Mazzolini's Impact Felt Across Generations
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 14, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A lifetime in competitive athletics has provided piles of memories for retiring MHSAA assistant director Gina Mazzolini.
Four decades as an athlete, coach and association administrator also left her with plenty of souvenirs to sort through as she finishes her final days in the East Lansing office.
There’s a letter dated 1976 – and passed on to Mazzolini in 2004 – from the MHSAA to tennis coaches warning against stacking their lineups, an issue she’s worked to resolve over the last 20+ years.
Autographs from famous coaches John Wooden and Tom Landry made a 1991 National Federation Hall of Fame program worth saving. Just as significant was a thank-you from legendary Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball coach Sheila Guerra – who led teams to nine MHSAA titles from 1983-97 – sent in 2005 after Guerra’s daughter Vicky Groat led the Tigers to the first of what has become 10 Class D championships over the last 12 seasons.
In a number of high school sports circles, Mazzolini’s contributions are considered similarly legendary. She’s frequently been referred to as a “pioneer” – one of the first star female high school athletes from the Lansing area who went on to star at Central Michigan University and then lend her expertise to growing girls sports in this state and beyond.
“I didn’t do it because I was a woman and wanted to be the first,” Mazzolini said. “That’s just what I wanted to do, and after Title IX those jobs just opened up. And because I had some experience in coaching, officiating and playing, they took a chance on me, or they recruited me because they needed someone to run girls programs.
"I will miss people and relationships, watching things start, grow and get better.”
Mazzolini recently was recognized with a Citation from the National Federation of State High School Associations after a career that began in 1981 with Texas’ University Interscholastic League and ends after the last 23 years as an assistant director in her home state – and a mere 20 miles south of where she took the first steps toward a career that covered nearly the whole of female high school and college sports in Michigan, as a first-generation athlete and the builder of games for generations of girls and women to come.
Pioneer, indeed
Mazzolini’s senior year at St. Johns High School, 1973-74, was the first for girls basketball playoffs sponsored by the MHSAA, and Mazzolini led the Redwings to a District title that fall. She went on to star in both basketball and volleyball at CMU – still ranking among the Chippewas’ all-time hoops statistical leaders – and then to coach volleyball at Ovid-Elsie High School, Michigan State and the University of Texas.
All of that set Mazzolini up to provide a key voice and insight to rules-making bodies at the state and national levels. She’s retiring as MHSAA administrator for girls volleyball, swimming & diving, alpine skiing and tennis, and also has handled the sanctioning of out-of-state competitions and foreign exchange and international student issues. Nationally, she’s served multiple times on rules committees for soccer, swimming & diving and volleyball.
“Having worked in athletics for 46 years, I know few, if any, administrators who have a passion for excellence as does Gina Mazzolini in everything she undertakes,” wrote Marcy Weston, a retired executive associate director of athletics at CMU. “Ethics, integrity, creativity, loyalty and fortitude are just a few words that describe Gina’s work persona. And compassion, kind and supportive are words that siblings and friends access when they describe Gina.”
Weston coached Mazzolini on the CMU volleyball team for four seasons and women’s basketball team for two. At that time, with those programs and women’s college athletics as a whole in their early stages, Mazzolini and her teammates wore the same uniforms for both sports for two years.
Obviously, much has changed. And she’s played a large part.
Mazzolini first got involved as more than an athlete after taking Weston’s officiating class at CMU. Mazzolini registered as an MHSAA official – but all she knew of the MHSAA was that was where she paid her registration fee.
She still didn’t know much about state association work when offered a job at the UIL by then-executive director Bailey Marshall, who was familiar with Mazzolini because his wife Becky was the trainer for the University of Texas volleyball team when Mazzolini was an assistant coach.
“He said we’ve got to add women’s sports – they had them but not as many,” Mazzolini said. “I applied for the job and got it, and I’m still not sure what I’m going to do.”
What she lacked in initial knowledge, she made up for in passion.
