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.)
Shores Star Walker Continues Drive for Hoops Greatness as College Coach
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
August 8, 2024
NORTON SHORES — Dribbling, passing, and shooting are prerequisites for basketball players, and Muskegon Mona Shores alumna Jordan Walker did them quite well.
But for Walker, determination has been perhaps her most important trait.
It helped her win the Michigan Miss Basketball Award during her senior season in 2017 after suffering an ACL injury prior to her junior year with the Sailors. It’s also allowed her to continue an ascent in the basketball world.
Time-management habits and prioritization have been instilled in all three of Jarvis and Danielle Walker’s three children.
“There’s a special drive with these (Walker) kids,” said Brad Kurth, who was Jasmyn and Jordan Walker’s basketball coach at Mona Shores.
Jordan Walker earned two master’s degrees over six years of college while juggling the demands of being a Division I basketball player at Western Michigan University and University of Tennessee. The 25-year-old’s playing days appear to be finished, but she’s still pursuing her basketball dreams as an assistant coach at the D-I level.
Walker spent the 2023-24 season as a first-year assistant at Mercer University. This March, Mercer head coach Susie Gardner announced her resignation, meaning Walker had to seek opportunities elsewhere.
In typical Walker fashion, she landed on her feet, and it didn’t take long. In May, she was hired as an assistant coach at Jacksonville University. Her responsibilities include player development with point guards, academics, community service, and housing.
“(The Mercer position) kind of fit exactly where I was at perfectly,” Walker said during a break while on the road recruiting for Jacksonville recently. “I was really thankful for that opportunity and thankful for my circle and my village thinking of me at that time and putting my name out there because it honestly was the perfect situation for me.
“At the Final Four, you meet people and you meet a lot of coaches and you network, you build relationships. There was one coach I saw on the road a ton throughout the year and I saw at the Final Four and he knew the situation. At that point, (Jacksonville) didn’t have any openings, and later on it opened up and they gave me a call. At that point, it was getting to the interview and what the position holds and what it would look like. Again, it was another situation that was perfect for where I was at in life and what I wanted to do and the path that I’m on, so it was another no-brainer for me to head to Jacksonville.”
At Mona Shores, the 5-foot-7 guard broke the school’s all-time scoring record — one that stood 22 years — with 1,365 points. During her Miss Basketball season, Walker averaged 22.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game.
At the collegiate level, Walker amassed more than 1,300 points, 700 rebounds, and 400 assists. In two seasons with WMU (she lost one season with another ACL injury), she started 54 of 64 games and averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.8 steals. As a graduate transfer at Tennessee, she started 77 of 96 games and averaged 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals while helping the Lady Vols reach the NCAA Tournament three times.
According to Walker, the foundation for her success began in the home and in the Mona Shores school community.
“Honestly, my memories with Mona Shores I truly cherish because it’s such a special time, a special place. Playing high school ball, I tell people AAU and high school ball is some of the most fun times that you’ll have playing. Obviously, I enjoyed my college time as well — I did six years,” she quipped. “But I definitely enjoyed my time at Mona Shores. Just the people that were there because it was a truly special place.
“Again, I talk about the village a lot because it does take that and (the) Mona Shores community, they really just poured into me and supported (me) and that’s something that I was always grateful for. Especially my head coach there, Brad Kurth. He did an amazing job with us and preparing us, not only for the games in high school but for the next level as well as far as player development and scouts and going over stuff like that so when I got to college, it wasn’t my first time seeing a scout, it wasn’t my first time doing a film study. Those things I always take with me.”
Of course, with the Walker family, it’s always been books before basketball.
While at Mona Shores, Jordan Walker served on the MHSAA’s Student Advisory Council and earned one of the prestigious MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards as a senior; only 32 honorees are selected annually. Walker earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and minor in communications from WMU in 2020, taking only three years. At Tennessee, she completed her first master’s degree in 2022 in business administration (MBA) with a concentration in entrepreneurship and innovation; she finished her second master’s degree in 2023 in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications (ALEC) Department with a concentration on name, image, and likeness (NIL) and women’s leadership.
When Walker suffered the ACL injury at WMU, which sidelined her for a year, it allowed her to get ahead in the classroom. She had 19- and 20-credit semesters that year. In her third and final year at WMU, she was taking 21 credits in a semester.
“Academics in our house was nothing to play around with,” Walker said. “If you didn’t have your academics right — in the summer, if you didn’t finish your workbooks, if you didn’t read your books, you were not playing basketball. Academics were a big thing, and I thank my parents for that because they instilled that at a young age.
