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U.S. Soccer Gets a Red Card

March 9, 2012

My previous posting paid compliments to a non-school lacrosse organization which appears to share some of the same perspectives we have for young athletes.  Today I express an opposite opinion about U.S. Soccer which has created a “Development Academy” that has announced it is moving to a 10-month season beginning in the fall of 2012.

U.S. Soccer has declared that participants in the Development Academy are prohibited from playing on their local high school teams.  This has prompted criticism from high school coaches who in many parts of the country, including Michigan, will lose some of the more accomplished players to the Development Academy.

The academy’s design follows that of powerhouse soccer nations where, however, high school sports do not exist like they do in the United States, where high school students play on high school soccer teams during defined seasons of the year.

The design of the Development Academy and the exclusive participation that U.S. Soccer is promulgating violates the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, which requires national sport governing bodies to minimize conflicts with school and college programs.  I was involved in the preparation and passage of that law by the United States Congress; I know what it says and what it stands for.  U.S. Soccer is violating the spirit and specific language of the law.

The desire and drive of U.S. Soccer to have U.S. teams excel in international competition is admirable; but its violation of U.S. statutes in the process is deplorable.

MHSAA Membership

May 9, 2016

May is the month that begins membership renewal in the Michigan High School Athletic Association, when the 2016-17 Membership Resolution is mailed to school districts across the state.

New for 2016-17 is that schools may join the MHSAA at the 6th-grade level and up (not 7th). This change, resulting from a 561 to 87 vote by member school principals last October, has three obvious benefits:

  1. Makes it easier for small schools to include 6th-graders in their counts and on their 7th- and 8th-grade teams.

  2. Makes it easier for districts where 6th-graders are in buildings with 7th- and 8th-graders to participate on those junior high/middle school teams.

  3. Allows all districts, but requires no districts, to provide athletic opportunities for 6th-graders under the auspices of the MHSAA (on separate teams or with 7th- and 8th-graders).

Membership in the MHSAA is optional. It is a choice schools make through their local governing boards. Schools may conduct a comprehensive program of interscholastic athletics and may participate against MHSAA member schools in regular-season competition without joining the MHSAA.

Membership in the MHSAA is free of charge. There are no membership dues. While MHSAA tournaments are limited to MHSAA member high schools in good standing, there are no tournament entry fees for qualifying schools. Catastrophic Accident Medical Insurance and Concussion Care Insurance is purchased by the MHSAA and provided free of charge to all eligible student-athletes in grades 6 through 12. It applies to all levels of MHSAA sports in both practice and competition.

The expectations of member schools include:

  • Educating student-athletes, staff and other involved personnel about MHSAA rules and procedures.

  • Monitoring compliance year-around.

  • Investigating possible violations and reporting findings.

  • Administering penalties.