August 19, 2024 • 14 mins
Welcome to another edition of Endless Possibilities, hosted by Phil Ramsey. In this special episode, we dive into the world of high school athletics in Tipton County. Join us as we meet the athletic directors from Covington High School, Munford High School, and Brighton High School.
Discover the unique paths that led Katrisha Glass, Mike Huffman, and Chris Burgess to their current roles and learn about the vital work they do to ensure smooth operations and success in their respective athletic programs. They share insights on the importance of communication between middle and high schools, the challenges they face, and the rewarding aspects of their jobs.
Special guest Mr. Fields, Director of Operations, also joins the conversation to provide additional perspective and ask thought-provoking questions. This episode offers an inside look at the dedication and teamwork that drive Tipton County's sports programs.
Tune in to hear how these passionate leaders are shaping the future of athletics and fostering a sense of community and excellence in Tipton County's schools.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:27):
Welcome to another edition of Endless Possibilities. I'm your host,
Phil Ramsey, and we've got a special day today.
We have the athletic directors from the three Tipton County high schools here today.
So what we want to find out is a little bit about who you are,
about what your job entails, and maybe talk about athletics in the Tipton County system.
(00:49):
And if you live in Tipton County, you know it's a big deal.
We love our sports in Tipton County, and you guys play a vital role in making
sure all of that happens and flows very smoothly.
So you got a got a pretty big job. So what I want to do is starting from my
left, I want to introduce yourself and tell me what school you you're the athletic director of.
(01:13):
Hey, my name is Patricia Glass and I'm the athletic director at Covington High School.
My name is Mike Huffman and I'm the athletic director at Munford High School.
I'm Chris Burgess. I'm the athletic director of Brighton High School. Okay.
Now, Patricia, I think if I'm not mistaken, you're a graduate of Covington High
School. I am. I graduated in 2003.
(01:35):
You're very young, aren't you? Did you ever think back in the day while you
were going to school there that you would come back in the town that you live
in and be the athletic director?
You played sports, right? You were pretty big in sports. I was.
Okay. Yes, I played basketball, softball, and volleyball.
And when I went off to school, I never thought I'd come back here,
but I'm so glad that I did.
(01:57):
I'm headed into my sixth year as athletic director at Covington High School,
and I wouldn't change my path for the world. Yeah. What about you, Mr. Huffman?
Well, I graduated from Munford High School in 1989 and started teaching there
in 1995. 95. So I'm going into my 29th year.
(02:17):
My 13th year, I think, is the athletic director at Munford High School.
And, you know, the coaches I had, Coach Nathaniel, he was just a big influence on my life.
And so that was, I did want to come back and teach and coach.
Never dreamed I would be the athletic director, but, you know,
(02:39):
getting to work with Coach McCullough there at Munford High School. He taught me a lot.
And so that transitioned me right into where I'm going and just have a few years left, I hope.
What about you, Chris? I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina.
I graduated high school in 1988.
So I take the trophy for being the oldest high school AD in the county.
(03:01):
And I came to Brighton three years ago. I'm going into my third year.
And I knew Coach Croson 20 years ago when I started my educational career,
Coach Croson was my student teacher, lead teacher.
I student taught under him. And we developed that.
That friendship and that bond, and he and Dr.
(03:22):
Norton hired me back at Brighton three years ago to come in and be the AD.
I got a question. As athletic directors, do you communicate or is there a smooth
flow from middle school to high school?
What involvement is there between middle school and high school?
(03:43):
Meaning if somebody's playing football or softball or any other sport in middle
school, what's the transition like coming from those two? Is there a communication there?
I know at Munford High School, usually at the end of our high school season
and towards the end of the school year for both schools,
(04:03):
Our coaches go over and pass out calendars, give dates,
tryouts, different things from that end of the students aspect of it.
And from the AD part of it, I know that we coordinate a lot with scheduling
because I know the middle school plays at our high school football field and
(04:25):
there's a lot of different moving parts.
And so it's a lot of communication that goes on between the middle school and high school.
