker to make us be more open-minded about new ideas as opposed to what many see at the college level where kids are getting rich, basically?

SPEAKER_03 26:22

Yeah, so it's interesting you mentioned NIL. So it's it's nude in the Wisconsin landscape. Um, when I first got asked to present with Don, I was like, are you sure you don't want someone who's actually like been involved with NIL longer?

SPEAKER_01 26:37

Right.

SPEAKER_03 26:37

Um, because we were what, five months in at the time, six months in. Um, I have not had any student athletes come through Oregon that have signed a deal, to my knowledge. Um, Wisconsin does not have a requirement that they have to like notify us or anything like that, where I know like Don, like they have one in place where like they have to be notified. Right. Um, there are some kind of big names in like Wisconsin High School Sports who have signed and engaged in deals, but our language is a little bit different in that you can't engage in deals like with your alma mater, or you know, like there's things like that. So a lot of like the local businesses who might want to engage, they wouldn't otherwise be kind of qualified for entering into a deal without kind of rendering a student athlete ineligible or going to a neighboring community and just finding some other kid. Um, so I think like the big thing we've seen is actually the people who are supporting our schools and our booster clubs so far, they've still been kind of willing to do that so that we can kind of spread that love a little bit further beyond any one kid. You know, I don't think it was intended to prevent kids from getting rich or, you know, anything like that. We just haven't seen the deals like that at the high school level here in Wisconsin.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

Yeah. So would you say it's challenged our mindset, your mindset of what new initiatives we really could do and try without just saying, you know, that wouldn't work or that's bad for kids, that's bad for schools. Um, would would you agree with that? It's kind of broken our ceiling as far as our curiosity a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 28:14

Yeah, I would agree. I think there was so much fear about it kind of on the front end. Um, and you know, they the our state association especially was like, you know, that's it's not gonna impact that many kids. Um, but everybody kind of thinks of their, you know, one, two, three special kids like, well, if this kid, you know, enters into a deal and is now ineligible, like you better believe I'm gonna, you know, hear about it from my community. Um and then that fear is real and it's valid, and and until you live it, you don't really know that you don't have to worry about it to the scope that we might have thought.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Yeah, it's good. Uh I agree. I think in in Georgia, Florida, same thing. Not a whole lot of activity compared to the number of athletes, but it did push our limits a little bit to realize hey, we everybody was scared of this thing, and it's really not that big a deal. So what else are we scared of that we should get over strike? Uh another thing you do at a really highly professional level is the Oregon Athletics Senior Signing Ceremony. Uh I I think and we watched a little snippet. I think you should describe that for our audience because I think many will want to make adjustments in how they possibly recognize their college-bound seniors. Your ceremony seems like it takes hours and hours to prepare for. Uh, and after watching it, like I said, I was impressed with the production and the classy nature of the event. So if you could describe that event.

SPEAKER_03 29:43

I'm surprised you found it. Um, it is truly one of my favorite nights of the year. So, you know, we want to honor our seniors and what they have planned after high school. And so, what we do is some, usually it's a Wednesday night in May. I use our performing arts center and we host what we call our senior signing ceremony. And so anybody with post-high school plans to participate in athletics, I send out a Google form to the whole senior class. You know, it doesn't ask for a ton, you know, what's your name? What's your parents' names? Where are you going? What are you planning to do? What are your future plans? And then um I ask them to give me like a 30 to 60 second special thanks statement that we then kind of read on their behalf. So on the night of the ceremony, we invite like all their family, their friends, their coaches, like everybody comes into the performing arts center and I tell them, like, this is a celebration. Like I want people cheering, like it's meant to be fun. Um, so I make them a little certificate. So, you know, not everybody has an actual letter of intent that they sign, but I make a certificate for every kid that's sitting up at the table. So when it's their, you know, minute to be recognized, they have something to sign up on the table. I make a little slide with their senior photo, the mascot of where they're going. And then my head coaches have really bought into this event and I have them introduce their own student athletes. Um, and then my little contribution is I'll read the special thanks section because a lot of times our kids are thanking their coaches. And we found in year one that it was kind of awkward for coach to like thank themselves. Um, and then at the end of the night, we just open up the stage with the backdrops and kind of everything for photos. So our families have really appreciated the opportunity to get behind the backdrop and kind of all that and and take some photos with their loved ones. And I intentionally wait and do it in May so that we can honor as many kids as possible. Because so many of our kids attending maybe like a D3 school, they don't decide where they're going until later. Um, so just kind of making sure that's that's there for them. We don't really do anything big on the national signing days. Um, when I have families reach out, I let them know about our big ceremony in May where they get to celebrate kind of with their classmates. Um, but I do let them know if you want me to set up a table and a backdrop for you, like I'm happy to do that. Uh, we just won't have like a formal ceremony at any point in time. So I have had a few families want to do that. Um, so we certainly do that too. It's just not a big production until the big event in May.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

