‘Tis (out of) the Season
April 2, 2015
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
Those who live in close proximity to high schools throughout Michigan don’t even need a calendar to know what time of year it is when a new sports season begins.
Whistles piercing through the hum of their air conditioners on the first Monday morning in August mark the start of fall from nearby football facilities. The ping of aluminum as sidewalks and grass re-appear from winter’s grip signifies the start of spring.
Office supply stores could see calendar sales soar in those households – or occupants might at least do a double-take when checking smartphone calendars – in the near future if MHSAA out-of-season coaching regulations are modified. The familiar sounds of the seasons could resonate in non-traditional months as well.
A major topic of the recent MHSAA Update Meetings and AD In-Services in the fall was the possibility of revamping the regulations regarding out-of-season contact for school coaches with school teams during the school year. The Summer Dead Period would remain in place and has been largely supported by membership since it was implemented for the 2007-08 school year.
It should be noted that out-of-season revision is not a certainty, but simply in the exploratory stage at this point.
Yet, the time was ripe to initiate discussion on this topic in the fall. The growth of non-school athletic programs and demands placed upon students by such entities in recent years was one factor. The difficulty the MHSAA has enforcing – and schools have interpreting – current out-of-season coaching regulations is another factor.
“The fundamental question is how to allow more contact between coaches and students out of season without encouraging single-sport participation,” MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts said.
Can this be done? Can trends toward specialization and away from multi-sport participation be reversed through greater contact periods for each sport within the school year?
Proponents of this school of thought believe that time otherwise spent with non-school coaches would be best served with education-based coaches who, in theory, would be on the same page with peers at their school, all encouraging multi-sport participation.
“Part of the explosion of AAU and club involvement has been the perpetuation of the notion that without additional training and competition, students will not reach their potential nor maximize their chances of being recruited by colleges,” said Scott Robertson, athletic director at Grand Haven. “When our high school coaches have the ability to provide a similar experience, but with an education-first mindset regulated by athletic directors, the expectations of student-athletes by coaches can be tempered.”
It is a lively debate that will be picking up momentum for the remainder of this school year and into the next.
Following are some of the concepts and comments from the fall, with key points from a statewide survey to be published later this week. The MHSAA's Representative Council discussed these results at its March meeting, and action is possible during its final meeting of the school year in May.
Let's begin
Perhaps the most criticized, misinterpreted, ignored, and/or difficult to enforce rule in the MHSAA Handbook resides in Regulation II, Section 11 (H): the three- and four-player rule for coaches out of season during the school year. (See bottom of this page.)
Debate has long spiraled in dizzying circles around definitions such as “open gyms,” “under one roof,” “conditioning,” “drills,” and other components.
“One of the problems is the MHSAA finds this specific rule difficult to enforce and interpret,” MHSAA Associate Director Tom Rashid said. “Another perceived problem is that there might be a disconnect between school coaches and students out of season, which might be driving students toward non-school programs.”
It’s simple to recognize lightning rods, but quite another to construct a device for harvesting the sparks in a productive manner. To that end, Rashid prepared an outline for discussion on the topic as he hit the trails around Michigan this fall for Update Meetings and AD In-Services.
“We felt we needed to see if we could do better,” Rashid said. “Rather than say to 600 ADs, ‘What do you think about out-of-season coaching rules?’ we asked about a new concept. We created a starting point for discussion.”
The basic premise brought forward to the masses was this: a voluntary contact period of one month to six weeks with a limit of 10 or 15 days of contact in that period – and perhaps three in any one week – between a coach and his/her athletes out of season with any number of students, grade 7-12. Due to large participation numbers in football, some consideration was given to limiting the number of players in any one out-of-season session to 11, thus not creating “spring football.”
A straw poll from the gatherings in the fall indicated nearly 70 percent of attendees in favor of “contact periods” versus the current rule, prompting a detailed survey to all member schools sent in October to further measure the climate and hone in on specifics for desired changes.
“It was a very open process with great discussion,” Rashid said. “All size schools, all demographics, and all corners of the state weighed in.”
As always, the devil is in the detail, and the October survey yielded plenty of detail.