And basically in middle school
you have just about as
many sports as you do in high school if i'm not if i'm not
mistaken that's right i think brighton high
school and brighton middle school have almost the exact same amount of sports
(04:50):
like coach huffman was saying for me it's scheduling facilities it's making
sure that my for this fall season my girls soccer team doesn't run into Brighton Middle's girls'
soccer team or Brighton Middle's middle school football team and ensuring that
those facilities that are shared by both schools.
(05:13):
Are available to all who need them and that they don't step on each other.
Well, I've got another special guest. I didn't introduce him in the beginning, but Mr.
Fields is here, and he wears many, many hats, And one of those hats is director of operations.
And I know he's he works with you guys and you guys make a great team.
(05:34):
So he's going to step in and ask you a few questions. Thank you, Mr. Phil.
Hey, first of all, I want to say that it's been a blessing the last three years
to have an opportunity to work with these 80s.
Of course, I'm the 80 for the district.
I think this is my third year. And one thing I would like to say before I ask
a couple of questions is not only are these good ADs for our district,
(05:59):
but they're better people.
I've had the opportunity to work side by side with each of them.
So my first question is to AD Glass from Covenant High School.
In your opinion, what are the most important duties of an athletic director?
In my opinion, just an AD has to oversee all aspects of our athletic programs.
(06:21):
And that's a lot under that hat. I mean, from the budgeting to the scheduling
to making sure our student athletes are eligible.
There's a lot that goes into it. A lot of questions that parents have,
we're the ones that, you know, answer them.
As far as insurance, when those student athletes get hurt, we're the ones that
(06:41):
make sure those expenses are paid after their insurance.
I think the most important duty of being an athletic director,
in my opinion, is the support that we provide for our coaches and our student athletes.
And, you know, just because I wear two hats, I'm a coach and an athletic director,
I understand that we just want to coach.
(07:03):
And as an AD, if we can do whatever it is that we need to do to alleviate some
of the stress for those coaches that just coach, then that's what we do.
We do a lot of behind the scenes work that people don't know about as far as
making sure those facilities are maintained.
Making sure that our community feels supported and feel that they can come in
(07:24):
and, you know, be a part of our the best school in Tipton County.
Johnny, you know, we just wear a lot of hats.
But I think the biggest thing is making sure that our coaches and athletes feel
supported and they feel like they're in a safe environment to do what they do
in their particular sport.
Thanks for all you do, Ms. Glass. I know it's a pleasure to graduate from Covington
(07:46):
High School, play ball, all three sports, at least three sports at Covington
High School, come back and now you're coaching head girls basketball and the athletic director.
We appreciate all you do. My next question is for Mr. Huffman.
He's an athletic director at Bonford High School.
My question to you, Mr. Huffman, is what three things would you tell a new AD for advice?
(08:09):
Well, as Coach Glass said about being the best school in the county,
that's the number one is you do take it personal and you want to be the best school in the county.
So what that would entail would lead me to number two is that from being the
(08:31):
best school in the county, you're going to have to build the relationships with
all stakeholders. holders.
And that's from the nurse to the bookkeeper to the bus shop at the board,
because we all know sometimes it's tough to get a bus for the athletes to travel.
It's just a whole, there's a whole lot of people that goes into playing a ball
(08:55):
game on a Friday night, on a Tuesday night, on a reschedule night.
So there are so many things that go into that.
So number one, One, take it personal and you want to be the best school.
You want to be the school of choice in Tipton County.
Number two is build the relationships with all the stakeholders.
And number three is just surround yourself with good mentors that show you the
(09:22):
way, all the ins and outs.
Be present. I know that Coach McCullough, you know, he was going to be at everything.
And I would sit back and watch and it would be parents coming up.
Some would be fussing at him.
Some would just say hello, but he was always present.
So just sit back and take those things. Be present.
(09:43):
You know, build the relationships and do take it personal because in everything
we do here in Tipton County, you want to be the best.
And as good as Brighton is, as good as Covington is, as good as Mumford is,
it makes all of us better. And
it gives the students a better experience through the outlet of sports.
(10:06):
And that's what we want at the end. At the end of the day, it's all about our
student athletes in Tipton County.
And it's never too late to be a Cougar. Y'all remember that.
Great response, Mr. Huffman. And last but not least, we have Mr.
Chris Burgess from Brighton High School.
And my question to you, Mr. Chris, is what are the most difficult challenges you have as an AD?
