This Week in High School Sports: 12/2/16

December 2, 2016

The latest edition of "This Week In High School Sports" features the defense-heavy Division 4 Football Final, passes out two Game Balls, explains the first steps in becoming an official in Be The Referee and finishes with an MHSAA Perspective talking about teaching class in both victory and defeat. 

The 5-minute program, powered by MI Student Aid, leads off each week with feature stories from around the state from the MHSAA’s Second Half or network affiliates. "Be The Referee," a 60-second look at the fine art of officiating, comes in the middle of the show; and is followed by a closing MHSAA "Perspective."

Listen to this week's show by Clicking Here

Past editions
Nov. 25:
Novi's repeat volleyball championship, giving thanks for schools' weather-related work - Listen
Nov. 18:
Pewamo-Westphalia football star Jared Smith, behind-the-scenes heroes - Listen
Nov. 11:
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart girls cross country, Big Ten move to Friday night football Listen
Nov. 4:
Upper Peninsula 8-player football showdown, how high school sports in Michigan have it pretty good compared with other states - Listen
Oct. 28: Montrose School Broadcast Program athletes, Football Playoff excitement - Listen
Oct. 21: 
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett boys tennis, Football Playoffs selection breakdown - Listen
Oct. 14: Sturgis girls golf, latest from "You've Got to be Kidding Me" file - Listen
Oct. 7:
Grand Ledge boys soccer, recent NFHS Hall of Fame selection Ken Beardslee of Vermontville - Listen
Sept. 30:
Grand Rapids South Christian boys soccer, Michigan teams supporting many worthy causes - Listen
Sept. 23:
Newberry football, downsides of national coverage of high school sports - Listen
Sept. 16: MHSAA study of concussions in high school sports during the 2015-16 school year - Listen
Sept. 9: Benton Harbor football, football rules differences between high school and college/pro levels - Listen 
Sept. 2: 
Fenton boys cross country, debuts of new football stadiums - Listen
Aug. 29:
 Haslett no-contact football practices, multi-sport participation and sportsmanship - Listen

Youth Sports: 'Focus on the End User'

August 24, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

As we at the MHSAA work toward promoting the benefits of a multi-sport experience at the high school level, we – with our Multi-Sport Task Force – realize these messages will be most valuable when they reach parents of children at the youth levels.

Below is an 18-minute TEDx talk by Travis Dorsch, a former kicker and punter at Purdue University and with multiple NFL teams who went on to receive his doctorate from Purdue and currently serves as an assistant professor at Utah State. He has conducted significant study on children’s youth sport participation and its impacts particularly on family relationships. 

In this talk, he speaks on proper expectations for young athletes and how financial costs of youth sports have twisted those expectations.

Dorsch will speak at the 6th Annual Kristen Marie Gould Endowed Lecture on Sport for Children and Youth on Sept. 6 at Michigan State University. He will be lecturing on “From Sandlot to Stadium: What We Know, What We Don't, and Best Practices for Parent Involvement in Youth Sport.”