Numbers favor no numbers
As mentioned earlier, nearly 70 percent of attendees at MHSAA fall gatherings indicated that they might prefer a rule that specified coaching contact periods outside their sport during the school year, as opposed to limiting the number of student-athletes per session.
The ensuing survey sent to member schools in late October reflects that sentiment in schools of all sizes, and in all zones of the state. On the topic of counting contact days out of season with no limit on the number of students involved, more than 72 percent of 514 responding schools favored the plan. Class A schools led the way with nearly 76 percent in support. Class D schools chimed in at 69 percent in favor. Support was strong across the zones of the state as well, led by the Detroit metro area (Zone 3) at 76.5. The middle of the state (Zone 5) was the low, but still found close to 60 percent in favor of such a revision.
The survey revealed consistencies across the board relative to the amount of three- and four-player sessions currently utilized by schools of different sizes, and the support and opposition to questions regarding revised regulations on the topic. For instance, nearly 50 percent of Class A schools indicate that their coaches work with students under the current rule most every week during the offseason, while 40 percent of Class D schools report that most of their coaches never utilize the three- or four-player rule at all out of season. Not surprisingly then, in questions posed where three-and four-player stipulations might still exist, the larger schools favored such changes at a higher rate than the smaller schools.
Survey data also reveals a reason for such opposition at lower-enrollment schools: a simple numbers game. In Class C and D, the majority of schools report that 60-80 percent of their student-athletes participate in more than one sport. So, with more students busier year-round than at their larger school counterparts, there are fewer people to attend out-of-season sessions.
Similarly, the concept of extending the current preseason down time for all sports was supported more in Class C and D schools than Class A and B.
“It is always a challenge for individual schools to see things from the other schools’ perspectives,” Rashid said. “It’s hard for people to say, ‘It might be different for us, but for the greater good, we might have to change our culture here.’”
But, that line of thinking is certainly understood at Chelsea High School, a Class B school of more than 800 students. Athletic director and football coach Brad Bush is an advocate of multi-sport participation, regardless of school size.
“The current three- or four-player rule benefits kids by developing skills, but does not force kids to feel pressure to be at a full practice,” Bush said. “Changing this rule could reduce the number of multiple-sport athletes. Our staff and league is united in believing that changing this rule could be a big mistake.”
Outside influence
Part of the balancing act in attempting to revise out-of-season rules is to encourage greater participation on school teams, while not promoting specialization.
Interestingly, a number of schools in the survey reported that they have policies in place limiting in-season athletes from attending sports-specific training from out-of-season coaches. The percentages ranged from 27.6 percent in Class D to 41 percent in Class B.
Most schools allow weightlifting during the season, followed in decreasing order by three- or four- player workouts, conditioning and open gyms. However, more than 40 percent of responding schools have in place a policy prohibiting non-school competition for in-season athletes. The message seems to be that if activity is taking place, the preference is for it to be under supervision, and for that supervision to come from school coaches.
“If a coach is going to hold three workouts per week out of season, a student may leave another sport to play in the offseason of their preferred sport,” Rashid said. “As such, many ADs identified that it would be the role of each school to regulate out-of-season coaching. Right now, the ADs have to keep a handle on out-of-season activities and if the rules change, depending on their demographic, they might need to be involved even more.”
With advance planning, an environment can be created in which all of a school’s sports can exist in harmony and encourage multi-sport membership.
“Athletic directors can guide all coaches on their staffs to work together to create 12-month calendars that focus on the needs of kids and respect the desire of many to participate in multiple sports,” Robertson said. “In doing so, coaches can work to avoid overlaps in important opportunities where kids may be put in win-lose situations. With careful planning student-athletes will be afforded more opportunities to train and develop with their classmate peers and within their own communities.”
Chris Ervin, athletic director at St. Johns High School, is one of many in the camp that believes the current system accomplishes a school’s missions when properly supervised.
“Our coaches have ample opportunities to coach in the three- or four-player setting, and our athletes have plenty of opportunities to improve their skill sets through open gyms which are not coach-directed,” Ervin said.
Others agree that any change might introduce unwanted consequences. One source, an administrator in a strong football community, speculates in that town and others like it, football programs could smother other sport programs by scheduling full workouts on top of other in-season sports. Voluntary or not, it is opined that kids would gravitate toward the out-of-season football workouts if that’s the signature sport in town.
