Saydel High School's Dale Otte

Undergraduate: University of Northern Iowa
Graduate: Viterbo University
High School Sports Played: Basketball & Soccer
College Sports Played: Club Soccer

Was it your goal to always be an athletic director? If not, how did you end up here?
Yes - since I decided to go in to education, I always wanted to be a part of school activities

What are some of the challenges of leading an athletic department?
Time Management: you never have enough time and people always want more of it. Between preparing for and attending events you’ve always got little tasks that pop up as well. In addition it is hard to balance time between work and family, thankfully I have an understanding and supportive wife who understands, as she is a coach herself.
Communication: how to get your message/goals across to others, working out schedules and conflicts, making sure staff/students have the information they need and I have information from them so we can be as prepared and successful as possible.
Increasing student participation: Its’ well known that involvement in extracurricular activities improves academic success in most students, yet there are students who have the abilities walking the halls who are not doing anything. Not just athletics, but the fine arts and clubs as well. Understanding why kids don’t go out or end up quitting can be a difficult and frustrating thing.

What is your favorite sports moment …so far, in leading your athletic department?
I just started in July and certainly can’t take any credit for it at all, but it was great to be around for our Baseball and Softball team’s participation in the State Tournaments. It was the first time our girls had gone to any sport’s state tournament and we ended up in 4th place. Then our baseball team competed for the second straight year in the state tournament, so our summer was full of excitement and I was glad to be along for the ride.

Quick Hits:
Favorite local restaurant: HuHot Mongolian Grille
Favorite college sports team: UNI
Best advice you can give a graduating senior in high school: From a plaque I have in my office: “Dare to be yourself, especially in the face of adversity. Choose right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over popularity…these are the choices that measure your life. Travel the path of integrity without looking back, for there is never a wrong time to do the right thing.”