Casting Lines for Future Tournaments
August 12, 2016
By Jack Roberts
MHSAA Executive Director
The MHSAA is best known to the public for the tournaments it conducts to conclude the fall, winter and spring seasons each school year.
These tournaments, the first and largest program of the MHSAA, have survived the Vietnam War, the Korean conflict and two World Wars. They have survived the technology bubble, the housing collapse, the energy crisis and the Great Depression.
MHSAA tournaments existed at the dawn of aviation and at the time of our nation’s lunar landing. Popes, presidents and governors have changed and changed again and again, and MHSAA tournaments roll on year after year.
But the sense of tradition and permanence and inevitability of MHSAA tournaments doesn’t dissuade us from asking questions about our tournaments, even some of the most basic questions. Here are two.
Question #1
I have long been and will always be an advocate for a Ryder Cup format for the MHSAA Golf Finals, and a team tennis approach to the MHSAA Tennis Finals; but 90 years of tradition is hard to overcome. Might this be a more exciting format? Could it be co-ed? Could it reverse the decline in boys tennis participation, and increase girls golf participation? Wouldn’t it be fun to try?
Periodically, the International Olympic Committee requires each of the designated Olympic sports to defend its status, to state its case why the sport should remain a part of the Olympic program. Then, after a series or votes that retain one sport at a time, the IOC drops the sport that makes the weakest case. It does so to make room for one of the previously unlisted sports that makes the best case for inclusion.
This would appear to keep the existing Olympic sports on their toes, and to keep the Olympic movement fresh and reflective of modern trends in sports.
While I would not enjoy the controversy, I can see the potential for some positive results if the MHSAA were to invoke the same policy for determining the 14 tournaments it will provide for girls and the 14 for boys.
This might cause us to consider more deeply what a high school sport should look like, or at least what an MHSAA tournament sport should stand for.
On the one hand, we might be inclined to drop tournaments for those sports that involve mostly non-faculty coaches and non-school venues, or require cooperative programs to generate enough participants to support a team, or resort almost entirely to non-school funding, or cater to individuals more than teams.
Or perhaps this process would cause policymakers to forget traditional thinking and ask: “In this day and age, should we shake off traditional notions of sport and consider more where modern kids are coming from?” That might mean fewer team sports and more individual sports, more “extreme” sports like snowboarding and skateboarding, and more lifetime sports, meaning not just golf and tennis and running sports, but also fishing and even shooting sports.
Currently, MHSAA policy states that the MHSAA will consider sponsorship of a tournament series for any sport which 64 member schools conduct on an interscholastic basis as a result of action by the governing boards of those schools.
Should the only question be how many schools sponsor a sport, or must an activity also have certain qualities and/or avoid certain “defects?” What should an MHSAA tournament sport look like and stand for?
Question #2
Bristling from criticism that his association is a money-grabbing exploiter of children, my counterpart in another state said, “If we were running our programs just to make money, we would do very many things very differently.” I knew exactly what he meant.
Because we care about the health and welfare of students, because we mean what we say that the athletic program needs to maximize the ways it enhances the school experience while minimizing academic conflicts, and because we try to model our claim that no sport is a minor sport when it comes to its potential to teach young people life lessons, we operate our programs in ways that make promoters, marketers and business entrepreneurs laugh, cry or cringe.
If money were the only object, we would seed and select sites to assure the teams that attracted the most spectators had the best chance to advance in our tournaments, regardless of the travel for any team or its fan base. If money were the only object, we would never schedule two tournaments to overlap and compete for public attention, much less tolerate three or four overlapping events. If money were the only object, we would allow signage like NASCAR events and promotions like minor league baseball games.
Those approaches to event sponsorship may not be all wrong; they’re just not all right for us. And we will live with the consequences of our belief system.
During a typical school year, more than 20 percent of the MHSAA’s 2,097 District, Regional and Final tournaments lose money. Not a single site in golf, skiing or tennis makes a single penny. In no sport did every District, Regional and Final site have revenue in excess of direct expenses.