(10:29):
Well, first, let me thank Coach Glass and Coach Huffman for acknowledging that
Brighton is the best high school in the county.
One of the welcome challenges, I'll address that first, is that I think they
would agree with me, no two days are alike.
And that makes going to work fun. Because if I got into routine and monotony,
(10:50):
I don't think I'd last very long.
As far as challenges that might be unwelcomed, I would say compliance and communication
are what come up the most.
Just trying to be in compliance with the school, with the county,
with the state in terms of our athletic program, making sure that every athlete
(11:14):
is properly registered,
properly covered in terms of their physical and their other paperwork that's necessary.
There are a lot of regulations that the state organization places on our schools
to ensure that we are in compliance and then communicating that compliance to
(11:36):
players or athletes, coaches,
parents, administration,
not just administration at your school, but administration at the county,
and just ensuring that everybody is aware of what's going on.
Trying to communicate with the AD at the middle school and both soccer coaches
(11:57):
that this team has the field this day or trying to communicate in the spring
with baseball teams that want to use our field and practice just all the scheduling,
the communication that goes along with that can sometimes be overwhelming.
Seem like an endless job and a mountain that you're never going to get to the top of.
(12:20):
So those are the two biggest challenges for me. Thank you, Mr.
Chris. As you can see from their
responses, we have three very solid individuals working in our schools.
I would like to thank you for allowing us to share this information on this pod.
I don't know if you can tell this, if you're listening, our schools are very competitive.
Competitive we have three schools represented and
(12:42):
they're all number one right they're the best school
but you know what that's good that's good being
a photographer I don't know if you know this I'm not the only photographer around
so when I observe other photographers what does that cause me to do step up
my game and so as we as we do that as three different school system we want
(13:03):
to to be the best school in the system.
And what that causes us is to everybody rise to the top.
Three schools, high schools, but yet we're one family. And that's what I like about Tipton County.
And that's what I can say that sets us apart, I believe, in my opinion,
from a lot of other school systems.
When you come to school here, you're not just a number.
(13:26):
You're a person that we love. You're a part of the team. and we all work together
for the common good, for the children to make them who they need to be.
So guys, thank you for coming.
I enjoyed it. And I know the community is very proud of you guys.
A lot of things go on that you're not aware of behind the scenes.
There's hundreds, if not thousands, of moving elements that go on behind the
(13:49):
scene that people that come to a ballgame just don't know about.
So again, thank you for what you do.
We'll see you next time for another edition of Endless Possibilities.
Music.
Music.
(00:27):
Welcome to another edition of Endless Possibilities. I'm your host,
Phil Ramsey, and we've got a special day today.
We have the athletic directors from the three Tipton County high schools here today.
So what we want to find out is a little bit about who you are,
about what your job entails, and maybe talk about athletics in the Tipton County system.
(00:49):
And if you live in Tipton County, you know it's a big deal.
We love our sports in Tipton County, and you guys play a vital role in making
sure all of that happens and flows very smoothly.
So you got a got a pretty big job. So what I want to do is starting from my
left, I want to introduce yourself and tell me what school you you're the athletic director of.
(01:13):
Hey, my name is Patricia Glass and I'm the athletic director at Covington High School.
My name is Mike Huffman and I'm the athletic director at Munford High School.
I'm Chris Burgess. I'm the athletic director of Brighton High School. Okay.
Now, Patricia, I think if I'm not mistaken, you're a graduate of Covington High
School. I am. I graduated in 2003.
(01:35):
You're very young, aren't you? Did you ever think back in the day while you
were going to school there that you would come back in the town that you live
in and be the athletic director?
You played sports, right? You were pretty big in sports. I was.
Okay. Yes, I played basketball, softball, and volleyball.
And when I went off to school, I never thought I'd come back here,
but I'm so glad that I did.
(01:57):
I'm headed into my sixth year as athletic director at Covington High School,
and I wouldn't change my path for the world. Yeah. What about you, Mr. Huffman?
Well, I graduated from Munford High School in 1989 and started teaching there
in 1995. 95. So I'm going into my 29th year.
(02:17):
My 13th year, I think, is the athletic director at Munford High School.
