Nicholas Skelton 
Innovation strategy concept
Hat Trick Training Academy is striving to be the best education source for the student athlete in the region of Northwest Florida. Our Board of Directors and staff work diligently both in the community and in the facility to achieve this goal. With the goal of being the best educational and athletic preparation source for the student athlete, HTT will address every month, every week, and everyday behaviors of both staff and students that will allow us to track our progress to make sure we meet and exceed our goal.
Why:
Hat Trick Training Academy inspires student athletes to achieve their personal, academic, and athletic goals that uses innovative technology to support real-time learning experiences.
How:
To do this, Hat Trick Training Academy educates each student athlete to their very best in an individualized, hands-on learning environment using technology such as virtual reality.
What:
Hat Trick Training Academy prepares the student athlete to achieve personal academic and athletic goals in preparation for college and/or professional sports.
Desired Result and Measurements
Our desired result for the student athlete consists of 2 parts, all in line with state standards and individual athletic abilities.
Part A:
We expect our student athletes to exceed academic standards in preparation to excel in post high school education. This will be achieved by proper instruction that is student focused where the student learns beyond the state standards with real world applications. Students will be measured weekly, in their subjects, in a variety of academic skills from writing, multiple choice, short answer and hands on labs. These measurements will track our ability to be effective instructors and facilitators for each individual student.
Part B:
We expect our athletes to perform their very best every time they are in training. Along with the state standards for Physical Education, the athletes will be measured individually with a baseline assessment in specific movements and actions. The baseline test (based on the NHL Combine test) will be administered monthly to keep record of the athlete’s progress. During the month the athletes will learn and practice specific skills and exercises that will not only help improve their baseline assessment but make them stronger, faster, more agile in preparation for their sport and any sort of “combine” try-outs for leagues, colleges or professional sports they plan to attend. These measurements will reflect our ability to specifically train individual athletes as well as dictate any sort of deficiencies an athlete may have that we need to address.
Vital Behaviors
To make sure that we will meet and exceed the 2-part goal for each student athlete, we must work together as a team and focus on the success of each student athlete. To achieve this, we (instructors, coaches, administrators and board of directors) need to possess positive and encouraging vital behaviors to make HTT the best in the field.
- To ensure that the student feels comfortable in the facility we will create “another home” environment that reflects a positive safe place the student athlete likes to come to. All staff members will learn and know each student athlete by their name and their parents/guardians name(s). This will allow any sort of barrier(s) to be lifted so all parties are on the same page when it comes to the development of the student athlete.
- We will lead by example, be excellent, and encourage the student athletes to do the same. Be on time and prepared for the day’s events. Lack of preparation will result in a hurdle that will hinder the instruction and learning time we have with the students. If you are unprepared, the student athletes won’t be prepared either.
- Because we are a technology rich learning environment that incorporates computers and virtual reality, all members of the staff and administration will be proficient and model the use of technology for learning. If a coach or instructor is away from the facility, there will always be a staff member that can work with the student athletes to perform their daily activities. If there is an error with the machines or equipment, the staff must know the remedy or workarounds to make sure the technology is working in a timely manner.
Organizational Influencers
The Director of HTT is the Captain of the team and the one who will influence the board of directors, staff and students to achieve the desired results and make this academy the best education and athletic preparation source for the student athlete.
Conclusion
As a member of the Hat Trick Training Academy staff, it is your mission, obligation and challenge to care for and see to the success of every student athlete that is enrolled in the program. We are a family of our own that is made up of a combination of students, parents, teachers, coaches and administrators. The success of HTT and its student athletes will be determined on how excellent you are.
“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” – Aristotle
Reflection
When trying to keep an environment of many personal differences and beliefs stable, vital behaviors that could jeopardize the foundation must be addressed immediately. There are many behaviors that could shake a foundation such as: culture beliefs, years of incorrect procedure, subconscious actions and to be bluntly put, ignorance. Any which way the behaviors come about, if they are detrimental to the foundation, they must be addressed. When changing a behavior, attitude is change. Using these 4 key strategies: Notice the obvious, look for crucial moments, learn from positive deviants and Spot culture busters, foundations can be rock sold for a long time.
The first strategy is, Notice the obvious behaviors. These are behaviors that are just that, obvious. Everyone will have to be on board with understanding and recognizing when these come up. One of the scenarios I can think that will come up would be adaptation for the new student athletes and how they will adjust to HTT. Student athletes coming to HTT are already experienced athletes in their respective disciplines. However, they are not accustomed to everyday training and working full time outside of a traditional school environment. While this adjustment to a nontraditional style of education and training can take some time, the staff of HTT will be patient with the student athlete until the structure is fully understood. The staff being proactive with the student athletes will allow this adjustment time to be minimal. The staff recognizing the problem so quickly can set the student athlete back on track without any loss of quality learning time.
Looking for crucial moments during while educating and training can come down to the measurements. Being that at HTT there are measurements done constantly we will be able to notice within a short time from where there maybe a disconnect or connection with the student athlete and the staff. When the athletes take the baseline test the first month and again in the second month, there is a notable difference in their vertical jump and 40-yard shuttle. The student athletes vertical jump is increasing while their 40-yard shuttle run has too increased (they became slower). While it is great that the student athlete is becoming stronger in their vertical jump and legs, we can recognize that there is being a significant loss in time spent working on either runner’s development and/or agility training. We can not sacrifice one for another when it comes to training. All areas most improve to be successful.
Finding the positive deviant can be easily accomplished or difficult to see. These are the people who typically would have a problem or be against the “norm” but have embraced the change and found a way to succeed. In the HTT setting these deviants could be within the student athletes or within the staff. Everyone will be new to the experience at HTT and there should be a whole facility full of positive deviants.
The last of the 4 strategies is spotting the culture busters. This is noticing behaviors that are against the social norm or looked down on from society. Working with kids in both an education and athletic environment goals and standards are set very high. In this type pf environment, there could the possibility of student athletes cheating or altering measurements for the benefit to “look” more advanced. Or staff receiving monetary compensation outside of HTT to help elevate a specific student athlete(s) or give special treatment to. Both of these, and many more, are highly frowned upon within HTT and will not be tolerated. If the issue arises, it will be addressed in a timely manner.
These are just a few examples of finding vital behaviors that could arise at HTT. When noticing these behaviors, it will be imperative that they are addressed immediately or in a timely fashion to continue the growth and success of HTT at its student athletes.
Citations
About Author
