Blog: From the Director

While football – the highest participation sport – has had the most concussions, the sports that follow are girls basketball (second) and girls soccer (third).

This nation’s patriots are not merely those who lived at the birth of this nation.

... when we consider any of these things in Michigan, we need much better rationale than a show of hands.

I have come to count on and enjoy three times of the year which serve as the major planning periods for my work at the Michigan High School Athletic Association. 

Across the U.S. this summer, school-age football players are flocking to camps conducted by colleges and commercial interests. They get outfitted in full gear and launch themselves into drills and skills work.

He knows that school sports still matters mightily to kids, and that those in charge of local school sports programs still yield great power over young people.

And until the past decade, football has not had to cope with out-of-season programs run by non-school groups and commercial entities that are so troublesome ...

The latest participation data also requires that those of us who love the game of football have much work to do; and that work has little to do with how either the 8- or 11-player tournament is conducted.

The MHSAA has neither the legal authority nor the resources to be involved in regulating young people and coaches for all things, at all times and in all places. 

Like many of my generation, I have a love-hate relationship with advances in communications technology.

When properly focused, competitive interscholastic athletics trades in difficult fun, devoted friendships and dedication to fitness throughout life.

A decade has passed since the court-ordered change in several sports seasons for Michigan high schools.

The objection of smaller schools to the equal divisions format in these sports has diminished over time as the Class D enrollment range has shrunk. 

While MHSAA membership is free of costs, it’s not free of responsibilities.

People might believe it’s more appropriate for MHSAA events to be on college campuses than in commercial arenas; but frankly, it’s getting hard for us to see a difference.

Rather than consider this as a huge disruption, we are choosing to look at this as an opportunity to review how and when we do things, both regular season and MHSAA tournaments. 

It’s interesting to observe that some recommendations that passed coach-dominated sport committees with unanimous support fail to receive 50 percent support by the athletic directors ...

Officials know what it means to have a partner, and to have his or her back in good times and bad.

The lure of participation for adolescents is that competitive school sports is difficult fun.

These topics were brought into focus by making time for the MHSAA staff and Representative Council to pause from the frenetic pace of everyday duties ...