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New Beginnings

August 30, 2016

The Michigan High School Athletic Association office experienced an unusual amount of mobility this summer:

  • Gina Mazzolini retired after nearly a quarter-century on the MHSAA staff, with special attention to skiing, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, international students and interstate sanctioning.

  • Andi Osters was promoted to assistant director.

  • Dan Hutcheson joined the staff as assistant director.

  • Jeremy Sampson joined the staff in a tournament promotion, ticketing and marketing capacity.

  • We played musical chairs with offices: John Johnson, Andy Frushour, Andi Osters, Geoff Kimmerly, Kathy Westdorp and Cole Malatinsky all have a change of scenery or surroundings.

So we have some new faces, and some “old” faces in new places at the MHSAA office.

During all these transitions, I discovered I was less jealous of Gina’s retirement than I was of the new beginnings for Andi, Jeremy and Dan. Their new energy renews my own for so much that we hope to accomplish together in 2016-17.

Turnover

October 21, 2016

Turnover in local leadership is one of the biggest challenges facing all of youth sports, and it’s partly responsible for the disconnect between the policies of state or national sports organizations and the actual practices of local programs. It is beginning to occur almost as rapidly in school sports as non-school youth sports programs, eroding yet another advantage that school-sponsored programs have enjoyed over non-school programs (other examples being that participation in school sports has generally been less expensive for families, and school coaches more often have been trained educators).

Turnover not only challenges local schools, it causes, or at least contributes to, many of the challenges the Michigan High School Athletic Association faces – everything from administering the transfer rule to conducting District and Regional tournaments.

One of every seven MHSAA member high schools has an athletic director this year who has not served in that role for at least the past five years. Each of these 108 new ADs attended a required orientation program at the MHSAA office in late summer. We provide a follow-up program in November.

More than 80 athletic department administrative assistants or secretaries attended a session at the MHSAA office in September. MHSAA staff conducts a second session for this appreciative audience every March during the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association conference in Traverse City.

MHSAA Athletic Director In-Service programs are conducted at several league meetings during late summer and in conjunction with most MHSAA Update meetings across the state during September and October. Attendance will exceed 500 persons.

Given the increasing complexity of life and the effect on school sports, more needs to be done. Our next efforts may include quick electronic tutorials to help coaches, athletic directors, principals and superintendents keep abreast of what is most important in school-sponsored, student-centered sports.