“It came down to time management, which kind of goes back to what I was saying about the foundation of your high school and what you do in high school and the habits that you form because that’s ultimately going to carry you throughout college. Of course, you can tweak it and gain new things, but I think Mona Shores did a great job of setting me up academically so that when I got to college, some of the courses that I took, I was able to comprehend at that level and take multiple classes and high-credit semesters and be able to graduate early, which led to me being able to get my (two) master’s (degrees).”
All three of the Walker siblings continue to achieve at a high level on and off the court.
Jasmyn Walker, the eldest of the siblings, was a first-team all-stater at Mona Shores and a Division I basketball player at Valparaiso and Western Michigan. She is in her first season as an assistant coach at George Washington University after previous stops at Purdue-Fort Wayne, Butler, Ferris State and Davenport.
Jarvis Walker II, the youngest of the siblings, was a first-team all-stater at Muskegon High School and is a graduate student playing basketball for Indiana University-Indianapolis after starting his collegiate career at Purdue-Fort Wayne.
The Walker siblings are each other’s biggest fans.
“I’m immensely proud of them,” Jasmyn Walker said. “Jordy and Jay have gone above and beyond to reach their goals. I’ve seen the work they’ve put in, the time invested, and sometimes the lows that come with chasing dreams. They’ve pushed themselves at every turn.”
Jarvis Walker II said that sister Jordan is somebody who will “figure it out no matter the circumstances.”
He believes that each stop along her journey has afforded her great experience and deeper knowledge that will benefit her not only in basketball but in life.
“Grind, grind, grind — she is one of the hardest-working people I know,” he said about his sister. “It has motivated me to be better in every aspect of life from school to basketball and day-to-day interactions and how I go about certain things.”
In many respects, Kurth feels like a proud papa to the Walkers as he’s coached Jasmyn and Jordan and has spent countless hours around the family.
“All three of the kids — I mean, Jarvis, Jordan, and Jasmyn — I could never be prouder of a group of kids,” Kurth said. “You talk about the full package: Basketball is one part, but every single one of them shows academic excellence, every single one of them shows extreme character. Those are things that are timeless. Basketball is a young person’s sport. Coaching you can do a long time, but your playing days are limited. I think I’ve seen a lot of kids sacrifice everything, including their character, including their academics, to do basketball and they shouldn’t. Character should be at the top. These three kids, it’s just matchless.”
Included in Jordan Walker’s long resume is her active participation in leadership programs such as “So You Want To Be a Coach” and “Above the Rim Summit.”
Walker aspires to be a collegiate head coach. She’s doing all she can to keep climbing that ladder.
With her second master’s degree specializing in NIL and that being such a large part of college athletics now, she appears to have a leg up on her competition.
“NIL can look like a bunch of different things, and I think that when choosing a school and what that looks like, make sure that outside of NIL it meets all of your expectations,” Walker said. “Money and brand deals and all of that may look enticing, but still don’t fall on your standards of what your program you want to have has.
“It’s the academics, and if they have your major, and it’s the culture and it’s your relationships with your coaches and your teammates. Make those be your tops and NIL be a plus. I think that that’s the biggest thing.”
2024 Made In Michigan
August 6: MCC's Glover Fills Key Role as Athletic Trainer for Super Bowl Champions - Read
August 1: Lessons from Multi-Sport Experience Guide Person in Leading New Team - Read
July 30: After Successful 'Sequel,' Suttons Bay's Hursey Embarking on Next Chapter - Read
July 24: East Kentwood Run Part of Memorable Start on Knuble's Way to NHL, Olympics - Read
July 22: Monroe High Memories Remain Rich for Michigan's 1987 Mr. Baseball - Read
July 17: Record-Setting Viney Gained Lifelong Confidence at Marine City - Read
July 11: High School 'Hoop Squad' Close to Heart as Hughes Continues Coaching Climb - Read
July 10: Nightingale Embarking on 1st Season as College Football Head Coach - Read
June 28: E-TC's Witt Bulldozing Path from Small Town to Football's Biggest Stage - Read
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Jordan Walker stands with her class on the Breslin Center floor during the 2017 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete Awards ceremony, and at right in 2023 after receiving her second master's degree from University of Tennessee. (Middle) Walker makes her move toward the basket during a game her senior season at Muskegon Mona Shores. (Below) Jordan Walker, middle, takes a photo with sister Jasmyn and brother Jarvis. (Graduation and family photos courtesy of the Walker family; Mona Shores basketball photo by Tim Reilly.)