Participation Again Outpaces Population
August 26, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
For the third straight school year, Michigan in 2018-19 had the eighth-most participants in high school sports nationally 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 292,947, with 126,342 girls and 166,605 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 third straight year, while boys participation fell back to eighth, after moving up one spot to seventh during 2017-18. 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 2018.
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 2018-19, while the state fell in the rankings of five sports.
Perhaps the most notable improvement among Michigan sports came in boys bowling, where Michigan moved up one spot to second – its highest ranking in any of the 28 sports under MHSAA administration. Michigan previously ranked second nationally in boys bowling as recently as 2013-14 before falling to third for the last four years. Michigan’s boys tennis participation moved up one spot as well to fifth on its ranking list, while girls track & field moved up one spot to seventh and girls lacrosse moved up one spot to 13th after a one-year drop back in 2017-18.
Three of five sports that fell on participation lists still outpaced Michigan’s overall participation rank – girls volleyball fell one spot to fifth, while girls golf and girls competitive cheer both fell one spot to sixth on their respective rankings lists. Other Michigan sports that ranked eighth or higher in 2018-19 were baseball (eighth), girls basketball (sixth), boys basketball (seventh), girls bowling (fourth), girls and boys cross country (both seventh), 11 and 8-player football (sixth and seventh, respectively), boys golf (sixth), boys ice hockey (fourth), girls and boys skiing (both third), girls softball (seventh), girls tennis (third) and boys track & field (seventh).
Boys lacrosse, girls soccer and boys and girls swimming & diving participation all slotted ninth on their respective lists, holding to their 2017-18 rankings and placing still ahead of where Michigan slotted for high school-aged population. Michigan wrestling participation fell two spots to ninth nationally, but still outpaced population, and boys soccer fell one spot to 10th. Girls gymnastics participation ranked 11th nationally for the second straight year.
National participation in high school sports in 2018-19 declined for the first time in 30 years – but the total of 7,937,491 participants still ranked third highest all-time, consisting of 4,534,758 boys and 3,402,733 girls.
Girls volleyball saw the largest increase in participants nationally with 6,225 more this past year over 2017-18, followed by boys track & field (+5,257), girls soccer (+3,623) and girls lacrosse (+3,164).
Football, despite a 5.8-percent decrease from 2017-18, remained the most-played high school sport nationally with 1,006,013 participants. Boys track & field (605,354), boys basketball (540,769), girls track & field (488,267), baseball (482,740), boys soccer (459,077) and girls volleyball (452,808) all saw at least 400,000 participants, while girls basketball (399,067) and girls soccer (394,105) approached that total.
The top 10 states by participants remained the same in 2018-19. Texas and California topped the list again with 825,924 and 824,709 participants, respectively, followed by New York (369,266), Ohio (339,158), Illinois (333,838), Pennsylvania (316,429), Florida (308,173), Michigan (292,947), New Jersey (281,058) and Minnesota (240,487). Only Texas, California and Minnesota reported higher figures than the previous year.
The participation survey has been compiled in its current form by the NFHS since 1971 through numbers it receives from its 51 member state associations, including the District of Columbia. Click to see the complete 2018-19 High School Athletics Participation Survey.
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 16 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,500 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including almost 8 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings, sanctions interstate events, offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials, sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities.
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.
'Retired' Garvey Remains Eager to Give
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 18, 2020
Earlier this week, Mike Garvey told his wife she can't let him quit all that he does to contribute to school sports across the state of Michigan, even if he is officially "retired."
But after 40 years serving in a variety of roles, he really doesn't have plans to stop. And she wasn't intending to make that request.
"I married the best girl in the world," Garvey said, "and she’s supportive and urges me to do the stuff that I enjoy."
And that has stretched over tenures at four Michigan high schools, serving as a teacher, coach and administrator, and continuing today in various roles at the local and statewide levels.
To celebrate his devotion and many contributions, Garvey has been named the 2020 recipient of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Charles E. Forsythe Award.
The annual award is in its 43rd 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.
Garvey, who grew up mostly in Detroit, began his educational career in 1980 teaching at Marian Central Catholic in Woodstock, Ill., before returning to Michigan in 1985 to teach at Lawton High School. While at Lawton, he helped the Blue Devils’ wrestling program continue a dominating run as an assistant coach on Lower Peninsula Class D championship teams in 1986 and 1987 and runner-up teams in 1988 and 1989, and then as head coach of the 1990 Class D title winner. He also served as athletic director at Lawton from 1994-99 before leaving for the same position at Delton Kellogg, where he served from 1999-2006. Garvey then was athletic director at Otsego from 2006-10, and he then served as athletic director at Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep from 2010-18.
He earned a number of accolades during his time as a coach and administrator, including the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award in 2015 for his many contributions to educational athletics that often went unsung despite their great importance. Garvey also has been a registered MHSAA official for 35 years, in softball for all 35 and for a mix of seasons in baseball, basketball, volleyball, wrestling and track & field. He continues to instruct as part of the MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program (CAP) and has served as tournament manager for the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals since their 2018 move to Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo.
“I never looked at my jobs as jobs. I always looked at it as I had a mission and was trying to complete a mission,” said Garvey, who continues to reside in Lawton. “I think I can still help people, so maybe my mission isn’t complete.
“It’s a blast. I just feel like it’s a chance to give. Schools and athletics and everything have given so much to me. Plus the human interaction – working with kids and coaches and officials, it just fits me and I enjoy it.”
Among accolades at the state and national levels, Garvey received the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) 2016 Distinguished Service Award and the George Lovich State Award of Merit in 2009 from the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA).
Garvey remains an active member of both the MIAAA and NIAAA and the Michigan Wrestling Coaches Association. He remains on the faculty for the NIAAA’s Leadership Training Institute and has served as Michigan’s coordinator for the program. He’s been a long-serving member of the MHSAA’s Wrestling Committee and hosted more than 75 tournament events while an athletic director. He served as co-commissioner of the former Kalamazoo Valley Association and currently is the executive secretary of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference.
He’s also rejoined the coaching ranks, taking over as head coach of Vicksburg High School’s girls and boys golf teams this school year.
“Even in ‘retirement,’ Mike Garvey continues to serve students, coaches and administrators with enthusiasm,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “He continues to pass on to our current coaches the best practices he’s learned over decades, and he has played a sizable role in making the Team Wrestling Finals a record-setting event for attendance the last few seasons. His brings a genuine enjoyment to these activities, and we’re fortunate to have him continuing to take leading roles.”
Garvey began classes at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice as a high school freshman, but after less than a month moved overseas as the family followed his father’s job with Chrysler. Garvey matriculated in Geneva, Switzerland, and then completed high school at The American School in London, England. Once back in the United States, Garvey earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western Michigan University. He remains active in community service through his church and lake association.
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
2018 - Gary Ellis, Allegan
2019 – Jim Derocher, Negaunee; Fredrick J. Smith, Stevensville
PHOTO: Teams take the mat for this season's MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals at Wings Event Center, again managed this winter by Mike Garvey. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)