Case Study: This AD Turned Around His Coaching Staff Culture In 90 Days

How an Athletic Director transformed a dysfunctional coaching culture.

This case study follows Athletic Director James Sullivan's journey as he transforms Ridgefield High School's fragmented athletic department into a collaborative community.

Summary

1. The problem: toxic culture he inherited
2. A structured 90-day transformation plan with specific initiatives
3. Real-world examples of how the culture shifted
4. Measurable results and qualitative improvements
5. Key turning point stories that cemented the transformation
6. Systems put in place to sustain the changes
7. Leadership lessons applicable to other educational contexts

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When James Sullivan took over as Athletic Director at Ridgefield High School, he inherited a department in disarray. Coaches worked in silos, communication was fractured, and despite having talented student-athletes, the school's once-proud athletic tradition had faded. Most troubling was the toxic culture that had developed among the coaching staff—marked by blame-shifting, resistance to change, and a concerning lack of collaboration.

"I knew we had the talent—both in our students and our coaches," Sullivan recalls. "What we didn't have was a unified vision or the systems to support it. Everyone was rowing in different directions."

What follows is the remarkable story of how one determined AD transformed a fragmented athletic department into a collaborative powerhouse in just 90 days, laying the foundation for what would become one of the region's most successful high school athletic programs.

Assessing the Landscape

The Inherited Challenge

Ridgefield High School's athletic program had been drifting for years. With 16 varsity sports and 22 coaches, the department operated more like individual fiefdoms than a cohesive program. Sullivan's predecessor had taken a hands-off approach, allowing each coach to operate independently with minimal oversight or support.

The symptoms were evident:

• Resources were unevenly distributed, creating resentment between programs
• Coaches rarely communicated with each other, even when sharing athletes
• Professional development was non-existent
• Success was celebrated individually, while failures prompted finger-pointing
• Five head coaching positions had turned over in the past two years

"In my first week, I had three different coaches come to my office to complain about other coaches," Sullivan explains. "Not one came with ideas for improvement or collaboration. That told me everything about the culture we were dealing with."

The First Team Meeting

Sullivan's first all-staff meeting revealed the depth of the dysfunction. When asked to share successes from the previous season, coaches highlighted only their own accomplishments. When discussing challenges, the blame quickly shifted to inadequate facilities, insufficient budgets, or problematic athletes.

"The energy in the room was defensive and guarded," notes Sullivan. "But what struck me most was that no one seemed to realize that this wasn't normal—that it didn't have to be this way."

Basketball coach Melissa Chen was one of the few who recognized the problem: "We had good people who had been operating in a bad system for so long that they couldn't see another way. Most of us were just trying to protect our own programs because no one else would."

The 90-Day Plan

After two weeks of observation and one-on-one meetings with each coach, Sullivan developed his 90-day transformation plan with three core pillars:

1. Unified Vision and Values
2. Transparent Communication Systems
3. Collaborative Success Metrics

"I didn't have years to gradually shift the culture," Sullivan says. "Our students deserved better immediately. So I designed a plan that would create quick wins while building toward sustainable change."

Days 1-30: Establishing New Foundations

Sullivan began with a bold move: he temporarily suspended all individual program budgets and consolidated resources under a unified athletic department budget.

"It was controversial," he admits. "But I needed to break the mindset of competition for resources and establish that we succeed or fail as one department."

Key initiatives in the first 30 days included:

The Coaches' Council

• Creation of a representative body with coaches from each season and sport type
• Weekly meetings to address department-wide challenges
• Rotational leadership to prevent power concentrations

Department Vision Workshop

• Full-day session with all coaches to collaboratively develop vision and values
• External facilitator to ensure all voices were heard
• Culminated in the "Ridgefield Athletics Compact"—a one-page document outlining shared commitments

The Resource Reset

• Comprehensive inventory of all equipment, facilities, and supplies
• Transparent sharing of all budget information
• Collaborative decision-making process for resource allocation

The early results were mixed. Some coaches, like veteran football coach Marcus Washington, were skeptical: "I thought this was just another administrative exercise that would fade away. We'd seen new initiatives come and go before."

Others, particularly younger coaches and those from historically underfunded programs, embraced the changes. "For the first time, I felt like I had a voice," recalls swim coach David Patel. "Someone was finally acknowledging that we were all part of the same team."

Days 31-60: Building Systems and Breaking Silos

With foundations established, Sullivan turned to creating systems that would institutionalize the new collaborative approach.

