MI Participation Ahead of National Pace
September 10, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan had the eighth-most participants in high school sports nationally for the second straight year in 2017-18 according to statistics recently released by the National Federation of State High School Associations, again outpacing the state’s national ranking of 10th for total number of residents of high school age.
Michigan’s participation ranking was based on a number of 296,625, with 127,098 girls and 169,527 boys taking part in high school athletics, and included sports in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association does not conduct postseason tournaments. The totals count students once for each sport in which he or she participates, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
The state’s girls participation ranked eighth nationally for the second straight year, while the boys participation figure improved to seventh, up one spot from 2016-17. However, as with overall population, Michigan continued to rank 10th for both females and males ages 14-17 according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2017.
A total of 19 sports bested the state’s overall national participation ranking of eighth by placing seventh or higher on their respective lists. Four Michigan sports improved in national ranking during 2017-18, while the state fell one spot in the rankings of three sports.
The most substantial improvement among Michigan sports came in girls volleyball, where Michigan moved up two spots to fourth – the same ranking it occupied for 2014-15 and 2015-16 before falling to sixth on the list a year ago. Competitive cheer rose one spot in the competitive spirit ranking to fifth, while girls swimming & diving moved up one spot to ninth and girls gymnastics moved up one position to 11th on its ranking list.
Two of three sports that fell on participation lists still outpaced Michigan’s overall participation rank – boys golf and boys tennis both fell from fifth to sixth, respectively. Girls lacrosse participation fell to 14th after five straight years ranking 13th nationally.
Other Michigan sports that ranked eighth or higher in 2017-18 were baseball (eighth), girls basketball (sixth), boys basketball (seventh), girls bowling (fourth), boys bowling (third), girls and boys cross country (both seventh), 11 and 8-player football (sixth and seventh, respectively), girls golf (fifth), boys ice hockey (fourth), girls and boys skiing (both third), girls softball (seventh), girls tennis (third), girls track & field (eighth), boys track & field (seventh) and boys wrestling (seventh).
Boys lacrosse, boys and girls soccer and boys swimming & diving participation all slotted ninth on their respective lists, holding to their 2016-17 rankings and placing still ahead of where Michigan slotted for high school-aged population. The football rankings were again notable in that Michigan slotted sixth for 11-player participation for the sixth straight year despite another sizable increase in the number of schools switching to the 8-player format.
National participation in high school sports in 2017-18 set a record for the 29th consecutive year with 7,979,986 participants – an increase of 16,451 from the year before. Girls participation increased for the 29th consecutive year with an additional 15,009 participants to set an all-time high of 3,415,306. Boys participation also set another all-time high with 4,564,680, an increase of 1,442 participants from 2016-17.
For the second consecutive year, competitive spirit (competitive cheer in Michigan) had the largest increase among girls sports with an additional 18,426 participants. Swimming and diving, lacrosse and golf showed the next greatest increases among girls sports. Boys soccer registered the largest gain among boys sports with 6,128 additional participants, followed by cross country.
Football (1,067,970) was down 1.7 percent from 2016-17, but again remained the most-played high school sport overall – and nationally, the number of schools sponsoring the sport increased 29 to 15,486. Boys track & field (600,097), boys basketball (551,373), girls track & field (488,492) and baseball (487,097) again rounded out the top five sports by participation, in that order.
Hockey Star-Turned-Champion for School Sports to Receive MHSAA's Forsythe Award
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 11, 2022
Once or twice a year, Bruce Horsch gets the question – mostly during a Winter Olympics year or after someone has watched “Miracle on Ice” and found out the “Horsch” that is mentioned twice is actually the recently-retired Houghton High School athletic director.
The final goaltender cut from the 1980 U.S. hockey team that went on to stun the world in winning Olympic gold, Horsch went on to coach at multiple college programs before becoming Houghton’s athletic director in 1996 at the age of 40.
These days, many also know him for the commitment, mentorship and leadership shown in that position through his retirement in 2019.
To celebrate his many contributions to interscholastic athletics, Horsch has been named the 2022 honoree for the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Charles E. Forsythe Award.
The annual award is in its 45th year and named after former MHSAA Executive Director Charles E. Forsythe, the Association's first full-time and longest-serving chief executive. Forsythe Award recipients are selected each year by the MHSAA Representative Council, based on an individual's outstanding contributions to the interscholastic athletics community.
Horsch was described as a “not in the spotlight guy” by one of those who recommended him for the Forsythe Award, but he certainly spent time there. Horsch was a college hockey star and NHL draft pick, and had begun his minor league hockey career before playing with the U.S. team right up until the final cuts on the way to Lake Placid, N.Y.
After his playing days concluded, he coached collegiately before eventually settling in as Houghton’s athletic director for the 1996-97 school year.
“I was fortunate enough to play at Michigan Tech, and I was on a national championship team (in 1975) and I was on a national runner-up team (in 1976). When you played for (coach) John MacInnes up here, it wasn’t individuals – although we had great individuals – we won because we were a team” Horsch said.
