Logo

Hat Trick

July 31, 2017

When asked recently to identify the most important work of the Michigan High School Athletic Association at this particular time in the history of school sports in Michigan, I paused only briefly, because there is one initiative that scores a hat trick. It’s the MHSAA Task Force on Multi-Sport Participation.

  • It is a forum for helping us define and defend educational athletics.

  • It is helping us focus on the future of school sports – on the junior high/middle school level, and even younger athletes and their parents, where attitudes are being formed and decisions are being made.

  • It is helping us focus on THE most serious health and safety issue in all of youth sports, which is specialization in one sport that is too early, too intense and too prolonged, leading to overuse injuries that tend to cause a lifetime of chronic injuries and related health problems.

The Task Force has convened five times over 15 months. It is moving now from the phase of identifying issues and challenges to developing tools for administrators and coaches to promote the multi-sport experience for young people.

The MHSAA Model

December 30, 2015

At the conclusion of every school sports season – fall, winter and spring – I sign stacks of checks to MHSAA member schools for their hosting of or participation in MHSAA season-ending tournaments. Some are very small checks, some are very large amounts, and none is quite enough.

Each time I perform this task, I am reminded how differently school sports operates in Michigan compared to non-school sports.

Unlike most non-school organizations, the MHSAA does not require teams to pay membership dues.

Unlike most non-school organizations, the MHSAA does not require entry fees to its postseason tournaments.

Unlike most non-school organizations, we try to reimburse tournament hosts and participating teams for at least a portion of their necessary tournament expenses.

Parents may shell out hundreds and even thousands of dollars for their children to join non-school teams and to enter non-school events; but that’s not the MHSAA model.