Ervin can see the same point. “I don't see this affecting my role too much, but I do believe this could lead to even more specialization. For example, if football coaches are able to work with their players 11 at a time in the offseason, I believe athletes will feel more pressure to be part of that football workout while they are in-season with another sport.”
Under another scenario, school coaches might someday be allowed to coach non-school teams during the school year. The rationale is that if students are participating outside the school campus anyway, wouldn’t it be better that they are coached by school personnel so that the educational message is delivered appropriately?
Add to this the fact that 100 percent of surveyed schools reported conducting open gyms in basketball and 66 percent in volleyball – the two most high-profile AAU sports – would it benefit schools to have trained personnel in those non-school leadership roles?
“This would connect our coaches to school kids but also could have the unintended consequence of specialization,” Rashid said. “However, the coaches in place would be our coaches, whereas currently we don’t have a say in the AAU coaches of our students.”
Not yet. This topic on the survey was favored by roughly 60 percent overall, but an equal 20.4 percent were at opposite ends of the spectrum strongly in favor and strongly against, with the highest percentage falling just above lukewarm.
By Class, the C and D schools were slightly more opposed to this idea than Class A and B. Why? Very often, in the smaller communities, there are no non-school opportunities; school sports are the only option.
Robertson believes that incorporating a revised out-of-season coaching plan could assist families financially in the long run.
“By having the ability to include larger numbers of kids in development activities and allowing for a limited number of competitions, there is a strong likelihood that students and their families will choose the out-of-season activities offered by their schools over the AAU/club activities that exist,” Robertson said. “In doing so, there will be no rental of outside gyms, no mandatory club fees, and reduced costs to families.”
Not all ideas have elicited opposing views. One item on the docket that schools uniformly opposed was the possibility of scrimmages within the out-of-season contact period. Most schools indicate a preference for these periods to be instructional only.
Just a tweak
Perhaps the current rule just needs a splint and not a full cast. Maybe it’s not broken after all.
The most popular proposal to emerge from the survey was simply the removal of three little words in the current regulation: “under one roof.”
More than 80 percent of schools favored removing the phrase “under one roof” from Regulation II, Section 11(H) 2. a., which means as long as only three or four students are receiving coaching, then others may be in the facility working on conditioning, or in groups on their own.
Receiving close to 70 percent support from schools is the prospect of removing the portion of Handbook Interpretation 237 which currently prohibits schools from setting up rotations. This would allow a coach to work with dozens of players, three and four at a time.
And, Robertson says, in less time than coaches are currently expending.
“Most high school coaches already commit an enormous amount of time to the offseason development of student-athletes,” he said. “By removing the limit on number of athletes they can have contact with at one time and by placing a limit on the number of dates they can actually have this direct instructional contact, the net gain will be fewer dates, but with a greater impact.”
Rashid forecasts slight modifications of current rules rather than wholesale changes, at least in the near future.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if a few changes come sooner than later,” Rashid said. “One, allow rotations in the three- or four-player rule. Two, allow more than three kids under one roof as long as only three kids are receiving coaching. These two are a broader interpretations of our current rules.”
Simpler could be the answer. Perhaps over the course of time, in trying to be everything to all schools, the rule became more difficult for schools to follow, and for the MHSAA to oversee. Outside influences that could not have been predicted a generation ago have crept into the picture as well.
“These rules are very old, and that doesn’t mean not good,” Rashid said. “They were written at a time when the majority of students played multiple sports; before students began playing in 3rd and 4th grades, and before the non-school sports explosion.”
Even with the current trends and abundance of choices for some athletes, there are strong feelings from various leaders to leave things status quo.
“Our staff and league believes there needs to be a greater emphasis on the current rules with stronger punishments,” Bush said. “The answer is to enforce to current rules that we have, and not change the rules.”
There is a certain irony to this topic in front of athletic administrators and coaches, who spend so many hours in the here and now; in-season, in practices, in games.
“Who would think that what you do out of season could be the most critical piece of school sports discussion that we’ve had?” Rashid ponders. “It’s not what happens during the season, but in the offseason, that might be at the core of encouraging and maintaining school sports participation.”
