Coming Soon: Online Captains Course
November 7, 2014
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
Staff, space and budgetary constraints put limitations on the best of organizations, and the MHSAA feels the squeeze like any other association.
Technology, fortunately, provides an infinite number of belt loops to loosen as programs expand. In order to achieve mass appeal, an association’s message at times needs to shift from face-to-face to desktops, laptops, tablets, and smart phones.
Especially when the target audience comprises those in their late teens, for whom the objects above are never out of arm’s reach.
Thus is the impetus the MHSAA Online Captains Course, set to launch later this school year.
“Our in-person Captains Clinics programs are still a great way to deliver leadership lessons and to get students from rival schools to interact with each other in a fun and worthwhile way,” said MHSAA Director of Brand Management Andy Frushour. “But we can only do so many in-person clinics per year. With the online version, we can deliver the same message, albeit through a different format. And we can do it 24 hours a day, at the user’s convenience, using a medium that kids use like the rest of us use oxygen, and potentially delivering our captains message to exponentially more students than the in-person version; even to students outside of Michigan.”
The ambitious plan is expected to come to fruition this fall, with plenty of support from the Michigan State University Institute for the Study of Youth Sports (ISYS), and, of course, the MHSAA Student Advisory Council.
The faces of the Captains course, quite literally, will be SAC members Connor Thomas of Marlette, and Caycee Turczyn of Lapeer.
“The idea for the Online Captains Course came to be when we were evaluating the Captains 101 books,” said Thomas, referring to a printed guide published by members of the first three SAC classes. “When it was decided there would be an online course, our committee decided to do a revision of the book to go along with our online sessions. The course will be open to all who want to gain knowledge on how to be a better leader. The first session is a series of videos, personal interviews and leadership activities.”
Turczyn and Thomas serving as hosts fit the peer-to-peer model that is so effective in student leadership campaigns.
“The main goal is to reach out to team captains or student-athletes,” Turczyn said. “With the two of us as speakers leading other students through the course, it will make it seem less like homework and more like a friend trying to encourage another friend to become they best they can be.”
This first version will be an introductory course, with plans for two more advanced leadership courses that will be facilitated online but with activities and discussions to take place offline in local communities. The goal for this “hands-on” portion of the training is for leaders to conduct interviews with coaches and administrators, write short answers and interact with teammates for a more transformational learning experience.
Working closely with Frushour, the ISYS team of Scott Pierce and Scott Westfall has spent the past year designing the program curriculum and they, too, are anticipating a highly-interactive and well-received product.
“It’s a three-tiered program that will provide high school student-athletes information that leaders ‘need to know.’” Westfall said. “Topics that will be covered include understanding motivation, team cohesion, positive peer modeling and communication. Additionally, the programs will provide captains with structured activities and experiences to promote self-reflection and opportunities to grow as young leaders.”
The first course is made up of 10, 10-minute segments, so it should take about two hours to complete. The short “bite-sized” segments make it easier for students to digest all of the information being given to them.
Frushour and the MHSAA are grateful to have supportive, expert leaders in the field as neighbors.
“All of the lessons are based on research conducted by MSU’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports,” Frushour said. “Dr. Dan Gould and his doctoral students are rock stars in the field of youth and leadership development, and we are lucky to have them as partners on this project “
For Pierce and the ISYS team, it’s a natural fit.
“The ISYS strives to provide these MHSAA initiatives with the most relevant and applicable scientific knowledge to put the organization in the best position to develop strong student-athlete leaders,” Pierce said.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marlette's Connor Thomas and Lapeer's Caycee Turczyn will serve as the Student Advisory Council hosts for an online Captains Clinic coming soon. (Middle) Michigan State University's Scott Pierce, Thomas, Turczyn and the MHSAA's Andy Frushour work on a segment shot at DeWitt High School.
#BOTF V: Make Way for a New Champion
January 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The second-largest and arguably strongest pool of applicants in Battle of the Fans history made it especially hard for members of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council to pick only five finalists for this year’s competition.
