Task Force Building Multi-Sport Message
November 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Walled Lake Western’s Cody White draws his perspective on high school sports from a background that, while perhaps not unique, has to be close.
The Warriors senior is one of the top college football prospects in Michigan, a Big Ten-caliber player who has committed to continue his career at Michigan State University after he graduates in the spring.
Our state has a handful of athletes like that every year, of course. But White also is the son of former NFL player and Detroit Lions executive Sheldon White – and has followed his father’s Dayton, Ohio, footsteps in playing three sports during his high school career.
White plays football, basketball during the winter and baseball in the spring, in addition to travel basketball and baseball during the summer. He has played these same sports throughout high school. His freshman year he also competed in track & field, along with baseball. As of May – when White and his multi-sport experience were featured on Second Half – he hadn’t ruled out returning to track & field, in addition to baseball, as a senior.
“I couldn’t see myself not competing in those sports,” White said at the time. “I love them so much. I want to finish my senior year playing all three.”
It’s White’s experience, and the benefits enjoyed by so many who have shunned the recent trend toward specialization, that is driving the MHSAA’s Multi-Sport Task Force as it aims to promote the value of a varied sports experience through high school, even for athletes considered “elite” in a sport they’ll go on to play at higher levels.
The Multi-Sport Task Force met for the third time Oct. 27 and includes coaches, administrators and teachers with diverse experiences in athletics at schools large and small; urban, suburban and rural and in both the interscholastic and club settings.
The idea of moving away from specialization and back toward playing multiple sports has gained steam in recent years with pronouncements of how doing so paid off for nationally-recognized stars like professional golfer Jordan Spieth, baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz and a number of members of the U.S. women’s soccer national team who played multiple sports through high school.
The MHSAA’s task force is working to develop that message, package it in the most digestible formats, and deliver it to the key decision-makers to benefit athletes at the age where the message can have the heaviest impact on their sports careers and growth into physically fit adults.
“This is a fundamental topic in school sports,” MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts told the task force during its most recent meeting. “This is something we’ll be talking about five and 10 years from now.”
The task force is charged with a series of goals that will be discussed below and are still in development. But there’s no doubt coaches will play a significant part in promoting and carrying out this important mission.
“Growing up was a little different (for me) than the usual kid. Going to Lions games and just being around football all the time. I think I love the game more because I was around it so much. But I think playing three sports helped me, too. The twisting of your hips in baseball, when you swing the bat, you’re using different muscles. And all the jumping you do in basketball. You have to move in tight spaces. With football, you’re with the football guys. By doing all three you meet different people.” – Cody White, “Western’s White Enjoys ‘Special’ Career” – May 4, 2016
What we’ve learned
The task force’s first meeting in April included discussions with Dr. Tony Moreno of Eastern Michigan University, a frequent Coaches Advancement Program instructor, and Dr. Brooke Lemmon of the MSU Sports Medicine Clinic. Among points from their focus on medical issues that result from specialization:
• Specialization has chronic, long-term affects; young people who do not learn physical literacy – how to solve movement problems – are less likely to be physically active and, hence, less likely to be physically fit. This is becoming an expensive health issue for society.
• The loss of physical education from schools is the root of these problems and has led to the creation of “privatized PE” for those who can afford a club sports experience. Physical education in schools, done correctly, can create a relatively noncompetitive environment that increases student interest in becoming physically active.
• More time spent in one activity will lead to more injuries, especially of the chronic nature. The number of hours per week a child spends on one sport activity shouldn’t exceed that child’s age (8 hours per week for an 8-year-old, for example).
Dr. Dan Gould, the director of the MSU Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, talked to the task force during its second meeting about how children perceive sports – and the need to adjust parents’ expectations for their kids’ success. He explained how kids can lose their identity focusing on just one sport, and also the importance of free play – the games kids make up themselves while playing in a structure-free environment.
Bob Mancini of USA Hockey visited with the task force most recently, explaining how his was the first governing body to tell athletes it wanted them to play their sport – but in order to do so well, play other sports also. USA Hockey’s American Development Model was launched in 2009 to in part promote multi-sport participation – and is growing hockey in the process, with increased participation seen at youth levels over the last three years.