Current Out-of-Season Rule (Three- or Four-Player Rule)
From MHSAA Handbook, Regulation II, Section 11(H):
2. These limitations out of season apply to coaches:
a. Outside the school season during the school year (from Monday the week of Aug. 15 through the Sunday after Memorial Day observed), school coaches are prohibited from providing coaching at any one time under one roof, facility or campus to more than three (or four) students in grades 7-12 of the district or cooperative program for which they coach (four students if the coaching does not involve practice or competition with students or others not enrolled in that school district). This applies only to the specific sport(s) coached by the coach, but it applies to all levels, junior high/middle school and high school, and both genders, whether the coach is paid or volunteer (e.g., a volunteer JV boys soccer coach may not work with more than three girls in grades 7-12 outside the girls soccer season during the school year).
Serving a Balanced School Sports Diet
May 1, 2018
By John E. “Jack” Roberts
MHSAA Executive Director
If you really want to know what a person thinks is important, look at that person’s calendar and checkbook or credit card receipts. How a person spends his/her time and money tells you more than anything that person says.
The same can be said for organizations. How they spend their time and money identifies what they value.
So, an observer of the Michigan High School Athletic Association might notice that the only standing committee that meets more than once each year is the MHSAA’s Junior High/Middle School Committee, and the MHSAA’s longest-standing work group is the Task Force on Multi-Sport Participation, which has had six formal meetings during 2016 and 2017.
Promoting multi-sport participation, and doing so before students reach high school, is a documented MHSAA priority. We believe it’s good for students, schools and society.
By encouraging participation but not specialization, balanced multi-sport participation provides the sweet spot between two unhealthy extremes – on the one hand, inactivity that contributes to a childhood obesity epidemic or, on the other hand, year-round specialization that is too early, intense and prolonged, leading to an epidemic of overuse injuries in youth sports.
Within the pages of this issue of benchmarks are descriptions of initiatives to elevate the profile of school-sponsored sports programs for junior high/middle school age youth and to under-gird multi-sport participation as the means to maximize benefits for students and schools today, and for society in the future.
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The MHSAA is tailoring efforts to put the multi-sport athlete back in style. Among the initiatives is bolstering participation at the junior high/middle school ages.
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
Saugatuck’s high school football season had just come to an end with a 21-0 loss to Pewamo-Westphalia in the MHSAA Division 7 Final last November when three key players were being led up the tunnel to represent the school for postgame media interviews.
When asked how many on the team would have a one-day break before joining the basketball team for practice on that Monday, one of the players replied, “We have about seven of us who begin basketball Monday.”
The response was comforting to hear in an age that has seen specialization and year-round, single-sport focus render the multi-sport student-athlete to minority status in many hallways across the nation’s high schools.
Granted, participation in multiple sports is necessary for programs to exist in smaller schools such as Saugatuck, but even those communities can benefit from a renewed emphasis and earlier introduction to school-based athletics.
As MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts points out above, there are just two groups that meet more than once each year at the offices in East Lansing: the Junior High/Middle School Committee, and – during the past two years – the Task Force on Multi-Sport Participation.
Each will continue to play pivotal roles in promoting increased participation, one by examining early introduction to school sports at the junior high/middle school level, and the other by evaluating education, cooperation and recognition of multi-sport numbers at the high school age.
“One of the challenges we currently face is that in some cases students enter high school never having experienced school sports,” said MHSAA Assistant Director Cody Inglis, who oversees the Junior High/Middle School Committee. “Now they go cold-turkey into high school sports and we have to introduce them to rules and regulations that aren’t a fabric of non-school sports which they may play. The earlier we can expose them to our programs, the better off we’ll be at the high school level.”
Inglis outlined three main topics in front of the Junior High/Middle School Committee currently: 1) how to introduce school sports to students earlier; 2) the effect more games – not length of season – would have on JH/MS participation, and 3) whether the MHSAA should sponsor Regional tournaments in select sports prior to high school age.
The Task Force on Multi-Sport Participation, meanwhile, has turned its focus on the following: 1) educating groups on the benefits of variety in participation and the perils inherent in specialization, 2) preparing tools for administrators, and 3) creating recognition programs for multi-sport student-athletes.