In fact, in only three sports – boys and girls basketball and football – is revenue so much greater than direct expenses overall that it helps to pay for all the other tournaments in which the MHSAA invests.
That’s right: invests. When we present our budget to our board, we talk about the MHSAA’s investment in providing tournament opportunities in all those sports and all those places that cannot sustain the cost of those events on their own. How much is this investment worth to students, schools and society?
These two are core questions that require our focus far in advance of talk about scheduling, site selection, seeding and the myriad matters that too often hijack our time and attention.
English's Hall of Fame Contributions to St. Francis Continue Behind Camera Lens
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
October 9, 2025
The name Julie English is now synonymous with Traverse City St. Francis football.
English spent her first two decades contributing to the school behind the scenes, helping the Gladiators launch boys and girls soccer programs, and scoring volleyball and basketball. She served as team manager for boys and girls soccer and even bus driver, so to speak, for the latter.
She’s also very noticeable on the sidelines of football, soccer and volleyball games, taking pictures with the aid of a motorized wheelchair.
This past Saturday, she was front and center. She was inducted into the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools Hall of Fame – established in 2007 to recognize individuals who inspire others by being exemplary role models.
English was paralyzed 10 years ago as she reached the end of a zip line while chaperoning a girls soccer team trip weeks ahead of the 2015 season. Many recall snow on the ground as she went first, intending to take pictures of the team as they planned to follow. She decided to go first that March day despite a fear of heights.
“It was all part of God's plan because I am afraid of heights – I really had to talk myself into going on the zip line,” said English, who considers it a freak accident and doesn’t discourage anyone from giving zip lining a try. “I was thinking, you know, I'm trying to convince these girls to step outside their comfort zone. And if I'm too afraid to do something like that, what kind of an example am I? So I breathed it and went up and actually it was fun – until it wasn't.“
Past TCSF athletic director Tom Hardy introduced English at the induction ceremony last weekend. He lauded the “amazing women he had the privilege” of working with during his 18-year tenure.
“While such a devastating event might have broken many, it only served to strengthen Julie's unwavering faith,” Hardy said. “She approaches each day with grace, fully aware of the challenges ahead, yet she embraces them with joy, love, and laughter. Following her accident, Julie dove deeper into her passion of photography.”
English now generously volunteers her time capturing St. Francis athletic events and creating lasting memories for students and their families through her lens, leaving school officials, coaches, players and supporters in awe.
Current TCSF athletic director Aaron Biggar has personally been touched by English’s work, through her photographs of his boys playing football for St. Francis. He’s thrilled to have English for home game, and she also travels to – and is welcomed by – volleyball, football and soccer opponents.
“Julie’s ability to capture those life events for parents who are watching the game and not taking pictures, has been such a gift for our community,” Biggar said. “She's been around so long and (is) so accepted by our community. And even by opposing teams, they allow her to be on the field and make precautions and stuff so she can. Our opponents in other schools have also been so accommodating of her and helping.”
English was at Thirlby Field last week capturing the Glads’ big Homecoming win over Boyne City, 20-13. She won’t be on the road tonight as the Glads put their undefeated football record on the line against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. But she will be back on the football sidelines Oct. 18 when St. Francis hosts Jackson Lumen Christi. And she’ll also be on the sidelines next week when the boys soccer team continues what it hopes will be another deep run into the postseason.
English’s humility, deep faith, and enduring optimism have had a profound and lasting impact, supporters note. Not surprisingly, her biggest concern as she takes pictures today is not her safety – it is the safety of the home and visiting athletes.
“I think sometimes I make people nervous, but I am always cognizant of what's going on, because the last thing I want to do is hurt anybody, like, have them run into me and then get hurt,” English said. “I want to be where I can get a good picture, but definitely not where someone could get injured if they ran into me.”