“I’m not out for recognition. I enjoy being part of a team. I enjoy working with other people, and that’s my satisfaction.”
He led many important ones in his roles as a school sports administrator.
Horsch was named his region’s Athletic Director of the Year in both 2003 and 2019 by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), and served on the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee from 2001-05. He has been an active member of the MIAAA, National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and Upper Peninsula Athletic Directors Association (UPADA), serving as secretary and president of the UPADA.
He also served as president of the Keweenaw Area Athletic Directors Association and secretary and commissioner of the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference.
“For years Bruce was one of the most respected voices not only in the Upper Peninsula but also the entire state,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “He brought that perspective as a high-end athlete and transitioned extremely well as an educator and athletic director.”
Horsch was a frequent host of MHSAA Tournaments at the District and Regional rounds during his time at Houghton, and also hosted MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals. He served as a host for sessions of the MHSAA PACE program, the coaching education program predecessor to the current Coaches Advancement Program (CAP).
His dedication to Houghton athletics was further noted when he considered retiring in 2017 but stayed on two more years to assist with a bond that resulted in in the upgrading of the school’s football field and track and building of softball and baseball fields as part of the athletic complex. Previously, he had led a referendum to have a second gymnasium built to provide an additional practice venue with girls basketball moving from the fall to winter season beginning with the 2007-08 school year.
“I’m proud of the fact that in the U.P. there are not many, if any schools that have the facilities that Houghton High School has,” Horsch said.
Horsch is a graduate of Hastings High School in Minnesota and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Michigan Technological University. He led the Huskies hockey team to 58 victories in goal over four seasons and was part of the 1975 NCAA championship team, two of many reasons he was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens during the ninth round of the 1976 NHL draft and played minor league hockey for two seasons. He then coached hockey collegiately for most of the 1980s as an assistant at Ferris State and then Michigan Tech.
He has continued to serve his community as a member of the Rotary Club of Houghton.
Past recipients of the Charles E. Forsythe Award
1978 - Brick Fowler, Port Huron; Paul Smarks, Warren
1979 - Earl Messner, Reed City; Howard Beatty, Saginaw
1980 - Max Carey, Freesoil
1981 - Steven Sluka, Grand Haven; Samuel Madden, Detroit
1982 - Ernest Buckholz, Mt. Clemens; T. Arthur Treloar, Petoskey
1983 - Leroy Dues, Detroit; Richard Maher, Sturgis
1984 - William Hart, Marquette; Donald Stamats, Caro
1985 - John Cotton, Farmington; Robert James, Warren
1986 - William Robinson, Detroit; Irving Soderland, Norway
1987 - Jack Streidl, Plainwell; Wayne Hellenga, Decatur
1988 - Jack Johnson, Dearborn; Alan Williams, North Adams
1989 - Walter Bazylewicz, Berkley; Dennis Kiley, Jackson
1990 - Webster Morrison, Pickford; Herbert Quade, Benton Harbor
1991 - Clifford Buckmaster, Petoskey; Donald Domke, Northville
1992 - William Maskill, Kalamazoo; Thomas G. McShannock, Muskegon
1993 - Roy A. Allen Jr., Detroit; John Duncan, Cedarville
1994 - Kermit Ambrose, Royal Oak
1995 - Bob Perry, Lowell
1996 - Charles H. Jones, Royal Oak
1997 - Michael A. Foster, Richland; Robert G. Grimes, Battle Creek
1998 - Lofton C. Greene, River Rouge; Joseph J. Todey, Essexville
1999 - Bernie Larson, Battle Creek
2000 - Blake Hagman, Kalamazoo; Jerry Cvengros, Escanaba
2001 - Norm Johnson, Bangor; George Lovich, Canton
2002 - John Fundukian, Novi
2003 - Ken Semelsberger, Port Huron
2004 - Marco Marcet, Frankenmuth
2005 - Jim Feldkamp, Troy
2006 - Dan McShannock, Midland; Dail Prucka, Monroe
2007 - Keith Eldred, Williamston; Tom Hickman, Spring Lake
2008 - Jamie Gent, Haslett; William Newkirk, Sanford Meridian
2009 - Paul Ellinger, Cheboygan
2010 - Rudy Godefroidt, Hemlock; Mike Boyd, Waterford
2011 - Eric C. Federico, Trenton
2012 - Bill Mick, Midland
2013 - Jim Gilmore, Tecumseh; Dave Hutton, Grandville
2014 - Dan Flynn, Escanaba
2015 - Hugh Matson, Saginaw
2016 - Gary Hice, Petoskey; Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2017 - Chuck Nurek, Rochester Hills
2018 - Gary Ellis, Allegan
2019 - Jim Derocher, Negaunee; Fredrick J. Smith, Stevensville
2020 - Michael Garvey, Lawton
2021 – Leroy Hackley Jr., Byron Center; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
PHOTO: Houghton athletic director Bruce Horsch, left, hands coach Corey Markham the Division 3 finalist trophy after the Gremlins finished Division 3 hockey runners-up in 2019.