Generation Next
January 31, 2014
A capacity crowd of more than 700 will fill the Crowne Plaza Lansing West this Sunday and Monday for the 2014 MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Conference.
Young women who are interested in leadership as well as men and women responsible for recruiting, hiring, training and retaining women as coaches, administrators and officials will be in attendance. Click here for program details.
I fully expect to see meeting rooms and hallways full of enthusiastic people with a “can-do” spirit. After all, that’s the type of person who takes the time and goes to the trouble to attend a conference like this and to encourage or even arrange for others to attend or even to lead sessions.
And they won’t be dodging tough topics. They will talk about significant health and safety issues. They will address problems caused by improper perspective. They will wonder about the future of education-based athletic programs in a world of decreasing funds for schools and increasing distractions from society.
But as sure as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow, I’m just as sure that this weekend’s crowd includes at least several individuals who will tackle today’s and tomorrow’s problems, and solve many of them. In this generation of women in sports leadership are the genuine leaders who will assure school sports is as alive and well for the next generation of girls and women as it has been for this current generation.
Young women who are interested in leadership as well as men and women responsible for recruiting, hiring, training and retaining women as coaches, administrators and officials will be in attendance. Click here for program details.
I fully expect to see meeting rooms and hallways full of enthusiastic people with a “can-do” spirit. After all, that’s the type of person who takes the time and goes to the trouble to attend a conference like this and to encourage or even arrange for others to attend or even to lead sessions.
And they won’t be dodging tough topics. They will talk about significant health and safety issues. They will address problems caused by improper perspective. They will wonder about the future of education-based athletic programs in a world of decreasing funds for schools and increasing distractions from society.
But as sure as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow, I’m just as sure that this weekend’s crowd includes at least several individuals who will tackle today’s and tomorrow’s problems, and solve many of them. In this generation of women in sports leadership are the genuine leaders who will assure school sports is as alive and well for the next generation of girls and women as it has been for this current generation.
Different Treatment
February 25, 2014
In a perfect world we would treat every transfer student in the exact same way. We would declare every transfer student from anywhere to anywhere eligible immediately. Or we would declare every transfer student from anywhere to anywhere ineligible for a period of time that applied identically to everyone; there would be no exceptions for any student.
But educators who have been conducting interscholastic programs in every state across the country have determined that “one size doesn’t fit all.” One single rule, with no exceptions, doesn’t work. It’s either too lenient in some cases or it’s too limiting in others.
So every state high school association has developed a general policy – that students who are new to a school are not immediately eligible for interscholastic athletics; and every state high school association in the country has made exceptions to that general rule for certain students and modified the period of ineligibility for other students.
Different treatment for different students is inherent in every state association’s transfer rule. Different treatment is not only reasonable; it’s inescapable.
It is not unfair to treat some students differently than others. Very often it’s the only way to promote and protect fairness in school-sponsored sports.
But educators who have been conducting interscholastic programs in every state across the country have determined that “one size doesn’t fit all.” One single rule, with no exceptions, doesn’t work. It’s either too lenient in some cases or it’s too limiting in others.
So every state high school association has developed a general policy – that students who are new to a school are not immediately eligible for interscholastic athletics; and every state high school association in the country has made exceptions to that general rule for certain students and modified the period of ineligibility for other students.
Different treatment for different students is inherent in every state association’s transfer rule. Different treatment is not only reasonable; it’s inescapable.
It is not unfair to treat some students differently than others. Very often it’s the only way to promote and protect fairness in school-sponsored sports.