English’s photos are treasures for St. Francis families, points out Mike Kanitz, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside English. In fact, he nominated her. Kanitz is the junior varsity girls basketball coach, volleyball game manager, volleyball announcer and volleyball scorekeeper, football press box manager, and the Glads’ soccer game manager.
“Julie’s ability to capture time for SF families, I mean, is priceless,” said Kanitz, who also can be found at the scorer’s table for boys basketball. “She catches kids in their level of joy, and it's cool. It's a snapshot in time, and she does it for every family. I mean, this is all free. She posts it all free. She doesn’t charge anybody. And she she's such a hard worker. She's everywhere.”
Kanitz vividly recalls English’s efforts to bring soccer to St. Francis. It happened in 2002. The Glads first had a club team coached by volunteer Reggie Rix.
“She had to fight some hurdles and it was a lot of work, and to start a new sport – her vision was the correct vision,” Kanitz said. “There were coaches, but Julie was really the one that took care of everything. Julie was fair to all children. She wanted all kids to have that good experience of high school sports.”
Kanitz, one of many who regularly see English’s photos and read her inspiring messages on social media, finds it difficult to think about the zip line accident. His daughter was one of the St. Francis soccer players waiting to come down the line next.
“It's still hard for me to actually think about and talk about, but Julie's handled it better than anybody,” he said. “Her faith in God is so strong, and her message she writes … these Facebook stories about where she's at in her journey … they're moving and people read them, and it affects people.”
Early on, Julie recognized the vital importance of a Catholic education for her children and committed herself wholeheartedly to making it a reality, Hardy recalled. In addition to operating a full-time in-home daycare for more than 30 years, she worked weekends to help make ends meet and ensure that her four children – Ian, Caitlin, Jordan and Chelsea – remained enrolled in the Catholic schools.
As the owner of a daycare business, English drove a 12-passenger blue van. She often emptied the car seats in time to get 11 players – including Caitlin and Chelsea – to soccer games wherever TCSF was playing.
Caitlin English played on the first TCSF girls soccer team in 2002. She presented Hardy with a petition to offer soccer, signed by St. Francis athletes. As a club, English is proud to say, the team won all 17 of its games. When soccer became a school-sponsored varsity sport a year later, it was a cooperative with Traverse City Christian called Liberty.
Ian English was on the field for St. Francis boys’ first game, played through a co-op also with TC Christian during the fall of 2008. Chelsea English also played soccer for the Glads. Jordan English played rugby.
Ian, Jordan and Chelsea were at Julie’s induction ceremony. Caitlin, now living in the Grand Rapids area, was unable to attend because she is coaching soccer for her own daughter, Emilia, although Julie’s son-in-law did attend.
English gets around today with a vehicle adapted for her. She is supported regularly by Ian and Chelsea, along with a mother of nearby Kingsley High School athletes. She’s been spotted on the sidelines taking pictures at Kingsley volleyball and soccer matches, too. English also has been able to get to Grand Rapids and capture her granddaughter’s early soccer days with her camera.
She is enjoying a new beginning with soccer as well as her newer role for the Glads.
“Back in the day, I was able to run the clock, take pictures and do the book,” English said. “I don't think my brain would handle all of that now, but, you know, it was it was fun to do at the time. Not being able to do daycare anymore and not being able to do the things I did at St. Francis are the hardest things about being in a wheelchair – just not being able to do all the things I used to do.”
This spring marked the 10-year anniversary of the accident. English said she never asks, “Why me?” Rather, she is determined to can find the good and take advantage it.
Hardy agreed.
“Julie has said, ‘Never doubt who and what God puts in front of you,’” Hardy said. “This encapsulates the guiding ethos of her life.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Longtime Traverse City St. Francis supporter Julie English readies for her next shot while attending a Gladiators football game this season. (Middle) English captures a few frames. (Below) English recently was inducted into the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools Hall of Fame. (Top two photos by Rick Sack/TC Rick Photo. Below photo by Tom Spencer.)