Yeah, Don, how do you like that special thanks thing? That was that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

I think that that's really good. I I wrote that down uh whenever whenever she said it. I there's a lot of probably a lot of ways you could do that. I think that it you could you could also incorporate uh like if you have uh an A V class, they could tape those kids saying it, right? And then air and then play it in the moment. I think that would be it wouldn't be a dry in there. I that would be uh a home run. But hearing from them, I think is is is great. That's obviously the the culmination of that year. But before we get there, there's a lot of education that has to happen, really just about, and you mentioned it a minute ago when you're talking about your student athlete leadership deal. But we want our students and our families and our communities, we want them to show up. We want them to be loud, we want them to have fun, we want them to create a great home-filled environment. And when we go on the road, we want them to take it on the road, right? But in today's athletic landscape, sportsmanship, fan behavior continue to be challenges at not just the high school level, but every level. Uh and I think that at the high school level, we also have that responsibility to teach what appropriate support looks like, right? All throughout the year. Obviously, uh they're gonna mimic what they see on TV a lot of times. And that kind of bleeds its way into what we do. But how do you create an environment where fans are encouraged to bring energy, passion while still maintaining the standards of sportsmanship, like you talked about, dignity and respect that should define high school athletics, even down to little things like you're talking about, leaving a mess in the bleachers whenever, whenever you leave?

SPEAKER_03 34:00

Yeah, we, you know, the hard part is we don't get a ton of touch points with some of the people who are coming to our athletic events. You know, some of them are our families, uh, but some of them are just community members, you know, looking for something to do on a Friday night or a Thursday night or whatever it is. So kind of uh we've tried to think about how we can utilize them when we have them before us. Um, so one event that I host is we do an all sports code of conduct meeting um right before our fall sports begin. That is one that does get recorded and posted for anybody who's not able to attend in person. And we talk a little bit about responsibilities that we all have in that meeting, both the student athletes, the parents and guardians, and then like our coaches and myself as the AD. So everybody's got a role to play. And that's also included in our code of conduct that our families sign um prior to participation. So that's one little piece. Um, you know, the the sportsmanship statements that we'll read before games, we've tried different things with that. Um, we've had kids kind of read segments of it in the past. Um, they didn't fully love it. So we kind of went back to our PA announcer, kind of reading those things. Um, I'm never gonna shy away from having a conversation, you know, if if a fan is kind of saying something that's borderline, you know, walking over and letting them know, like, hey, that's not okay, you can stop, or or you're gonna have to kind of leave. Um as opposed to, you know, letting someone look a fool and hoping someone else is gonna address it. You know, like it's it's no fun to go do that, but you know, to do it in a manner that's respectful still and and demonstrating, you know, what you're hoping to kind of get back from that person. I also love it when the gym is packed and it's so loud that you can't hear when someone is acting a fool. Um, so those are some of the best games.

SPEAKER_02 35:48

I agree. Yep, I totally agree.

SPEAKER_01 35:51

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_02 35:52

Now you mentioned because I've had to do this before too, where you go over and I've had to tell parents, listen, you are here because you want to see your kid play. I want you to see your kid play. Like the last thing that I want to happen is for you not to be here so that you can watch them because of your behavior today, right? So let's let's dial it down a little bit, or you're not gonna get the opportunity to watch your kid play. And got a lot of runway with that because it was to your point, I'm not yelling and screaming at anybody. I'm just gonna, I'm gonna make my way over and sit down next to them and just talk to them, right? And it takes intention to do that. So you mentioned this. Uh, how much does it come down to intention by the AD about teaching and modeling those expectations rather than to your point, simply just reacting when something goes sideways and now we're really kind of flying by the seat of her pants?

