September 18, 2024 • Athletic Administration • Coaching

Q&A.D. with WIAA executive director Mick Hoffman

Mick Hoffman is the Executive Director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA). He was named the WIAA’s fifth Executive Director in the spring of 2019.

Serving at virtually every level of the WIAA, Hoffman most recently held the role of Assistant Superintendent and Chief Operations Officer for Vancouver Public Schools. Before taking over as an Assistant Superintendent, he served as the District Athletic Director for Vancouver Public Schools from 2007-15. Hoffman also represented WIAA District IV on the WIAA Executive Board from 2016-18 where he was a member of the Classification Committee and chaired the WIAA Recruiting Committee.

Hoffman graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education before earning a Master’s of Education from the University of Portland.

He spoke with Coach & Athletic Director about his career, advice for young athletic directors, and what he’s most proud of achieving. Below is that conversation.

Coach & Athletic Director: What are your primary goals and vision for the WIAA over the next few years, and how do you plan to achieve them?

Mick Hoffman: My primary goals and vision for the WIAA over the next few years focus on educating key decision-makers that the investment they make into education-based athletics is invaluable. If we don’t preserve this opportunity for our student-athletes in our schools, only the most talented and financially secure students will have the opportunity to learn the invaluable evidence-based outcomes that are derived from participation. We will use our platform to reinforce the value of the investment into education-based athletics.

Coach & AD: I understand you took this position just before the outbreak of COVID-19. What lessons have been learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how have these influenced current policies and protocols within the WIAA?

Hoffman: Lessons that have been learned from the COVID-19 pandemic included never assuming something can’t happen. Most importantly, it reinforced the value of education-based athletics. When schools started to forecast their budgets the second spring of the pandemic, they realized students weren’t showing up for online learning. Schools that were initially resistant to restarting that year soon began to advocate for some opportunity to play. This was a powerful example of how participation helps keep students connected to their education. We are fortunate to offer opportunities in the arts, activities, and at the middle school level. This reach of more than 225,000 annual participants allows us to support our schools in delivering a vibrant educational opportunity to all students. There were many adjustments made during the pandemic and some of them have continued related to a focus on coaches’ education and both emotional and physical safety of our participants. Other examples include the improvement of technology in a multitude of areas. These are all very positive outcomes of a horrific situation we all experienced together.

Coach & AD: What are you most proud of during your time atop the WIAA?

Hoffman: Our staff takes great pride in continuing to enhance the student, coach, athletic administrator, and fan experience despite having faced a pandemic and financial crisis for our schools. We have improved technology via strategic partnerships that allow a parent/loved one/general fan to watch and support their student remotely via streaming. We have created highly effective online learning opportunities that not only deliver exceptional content but track it for the coaches and athletic administrators. We have created a tech ecosystem that allows athletic administrators to enter schedules one time and fill their ticketing, streaming, and website needs. We rebuilt our website and app to make them more fan-friendly and provide experiences at our state events that our membership truly enjoys.

Coach & AD: Have you added any athletic offerings during your tenure? If so, which ones? Do you plan to add any in the future?

Hoffman: We added slowpitch softball back for our female athletes. We have experimented with girls’ flag football and esports. We are hoping our membership votes both of these in via the amendment process this coming spring.

Coach & AD: According to our annual athletic directors’ survey, retaining/hiring quality coaches and staff is always one of the most pressing industry issues. In your opinion, how can administrators attract and retain coaches who are the right fit for the program?

Hoffman: In order to attract and retain coaches who are the right fit for a program, the athletic administrator has to be very clear in defining what their core beliefs are. If a school and/or athletic administrator hasn’t defined what their desired outcomes are for every participant in their programs, they cannot consistently hire the right fit. For example, an athletic administrator may hire a coach because they have previously had success on the scoreboard, but they have not been successful in providing a positive experience for young people. If the school hiring is focused on teaching skills beyond the scoreboard, sacrificing their core beliefs for victory will not be a sustainable model at that school. There is so much turnover in coaches and athletic administration, that it is imperative the school has a defined set of core beliefs and intentionally hires to meet those goals and not succumb to panic hires.

Coach & AD: What advice do you have for young athletic directors entering the industry?

Hoffman: The best advice I can give young athletic directors entering the industry is to be very clear about why you want to be in that position. Our most successful ADs believe in serving others but not at the expense of their own beliefs. You must find a school that has the same beliefs as you and is willing to support those beliefs in the most difficult of times. Local school boards have become incredibly politicized in the past few years. There is more pressure on superintendents, principals, ADs, and coaches than ever before. If the core beliefs of any of your supervising leadership are out of line with your own, you must find a place where you better align. The sacrifices you will make for yourself, your family, and others close to you must be for the benefit of others which only happens if you are achieving your goals.

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Coach & AD: What did the WIAA find after equipping referees with body cameras to combat bad behavior during events?

Hoffman: We found that behavior appeared to be less extreme in contests that used body cameras during events. We had no ejections other than one fight. We will continue the experiment this year but are happy with the results to date.