The Coaching Exchange Program

• Paired coaches from different sports to observe each other's practices
• Structured feedback protocols to make observations constructive
• Weekly reflection sessions to share insights and best practices

The Unified Calendar System

• Implementation of shared scheduling software accessible to all coaches
• Coordination of strength training and facility usage
• Planning for shared athletes to prevent conflicts and overtraining

Professional Learning Communities

• Formation of cross-sport groups focused on common coaching elements
• Topics included strength and conditioning, mental performance, and leadership development
• Coach-led sessions leveraging internal expertise

By day 45, Sullivan observed the first significant shift in dynamics. During a facilities conflict between the wrestling and basketball programs, the coaches met independently and developed a solution before involving him.

"That was the moment I knew we were making progress," Sullivan says. "They were starting to see themselves as colleagues rather than competitors."

Baseball coach Thomas Rodriguez, initially one of Sullivan's biggest skeptics, had a revelation during a coaching exchange with the volleyball program: "I'd been coaching for 12 years and was stuck in my ways. Watching Coach Kim's approach to teaching defensive positioning completely changed how I thought about skill development. It was humbling but incredibly valuable."

Days 61-90: Creating Accountability and Celebration

In the final 30 days, Sullivan focused on cementing the cultural shifts by implementing accountability measures and celebration systems.

The Coaching Scorecard

• Development of holistic success metrics beyond win-loss records
• Included measures for athlete development, program culture, and collaborative behaviors
• Self-assessment combined with peer and athlete feedback

The Weekly Win Showcase

• Standing item at every staff meeting to highlight cross-program successes
• Recognition for coaches supporting other programs
• Public acknowledgment of collaborative problem-solving

The Resource Council

• Permanent replacement for the suspended budget system
• Coach-led committee to make transparent resource allocation decisions
• Long-term planning for equitable program development

As the 90-day mark approached, the transformation became increasingly evident. Coaches who had previously never spoken were now regularly consulting each other. Practice schedules were coordinated to allow for shared strength training sessions. Equipment was being shared across programs.

Most importantly, the tone of conversation had shifted dramatically.

"The complaining didn't stop entirely—coaches will always have concerns," Sullivan notes with a smile. "But the nature of the conversations changed from 'why can't I have what I need?' to 'how can we make sure all our programs have what they need?'"

Measuring the Impact

Immediate Results

The 90-day transformation yielded measurable results across multiple dimensions:

Staff Retention and Satisfaction

• Zero coaching resignations in the following season (compared to 5 in the previous year)
• 87% of coaches reported higher job satisfaction on anonymous surveys
• Applications for assistant coaching positions doubled

Resource Efficiency

• 22% reduction in redundant equipment purchases
• More efficient facility utilization increased available practice time by 15%
• Shared professional development reduced training costs by 35%

Program Coordination

• Injury rates for multi-sport athletes decreased by 18%
• Unified strength and conditioning program implemented across all sports
• Consistent messaging about academic priorities led to improved student-athlete GPAs

Athletic Performance

• Fall sports season showed modest 5% improvement in overall win percentage
• Winter sports demonstrated 12% improvement in performance metrics
• Spring sports would later record the school's best overall season in a decade

But the most significant changes were qualitative rather than quantitative.

"The energy in the athletic wing completely transformed," observes Principal Helen Martinez. "You could feel the difference just walking through the hall. Coaches were in each other's offices, athletes were getting more consistent guidance, and there was a palpable sense of pride in the entire athletic program, not just individual teams."

The Cultural Indicators

By the end of the 90 days, several key cultural shifts had taken root:

1. From Scarcity to Abundance ThinkingWhen the girls' soccer team unexpectedly advanced to the state semifinals, coaches from other programs voluntarily adjusted practice schedules to accommodate their extended season.
2. From Isolation to CollaborationThe track and basketball coaches jointly developed a speed and agility program that benefited both sports and later expanded to include football and soccer.
3. From Blame to SolutionsWhen the gymnasium roof leaked during a heavy storm, coaches collaborated on alternative practice plans rather than competing for the remaining usable space.
4. From Competition to CelebrationThe wrestling team's state championship was celebrated department-wide, with coaches from all sports attending the final match in a show of unified support.

Track coach Lisa Montgomery, a 15-year veteran at Ridgefield, summarizes the transformation: "I used to view other coaches as competitors for limited resources. Now I see them as my greatest professional resource. We're solving problems together that we couldn't solve alone."

The Turning Point Stories

The Budget Transparency Moment

Perhaps the most dramatic moment in the transformation came during the Resource Council's first budget allocation meeting. For the first time, all program budgets were displayed on a single spreadsheet, revealing stark inequities that had developed over years.

"You could have heard a pin drop," remembers Sullivan. "Some coaches were seeing for the first time how dramatically underfunded their colleagues had been."

What could have devolved into finger-pointing instead became a watershed moment of empathy. Veteran football coach Washington, whose program had historically received the largest budget, stood up and volunteered to defer planned equipment purchases.

