![](/sites/default/files/imported/NewsSig2H.jpg)
Rep Council Wrap-up: Spring 2013
May 20, 2013
A change in the transfer regulation and the addition of safety training for assistant and subvarsity coaches were among the most significant actions approved by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its annual Spring Meeting, May 5-6, in Gaylord.
The Spring meeting of the 19-member legislative body of the Association’s more than 1,500 member schools is generally the busiest of its three sessions each year. The Council considered 40 committee proposals and also dealt with a variety of eligibility rule, postseason tournament and operational issues.
The most significant change to the MHSAA body of regulations concerns students who transfer between schools for reasons related to athletics. Effective for the 2014-15 school year, a transfer student will be ineligible for 180 school days if he or she has partaken in an activity during the previous 12 months that demonstrates the transfer is related to athletics. Offending activities may include practicing, competing or training with a member of the new school’s coaching staff including during summer activities or non-school sports seasons like for AAU basketball. Attending an open gym at the new school or being coached by a current or incoming coach while the athlete still attended his or her former high school also would be considered an offending activity.
Currently, a school that loses a student for athletics-related reasons must report this to the MHSAA for that student to incur the 180-day transfer penalty. This is no longer necessary if the above activities are verified. The rule change beginning with the 2014-15 school year will consider a student’s activity taken place during the previous 12 months. Transfers may still qualify for one of 15 exemptions that allow for immediate eligibility.
The Council also approved another step in the MHSAA’s ongoing focus on health and safety issues. Also beginning with the 2014-15 school year, all assistant and subvarsity coaches at the high school level must complete the same MHSAA rules meeting required of varsity head coaches or, alternatively, one of the free online sports safety courses posted on or linked from the MHSAA Website that is designated as fulfilling this requirement.
Here is a summary of other actions taken at the Spring Representative Council Meeting which, unless noted, will take effect during the 2013-14 school year:
Handbook/Administrative Matters
• In cases of serious injury or extended illness, including concussion or suspected concussion and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest, students must be re-examined by a physician (MD or DO) and provide a written release from that physician before returning to practice or competition. The clearance may not be on the same date on which an athlete was removed from activity. The emphases on sudden cardiac arrest and practice are new.
• A first-time 9th grader whose first 9-12 enrollment is in a non-traditional school or program may retain eligibility at a traditional school if that student registered at the traditional school before enrolling in the non-traditional school or program.
• A faculty member may supervise a school’s team or individual competitors in cases when the head coach is unable to do so for failure to complete the annual rules meeting requirement. Previously, only an administrator was allowed to take over that supervisory role when the head coach was not allowed to be present for this reason.
• When students in grades 9 through 12 are involved, high school administrators including athletic directors may not sponsor or support out-of-season programs or perform out-of-season functions which the school itself is prohibited from sponsoring or supporting – even if the administrator is not acting as affiliated with the school. Booster clubs, alumni groups, parent organizations and other groups that exist because of the school currently are governed by the same regulation for grades 7 through 12.
• Coaches in bowling and golf may be present at a non-school facility for those respective sports when more than three of their district’s students (grades 7-12) are present, even if the coach is not employed by the facility, as long as the coach is not directly coaching or teaching more than three players and the presence of more than three students is coincidental and not prearranged by the coach.
• Beginning in 2014-15, the maximum length for all junior high/middle school sports seasons will be 13 weeks. Also, the earliest start date for junior high/middle school fall sports, beginning this fall (2013), is the 14th Monday before Thanksgiving.
Sports Matters
• In Baseball and Softball, teams and individuals will be limited to 38 contests beginning with the 2014 season. Currently, teams may participate in a combination of 56 dates and contests.
• In Competitive Cheer, additional policies and penalties were adopted to assure teams utilize the correct number of competitors in all three rounds of competition.
• In Golf, devices that measures distance may be utilized in MHSAA tournaments beginning this fall. This does not, however, include smart phones. Also, beginning in 2014, the spring Lower Peninsula boys tournament will begin and end one week earlier than is scheduled for the current season.
