MHSAA https://my.mhsaa.com info@mhsaa.com info@mhsaa.com Jim Mulchay Comment by Jim Mulchay on 'We Get It' https://my.mhsaa.com/News/Blog-From-the-Director/ID/394/We-Get-It#Comments Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:26:39 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:531 While I don't advocate significant change here are some thoughts based on my regions struggles over school financing and support of athletic programs - <br /><br />(1) Less administration - <br />a) stop trying to handle transfers and leave it to the individual schools/leagues to determine if a student is eligible;<br />b) stop trying to handle academic qualifications and leave it to the individual schools/leagues to determine if a student is eligible; <br /><br />(2) Concentrate your efforts - <br />a) education / training of coaches;<br />b) education / training of athletic administrators;<br />c) education / training of game officials;<br />d) education / training of students (leadership, sportsmanship, etc.);<br /><br />(3) Reconcile seasons to school years - this won't be popular but rebuild the <br />athletics seasons around the school year - now we begin in mid-August and end in June - and that ignores all the "voluntary" off-season conditioning programs and camps;<br /><br />(4) Don't schedule MHSAA events (districts, regionals, etc.) where it is necessary to miss school - schedule for Saturdays - in an emergency exceptions could be made but Keep the Students in Class!<br /><br />(5) See if you can get one of the universities in the state to do a multi-year study to determine the impact on academics of athletic participation (maybe limit it to "at risk" students?) - in other words try to get some hard, state-wide facts that show the value of athletics in schools - and get enough numbers to back it up;<br /><br />Note on number 5 - I do believe that athletes often have better grades than their class average - but many schools/coaches/teams also have athletic (or team) study tables, tutoring and other assistance for the student-athletes and actively encourage their use. The same assistance may be available to the general student (it depends) but there often is no one encouraging its use. <br /><br />Jim Mulchay<br />Ann Arbor, MI<br /> https://my.mhsaa.com/News/Blog-From-the-Director/ID/394/We-Get-It#Comments Anonymous Comment by Anonymous on 'We Get It' https://my.mhsaa.com/News/Blog-From-the-Director/ID/394/We-Get-It#Comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:34:51 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:569 <a href='http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2011/12/22/john-kasichs-hometown-school-district-might-eliminate-sports/'>http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2011/12/22/john-kasichs-hometown-school-district-might-eliminate-sports/</a> https://my.mhsaa.com/News/Blog-From-the-Director/ID/394/We-Get-It#Comments Anonymous Comment by Anonymous on 'We Get It' https://my.mhsaa.com/News/Blog-From-the-Director/ID/394/We-Get-It#Comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:59:21 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:570 <a href='http://www.westervilleohrealestate.com/john-kasichs-hometown-school-district-might-eliminate-sports/'>http://www.westervilleohrealestate.com/john-kasichs-hometown-school-district-might-eliminate-sports/</a> https://my.mhsaa.com/News/Blog-From-the-Director/ID/394/We-Get-It#Comments