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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
After four national championships and 19 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championships, Metro's athletic director Joan McDermott was named AstroTurf Athletic Director of the Year for Division II's West Region on June 9.
McDermott, who has spent 10 years as AD for Metro sports, was taken by surprise by the announcement.
"I felt shock and honor, but very honored," McDermott said. "I was surprised and had no idea, and I was very flattered."
McDermott is usually on the giving end of awards or at least standing next to the athlete when the award picture is being taken. But this time, the heralded AD was receiving the hardware and, to say the least, she was in awe of the situation.
"It was different," McDermott said. "I got to sit at the head table and to my left was the AD of Missouri which was pretty cool. I thought 'wow, this is really special.'"
She is one of 29 winners who were selected by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) to receive the award. They were chosen from four regions and seven categories such as the Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I, Division II, Junior/Community Colleges, the NAIA and the Football Championship Subdivision.
McDermott has vaulted Metro sports to a respectable program with two national championships in men's basketball (2000 and 2002) and two in women's soccer (2004 and 2006). But Metro's AD knows she couldn't have reached those heights without those around her.
"It is from having great support and a great staff all the way down to the coaching staff," McDermott said. "It is their hard work and tireless efforts that has put Metro sports on the map."
Metro head volleyball coach Debbie Hendricks praises McDermott for her efforts and believes she was long overdue for the award. Hendricks has worked under McDermott for eight years at Metro and says that McDermott's success comes from being in the trenches as a player and coach. McDermott was the head volleyball coach at Metro for five years before becoming athletic director in 1998.
"A consistent trend in our relationship is mutual respect," Hendricks said. "If I truly need something to be successful, she has never turned me down. Having been a coach herself, she understands what I am going through and the demands of the job."
McDermott agrees that sitting in the coach's shoes has given her the tools to strive to make all 17 of Metro's sports programs into competitive forces.
"Coaching helped me understand coaches, the pressures of the job, pressures of the student athletes and the struggles of juggling, traveling and school work. If you go to bigger schools, the trend is that athletic directors have never coached before and go into the job as a business. I think my time as an athlete and coach have made me better."
After a decade of success, the mentality of McDermott is a simple one. Instead of directing the focus on championships or NCAA Tournament bids, she makes sure all the focus is on the athletes rather than on accolades.
"It's all about the student athlete experience," McDermott said. "We want to give the students a great experience with graduating, becoming a better player on their respective team and being involved in their community. That is my basic philosophy."
With great accomplishments come better opportunities and McDermott could climb the NCAA ladder trying her hand at Division I. But she isn't ready to let go of the great program she has built in the past decade, and she doesn't plan to go anywhere anytime soon.
"I really love Metro State and truly believe in it," McDermott said. "It is a great place, and I love Division II. It has good balance. Athletes are competitive, and they do other things like participate in community service and learn to be their own people."
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