SPEAKER_03 36:47

Yeah, I feel like part of that is, you know, the education background and just knowing like our students don't respond well when they're called out in front of their peers. Right. Um, so why would we assume any differently for the adults? Sure. Um, so you know, just trying not to make a big deal of it. You know, if you're walking in front of a crowd and going up to someone, like you're gonna draw some eyes. Um, but you know, doing it kind of as discreetly as possible is helpful. I've done it too before where if it wasn't kind of egregious enough that I needed to go, I would sometimes wait for a parent to maybe like come down to go get some popcorn or something and you know, just kind of have a casual conversation off to the side. Um yeah, sometimes word are not at events and they're doing stuff at road games and we hear about it. So, you know, following up on those instances with a phone call, you know, hey, I I heard this happened, you know, what's going on? Is there something you need from us to like help support you? Because, you know, the way you chose to respond wasn't appropriate in that moment.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:48

Um, and a lot of times by the time that conversation happens, they've already done some reflection, or somebody else who was there has already commented to them, or their kid found out about it and has already, you know, laid into them a little bit. Um, so just you know, I think having the conversation goes a long way, and people do feel that you care when you do so.

SPEAKER_02 38:09

Yeah, I've gotten a lot of weight out of uh well, what made you think that was a good idea? And then just kind of let it sit. Uh and then if they have they're like, oh yeah. You know, when you put it that way, yeah. I've I've had parents tell me, like, well, yeah, when you put it that way, it probably wasn't a good idea. Okay, great. Now we're on the same page. Now we can kind of work from there. So yeah, it's just that it I think it it's important that we we don't shy away from those difficult conversations, you know, when we need to have them, because it's for the betterment of everybody else.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

Yeah, I was gonna say that same thing. The best thing you said there, three words, have the conversation.

SPEAKER_02 38:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:43

It took me a long time to realize hey, pick up the phone the next day and call that parent and let them know they were out of line. Because, like you said, they may know it, but they need to hear you say you recognized it. Um, some of them don't even realize it. Some of them, you know, I had them push back a little bit to say I didn't think I was out of line. Well, they need to hear that they were so they don't replicate that behavior again. But have the conversation is is fantastic. If you're a young athletic director or a leader out there, I I think that um is is the takeaway for you today is have the conversation right there. So that's good. Really good.

SPEAKER_03 39:19

Well, early on in my career, I was so fearful of doing that. You know, it was way, what if they yell at me? What if they don't believe me? And and a lot of those was like as a follow-up to behaviors in class, more so with the kid. Right. Um, but really, you know, I think Don said it earlier, you know, we want the same thing. We want the kids to have, you know, successful experiences. And so how can we work together to help ensure that that happens?

SPEAKER_01 39:43

Yeah, if they realize how many times their kid is cringing or maybe even calling their parents something else, you know, down there on the bench, they would um they they would stop it. It's funny having a conversation this morning. Just happens to be my son's first middle school football game. And I was having a conversation with a former colleague, and she said, Oh, did you make posters? And he was in the he he was in a truck, and he said, Oh no, please don't. You know, it's like that is what most parents don't hear when they're yelling and acting a fool, right? Is their kids saying, Please don't. Uh so if we could get more of them to understand the kids' perspective, it'd be a lot better for sure. Uh Brittany, one last question before we get to the two-minute drill. Uh, we're asking each guest to respond to a similar question uh to gather their insights as we speak to people. So if you don't mind, finish this sentence. Great leaders blank.

SPEAKER_03 40:43

My first hunch is to say show up.

SPEAKER_01 40:47

That's a good answer. Yeah, I like that. Yeah, that's good. That's a good answer.

SPEAKER_02 40:51

Hard stop.

SPEAKER_01 40:52

Yeah, that's good. That's that's really good. Yeah, that's uh I don't I don't know many people will say that, but I think being present is is uh it's simple, but it's invaluable, right? That's really good. So yeah. All right. Well, that's a great way to finish. I like that, yeah. Like Don said, hard stop that it might might drop there. Uh so we're gonna jump into our two-minute drill. We'll let Don crank us up from there.

SPEAKER_02 41:15

Okay, Brittany, we're gonna hit you with some rapid fire questions. You just tell us the first thing that comes to your mind. What was the first job that you ever had ever in your life?