And, you know, the coaches I had, Coach Nathaniel, he was just a big influence on my life.
And so that was, I did want to come back and teach and coach.
Never dreamed I would be the athletic director, but, you know,
(02:39):
getting to work with Coach McCullough there at Munford High School. He taught me a lot.
And so that transitioned me right into where I'm going and just have a few years left, I hope.
What about you, Chris? I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina.
I graduated high school in 1988.
So I take the trophy for being the oldest high school AD in the county.
(03:01):
And I came to Brighton three years ago. I'm going into my third year.
And I knew Coach Croson 20 years ago when I started my educational career,
Coach Croson was my student teacher, lead teacher.
I student taught under him. And we developed that.
That friendship and that bond, and he and Dr.
(03:22):
Norton hired me back at Brighton three years ago to come in and be the AD.
I got a question. As athletic directors, do you communicate or is there a smooth
flow from middle school to high school?
What involvement is there between middle school and high school?
(03:43):
Meaning if somebody's playing football or softball or any other sport in middle
school, what's the transition like coming from those two? Is there a communication there?
I know at Munford High School, usually at the end of our high school season
and towards the end of the school year for both schools,
(04:03):
Our coaches go over and pass out calendars, give dates,
tryouts, different things from that end of the students aspect of it.
And from the AD part of it, I know that we coordinate a lot with scheduling
because I know the middle school plays at our high school football field and
(04:25):
there's a lot of different moving parts.
And so it's a lot of communication that goes on between the middle school and high school.
And basically in middle school
you have just about as
many sports as you do in high school if i'm not if i'm not
mistaken that's right i think brighton high
school and brighton middle school have almost the exact same amount of sports
(04:50):
like coach huffman was saying for me it's scheduling facilities it's making
sure that my for this fall season my girls soccer team doesn't run into Brighton Middle's girls'
soccer team or Brighton Middle's middle school football team and ensuring that
those facilities that are shared by both schools.
(05:13):
Are available to all who need them and that they don't step on each other.
Well, I've got another special guest. I didn't introduce him in the beginning, but Mr.
Fields is here, and he wears many, many hats, And one of those hats is director of operations.
And I know he's he works with you guys and you guys make a great team.
(05:34):
So he's going to step in and ask you a few questions. Thank you, Mr. Phil.
Hey, first of all, I want to say that it's been a blessing the last three years
to have an opportunity to work with these 80s.
Of course, I'm the 80 for the district.
I think this is my third year. And one thing I would like to say before I ask
a couple of questions is not only are these good ADs for our district,
(05:59):
but they're better people.
I've had the opportunity to work side by side with each of them.
So my first question is to AD Glass from Covenant High School.
In your opinion, what are the most important duties of an athletic director?
In my opinion, just an AD has to oversee all aspects of our athletic programs.
(06:21):
And that's a lot under that hat. I mean, from the budgeting to the scheduling
to making sure our student athletes are eligible.
There's a lot that goes into it. A lot of questions that parents have,
we're the ones that, you know, answer them.
As far as insurance, when those student athletes get hurt, we're the ones that
(06:41):
make sure those expenses are paid after their insurance.
I think the most important duty of being an athletic director,
in my opinion, is the support that we provide for our coaches and our student athletes.
And, you know, just because I wear two hats, I'm a coach and an athletic director,
I understand that we just want to coach.
(07:03):
And as an AD, if we can do whatever it is that we need to do to alleviate some
of the stress for those coaches that just coach, then that's what we do.
We do a lot of behind the scenes work that people don't know about as far as
making sure those facilities are maintained.
Making sure that our community feels supported and feel that they can come in
(07:24):
and, you know, be a part of our the best school in Tipton County.
Johnny, you know, we just wear a lot of hats.
But I think the biggest thing is making sure that our coaches and athletes feel
supported and they feel like they're in a safe environment to do what they do
in their particular sport.
Thanks for all you do, Ms. Glass. I know it's a pleasure to graduate from Covington
(07:46):
High School, play ball, all three sports, at least three sports at Covington
High School, come back and now you're coaching head girls basketball and the athletic director.
We appreciate all you do. My next question is for Mr. Huffman.
He's an athletic director at Bonford High School.