“It’s just really fun to do different things. We don’t have a lot of the numbers, but we have the people who are willing to put in the hard work, even if it’s not their best sport. Each season is only three to four months at the most. So it keeps things exciting.”— 2016 Bronson graduate Kelsey Robinson, a defensive specialist in volleyball, former cross country runner, guard in basketball and a third baseman and centerfielder in softball, “Multi-Sport Experience ‘Special’ for Bronson” – February 2, 2016
Questions & Answers
The task force will meet again Feb. 8, and in the meantime there are a number of questions – and answers – to be considered.
The group has pinpointed a series of goals:
1. Partner with groups promoting diverse physical activity.
2. Encourage those promoting more and better physical education.
3. Prepare tools for administrators for use in interviewing prospective coaches, conducting meetings with their coaching staffs and encouraging them to “walk the talk” of balanced participation.
4. Assist in the explanation of the multi-sport experience to parents through a variety of media, including a guidebook and video explaining its benefits.
Carrying out these aspirations comes with plenty to discuss.
Who most needs to hear the message of multi-sport participation? It’s most likely junior high and middle school parents, or even those of elementary students just starting to experience organized athletics.
What do these parents and children most need to know? Parents are stakeholders in their children’s athletic ventures. The challenge is convincing them our way is best for their kids’ futures, from a health and development standpoint.
Who should deliver this message? Celebrities obviously carry clout when they talk about how their multi-sport experiences led them to become successful adults. But there also could be a strong emotional tug from current student-athletes who tell their stories.
How can coaches and athletic directors help spread the word? The MHSAA, with input from the task force, will develop tools to help. But the options are many: could it come in video form, eye-catching graphics for use at coaches meetings, or live interaction at regional summits?
We are looking for ideas, both for getting out the message and incentivizing taking part in the multi-sport experience. Schools already are doing great things to promote multi-sport participation, and we’d love to hear about what's working.
To that vein, we’ll close with a final success story from this fall about a team that benefited from a lineup of multi-sport athletes:
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett on Oct. 15 ended an eight-year championship run by Ann Arbor Greenhills at Lower Peninsula Division 4 Boys Tennis Finals. Knights coach Matt Sobieralski relied on a roster filled with multi-sport athletes, including No. 1 singles player T.J. Dulac, who also ran cross country this fall.
Only one player on the Liggett roster plays only tennis, and Sobieralski says his players’ multi-sport participation served them well.
“It makes you tough, mentally tough and strong. And they’re competitive. That’s important. I think tennis, a lot of times, is 80 percent mental and 20 percent ability. You win a lot of matches with guts and just hanging in there. I always say a good player can win even when they’re not playing their best, because they’ll try something different and they keep fighting. That’s the team I’ve got. I’m really proud of their fight.” – Matt Sobieralski, “Liggett Ends Greenhills’ 8-Year Reign” – October 16, 2016
PHOTOS: (Top) Walled Lake Western's Cody White runs ahead of a group of Lowell defenders during last season's Division 2 Semifinals. (Middle) Bronson (right) goes for a kill during last season's Class C Semifinal against Traverse City St. Francis. (Top photo courtesy of Walled Lake Western athletic department.)
Hice, Mazzolini Named Forsythe Winners
March 14, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Gary Hice's first job in education was as a study hall monitor. But he also got a chance to coach that year at Charlevoix, and that made all the difference.
"I don't know why I came to love it," Hice said of a career in high school athletics that didn't come to an end until nearly 40 years later. "That first job I had as study hall supervisor was not much fun. But I enjoyed working with kids ... and that spurred me to get into education. I think that's the most awesome animal on the face of the Earth, the high school student."
Gina Mazzolini, meanwhile, was a former high school and college star who came off the court as an athlete but returned almost immediately as a coach before rising to administrator with influence at the statewide and national levels – and a similar passion for giving back to the high school game.
