MHSAA Teams with Sparrow Health
February 16, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Providing information and best practices to players, parents, coaches and administrators on how best to minimize health risks is a key component of keeping student-athletes safe. The Michigan High School Athletic Association has teamed with Sparrow Health System of Lansing to better inform its member schools on such health and safety matters.
Sparrow, a member of the prestigious Mayo Clinic Care Network, is mid-Michigan’s premier healthcare organization with more than 10,000 caregivers. Sparrow’s Sports Medicine division offers programs for athletes at all levels and includes primary care physicians, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists and athletic and performance trainers.
Sparrow will lend its expertise through the MHSAA Website and on-site at various MHSAA tournament events. Resources from Sparrow staff, including information on current health and safety topics and trends, will be accessible online through the Health & Safety page of the MHSAA Website.
Sparrow’s contributions also will be promoted through the MHSAA’s multiple social media platforms. “This partnership is one of the biggest steps we’ve ever taken to build the MHSAA’s capacity to address the almost daily questions we receive about student-athlete health and wellness, and to sort out and solve the biggest issues of school sports safety,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA.
A key component to Sparrow’s addition to the MHSAA Website is an “Ask the Experts” feature that connects users directly to Sparrow’s Sports Medicine staff. Sparrow also will set up booths at various MHSAA tournaments where staff will be available to answer similar questions and discuss sports medicine-related issues.
“Sparrow is thrilled to partner with the MHSAA,” said Stella Cash, Sparrow vice president for development and strategic partnerships. “We have the region’s pre-eminent primary care physicians trained in sports medicine who specialize in the prevention and treatment of sports-related injuries.
Parents and coaches can turn to us for all health-related issues and trust we are focused on transforming care to keep their high school athletes fit, healthy and in the game.”
Sparrow Health System includes hospitals in Lansing, St. Johns, Ionia and Carson City as well as Physicians Health Plan, Sparrow Physicians Health Network, the Sparrow Medical Group and the Michigan Athletic Club. Sparrow also is affiliated with Michigan State University’s three human health colleges.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.
SBP Excellence Awards Announced
May 16, 2014
Montrose High School captured first place in two of five individual categories in the inaugural MHSAA School Broadcast Program Excellence Awards, and with it the “Program of the Year” honor.
The SBP Excellence Awards are underwritten by Herff Jones, which will award certificates and plaques to the ten schools which took individual honors. Presentations will be scheduled in the coming weeks to the recipient schools.
Montrose took first place in two categories: Best Multicamera Production for a basketball game against Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary; and Best Produced Commercial/Feature for a public service announcement about texting while driving. The program also demonstrated during the year a good blend of productions in a variety of sports covered and an overall command of the PlayOn! Sports software used for graphics and inserting commercials during the course of productions.
Other category winners were: St. Ignace High School for Best Use of PlayOn! graphics in a football game against Hillman; Rogers City High School for the Best Overall Single Camera Production of a Game Using PlayOn! Graphics in a football game against Mio; and Haslett High School for Best Student Play-by-Play in a girls basketball game against DeWitt.
Here is the complete list by categories of the school being honored in this year’s SBP Excellence Awards:
Best Single Camera Production with PlayOn! Graphics
First Place – Rogers City Sarah Meredith, Amber Nowicki – Football game v. Mio
Second Place – Petoskey – Stuart Green, Nick Snider, Josh Kuhlman, Joe LeBlanc – Girls Volleyball match with Ogemaw Heights
Third Place – St. Ignace – Alysse Bentley, Jenny Campbell, Dillian Denman – Football game v. Hillman
Best Multicamera Production
First Place – Montrose – Tyler J. Anderson, Eric Vandefifer, Cabresha Nard, Ashley Abair, Sidney Trantham – Boys Basketball game v. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary
Second Place – Johannesburg-Lewiston – Girls Basketball game v. Gaylord St. Mary
Third Place – Cedar Springs – Ian Murphy, Alex Tanis, Alex Hughes, Kody Hall, Liz Moore, Alec Lachniet, Jake Detloff – Boys District Basketball game, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern v. Grand Rapids Northview
Best use of PlayOn! Graphics/Software
First Place – St. Ignace – Alysse Bentley, Jenny Campbell, Dillian Denman – Football game v. Hillman
Second Place – Haslett – Delany McFate – Girls basketball game v. DeWitt
hird Place – Petoskey - Stuart Green, Nick Snider, Josh Kuhlman, Joe LeBlanc – Girls Volleyball match with Ogemaw Heights
Best Produced Commercial/Feature
First Place – Montrose – Cabresha Nard, Tyler J. Anderson, Haley Ruiz – Texting/Driving PSA
Second Place – Charlevoix – Ben Boss, Benny Patkai – Classroom electives offerings promo
Third Place – Rogers City – Morgan Hall, Sarah Meredith – Rogers City Softball Preview
Best Student Play-by-Play Commentary
First Place – Haslett – Andy Stamm, Tyler Mehigh – Girls basketball game v. DeWitt
Second Place – Rockford – Riley O’Keefe, Kevin DeLaFuente, Lucas Henry – Football game v. East Kentwood
Third Place – Escanaba – Jon Perrault, Todd Rose – Boys basketball game v. Gladstone
The School Broadcast Program, powered by PlayOn! Sports, is a platform which schools can utilize to reach members of their community about activities taking place in their buildings, providing recognition for students while at the same time giving them hands-on opportunities to gain broadcasting experience and providing schools an opportunity to realize additional revenues for their programs.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.