Ten Ohio interscholastic athletic administrators recently passed the national exam for the Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA) designation from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). The exam was taken as part of the recently completed Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (OIAAA) Annual Summer Institute, held in Columbus from June 11-13, 2019.
The CAA designation recognizes and incorporates the professional development opportunities provided through the NIAAA’s Leadership Training Institute. Courses within the Leadership Training Institute have been reviewed and certified by AdvancED, which oversees such accreditation organizations as North Central Accreditation and similar education certification providers. AdvancEd has validated that the NIAAA courses and certification process demonstrates the ability to meet and exceed national and international standards of excellence. Accreditation is an affirmation of and gives credibility to all programs administered by the association.
Jon Payne (Reading HS), the OIAAA’s state Certification Chair, commented, “The completion of the CAA process by these athletic directors is a reflection of each recipient’s high professional standards and their commitment to the profession. Ultimately, it is a strong indicator of the type of dedication each recipient has to assure their respective school district and students that education-based athletics is the focus of their efforts.”
OIAAA Executive Director, Bruce Brown added, “There has been a significant increase in the number of Ohio athletic administrators who have sought this advanced designation over the past four years. As such, we continue to seek opportunities to support this professional development by offering more course training sessions and outreach sites to our membership. We are excited about this current generation of Ohio athletic directors who are certainly some of the best and brightest in the country.”
The ten Ohio athletic administrators who recently passed their CAA exam were:
Kyle Baughn Galion High School
Brian Conatser Loveland High School
Margarita Covin Nordonia Middle School
Eric Fry Loveland High School
John Justice Brunswick High School
Justine Kozlevcar Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
Andy Oudomlith Painesville Harvey High School
Don Shimek Norton High School
Eric Sholtis Sarahsville Shenandoah High School
Chad Spradlin Circleville High School
This recent group of CAA recipients increases the list of Ohio CAA designees to nearly 300. For a complete list of Ohio CAA designees, go to http://www.oiaaa.org/ohio-cmaas-and-caas/#caa