"If we're really one department, then we need to fix this," Washington said. "My players can make do with last year's tackling dummies for another season so that every program can have the basics they need."

This single act of leadership from a respected veteran coach shifted the entire conversation from "my program" to "our department."

The Cross-Sport Solution

Another pivotal moment occurred when the volleyball and basketball coaches collaborated to solve a shared challenge with athlete vertical jump development.

Both coaches had been working independently on similar training protocols with limited success. After discovering their shared challenge through a coaching exchange, they combined resources to bring in a specialized consultant neither could have afforded individually.

The resulting training program improved performance metrics for both teams and was subsequently adopted by six other sports in the department.

"That was when coaches started actively looking for collaboration opportunities," Sullivan notes. "They realized that by pooling resources and knowledge, they could provide better experiences for all athletes."

The Shared Crisis

The culture truly solidified when faced with an unexpected challenge. When severe weather damaged the track and made it unusable for the upcoming season, the old culture would have left the track program to fend for itself.

Instead, coaches from across the department mobilized:

• The baseball coach offered practice time on the outfield
• The football coach shared the field and adjusted spring training schedules
• The swimming coach provided pool time for alternative conditioning
• Three coaches volunteered to help supervise split-squad practices at various locations

"No one had to be asked," recalls track coach Montgomery. "The supports just materialized because everyone now understood that a challenge for one program was a challenge for all of us."

Sustaining the Transformation

As the 90-day mark passed, Sullivan's focus shifted to institutionalizing the changes to ensure they would survive beyond any single administrator or coach.

Systems Over Personalities

Sullivan was careful to create structures that didn't rely on his personal leadership or relationships:

Policy Documentation

• Formalized the collaborative processes into the athletic handbook
• Created standard operating procedures for resource allocation
• Established regular review cycles for all policies

Leadership Distribution

• Rotated leadership of the Coaches' Council quarterly
• Created assistant coach development pathways
• Empowered program leaders to make collaborative decisions

Continuous Feedback Loops

• Implemented regular culture surveys for coaches and athletes
• Established open-door policy with anonymous feedback options
• Created annual department review process with stakeholder input

The One-Year Mark

A year after Sullivan's arrival, Ridgefield's athletic department had transformed from a collection of isolated programs to an integrated department with a unified identity.

The results spoke for themselves:

• Overall athletic performance improved by 23% across all sports
• Coach retention reached 100% for the first time in school history
• Student participation in athletics increased by 14%
• The department came in under budget while providing more resources to all programs
• Six coaches were recognized with district or state coaching awards

Most significantly, the culture had fundamentally shifted. In an anonymous survey, 94% of coaches agreed with the statement: "I feel supported by my colleagues and view myself as part of a unified athletic department rather than just my individual program."

The Leadership Lessons

Sullivan's 90-day transformation of Ridgefield's athletic department offers valuable insights for any educational leader facing entrenched cultural challenges:

1. Start with Systems, Not Symptoms Sullivan recognized that toxic behaviors were the result of broken systems, not bad people. By focusing on restructuring those systems rather than blaming individuals, he created space for positive change.
2. Create Radical Transparency By removing information asymmetries around resources and decision-making, Sullivan eliminated the foundation of mistrust that had plagued the department.
3. Build Cross-Functional Connections The coaching exchange program created organic relationships that no amount of team-building exercises could have accomplished.
4. Balance Quick Wins with Long-Term Structure Sullivan strategically engineered early successes while simultaneously building sustainable systems.
5. Shift from Enforcement to Empowerment Rather than policing behavior, Sullivan created conditions where collaboration became the most advantageous approach for everyone.

Perhaps most importantly, Sullivan recognized that cultural transformation requires both systematic pressure and authentic inspiration. As he explains it: "Culture doesn't change because you announce it should. It changes when people experience a better way of working together and can't imagine going back."

Today, Ridgefield's athletic department stands as a model for collaborative educational leadership. Sullivan's approach demonstrates that even the most entrenched cultural challenges can be overcome with the right combination of strategic vision, systems thinking, and a fundamental belief in people's capacity to change.

"The coaches were always capable of this kind of collaboration," Sullivan reflects. "They just needed the systems and the permission to make it happen. My job wasn't to create something new—it was to remove the barriers that were preventing something great from emerging naturally."

For athletic directors and educational leaders everywhere, the Ridgefield story offers both inspiration and a practical roadmap for transforming toxic cultures into collaborative communities—not over years, but in as little as 90 days.

About myPerforma: myPerforma is a comprehensive athlete performance management platform designed to enhance communication between coaches and athletes through structured feedback mechanisms, performance tracking, and two-way communication channels. Learn more at myperforma.com.

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