Texas’ high school association at that time was adding girls tennis and soccer, beefing up some of its other offerings and reworking other sports to put females on a level playing field.
Her work there led to her first of many contributions to national rules-making committees. Early on, Mazzolini brought the perspective of someone who had played to groups that often included many who had not. She eventually chaired the volleyball committee from 2004-08 and worked with notable contributors to amateur sports including the first NCAA national coordinator of officials, Joan Powell.
“A number of people have made comments that when Gina was appointed to a national committee, the National Federation staff would breathe a sigh of relief because she would bring her patience and perspective to the table when they were forming national rules,” said MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts, who has served in his position since 1986.
“It’s clear to me that not just in Michigan, but across the country, there are several people who have affection for Gina as a person.”
Leaving a legacy
In addition to her recent Citation, Mazzolini is a member of the CMU Athletic Hall of Fame and received the MHSAA’s Women in Sports Leadership Award in 2010. This winter, she became the first woman to receive the MHSAA’s Charles E. Forsythe Award for her contributions to interscholastic sports.
It didn’t take long for Michigan coaches to realize she would make an impact.
Among accomplishments she’s most proud of from her time at the MHSAA are improved relationships with the tennis and swimming communities, developed by increased communication and with the help of longtime veterans like Gary Ellis and Tiger Teusink in tennis and Denny Hill in the pool.
She was once told by a coach she was brave to show up at a regular-season event because of the grumbles toward the MHSAA in that sport – but soon another coach told her, “I wanted to hate you, but I like you.”
Mazzolini may choose to stick around athletics as an official, but only at the middle school level. She’ll definitely have no problems continuing to attend some of her favorite events in the sports she’s helped form over the years.
And it seems just a little coincidental that she’s stepping away from a community she’s affected so greatly at the end of the same school year that saw one of her nieces, St Johns senior Brooke Mazzolini, help the Redwings to their first MHSAA Girls Basketball Semifinal in nearly 20 years – the latest step on a path her aunt began to blaze 40 years ago, even as Gina doesn’t see herself as the “pioneer” she’s frequently made out to be.
“I played because I loved to play. I got that from my dad, and we were in an athletic neighborhood. I got into officiating and that was fun,” Mazzolini said. “And then (athletic director) Bob Forebeck at Ovid-Elsie called and said, ‘Hey I need a volleyball coach; what do you think?’ And that was a blast.
“And then I got into state associations, and I’ve really enjoyed that. There were rough patches – like when you tell people ‘no’ – but everything I’ve done, I’ve loved it. It’s hard to consider it a job, because you look forward to doing most of it.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Gina Mazzolini poses briefly while directing an MHSAA Final in skiing. (Middle) Mazzolini starred for the Central Michigan University women's basketball team. (Below) Mazzolini stands with her St. Johns high school basketball coach Beth Swears after receiving the MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Award in 2010.
Rep Council Wrap-Up: Spring 2018
May 14, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The adoption of major changes to the Michigan High School Athletic Association transfer regulation was among notable actions taken by the Representative Council during its annual Spring Meeting, May 6-7, in Gaylord, in addition to the selection of the Association’s next executive director announced in a previous release May 8.
The Spring Meeting of the 19-member legislative body of the Association’s more than 1,400 member schools is generally the busiest of its three sessions each year. The Council considered 29 committee proposals and dealt with a variety of eligibility rule, postseason tournament and operational issues.
The revised transfer regulation will go into effect for the 2019-20 school year, based on a student-athlete’s sports participation during 2018-19. The new transfer rule will make transferring student-athletes ineligible for one year in any sport played during the previous year at the previous school – unless that student-athlete’s situation fits one of the current 15 exceptions that allow for immediate eligibility. However, the revised transfer regulation also allows that transferring student-athlete immediate eligibility in any other MHSAA-sponsored sport not participated in during that previous year at the previous school.
The additions to the transfer rule received vast support from member schools in surveys leading up to the Council’s vote.