My question to you, Mr. Huffman, is what three things would you tell a new AD for advice?
(08:09):
Well, as Coach Glass said about being the best school in the county,
that's the number one is you do take it personal and you want to be the best school in the county.
So what that would entail would lead me to number two is that from being the
(08:31):
best school in the county, you're going to have to build the relationships with
all stakeholders. holders.
And that's from the nurse to the bookkeeper to the bus shop at the board,
because we all know sometimes it's tough to get a bus for the athletes to travel.
It's just a whole, there's a whole lot of people that goes into playing a ball
(08:55):
game on a Friday night, on a Tuesday night, on a reschedule night.
So there are so many things that go into that.
So number one, One, take it personal and you want to be the best school.
You want to be the school of choice in Tipton County.
Number two is build the relationships with all the stakeholders.
And number three is just surround yourself with good mentors that show you the
(09:22):
way, all the ins and outs.
Be present. I know that Coach McCullough, you know, he was going to be at everything.
And I would sit back and watch and it would be parents coming up.
Some would be fussing at him.
Some would just say hello, but he was always present.
So just sit back and take those things. Be present.
(09:43):
You know, build the relationships and do take it personal because in everything
we do here in Tipton County, you want to be the best.
And as good as Brighton is, as good as Covington is, as good as Mumford is,
it makes all of us better. And
it gives the students a better experience through the outlet of sports.
(10:06):
And that's what we want at the end. At the end of the day, it's all about our
student athletes in Tipton County.
And it's never too late to be a Cougar. Y'all remember that.
Great response, Mr. Huffman. And last but not least, we have Mr.
Chris Burgess from Brighton High School.
And my question to you, Mr. Chris, is what are the most difficult challenges you have as an AD?
(10:29):
Well, first, let me thank Coach Glass and Coach Huffman for acknowledging that
Brighton is the best high school in the county.
One of the welcome challenges, I'll address that first, is that I think they
would agree with me, no two days are alike.
And that makes going to work fun. Because if I got into routine and monotony,
(10:50):
I don't think I'd last very long.
As far as challenges that might be unwelcomed, I would say compliance and communication
are what come up the most.
Just trying to be in compliance with the school, with the county,
with the state in terms of our athletic program, making sure that every athlete
(11:14):
is properly registered,
properly covered in terms of their physical and their other paperwork that's necessary.
There are a lot of regulations that the state organization places on our schools
to ensure that we are in compliance and then communicating that compliance to
(11:36):
players or athletes, coaches,
parents, administration,
not just administration at your school, but administration at the county,
and just ensuring that everybody is aware of what's going on.
Trying to communicate with the AD at the middle school and both soccer coaches
(11:57):
that this team has the field this day or trying to communicate in the spring
with baseball teams that want to use our field and practice just all the scheduling,
the communication that goes along with that can sometimes be overwhelming.
Seem like an endless job and a mountain that you're never going to get to the top of.
(12:20):
So those are the two biggest challenges for me. Thank you, Mr.
Chris. As you can see from their
responses, we have three very solid individuals working in our schools.
I would like to thank you for allowing us to share this information on this pod.
I don't know if you can tell this, if you're listening, our schools are very competitive.
Competitive we have three schools represented and
(12:42):
they're all number one right they're the best school
but you know what that's good that's good being
a photographer I don't know if you know this I'm not the only photographer around
so when I observe other photographers what does that cause me to do step up
my game and so as we as we do that as three different school system we want
(13:03):
to to be the best school in the system.
And what that causes us is to everybody rise to the top.
Three schools, high schools, but yet we're one family. And that's what I like about Tipton County.
And that's what I can say that sets us apart, I believe, in my opinion,
from a lot of other school systems.
When you come to school here, you're not just a number.
(13:26):
You're a person that we love. You're a part of the team. and we all work together
for the common good, for the children to make them who they need to be.
So guys, thank you for coming.
I enjoyed it. And I know the community is very proud of you guys.
A lot of things go on that you're not aware of behind the scenes.
There's hundreds, if not thousands, of moving elements that go on behind the
(13:49):
scene that people that come to a ballgame just don't know about.
So again, thank you for what you do.
We'll see you next time for another edition of Endless Possibilities.
Music.
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