The result? A mix of past contenders and rising candidates that together guarantee there will be a first-time winner for the fifth time in the contest’s five-year history.
Yale, a finalist in 2015, again is in the running and joined by Charlotte, Munising, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian and 2014 finalist Traverse City West. This year’s pool of 22 applicants was the second-largest in Battle of the Fans history and largest since 2013.
Battle of the Fans V, organized by MHSAA staff and its 16-member Student Advisory Council, will reward the cheering section that best creates the positive and festive atmosphere made possible when students show enthusiasm, togetherness and sportsmanship while rooting for their team. MHSAA staff and Student Advisory Council members will visit all five finalists for home boys basketball games during the second half of this regular season, with coverage and video from those visits and the announcement of the winner all to be published on Second Half.
Schools were invited in December to submit short videos, via YouTube, of their cheering sections in action. The winner will be announced Feb. 19, and video of all five sections will be played on the Breslin Center HD scoreboard during the Finals in March. The champion and finalists also will be recognized during the Boys Semifinals on March 25.
This year’s finalists include at least one school from each MHSAA Class – A, B, C and D – and 16 of 22 finalists received at least one top-five vote from a member of the Student Advisory Council.
“This was not only one of the largest, but top-to-bottom it's one of the strongest fields of applicants we’ve had during the five years of Battle of the Fans,” said Andy Frushour, MHSAA director of brand management and advisor to the Student Advisory Council. “It shows this program is growing. Schools know about it and look forward to taking part. And most importantly, the message is continuing to spread that students can have a blast rooting on their classmates in a positive way.”
Video submissions included explanations on how each section met the following contest criteria: positive sportsmanship, student body participation, school spirit, originality of cheers, organization of the group, student section leadership and overall fun.
Click the links below to see the videos submitted by the finalists:
Charlotte - Munising - Muskegon Western Michigan Christian - Traverse City West - Yale
The winner will be selected by another Advisory Council vote based in part on activity on the MHSAA’s social media sites. All social media postings regarding Battle of the Fans V should include the hashtag #BOTF. The MHSAA will post throughout the finalists tour on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram sites and Snapchat feed.
Finalists will be visited for the following home basketball games:
Jan. 15: Armada at Yale
Jan. 23: Spring Lake at Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
Feb. 4: Traverse City Central at Traverse City West
Feb. 5: Eben Junction Superior Central at Munising
Feb. 12: Parma Western at Charlotte
Big Rapids, Detroit U-D Jesuit, Dowagiac, Tawas and Wayland, listed here in alphabetical order, rounded out the top 10 in the vote to select the finalists. Dowagiac was last year's champion, following Frankenmuth in 2012, Buchanan in 2013 and Beaverton in 2014.
This year’s applicants brought the total number of schools that have entered the contest at least once to 75, with Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard – a finalist in 2013 – the only school to apply all five years. Traverse City West has applied three times, Munising and Yale twice, and Charlotte and Western Michigan Christian were first-time entrants this year. There were 15 first-time applicants total, also including Big Rapids, Detroit U-D Jesuit, Fulton-Middleton, Holland, Imlay City, Manton, Norway, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Tawas, Utica Ford, Walled Lake Western, Wayland and Wyoming Godwin Heights. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary applied for the second time.
Click to view all applications on YouTube.
The contest is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, which promotes Michigan's locally-produced dairy products and nutrition education.
Rules plus links to last year’s coverage of the contest can be found on the BOTF page of the MHSAA site.
The Student Advisory Council is made up of eight seniors and eight juniors who each serve two-year terms. The Council acts as the voice of Michigan's student-athletes; it serves as a student sounding board for the MHSAA's Representative Council, assists in planning Sportsmanship Summits, Captains Clinics and other student leadership events; participates in a yearly focus group about the state of high schools sports for Michigan State University's Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and assists with medal ceremonies at MHSAA championship events.
PHOTOS: MHSAA Battle of the Fans finalists cheer on their teams, clockwise from top left: Buchanan, Dowagiac, Yale, St. Johns and Beaverton.