“We are hopeful this ‘sport-specific’ transfer rule will be easier to understand, and therefore, more consistently enforced,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “This rule better addresses the changing landscape of transfers, hopefully dissuading those considering moving for athletic reasons while still allowing a full range of sports for those who do switch. It may seem like a punishment to some, but the new rule is actually more permissive for many transfer students, and we saw growing support for these changes from our schools since we began discussing this proposal a year ago.”
A number of significant actions at the Spring Meeting will affect the junior high/middle school levels, as the Council continued growing its impact among those who represent the future of educational athletics.
The Council approved Junior High/Middle School Committee recommendations to increase the number of contests and days of competition in three sports, beginning in 2018-19. Softball teams will have 12 days of competition over 13 weeks, with doubleheaders counting as one of those 12 days. Basketball teams may play 12 games over 13 weeks with one game a day allowed, except that two games may be played on a day not followed by a school day up to four times a season; each of those doubleheader days will count as one of the 12 games. Soccer teams may play 12 games over 13 weeks with one game a day allowed, except that two games may be played on a day not followed by a school day up to two times a season; each of those doubleheader days also will count as one of the 12 games.
Another committee recommendation approved by the Council will allow a middle school student-athlete to compete in two non-school events during the school season in team sports except football – making the rule for team sports at the junior high/middle school level the same as the individual sport model currently enforced.
The Council also approved of continuing to develop and expand opportunities for the MHSAA to act as a “presenting sponsor” of already-existing junior high/middle school meets, invitationals and tournaments conducted by leagues, conferences and schools around Michigan. Staff was authorized to approach MHSAA sport committees and sport coaches association to explore possible junior high/middle school area or sectional competitions in cross country, track & field, wrestling, swimming & diving and potentially other sports.
“The Representative Council continued to consider ways to better serve the youngest student-athletes in our membership – the junior high/middle school participants who are the future of high school sports,” Roberts said. “While these actions may not gain as much attention as changes at the high school level, they are just as important if not more critical to the status of educational athletics moving forward. Nurturing this youngest level must continue to be a focus in the years to come as we work to strengthen and provide more opportunities at all levels.”
The Council approved a number of recommendations by respective sport committees that will alter the tournament setup beginning this fall. In ice hockey, the Pre-Regional system of tournament assignments has been eliminated; all teams will instead be organized into traditional Regionals, 24 total with no more than eight teams assigned to each. In boys lacrosse, a game will end when an 18-goal margin is reached any time after the completion of the third quarter; the 12-goal differential that starts a running clock during the second half will continue. In soccer, beginning with the 2019 season, the first round of District games will be required to be played the week before the current District week on that Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. District Semifinals and Finals will be scheduled for the following week – but Saturday games can be used only as a weather backup during the District round.
To better assist with scheduling and provide transportation relief, the Council approved a number of adjustments to the non-traditional draw policies for District and Regional tournaments; non-traditional draws do not require all contests be played as a designated host site, assisting primarily teams that might be located far from their tournament host but closer to their opponent(s). For the 2018-19 MHSAA Basketball and Volleyball Tournaments, non-traditional draws will be mandated for Districts made up of (a) all Upper Peninsula teams, (b) a combination of Upper and Lower Peninsula teams, or (c) seven or eight-team District grouping in any location of the state. In Districts with circumstances (a) and (b), a traditional draw may be conducted if all participating teams agree to that format. At the Regional level, any that include more than one District located in the Upper Peninsula will require geographic neutral sites be used. The Council also authorized a work group to review all aspects of non-traditional draws and all affected sports and report at the Council’s Fall meeting this Nov. 30.
Additionally, the Council approved a Classification Committee recommendation to move the “opt-up” deadline for fall sports from April 15 to May 1, while keeping the dates for winter (Aug. 15) and spring sports (Oct. 15) the same.
