State Champs! Reveals Concussion Report
August 1, 2017
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
The story of concussions in high school sports – from their symptoms to their treatment to a young person’s safe return to the classroom and the playing field – will be on display in the coming week in a State Champs! Sports Network Summer Series special on FOX Sports Detroit.
Concussions & The Modern Athlete will debut on FOX Sports Detroit on Sunday (Aug. 6) at 9 a.m., with daily re-airs throughout the week. The 30-minute special, hosted by Kiara Hay, details what concussions are and what they are not, and presents what steps are being taken at the high school level in Michigan to make all sports as safe as possible.
The results of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s concussion survey for the 2016-17 school year will be presented at the end of the show. For the past two years, the Association has required that all member schools report all potential concussions in all sports at all levels, and for two straight years, 99 percent of member high schools have provided their numbers.
Among those interviewed on the program are MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts, Kathy Vruggink Westdorp, an assistant director at the Association who oversees the efforts to collect concussion data from schools and its Coaches Advancement Program (CAP), which includes a module on concussions; Dallas Lintner, assistant principal/athletic director at Owosso High School, who surveyed athletic administrators, coaches, game officials and parents for a dissertation called “Measuring the Perceived Effectiveness of Michigan Concussion Legislation;” Birmingham Brother Rice head football coach Adam Korzeniewski, and Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher from the Sports Neurology Clinic at The CORE Institute in Brighton.
Here is the complete airing schedule for Concussions & The Modern Athlete on FOX Sports Detroit: Aug. 6 – 9 a.m.; Aug. 7 – 5 p.m.; Aug. 8 – 11:30 a.m..; Aug. 9 – 11 p.m.; Aug. 10 – 6:30 p.m.; Aug. 11 – 5 p.m. and Aug. 12 – 10:30 p.m. The program will also be archived for on demand viewing on the State Champs! Sports Network Facebook page and YouTube channel.
For more than 13 years, the State Champs! Sports Network has been producing high quality, award-winning sports and feature TV shows, series, programming, and radio shows, including the STATE CHAMPS! High School Sports Show, a weekly, half hour TV program providing a comprehensive look at the athletic events, lives and accomplishments of Michigan’s high school athletes. The State Champs! Sports Network has been the recipient of five Emmy Awards over the last seven years for Outstanding Youth Television.
Michigan Schools to Designate February for Statewide ‘Oxford Strong’ Support
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 20, 2021
Schools across Michigan will be dedicating February to “Oxford Strong” in support of Oxford Community Schools as the district continues to mourn the deaths of four students during a shooting at the high school Nov. 30.
The Oakland Activities Association – of which Oxford is a member – as well as the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Detroit Catholic High School League, with merchandise vendor E.A. Graphics, have been primary organizers of this effort.
E.A. Graphics, based in Sterling Heights, will be printing T-shirts and sweatshirts supporting “Oxford Strong” – with schools able to purchase those items and then provide them in their communities. E.A. Graphics will be donating the price of the apparel, after costs, directly to Oxford High School and its community. T-shirts, for example, cost $20, with $16.20 being donated from each sale.
Schools taking part may ask their spectators to then wear the apparel as part of an “Oxford Strong” sporting event at their schools during February. Organizers have designated Friday, Feb. 4, as a day for as many schools as possible to be “Oxford Strong” and contribute to a statewide outpouring of support for the Wildcats and their community. However, it’s expected many schools will sponsor “Oxford Strong” events throughout the month.
“Every day since Nov. 30, schools have asked us what they can do, how can they help,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “While there is no way to take away the pain from such a tragedy, our statewide community will be glad to provide any comfort possible to Oxford schools and their community at this time of such great sorrow.”
E.A. Graphics is the merchandising partner of the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), the professional group for athletic directors and other school sports administrators in Michigan.