The Second Half
March 30, 2012
As local print media collapse and school sports receive less and less complete and competent coverage, and more and more immature and inappropriate treatment, the MHSAA has moved to help fill the void.
The “Second Half” is a place where people can find the essential information about school sports in a safe setting at MHSAA.com.
Geoff Kimmerly, previously the high school sports editor for the Lansing State Journal, is the man behind this mission at the MHSAA. With the help of several other staff, Geoff is originating or aggregating both video and editorial content and stories by or about student-athletes, as well as stories and Q & As with coaches. All sports are covered, and always consistent with our core values for educational athletics.
With your first cup of coffee each day, visit the Second Half at MHSAA.com.
Future Thinking
August 11, 2017
The prolific author Thomas Friedman has written more than once that those who don’t invest in the future tend not to do well there.
What might it mean to invest in the future of interscholastic athletics? What are the things we should be doing now that may not show immediate results, but are essential for securing a future for school-sponsored sports?
Two things, I believe, most of all ...
One is the emphasis on serving and supporting junior high/middle school programs. Getting to students and their parents at this stage and even earlier with the meaning of educational athletics. With a definition of success and demonstrations of sportsmanship that differ from other programs. With encouragement to sample different sports and to eschew year-round practice and competition in a single sport. Feeding the roots of high school sports with the nutrients of educational athletics.
The second is the education of coaches, the delivery system of most of these important messages about school sports. What the MHSAA does season after season with rules/risk management meetings and week after week with the Coaches Advancement Program, and what local school administrators do day after day to manage, mentor and motivate coaches. These efforts may not show quick returns, but they are essential investments in the future of school sports.
We cannot expect to do well in the future if we do not pay attention to our foundation – junior high/middle school programs – and to our infrastructure – coaches.