Another summer has come and passed. August and September are always exciting and demanding months with the return of students, welcome weeks, events, and trainings. I always look forward to fall staff training because it is our greatest opportunity to build skills, cultivate leaders, and strengthen culture. The problem with growth and opportunity is they usually come at the cost of stress. Even when I’ve felt great about preparation for the new school year, something usually happens that throws a kink in the plans.
We have often been taught to think of stress as a problem, but it doesn’t always have to be negative. When plants are stressed by their climate they become more resilient and better able to survive future strain. I did some of my best writing for school late at night the day before a paper was due; some may call that procrastination, but the stress of the deadline made me focused and motivated to successfully complete the task. Moderate stress can even improve learning and memory. August and September help us grow, make our programs stronger, and are a great time of development for our students.
September prepares our students for the NIRSA Championship Series events throughout the year. Soccer, tennis, and basketball clubs will start having tryouts, practices, and games. Students will build friendships, pursue their passions, improve athletic skills, exercise leadership, and represent their institutions. Intramural teams will begin the pursuit of the coveted championship t-shirt, and some will adventure off campus to one of twelve regional flag football tournaments to build memories that will last them a lifetime. Rookie officials will begin to progress and realize the poise and confidence that lies within them. Veteran officials will learn the joy of mentoring and creating a legacy. Officials, graduate assistants, and professional staff will make lengthy drives to work long days at tournaments so they can learn from gurus, build community, improve their craft, and return with knowledge to their programs. September is where we become who we are for the year.
The NIRSA Championship Series work teams are diving into their action plans for the year—and they will go by so fast. They have been collaborating on the creation of webinars for hosts and officials, guidelines for official’s selection for tournaments, and a standard official’s application. Deadlines are quickly approaching for regional flag football directors (August 31), regional flag football staff (September 6), national soccer staff (September 6), and regional soccer staff (September 16).
This year, the regional flag football directors’ application includes both the Director of Officials and the Director of All-Tournament. Our vision is that we will invite a mix of novice and experienced applicants to serve at events. But, like Wayne Gretzky said, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” We hope that you will consider applying to volunteer at a NIRSA Championship Series event this year. I know that taking that step changed my life for the better both professionally and personally. Ten years has gone by so fast. Wake me up when September ends because the NIRSA Championship Series Tournament season starts in October.
Brooke Turner, Chair of the NIRSA Championship Series, is currently the Assistant Director of Competitive Sports at The University of Alabama.
