Priorities, Protocol for Scheduling Indoor Facilities

With the number of coaches wanting to use indoor facilities, particularly as the winter season is winding down and the spring season begins, the demand is huge. To be fair to everyone, athletic administrators should establish usage priorities and scheduling protocols.

First, for all facilities – indoor and outdoor – in any season, there should be established district protocols for priority use. The following is a typical example of the priority order:

1. In-season sports

2. Intramural and club sports

3. Other school activities

4. Community recreation programs

5. Outside groups

Beyond a priority listing, a clarification needs to be added: “Winter sports that are still involved with playoff contests have priority over spring sports because their competitive season has not ended.” With this explanation in place, it would also be wise to develop a rotating schedule to cover inclement days and to also allow for spring sports to have time in the gymnasium after basketball (girls and boys) and wrestling (girls and boys) finish their practice sessions.

If basketball or wrestling teams (if there is no separate practice facility) do not need the gym because they have a playoff game or match at a neutral site, your time slots for the spring sports can start after the end of the school day. Before you actually set up your time slots, however, it is important to determine and establish how late in the evening practice sessions will be allowed to run. Why? The ultimate objective needs to be the academic pursuits of students, and this necessitates that they get sufficient sleep in order to perform well in the classroom. In like fashion, would you allow teams to use the gym early in the morning prior to the start of classes? The ramifications of these two decisions should be considered very carefully.

A Sample Indoor Rotational Schedule:

As soon as a decision is reached by the athletic administrator that an “Inclement Day” has been declared, he or she emails the head coaches. This brief message indicates what “Day” schedule is being followed, and, of course, the athletic director has to keep an accurate record.

If a coach decides that his or her team will not use the scheduled slot, establish a protocol that the coach must notify the athletic administrator by 9 a.m. You then can send an email offering this open time to the other teams. If more than one would like this additional time, divide it up equally and adjust the start times; email the adjustments to the four head coaches. It is critical to keep a record of these adjustments so that you can deal equitably with any future requests.

Beyond the space crunch when the seasons overlap between the winter and spring seasons, also consider alternating the start times for girls and boys practice slots during the winter. Create a weekly schedule for the season in which each sport – girls and boys - alternates between the early slot at 2:45 p.m. and the late slot at 4:45 p.m. With an established schedule before the start of the season, coaches can distribute it to parents to help them to make their arrangements to pick up their children at the conclusion of practice sessions.

With some thought, careful planning, a good system, effective communication, and sound recordkeeping, indoor facility use can be a little easier with fewer accompanying problems.