ST. GEORGE — Hurricane High School Athletic Director Marcus Matua is an educator who is continuing to learn.
He recently earned the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s Certified Athletic Administrator distinction — something he said is a vital part of modern-day athletics administration.
“Things are always changing,” Matua said. “It’s imperative to continue to learn and go to training, workshops and conferences to know what to expect and learn new ways to approach changes that arise.”
To achieve the CAA certification, Matua completed an evaluation process that included a written examination and five leadership training courses, each lasting three hours.
The first three courses covered during the evaluation process were the philosophy of educational athletics and potential problems and practical solutions related to scheduling, contest management, personnel management, financial responsibilities, facilities, special events, public relations, awards, fundraising, booster clubs and sportsmanship, Matua told St. George News.
The final two courses covered legal issues.
“I learned about the in-depth legal standards regarding liability for sports injuries and how to develop an effective risk management program,” Matua said. This also covered Title IX compliance, gender equity assurance, sexual harassment and sexual violence, he said.
This certification is not a requirement or prerequisite for his job but adding more education to his current position is important to Matua, he said.
But the main reason he pursued further education was inspiration from an old colleague, Michael Winslow, the former athletic director at Crimson Cliffs High School. Matua said he was the first athletic director in the district to be a CAA.
“After much thought about it and wanting to be better as an AD, I decided to complete my certification, too,” Matua said. “It is beneficial to me, especially if I’m going to continue to work as the athletic director at Hurricane High School. I need to continue to learn and improve.”
As AD, Matua oversees 22 sports. He already holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Southern Utah University and serves as one of two assistant principals at Hurricane High School. His coaching experience includes three years as head football coach at Snow Canyon High School and assistant coaching roles in girls basketball, football and rugby.
“These experiences and education opportunities provided me with a lot of experience in working with people, community members and being able to network and build connections with many,” Matua said.
In the day-to-day, Matua said being a certified CAA will motivate him even more.
“The more education and knowledge, the more responsibility and accountability,” he said.
He plans to apply this through various initiatives, including individual meetings with coaches, training student leadership and team development.
“For our programs to be successful, I need to lead out and have a culture where the connection piece and communication piece are aligned with one another,” Matua said.
Matua cited a few issues contemporary athletic directors must grapple with as reasons for why it is important to continuously learn, such as transgender participation in sports and name, image and likeness issues for high school athletes.
Matua said he uses specific strategies he’s developed over the years to manage the stressors of his job.
“Breathing exercises, patience, doing my best to build connections and rapport, etc help,” Matua said. “One meeting at a time.”
Matua believes other athletic directors should have their CAA certification, too, describing the courses as informative and valuable for gaining new perspectives and strategies.
“It was a great opportunity to learn from other CAAs and their experiences,” Matua said.
The NIAAA, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is an organization that provides professional development for athletic administrators and is said to enhance the profession of athletic administration.
“Marcus Matua has demonstrated the highest level of knowledge and expertise in the field of interscholastic athletic administration,” wrote Justin Chapman, communications manager for NIAAA, in a press release.
For more information, visit the NIAAA website.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.
Bridger Palmer was born in St. George, Utah, before being raised in the Inland Empire in Southern California. He was inspired to pursue journalism because he was an avid reader of Bill Simmons’ sports and popular culture blog, Grantland. Palmer wrote a screenplay in 2020 and launched his own website, newgrantland.com, shortly thereafter. He worked his way from proofreader to editorial assistant at a weekly newspaper in Redlands, California. He returned to Southern Utah in late 2023.
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