• In Soccer, a National Federation (NFHS) rule was adopted for MHSAA play requiring a team to play short-handed (11 vs. 10) after a player receives a second yellow card. Currently, a player is ejected after the second yellow card, but his or her team is allowed to substitute another player to take the ejected player’s place on the field. The 10-minute sit-out period after receiving a first yellow card was eliminated.
• In Volleyball, beginning with the 2014 season, the royal blue, gray and white ball is required for all high school-level regular-season and MHSAA postseason matches.
The Council also reviewed reports on membership, with 758 senior high schools and 751 junior high/middle schools in 2012-13; eligibility advancement applications, which totaled 15 for the year; the use of Educational Transfer Forms, which remained stable this year; school violations, which remained significantly below recent average; attendance at athletic director and coaches in-service workshops; officials’ registrations; rules meeting attendance; and officials reports submitted for the past three sports seasons. The Association’s $9.9 million budget for the 2013-14 school year also was approved.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members 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.
![](/sites/default/files/imported/NewsSig2H.jpg)
23rd WISL Conference Set for Feb. 4-5
January 11, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first, largest and longest-running program of its type in the country, the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Women In Sports Leadership Conference will take place Feb. 4-5 at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West.
The 23rd edition of the conference again will feature three keynote speakers and a variety of workshops. The program annually attracts upwards of 500 participants, most of them high school female student-athletes. High school students, coaches and administrators are invited to find registration information on the MHSAA Website.
Cost is $50 for students and $60 for adults, not including lodging for those intending to stay overnight in Lansing. A registration form for lodging also is available on the MHSAA Website.
The theme for this WISL Conference is “LEAD: Embrace the Challenge” – and the opening address will be delivered by U.S. national team volleyball setter Alisha Glass, who starred at Leland High School and led the Comets to the Class D championship as a senior in 2006. She continues to hold four MHSAA records including for career kills (3,584) and aces (937) and went on to start all four seasons as a setter at Penn State, leading the Nittany Lions to three straight NCAA Division I championships. Glass then led the U.S. national team to the 2014 world championship and the 2016 Olympic bronze medal. She will speak on 21st century leadership responsibilities and daily leadership opportunities student athletes may encounter.
The winningest coach in NCAA softball history, University of Michigan’s Carol Hutchins, will speak on the importance of leadership and continually sharpening those skills at the WISL Banquet during the evening of Feb. 4. Hutchins, a graduate of Lansing Everett High School and Michigan State University, has built a 1,527-491-5 record over 33 seasons and also is the winningest coach in Michigan athletic department history. Hutchins joined the Wolverines staff as an assistant in 1983 and took over the program as head coach in 1985. She led Michigan to the College World Series championship in 2005 and a runner-up finish in 2015. Hutchins played both softball and basketball at Michigan State and helped the Spartans to the 1976 Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national softball championship. She also holds a master’s degree from Indiana University.
Michigan State University women’s volleyball coach Cathy George will challenge participants to “find the leader in you” throughout life during the morning of Feb. 5. George recently completed her 13th season at MSU and 31st overall as a college head coach by guiding the Spartans to the NCAA Elite Eight. Her 256 wins at MSU are the most in program history, and she has a career record of 621-398 – counting also 11 seasons leading Western Michigan University, five at University of Texas-Arlington and two at North Dakota State. Her MSU teams have made the NCAA Tournament seven straight seasons. As an athlete, George was a team captain and three-time all-league selection at Illinois State, helping the Redbirds to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Workshops offered during the WISL conference include topics on coaching, teaching and learning leadership, sports nutrition and performance, injury prevention, promoting team chemistry and roles and responsibilities of captains. A complete itinerary is available on the MHSAA Website.
The WISL Banquet will include the presentation of this year’s Women In Sports Leadership Award. The winner will be announced later this month.
Follow the #WISL hashtag on Twitter to learn more about the conference’s activities.