Here is a summary of other actions taken by the Representative Council at the Spring Meeting, which will take effect during the 2018-19 school year unless noted:
Sport Matters
• In baseball, the Council approved a committee recommendation altering tournament trophies to match the tournament format previously approved to begin with the 2019 season. Starting that spring, baseball teams will play what previously were Quarterfinals as the final game of a “Super Regional” tournament, and trophies awarded to those 16 winners will read “Super Regional Champion.” Trophies awarded to losing teams in that round will read “Regional Champion” as they still will have won the Regional level of the tournament.
• In basketball, the Council approved a committee recommendation to adopt the 28-foot coaching box for competition allowed under National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules. Previously, the MHSAA allowed for a 14-foot coaches box in front of the team’s bench.
• In competitive cheer, the Council approved four committee recommendations. The first allows junior high/middle school athletes to perform an inverted exit-cradle to back walkover out only. At the high school level, any catch that originates from shoulder level or below and transitions from a vertical body position to a horizontal body position now will require only three catchers, while four catchers are still required for any catch that exceeds shoulder level. The two other recommendations affect scoring: the first will allow at the high school level a mountain climber to an unbraced OLE to receive the OLE choreography bonus, while the second will allow for all levels (grades 7-12) four difficulty points to be awarded for a ground-up to an elevator.
• In cross country and track & field, the Council approved a Committee recommendation to adopt a recommendation from the state coaches and officials associations to use a one-turn stagger for the 3,200-meter relay and open 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs. This stagger will begin to be used in 2020. The Council also approved a Committee recommendation to alter the junior high/middle school meet order to closely align with the high school order; eight events will switch so that relays and similar sprints and distance runs are ordered in the same way.
• In football, the Council approved a Football Committee recommendation that the MHSAA continue for the third year to experiment with a 40-second clock for use between plays. Teams taking part in the experiment will have 40 seconds from the end of the previous play to snap the ball to begin the next, unless there is an administrative stoppage (for penalty, measurement, etc.). MHSAA schools began experimenting with the 40-second clock during the 2016 season.
• In boys lacrosse, the Council approved a Committee recommendation to allow contests with out-of-state schools from states that do not sponsor a statewide boys lacrosse tournament only as long as those opponents follow comparable regulations of other spring sport teams in that state – including practice and contest limits, use of NFHS playing rules and prohibitions on undue influence and recruiting. Member schools must receive pre-approval from the MHSAA to play these opponents.
• In skiing, the Council approved a Committee recommendation to increase the maximum number of contests from 15 to 17 while reducing the number of scrimmages allowed from four to two.
• In soccer, the Council approved a Committee recommendation to allow at the high school level, as a part of the multi-team tournament rule, teams to play two full games on a non-school day and have those two count as one of the 18 regular-season contests. Teams still have the option to play 180 minutes under the current multi-team tournament rule. The only overtime allowed would be a shootout if part of a bracket tournament.
The Council also discussed a number of topics that will require action as quickly as its Nov. 30 meeting. The Council considered options for the Girls and Boys Basketball Tournaments for the 2019-20 season; one option follows the current format of playing tournaments with a one week offset and Finals at separate sites, and a second option would have the tournaments conducted simultaneously over three weeks with Semifinals at sites around the state and all eight championship games (four for girls, four for boys) at the same arena during the same weekend.
The possible scheduling by the MHSAA of regular-season games for 8-player football teams also was discussed and may be voted upon Nov. 30.
Make-up of the MHSAA’s sport committees is an emerging topic, and the Council considered suggestions for making them more effective. The committee appointment procedure originally was adopted by the Council in 1987 and modified in 2007.
The Council also reviewed reports on membership, with 751 senior high schools and 752 junior high/middle schools in 2017-18 plus 42 elementary schools with 6th-grader participation; eligibility advancement applications, which totaled six for this school year; the use of Educational Transfer Forms, which fell eight percent this year; out-of-state practice requests, school violations, attendance at athletic director in-service workshops and Coaches Advancement Program sessions, officials’ registrations, rules meetings attendance and officials reports submitted for the past three sports seasons. The Association’s $11.6 million budget for the 2018-19 school year also was approved.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.