LAMS Athletic Coordinator Daren Jones
LAPS News:
Los Alamos Middle School Athletic Coordinator Daren Jones has been recognized by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) as a Certified Master Athletic Administrator.
To earn this distinction, Jones has demonstrated exemplary knowledge, contributions and on-going professional development in the field of interscholastic athletic administration. The voluntary certification process includes a thorough evaluation of the candidate’s educational background, experience, NIAAA Leadership Courses and professional contributions.
“Before she left Los Alamos High School, former athletic director Vicki Nelms encouraged me to pursue this certification,” Jones said. “I put it on the back burner for a couple of years, but realized it would be something to help make me a better AD and improve our athletic programs at LAMS.”
The process included an application, which details 12 required leadership training courses, continuing education in Athletic Administration, coaching, teaching and athletic administration experience, leadership positions held, and a project, Jones said.
“Developing and implementing a student and parent handbook for LAMS athletics was my project,” he said.
The process also included an oral presentation to a certification committee.
Jones is one of a very elite group of interscholastic athletic administrators nationwide to attain this level of professionalism.
“Hopefully, this certification means continued improvement of our sports programs at LAMS,” he said. “Collectively, we are always looking for ways to improve what we do and what we provide for kids.”
Jones has been at LAMS for 28 years.
“We congratulate Daren on this excellent accomplishment,” said Principal Suzanne Lynne, in a message to all staff. “I know it took hard work and dedication to his practice to achieve this goal. Way to go!”
Jones said, “With this designation, I hope that I can put into place some of the things that I have learned through various classes and mentor input. I want our sports programs at LAMS to continually strive to be the best that they can be.”
About the NIAAA:
The NIAAA is a national professional organization consisting of all 50 state athletic administrator associations and more than 12,000 individual members. It is dedicated to promoting the professional growth of high school athletic administrators and preserving the educational nature of interscholastic athletics and the place of these programs in the secondary school curriculum.