SPEAKER_03 41:24

I was a snack shack concession worker at my dad's pool that he runs.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Oh, that works. That's good. All right, what is the best thing on the menu at the chocolate caper in Oregon, Wisconsin?

SPEAKER_03 41:38

Ooh, that's a great question. Um They've got really all their pastries are really good. You can't go wrong with them. Chocolate dip strawberries. I can keep going.

SPEAKER_02 41:51

I mean I can tell by the name, there's probably not a lot of bad things in there, I would I would imagine. Now you talked about us doing our homework, and you know, you were like, I can't believe you found that, right? So we've we do our homework pretty good. So what is more difficult, driving a school bus or calling a girls' hockey state championship game?

SPEAKER_03 42:11

Ooh, um, I'm gonna go girls state championship hockey game.

SPEAKER_01 42:18

Okay. Good. Yep. All right, we understand that there's an ice cream and pie social there in Oregon, Wisconsin. So do you prefer ice cream or pie?

SPEAKER_03 42:27

Ice cream, mint chocolate chip, please, or mint Oreo.

SPEAKER_02 42:31

Oh wow, I am a mint chocolate chip guy. We I we I don't meet many of us. So go. I get it, I totally get it.

SPEAKER_01 42:38

So, Don, the answer to that question for me would have been yes.

SPEAKER_02 42:44

True. True. Uh, all right, road trip or fly?

SPEAKER_03 42:48

Fly.

SPEAKER_01 42:50

All right, if you can experience a favor memory again for the first time, what would it be?

SPEAKER_03 42:58

I'm gonna say my kids' first international trip, just getting them to see them experience something like that, and my kids' minds were blown by a buffet. Apparently, we never took them to a buffet here.

SPEAKER_02 43:12

Oh, okay. Look at all of this for real. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:16

I go back as many times as I want.

SPEAKER_02 43:18

Yeah, this is all for me. Yeah. Uh, all right, uh, know the future or be able to change the past.

SPEAKER_03 43:28

That one's tough. I'm gonna go change the past.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

Okay. Interesting. All right, let's finish with this. It's our trademark question today. Brittany Spencer Grant, you've been hanging with EADs. Let's say you can hang out with anyone. Who would that be and why?

SPEAKER_03 43:46

That is a great question as well. Um, I would love to spend some more time with my grandma. She passed when she was pretty young. And, you know, just getting to know a little bit more about kind of her and the work she did. She was the teacher in the family that kind of started it for all of us. Um, yeah, just getting to spend more time with her.

SPEAKER_02 44:10

Great answer. Brittany, thank you for saying yes to sitting down with us today. We know that your words are going to help others level up. I know that what you've leveled us up today. We are very grateful for that. So thanks again for the time.

SPEAKER_01 44:21

Thank you both. Well, what a great conversation with Brittany Spencer Grant today. Just really enjoyed getting to know her a little bit more. I've heard a lot about her leadership, her involvement at the national, state, and even local level with athletic administrators all across our country. And um she is who people say she is. She's a rock star in our athletic administrator space, and we got to hear that today. Wow, what a conversation. You know, there were three takeaways for me. Probably more, but I'm gonna highlight three of those. Number one, she talked about uh at the very end there, great leaders show up. The power of presence, just showing up can make you a great leader because you were there. She used the word curious, and I just think lifelong leaders, lifelong learners are always curious. And when people mention that word curious, it says a lot about them and what they do each and every day to get better. And then the last thing is something she said in the very first question we asked her, and it goes to uh something we talk about all the time, and and that is excellence. She said, excellence is an evolving framework, it looks different from program to program. What a statement. Excellence is not winning state championships, excellence is not bringing home trophies, it could be. Depends on what your program has defined excellence as through its day-to-day, year-to-year performance, right? Excellence is an evolving framework, so it looks different for every person, looks different for every program. Excellence is what your standard is, not someone else's standard. Brittany Spencer Grant, thanks for joining us today on Hangin' with EAD. You made us better. I know everyone who listened got better. We appreciate you listening. We appreciate you uh taking time to hopefully get better as an athletic administrator or just a leader. Uh, we would love for you to rate us or review us. It helps the um formulas to get us to the top of the list there when people search for uh these kind of podcasts. So if you would leave us a star rating, we would appreciate that. We thank you for listening. As always, we thank you for spending your time hanging with the ADs.