The following are results from a fall 2017 survey on junior high/middle school programs and explanations of tools created by the multi-sport task force to encourage participation for all seasons.
Start in the middle ... or even before
The prevailing sentiment among athletic administrators, coaches and student-athletes themselves is that early introduction to a variety of sports will foster a culture of future participation and the tendency to continue in more than one sport.
“Students at the JH/MS level need to experience sports sampling so that they can be physically literate; to gain competence and confidence to move their bodies in a variety of movements so that they can achieve lifelong health and wellness and stay injury-free,” said Scott Przystas, teacher and coach at Grand Haven Area Public Schools and member of the MHSAA Task Force on Multi-Sport Participation.
The overriding question is how to strike a delicate balance between opportunity and excess at the target age group.
The good news is that MHSAA JH/MS membership has increased by more than 100 schools during the last two years, bringing the total to nearly 800. The MHSAA is exploring means to ensure the trend continues, surveying the schools last fall on matters such as modifying the Limited Team Membership rule to allow student- athletes at the JH/MS to compete in up to two outside events in the same sport in the same season, having the MHSAA sponsor regional or even state competitions in certain sports and expanding the number of JH/MS games and contests allowed during the 13-week season.
“The survey attempted to answer several questions,” Inglis said. “Would opening up options to participate in a couple non-school events during the same season draw athletes to our JH/MS programs or keep them in non-school sports? Would statewide or regional tournaments be attractive?”
Survey results reveal the current climate pertaining to several topics.
Of the 616 completing the survey, 436 were athletic directors and 166 were principals, with the remainder consisting of other positions within the schools, ranging from coaches to superintendents. The grades served by the schools were 6th-8th, with about 36 percent indicating that 5th-graders were also in their buildings.
“The survey response has shown there’s a definite hesitation for state tournaments at the JH/MS level, but there is some favorable feeling toward regional tournaments,” Inglis said.
For example, when asked about the possibility of regional tournaments in track & field and/or cross country, the results were about 50/50 for and against.
Yet, when it comes to the idea of statewide tournaments in those sports, the attitude changes significantly, with roughly 30 percent in favor. Further, when the question of JH/MS state championships for any other sports is posed, the response is an overwhelming “No,” from 84 percent of those surveyed.
Following is a sampling of comments regarding postseason tournaments at the JH/MS level:
• “Middle school athletics should be a time to expose students to the sport and develop their skills. Increasing the competitiveness of it would change the focus.”
• “Logistically, it would create more challenges to have regional and state tournaments at the middle school level. However, we are at the point where we are in a struggle competing with club sports such as basketball and soccer, to name two. At a minimum, a regional championship would create additional buzz and competitive atmosphere at the school setting. A state championship is not as critical. However, if we do this for one sport, we will have to consider doing this for all sports.”
• “I think we are headed down a dangerous path of too much too quick for junior high kids. They can play for championships in high school and beyond if they are good enough. More games mean less practice, more expense and less of a focus on the things that are important.”
• “I think middle school sports is a great opportunity to expose students to sports. We need to keep it pure with learning each day without the pressure of trying to win trophies and medals.”
• “State championships at a younger age will just start the clock earlier of recruiting and illegal transfers. Add more games to be competitive with the non-school sports.”
That last sentence hits a couple hot buttons. Can more games be added while maintaining an appropriate amount of competition? Can an environment be created to pull students from, or co-exist, with non-school options at the JH/MS level?
“Overall, our JH/MS constituents do not want to lengthen athletic seasons, but there is some opinion to increase the number of contests within the current seasons, particularly on days not followed by school days,” Inglis said.
For example, respondents indicated just 45 percent were in favor of increasing the number of basketball games in a season from 12 to 15, while only 39 percent would support the same increase in soccer schedules.
However, support resonated with the notion of allowing multi-contest events on days not followed by school days.
The group in favor of the above scenario was also 83 percent in favor of limiting such doubleheader dates to four per season.
In soccer, a similar scenario also was approached in the survey.
Basketball and soccer are two sports in which non-school entities offer plenty of competition for participants, even at ages prior to JH/MS.
For youth already involved in such programs prior to reaching local junior highs and middle schools, the challenge is to display the benefits of school-based sports.
