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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 11, 2002
Contact: John Johnson or Randy Allen
517.332.5046 or www.mhsaa.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. - July 11 - One of the major roles of the Michigan High School Athletic Association is to service its member schools by providing educational programs. For the upcoming school year, two long-running programs for coaches and administrators and an orientation session for first-time coaches are again being offered.

The New Coach Orientation Program was launched in 2001 to give first year coaches of both junior high/middle school and senior high school interscholastic sports teams background information about coaching in the educational athletic ranks.

The second annual one-day seminar will take place at DeWitt High School on July 31, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., and topics to be covered include MHSAA regulations, risk minimization, coaching psychology, practice planning and structure, sexual harassment, chemical health, conditioning and sports injuries, and sportsmanship. The cost of the program is $20, and includes lunch and materials.

"The first conference a year ago attracted about 60 people, but it was a program worthy of a crowd of 600," said Bill Bupp, assistant director of the MHSAA. "This conference was developed because so many coaches come into the school sports world without knowledge about what educational athletics entail. This program will provide the basic orientation for coaches that will encourage them to become better teachers, and to become better informed about member school and MHSAA policies. This could be considered a prelude to our Program of Athletic Coaches Education, which we would also encourage attendees at the New Coach Orientation to participate in when it is offered in their area."

The Program of Athletic Coaches Education, or PACE, is one of the most popular educational services offered by the MHSAA, which is co-sponsored with the Youth Sports Institute at Michigan State University and the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.

The 2002-03 schedule includes nine single-day Level I and eight single-day Level II programs; and four two-day Level I and Level II programs. The two-day programs meet on a Monday-Wednesday within in the same week. The single-day programs are generally conducted on Saturdays. Programs are scheduled so that Level I and II program participation may take place in consecutive weeks. Last year, 500 coaches attended the program.

Among the PACE venues are workshops scheduled at major meetings of statewide coaches and athletic administrator associations. During 2002-03, PACE Level I and II programming will again be offered at the fall meeting of the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, the winter meeting of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, and in conjunction with the MHSAA's Women In Sports Leadership Conference.

"Each year, we receive excellent cooperation from allied groups which integrate PACE workshops into their major annual meeting programs," said Bupp, who coordinates PACE from the Association office. "PACE continues to be one of the most popular services the MHSAA offers to the coaching community."

Bupp adds that PACE continues its popularity because it teaches the game outside the lines -- teaching much more than game strategies. "We see whole coaching staffs, sometimes veteran coaching staffs, enrolling in the program because the coaching environment has changed so much in recent years. Many schools are requiring attendance at PACE as a condition of employment for its new coaches, be they faculty or non-faculty. More colleges and universities now include enrollment in PACE as part of their undergraduate coaching curriculums."

PACE provides training in legal responsibilities, prevention and care of sports injuries, physical conditioning, planning and evaluating instruction, motivation of student-athletes, positive coaching and MHSAA regulations.

Registration for PACE is $60 per individual for each of the Level I and Level II seminars.
The following is a list of the dates and sites of the 2002-03 PACE Workshops Programs:

LEVEL I - 8:30 a.m-4 p.m. (unless otherwise noted)
Aug. 3 - Gladwin High School
Aug. 5, 7 - Saginaw Heritage High School - (6 - 9:30 p.m.)
Aug. 10 - Troy High School
Aug. 19, 21 - Allen Park High School (6 - 9:30 p.m.)
Aug. 24 - Grosse Pointe North High School
Aug. 24 - Caledonia High School
Sept. 18 - Farmington Training Center
Oct. 4 - Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Clinic, Holiday Inn South, LansingNov. 4, 6 - Allen Park High School (6 - 9:30 p.m.)
Feb. 1 - MHSAA Women In Sports Leadership Conference, DeWitt High School
Feb. 3, 5 - Flint, Genesee County ISD Building - (6 p.m. -9:30 p.m.)
March 15 - MIAAA Conference, Grand Traverse Resort, Traverse City
April 4 - Marquette High School

LEVEL II -- 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (unless otherwise noted)
Aug. 10 - Gladwin High School
Aug. 12, 14 - Saginaw Heritage High School - (6 - 9:30 p.m.)
Aug. 17 - Troy High School
Aug. 26, 28 - Allen Park High School (6 - 9:30 p.m.)
Aug. 31 - Grosse Pointe North High School
Sept. 25 - Farmington Training Center
Oct. 4 - Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Clinic, Holiday Inn South, Lansing
Nov. 11, 13 - Allen Park High School (6 - 9:30 p.m.)
Feb. 1 - MHSAA Women In Sports Leadership Conference, DeWitt High School
Feb. 10, 12 - Flint, Genesee County ISD Building - (6 p.m. -9:30 p.m.)
March 15 - MIAAA, Grand Traverse Resort, Traverse City
April 5 - Sault Ste. Marie High School

This August will also mark the 16th year for the annual series of regional in-service workshop for school athletic directors.

The series of ten workshops begins August 2, and one session is intended specifically for first-time athletic directors and their administrative assistants. The workshops will be conducted in various parts of the state. These seminars will focus on the history, rationale and application of essential rules for educational athletics. A special session for new athletic directors at the MHSAA office on August 20 will cover many of the basic responsibilities of a school athletic director, from working with game contracts, facility scheduling, and budgets; to hiring game officials and on-going relations with the public and the media. Assistant athletic directors, athletic department administrative assistants secretaries and booster club officers are also encouraged to attend at all sites.

Each program will include presentations on recent actions by the MHSAA Representative Council, Association regulations, round-table discussions and the presentation by a local athletic administrator.

The programs begin at each site at 8:30 a.m., and are scheduled to conclude at 3 p.m.. Each year, approximately one quarter to one-third of the MHSAA's member high schools are represented at these workshops.

Advance registration is $20.00, walk-up registration is $30.00, and the cost includes lunch and an in-service manual. The following is a list of the dates and sites of the 2002 MHSAA Athletic Director In-Service Programs:

Aug. 2 - East Lansing, MHSAA Office
Aug. 6 - Escanaba, Pioneer Motor Inn
Aug. 7 - Gaylord, Otsego Inn
Aug. 8 - Frankenmuth, Zehnder's Restaurant
Aug. 13 - Troy, Marriott Hotel
Aug. 15 - Kalamazoo, Pine West
Aug. 16 - Grand Rapids, Hilton Grand Rapids Airport (28th Street)
Aug. 20 - East Lansing, MHSAA Office -- NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTORS
Aug. 22 - Ann Arbor, Weber's Inn
Aug. 23 - Cadillac, McGuire's Resort

Parties interested in additional information for the New Coach Orientation, PACE and Athletic Director In-Service programs may contact Bupp at the MHSAA office, 1661 Ramblewood Drive, East Lansing, MI 48823. Telephone: 517/332-5046. E-Mail: [email protected]. (NOTE - Media attendance at all of these programs is welcomed, and registration is complimentary - Contact John Johnson or Randy Allen at the MHSAA if you wish to send someone to one of these programs.)

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,300 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.