“It’s one of those things where I’ve worked in this position because I loved doing it,” Mazzolini said. “I enjoyed working with the adult coaches and adult officials, and then the student-athletes."
Both have served Michigan high school student-athletes for more than 30 years in ways that will continue to impact schools and athletes for years to come.
In recognition of their efforts, they have been named the 2016 recipients of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Charles E. Forsythe Award.
The annual award is in its 39th year and named after former MHSAA Executive Director Charles E. Forsythe, the Association's first full-time and longest-serving chief executive. Forsythe Award recipients are selected each year by the MHSAA Representative Council, based on an individual's outstanding contribution to the interscholastic athletics community. Hice and Mazzolini will receive their honors during the break after the first quarter of the MHSAA Class A Boys Basketball Final on March 26 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.
Hice retired in 2014 after 30 years as Petoskey’s athletic director overseeing one of the most successful programs in northern Michigan that regularly produced contenders for championships statewide. Under his leadership, Petoskey added five sports, revamped its facilities and became a founding member of the Big North Conference after Hice contributed to its creation.
Mazzolini has served the MHSAA since 1993 and is the administrator for girls volleyball, swimming and diving, alpine skiing and tennis. She also handles the sanctioning of out-of-state competitions and serves as the MHSAA’s point person on foreign exchange and international student issues. Mazzolini will receive a Citation from the National Federation of State High School Associations this summer and was the 2010 recipient of the MHSAA’s Women in Sports Leadership Award.
“Gary Hice and Gina Mazzolini have contributed to Michigan high school athletics on a variety of levels providing vision, leadership and dedication,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “Gary Hice served as a leader of leaders in northern Michigan and provided an example to be followed statewide, while Gina Mazzolini has shaped rules and policies that have impacted programs not only in our state, but nationally as well. We’re proud to honor Gary Hice and Gina Mazzolini with Forsythe Awards.”
After his year at Charlevoix, Hice taught social studies and physical education and coached for one year at Petoskey before spending five years as director of parks and recreation and harbormaster for the City of Petoskey. He returned to the high school as athletic director in 1984.
During his tenure, Petoskey added girls golf, girls soccer, girls bowling, boys bowling and ice hockey programs. Petoskey teams won MHSAA Finals championships in boys skiing, girls skiing, wrestling, boys soccer and boys tennis, and the girls cross country and track and field teams were among those that earned runner-up finishes. The Petoskey girls ski team won four straight titles from 1991-94, and the boys ski team started a championship streak that last month reached six straight seasons. Hice also led the construction in 2000 of a $6-million gymnasium, weight room, wrestling practice area and indoor track at Petoskey High School, and initiated the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.
Hice is a member of both the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. He was named state Athletic Director of the Year by the MIAAA in 2011 after receiving its George Lovich Award of Merit in 2008. He also was honored with the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award in 2002 for his often-unseen contributions to high school athletics.
“When you’re in the heat of the battle, you don’t think on those terms,” Hice said of his many contributions and their lasting effects locally and beyond. “But toward the end of my career, I would relish the times when I could help young ADs, new ADs, people who didn’t have a lot of experience. In fact, I miss that today.”
Hice is a longtime member of Kiwanis Clubs, first of Petoskey and currently of Little Traverse Bay, and also has served with the Petoskey Education Foundation, Jeffrey P. Bodzick Memorial Scholarship Foundation and Beyond the Scoreboard initiative that promotes positive character and sportsmanship in northern Michigan’s youth and interscholastic athletics.
After standout basketball and volleyball careers at St. Johns High School and Central Michigan University, Mazzolini taught and coached multiple sports during the 1979-80 school year at Ovid-Elsie High School. She then spent two years teaching and serving as an assistant volleyball coach at Michigan State University, where she also earned her master’s degree in physical education. Mazzolini then left to teach and serve as assistant volleyball coach and interim women’s Sports Information Director at the University of Texas.
In 1982, Mazzolini became an activities director with the University Interscholastic League, the service organization to high school activities in Texas. She became an assistant athletic director at the UIL in 1988, and five years later she returned to Michigan as a member of the MHSAA staff.
