Lift

November 11, 2011

Not too long ago there was a television commercial that depicted a huge jumbo jet taking off.  Then the pilot spoke about what it takes to lift such a large load off the ground.

The pilot said that to get such a huge weight off the ground you don’t go with the wind.  You go against it.  He said, “What pushes against us, lifts us up.”

There is no question that this is the recent story for the MHSAA which, momentarily in 2008, was knocked off balance by an adverse judgment by a federal court.  In many respects, the MHSAA is stronger – financially and in other ways – because of 2008.  The bad times made us better.

I’m hoping we will be able to say the same about local school sports generally a few years from now.  That these bad times made us better.  That today’s headwinds gave us the lift we needed to reach new and improved heights in school-based sports.

The Character Network

March 6, 2015

“You can go other places to try to become a better athlete, but there’s no better place to become a better person than high school sports.”
There’s a hint of hyperbole in that statement, but it’s the sincere sentiments of one with an important dual perspective.
These are the words I heard spoken last month by Robert Rothberg, father of a high school senior who just completed her high school volleyball career. He is also chief executive officer of the NFHS Network that is producing thousands of high school events so family, friends and fans can follow their favorite local athletes, just like his daughter.
Like high school sports, the NFHS Network is for the masses, not merely the elite. Interscholastic athletics provides competition and character building opportunities for students of diverse sizes, shapes and skill levels; and the NFHS Network provides coverage that is just as diverse – from the local subvarsity and varsity level sponsored by schools of all types in all parts of almost all states, to many of the culminating state championship events.
To peek in on the network that focuses on character more than characters, go to MHSAA.tv.