This Week in High School Sports: 9/25/18

September 25, 2018

This week's show features Kiera Lasky, a multi-sport athlete on Bronson’s three-time reigning Class C champion girls volleyball team, passes out game balls to Lansing Waverly soccer goalie Shad Cunningham and the girls golf team at St. Joseph High School, discusses a unique football kickoff rule in "Be The Referee" and finishes with an MHSAA "Perspective" about the real blue chip participants in high school sports.

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

September 18: Hanover-Horton runner Judy Rector, countering a growing shortage of high school game officials - Listen
September 11:
Alpena soccer coach Tim Storch, balancing interests of all high school athletes - Listen
September 4:
Radio stations celebrating 77 years of high school sports broadcasts, and radio's importance in educational athletics - Listen
August 28:
Forest Hills Central football's Tate Hallock, keeping perspective amid changing times - Listen
August 21: Lansing Everett football coach Mike Smith, MHSAA executive director transition - Listen

Century of School Sports: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 8, 2024

The display above greets visitors at the top of our staircase to the second floor at the MHSAA office in East Lansing – a group of guests that annually numbers well over a 1,000 administrators, student leaders, game officials and several others who are invested in school sports.

We hope these four core values – the MHSAA’s oft-referred to “four S’s” of educational athletics – also lead our guests’ interactions in school sports as they return home to their communities across the state.

They are as follows:

SAFETY

  • It's not enough to provide students the opportunity to participate. The health and welfare of participants must be placed above all other considerations. Parents can be confident that their children not only will be as safe as possible in school sports, but they will also develop habits that tend to encourage a lifetime of better health.

SCHOLARSHIP

  • School-based and rooted in education, school sports are a supportive part of the school's academic mission. Minimum academic standards are set as a requirement for athletic participation, thus making activities a privilege.

SPORTSMANSHIP

  • The environment at interscholastic events is shaped by the attitudes and actions of players, coaches and spectators. Lessons learned in gracefully dealing with adversity in athletics translate to the classroom, the home and the workplace. Good sportsmanship is a precursor to good citizenship.

SCOPE

  • School sports embrace local roots. School events attract administrators, teachers, students and parents in one venue and can be the backbone of the community. Adopting reasonable, rational limits for school sports assures a sane and sensible, student-centered educational experience.

These values were coined by John E. “Jack” Roberts, the fourth of now five full-time executive directors who have served the MHSAA during its 100-year history. He introduced them during his first days on the job in 1986 – and as he noted in an installment of his “From the Director” blog in 2015, they’ve stood the test of time.

They drove the Association’s work during his tenure, surely before it, and continue to do so today – and we will delve into all four as we continue our storytelling of a “Century of School Sports” during this 2024-25 school year.

Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights

Sept. 25: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: 
MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18:
Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: 
Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4:
Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28:
Let the Celebration Begin - Read

PHOTO A display on the second floor of the MHSAA office outlines the four core values of educational athletics: safety, scholarship, sportsmanship and scope.