Justin DiSanti is a doctoral student and research assistant at Michigan State University with a concentration in sport psychology who also serves on the multi-sport task force for the MHSAA. His research interests include talent development and sport specialization, particularly in youth and high school sports.
DiSanti points to a model that is frequently used in the world of youth sport, the Developmental Model of Sport Participation (DMSP).
“This model has three stages providing approximate age guidelines and associated recommendations for shaping youth athletes’ schedules,” DiSanti said. “I believe that this model is highly-applicable to today’s world of youth sport, but the proper interpretation of the model is critical. When looking at specialization through the lens of the DMSP, we can begin to answer the question, ‘Is an athlete specializing too early?’”
The first stage, “The Sampling Years,” affects children from 6 to 12 years old, during which time participation in a wide range of athletic endeavors is encouraged. By this model, many youngsters are already thinking about specializing, or at least narrowing their focus by the time they arrive at junior highs and middle schools.
Przystas, the 2016 Michigan Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the state’s chapter of Society of Health and Physical Educators, concurs that this is a key time for future student-athletes.
“I think the multi-sport message needs to start from the ground up, with elementary physical education teachers, continuing to middle school PE and middle school sports and then into high school,” Przystas said.
In an effort to ease the transition from community and club teams, or to introduce students to sports in a school setting, JH/MS programs are critical. Leaders were asked whether allowing some non-school participation in the same sport during the same season would create a viable bridge leading to school sports participation.
The vote was nearly split when considering the allowance of two non-school events for team and individual sports per season for current MHSAA JH/MS student-athletes, with 54 percent of respondents in favor.
Yet, 63 percent believe that scenario would create conflict between the two options, and the feeling was again split as to whether such an allowance would increase or decrease participation in either the school or non-school setting.
With the degree of uncertainty as to the effect of non-school allowances, some think it best to focus on the many unique benefits offered through school sports which are lacking in alternative settings.
“I think it is important for student-athletes at this level to understand what having school pride means,” Przystas said. “When they are playing with their school logo on the front of their jersey they are representing something bigger than themselves. It is important for the coach/teacher/administrator to emphasize the importance of history and tradition not only in sports, but in other endeavors such as Science Olympiad or Spelling Bee.”
Following is a sampling of comments regarding non-school relationships at the JH/MS level:
• “Junior high is a great time for kids to increase their skill, and for many kids who don't have parents to tote them to clubs and travel teams to try the sport.”
• “It is understood that in many areas, getting kids back from travel teams is important, but in our area finding gym time, etc., is very tough.”
• “I'm uncomfortable with allowing just two non-school sporting events; I have no idea how that will be monitored. I would rather allow it or not.”
• “My biggest concern for a middle school student to play on multiple teams during the season is safety. Their bodies are still growing and I see injury being the biggest concern.”
• “School-sponsored, MHSAA sports being offered by any particular school, should take precedent over any non-school sponsored sport being offered at the same time.
• “We have a lot of football players choose to play with area little league teams instead of our school team. The non-school teams have the opportunity to play more games than our school team and they also have the opportunity for playoffs. We are limited to six games and we have academic requirements that non-school teams don't have.”
• “In my opinion, kids are going to play for either the school or play outside. Many parents are of the mindset that their child is a star and playing travel sports will get them noticed. MS sports can't compete with this mindset and I believe we should not compete with it. Those who stay and play for schools are the ones we should be focusing on. Let's make it (a) better situation for them.”
The MHSAA also carries with it something else that other organizations lack: a brand. That much came through in the spring of 2017 when a pilot program on “Presenting Sponsorship of JH/MS events” was completed.
MHSAA staff visited five areas of the state and joined in presenting pre-existing track & field league or conference meets with branding presence and financial support.
“One of the big takeaways was the power of the MHSAA brand,” Inglis said. “Student-athletes flocked to get pictures with the MHSAA banner behind them and with their trophies or medals won. The power and positivity of the MHSAA brand is something that will be used to get additional JH/MS programs into school membership.”
Future plans include sponsorship at conference events that already exist in numerous other sports.
Multiple choice is the best answer
The meeting room where the MHSAA Task Force on Multi-Sport Participation gathered for its sixth meeting over a two-year span last November was plenty big enough for the group.