"To be recognized by my peers for this award … I’m appreciative and humbled," Mazzolini said. "You do those things because you enjoy them.”
In addition to her work at the MHSAA, Mazzolini has provided a long list of contributions at the national level. She has served as the NFHS representative on the board for the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel, which identifies, promotes and supports international youth exchange programs, and has sat on several CSIET committees. She’s currently serving on the NFHS Annual Meeting Planning Committee and also has served on NFHS rules committees for soccer, swimming and diving, and volleyball (chairing that sport’s rules committee from 2004-08), and on NFHS advisory committees for athletic directors and sports medicine.
She recently was inducted into the Michigan High School Ski Coaches Association Hall of Fame and has served as a voter for the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame.
Mazzolini graduated from St. Johns High School in 1974 after an accomplished career that included leading the Redwings to a District title in the first MHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament in 1973. She went on to star in both basketball and volleyball at CMU; she graduated in 1978 as the leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker in CMU history and still ranks among the Chippewas’ leaders in multiple statistical categories. She was inducted into the CMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.
Hice graduated from Ann Arbor Huron High School in 1970. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University in 1974 and his master’s at CMU in 1989, and received Certified Athletic Administrator certification from the NIAAA in 1994.
Past recipients
1978 - Brick Fowler, Port Huron; Paul Smarks, Warren
1979 - Earl Messner, Reed City; Howard Beatty, Saginaw
1980 - Max Carey, Freesoil
1981 - Steven Sluka, Grand Haven; Samuel Madden, Detroit
1982 - Ernest Buckholz, Mt. Clemens; T. Arthur Treloar, Petoskey
1983 - Leroy Dues, Detroit; Richard Maher, Sturgis
1984 - William Hart, Marquette; Donald Stamats, Caro
1985 - John Cotton, Farmington; Robert James, Warren
1986 - William Robinson, Detroit; Irving Soderland, Norway
1987 - Jack Streidl, Plainwell; Wayne Hellenga, Decatur
1988 - Jack Johnson, Dearborn; Alan Williams, North Adams
1989 - Walter Bazylewicz, Berkley; Dennis Kiley, Jackson
1990 - Webster Morrison, Pickford; Herbert Quade, Benton Harbor
1991 - Clifford Buckmaster, Petoskey; Donald Domke, Northville
1992 - William Maskill, Kalamazoo; Thomas G. McShannock, Muskegon
1993 - Roy A. Allen Jr., Detroit; John Duncan, Cedarville
1994 - Kermit Ambrose, Royal Oak
1995 - Bob Perry, Lowell
1996 - Charles H. Jones, Royal Oak
1997 - Michael A. Foster, Richland; Robert G. Grimes, Battle Creek
1998 - Lofton C. Greene, River Rouge; Joseph J. Todey, Essexville
1999 - Bernie Larson, Battle Creek
2000 - Blake Hagman, Kalamazoo; Jerry Cvengros, Escanaba
2001 - Norm Johnson, Bangor; George Lovich, Canton
2002 - John Fundukian, Novi
2003 - Ken Semelsberger, Port Huron
2004 - Marco Marcet, Frankenmuth
2005 - Jim Feldkamp, Troy
2006 - Dan McShannock, Midland; Dail Prucka, Monroe
2007 - Keith Eldred, Williamston; Tom Hickman, Spring Lake
2008 - Jamie Gent, Haslett; William Newkirk, Sanford-Meridian
2009 - Paul Ellinger, Cheboygan
2010 - Rudy Godefroidt, Hemlock; Mike Boyd, Waterford
2011 - Eric C. Federico, Trenton
2012 - Bill Mick, Midland
2013 - Jim Gilmore, Tecumseh; Dave Hutton, Grandville
2014 - Dan Flynn, Escanaba
2015 – Hugh Matson, Saginaw
PHOTO: From left, Gina Mazzolini and Gary Hice receive Forsythe Awards on March 26 from Benton Harbor athletic director Fred Smith.