A Triple Play for Coaches
May 28, 2013
The following resolution was adopted by the Delegate Assembly of the Michigan Association of School Boards last November:
“The Michigan Association of School Boards urges all local school boards to:
“(a) Employ qualified persons as coaches of interscholastic teams.
“(b) Provide in-service training for all coaches, including training in first aid, current CPR certification, proper athletic conditioning, recognition of athletic injuries, recognition of the use of performance enhancing drugs, and the proper way to deal with hazing within the athletic programs of a school. Much of this training is available through MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program (CAP).
“(c) Require supervision and evaluation of coaches.
“(d) Make coaches aware of pertinent school policies, rules and regulations and require compliance.
“(e) Encourage coaches to follow the athletic code for coaches in the MHSAA Handbook and include information regarding NCAA eligibility guidelines and requirements.”
During the 2013-14 school year, the MHSAA Representative Council will vote on two proposals that are consistent with this resolution:
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In December, the Council will consider this enhancement to coaches preparation:
By 2015-16, MHSAA member high schools will be required to certify by the designated deadlines that all of their varsity head coaches of high school have a valid (current) CPR certification. Inclusion of AED training is a recommended part of the CPR certification process.
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In March, the Council will consider this enhancement to coaches preparation:
By 2016-17, all individuals hired for the first time as a varsity head coach of a high school team, to begin those coaching duties on or after July 1, 2016, must have completed Level 1 or Level 2 of CAP.
These two measures join the following that the Council approved on May 5:
By 2014-15, high schools must attest prior to established deadlines that all assistant and subvarsity coaches at the high school level have completed annually the same MHSAA rules meeting required of all varsity head coaches or, in the alternative, one of the free online sports safety courses posted on or linked from MHSAA.com and designated to fulfill this requirement.
Rush to Ridicule
February 5, 2016
Last month the statewide high school athletic association of a neighboring state sent to its member schools a reminder of its sportsmanship standards. From almost all media reports you would have thought the association did a terrible thing.
In fact, the athletic association did nothing wrong – nothing that it and similar organizations have not done many times before to point people away from declining standards of sportsmanship prevalent in other programs and point people toward behavior that is more appropriate for an educational setting – i.e., in programs sponsored and conducted by educational institutions.
Then one of that athletic association’s schools did an unsurprising thing – and what dozens of schools, perhaps hundreds of schools, have done many times before. It distributed the athletic association’s message to its students and coaches.
Where this good work went bad was an isolated incident where one student-athlete at one school posted a profane reaction on social media, criticizing the message; and the student’s school suspended the student from a few contests.
That’s the story. But it’s been mangled by most professional and social media which have rushed mindlessly to ridicule the athletic association.
The association was not wrong to promote positive cheering sections and mutual respect during athletic events. And the association is taking an amazingly high (sportsmanlike?) road to say that it will use this media fiasco as an opportunity to review its sportsmanship guidelines.
We have proven in this state through our Battle of the Fans, a contest conceived by our Student Advisory Council, that cheering sections can be larger and louder by encouraging positive behavior; fun that is also respectful. We prohibit no specific cheers, but we promote positive cheers and the schools where that is the norm.
In a society where standards of all kinds appear to be slipping, this is praiseworthy work.