But, it would never contain all of those involved in school sports to whom the task force wishes to convey its message.
Therein lies the purpose and challenge of this most important group of individuals: how to get the attention of the desired audiences, and how to best deliver the virtues and benefits of multi-sport participation.
One task force member equated it to so many parent-teacher conferences; the parents that need to attend, do not. While it is universally accepted that specialization leads to burnout and detracts from the full school sports experience, all too often the two groups with the most influence – parents and coaches – are fine with that notion as long as it’s someone else’s kid, or someone else’s player.
“One obstacle to multi-sport participation are parents. They need to understand that by having their student-athlete play one sport year-round does not guarantee a full athletic scholarship,” Przystas said. “The benefits of exposing their student athlete to a variety of sports needs to be reiterated by coaches and ADs.”
Athletic directors can further assist in the movement by coordinating coaches within their schools.
“The high school coaches need to be on board with encouraging their athletes to play multiple sports and must understand the benefits they will receive from it in the long run; athletes will not be burned out, will still have another level to at which to compete, will be willing to learn, healthy and uninjured,” Przystas said. “I think the message should be advertised in middle school events that the MHSAA sponsors as well as throughout communities and at youth level leagues.”
And, the younger the better in terms of sampling a wide variety of activities, thus preparing students for the opportunities that await them as they move through the school system.
“I believe the message needs to be heard at the elementary and middle school levels,” St. Joseph athletic director and task force member Kevin Guzzo said. “Any type of informative flyers or public service announcements touting the benefits of multi-sport participation would help educate parents on this message.”
That is the task of the group, which is currently considering numerous methods to apply the force.
Prior to the November meeting, a brochure entitled “Coaching Our Coaches” was produced and disseminated statewide, and posted to the Multi-Sport Participation page of MHSAA.com.
An accompanying PowerPoint presentation was presented by Przystas at a state conference for physical education professionals in October. Feedback from the presentation led to modifications in the PowerPoint. Among the modifications were slides less directed at the audience and more toward what the audience can do to help promote the initiative.
“The feedback from that first presentation showed us that we need to acknowledge the very many aspects of the problem, establish a positive tone, set realistic expectations and goals for the session, and identify target audiences – perhaps parents and coaches,” said MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts. “We might ask audiences how they can put the right people in place and what methods they use to promote the multi-sport experience to athletes, parents and coaches.”
Further educational tools and settings also have been discussed. Any time gatherings of MHSAA constituents take place, the time is ripe for delivering the message – including sportsmanship summits and coaches association meetings.
The medium for delivery must reach far beyond print and personal interaction. Social media will play a key role in advancing multi-sport participation initiatives with great frequency,
Ultimately, the task force concluded that the best way to influence and shape the culture of school sports moving forward is to recognize those schools and individuals who are living the multi-sport life and reaping the benefits.
"Recognizing Our Best" has been created and will be fluid in its content, periodically updated and delivered electronically to recognize exemplary efforts.
Some discussion took place regarding the creation of MHSAA or MIAAA awards to recognize efforts in promoting multi-sport participation, but the consensus was that local efforts and existing success stories will get greater results.
“We have implemented a program called the Iron Bear Club at our school that rewards those who are three-sport athletes,” Guzzo said. “Numbers have slightly increased over the last few years and we are hoping to continue to see an increase. Students who are three-sport athletes receive an ‘Iron Bear’ shirt, and we celebrate them on social media.”
Local efforts serve to strengthen relationships within school buildings and school systems.
“Coaches – both of in-house school-sponsored sports and private club coaches – need to be on the same page as to what is best for the athlete long-term and what advice they are giving their athletes once their season is over,” Przystas said. “This is a big obstacle that needs attention because some coaches are selfish and want what’s best for themselves and will do whatever they can do to win.
"Coaches – especially middle school and subvarsity coaches – need to understand that no one cares what their record is, but rather whether the student-athletes are having fun and continuing with school-sponsored athletics after their season is over.”
PHOTOS: (Top and top middle) Letter jackets from Owosso and Fenton, respectively, display recognition for high school athletic careers with plenty of variety. (Middle) Davison athletes pose with an MHSAA banner at a junior high event. (Below) East Grand Rapids lacrosse players high five before a game.