The first high school football games won’t kick for another four weeks in most parts of the country, but for athletic directors around the country, the work to produce a successful fall sports season is already well underway.

There’s no shortage of tasks that athletic directors need to check off before the first day of classes.

Rich Hansen Jr., assistant athletic director at St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, N.J.), walked us through the numerous tasks that athletic directors need to accomplish heading into the fall.

“At the end of the school year, you’re doing uniform and equipment orders for the fall season and summer scheduling for facility use with coaches,” Hansen said. “Once the summer hits, the focus is all on the fall season.”

SEE ALSO: Athletic directors and coaches need to work together to allow athletes to play multiple sports

Here are the items on Hansen’s checklist:

• Schedules. Try out schedules, updating the website with current schedule information; confirm in-season game schedules with opponents
• Officials. Confirm assignment of officials for home games.
• Facilities. Confirm facility use schedule (since the school uses a shared facility for several sports)
• New coach onboarding. Provide new coaches a packet with finger printing information, AED/CPR training information, concussion recognition and heat acclimatization certification information.
• Annual AED maintenance and servicing. Making sure all AEDs on campus are in good working shape.
• Additional ordering. Place orders for anything not arranged at the end of the spring semester. Examples include Gatorade powder, footballs and additional uniform pieces.
• Schedule meeting with coaches. Discuss requirements and how to handle various issues such as what to do when an event is canceled, how to book transportation and when rosters are due. Discuss anything that bridges the coaching staff and the athletic department.
• Ensure parent meetings take place. Whether done as entire fall season or individually by sport, ensure that parent meetings take place. At these meetings, coaches should communicate all policies to parents, hitting on topics such as academics, eligibility, behavior and travel.
• Put fundraising plan in place. Work with booster clubs to establish a fundraising initiative for the year. For home events, ensure booster club staffing of concession stands.
• Review high school state governing body policies. Stay current with all state-mandated tasks, programs, certifications and procedures.
• Review Emergency Action Plan. Work with trainers to ensure the plan is current and easy to communicate.
• Review safety equipment and medical information. Work with trainers to ensure equipment such as ice machines and stim machines are properly functioning. Have trainers work with nurses to collect all athlete physicals.
• Review social media policy. Discuss ways the athletic department and individual teams will maintain a presence on social media.
• Clean and organize. Clean up the athletic office and make sure all files and documents are properly organized.

Learn how to obtain an AED from Physio-Control here