From the Executive Director

MAINTAINING QUALITY COACHES

No one up or down the chain of command in school sports has more effect on the quality of the athletic program or more influence on student athletes than does the coach.

A good coach can redeem bad decisions by his or her state high school association or local administration; while a bad coach can ruin the best decisions of both.

Historically, we in school sports have claimed to be different than non-school sports. We’ve implied that we’re better than non-school sports; and we’ve claimed that one of our differences (perhaps one of our superiorities) is that our coaches are e ducators.

That stopped being true a long time ago. Many of our coaches have little or no professional or practical preparation in education.

So now we claim that in school sports not every mom and dad can coach. And that’s almost not true anymore. Often, we resort to a warm body, often someone’s mom or dad, to coach the team. And even when someone’s mom or dad isn’t assigned to coach the team , they yell so much from the stands and interfere so much with the assigned coach that they might as well be the assigned coach. This is why we hear the old joke about a fired coach who said the only coaching job he would ever take in the future would be at an orphanage.

Coaching has become a revolving door for faculty and nonfaculty coaches alike. The pay is poor, the hours are long, the conditions unattractive.

Can we change the pay? Not enough to matter.

But we can remind coaches that there is no profession quite like coaching, nowhere that the highs are any higher or the lows are any lower, no person who can shape lives any faster or be remembered any longer than a coach.

Can we change the hours? Not during the season. They are long; they’ll always be long. But most high school coaches complain little about in-season hours. It’s the year-round stuff that kills them and ruins their family lives. So, can we reduce dem ands out of season? Can we develop and adopt policies that lessen demands during the summer and out of season during the school year?

This is a tough, thorny, many-sided issue. It runs into parents who think their children would be starters and stars and win college

scholarships if only coaches worked with them year-round and traveled with them nationwide.

School administrators and boards of education need to consider policies to allow their coaches (and athletes) a life away from sports. The MHSAA Representative Council has prepared some recommendations, printed in the MHSAA HANDBOOK (pages 81 and 82 ), that may help develop or improve local policies which, in turn, will help attract and keep quality coaches.

Reducing out-of-season demands is an important component of improving working conditions for coaches, but there is more to be done if we are to maintain quality coaches.

A second equally important component is for coaches to know they have the support of their administration.

If a coach cuts a kid according to the policies and procedures of the school district, the coach shouldn’t be second guessed.

Of course, your policies should prohibit coaches from making the cuts which for very good reason infuriate parents, such as cutting for outdoor sports, or keeping 14 kids and cutting only 1 in any sport, or keeping 10 while cutting 5 in volleyball or b asketball because this will allow the team members more practice attention and playing time.

Your policies should prohibit such cuts, and your policies should describe how to cut. For example, you should never allow a sign on the door with a list of the kids who have made the team. Your policies should require that your coaches meet face to face with the athletes they cut.

Coaches shouldn’t be second guessed regarding playing time, and your policies should allow the coach to say, “Parent, this district’s policy is to not discuss playing time complaints except with the student involved.”

Coaches shouldn’t be second guessed on selecting players’ positions and starting line-ups. School policies — read to coaches, athletes and parents alike — should state: “It is district policy that at the sub-varsity level, all who have made every pra ctice and conform to all team policies should have playing time every week. Beyond that, starting teams and playing times are the coach’s decision.”

A third essential component of a successful effort to slow down the revolving door of coaches is to provide initial and continuing education, as we would expect of any profession and especially of any profession that works with young people.

Several quality coaches education programs are available; and in this state, the MHSAA delivers the Program of Athletic Coaches’ Education (PACE) to all corners of the state with a curriculum that is tailored for educational athletics in Michigan.

No coach in Michigan schools needs to feel ill-equipped for his or her job.

Maintaining quality coaches in Michigan schools is tough but not impossible if we prepare them, support them and protect them. Our students deserve these efforts; educational athletics requires we make such efforts.

Administrators and board members, be there stronger for your coaches, and they’ll likely be there longer for you.

RECRUITING AND RETAINING QUALITY OFFICIALS

You may not have noticed where you were, but 1997 was a tremendously positive year in high school officiating in Michigan.

In April of 1997, the Michigan High School Athletic Association conducted its first training sessions for approved officials associations’ trainers in the sports of basketball and football. I can’t think of anything for officials that was better receiv ed by officials than these outstanding training events arranged by MHSAA Assistant Director/Supervisor of Officials Bill Bupp for the leadership of our officials associations.

On April 4 & 5, 1998, the training of trainers will occur not only in football and basketball, but also in volleyball, wrestling, soccer and baseball/softball. And in 1999, swimming and diving is scheduled to be added to the training program.

Also in 1997, the MHSAA conducted its first in-service for assignors and officials. This too was very well received and it will be repeated in April with current information to assist these important people who do a valuable job for school sports, when it’s done well.

During this school year, the MHSAA is paying to have every approved association to become affiliated with the services of the National Association of Sports Officials LOAN program (Local Officials Administration Network). The MHSAA is also paying th e registration fee for one representative of every approved officials association to attend the National Leadership Conference of the National Federation of State High School Association May 1-3 in Kansas City.

Throughout this school year, the MHSAA has been providing three booklets to all new

officials, all Legacy officials and all the trainers of approved associations. The booklets have been provided in cooperation with the National Association of Sports Officials and Referee Magazine.

It is a tremendous investment in the quality of sports officiating at the interscholastic level in Michigan to provide assistance to the leadership and trainers of local officials associations, to the assignors of officials, and to our newest and youn gest officials.

There are at least three ways that schools can add to these efforts to improve interscholastic officiating in Michigan.

First, school coaches and administrators can identify candidates for the Legacy program. Encourage students to become involved in sports officiating before they graduate. It will be harder to get their involvement after they’ve graduated from high scho ol and left your daily contact.

Second, upgrade your physical education curriculum with a course that results in students becoming registered officials. The MHSAA has curriculum and tests. You can put together a course that has class work, lab work and examinations. Make it “advanced placement” physical education.

Third, teach and demand good sportsmanship from players, coaches and especially fans. If officials are treated with respect, they’ll enjoy the experience and continue. If officials are mistreated by spectators or others, they’ll hang it up, and we’ll lose them forever, before we ever could discover if we had a great official. A major component of solving the “officials problem” is solving the sportsmanship problem.