Chrisinske, Inglis Receive Bush Awards
June 5, 2013
Two athletic administrators respected as mentors and role models in their respective regions and throughout the state – Dave Chrisinske of Middleville Thornapple Kellogg and Cody Inglis of Traverse City Central – have been named the recipients of the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Allen W. Bush Award for 2013.
Al Bush served as executive director of the MHSAA for 10 years. The award honors individuals for past and continuing service to prep athletics as a coach, administrator, official, trainer, doctor or member of the media. The award was developed to bring recognition to men and women who are giving and serving without a lot of attention. This is the 22nd year of the award, with the selections being made by the MHSAA's Representative Council.
Chrisinske has served as an athletic director the last 21 years and for 36 years total in public and community education. He came to Thornapple Kellogg in fall 2011 after 32 years with Allendale Public Schools, where he taught and coached before serving 19 years as athletic director and also as assistant principal and community education director. He has coached football, basketball, baseball and volleyball at school or youth levels, and also is a registered MHSAA volleyball official.
The 1972 graduate of Stockbridge High School also worked for Coopersville Community Education for two years after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in group social studies from Grand Valley State University in 1977. He earned a master’s in educational leadership from Grand Valley State in 1992 and became a Certified Athletic Administrator in 1997.
Chrisinske continues to lend his time and expertise to a number of committees and community efforts; he has served as a region representative for the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association for a decade, on various MHSAA committees including the baseball and wrestling sport committees and the scholarship classification committee, and on three successful school bond committees that led to new buildings and outdoor athletic facilities at Allendale. He also was a district representative for the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association for 10 years and has served on recreation committees for both Allendale and Thornapple Townships.
Chrisinske was recognized as the MIAAA Region IV Athletic Director of the year in 2004, and as Athletic Director of the Year by the West Michigan Officials Association in 2006 and West Michigan Umpires Association in 2011.
“Dave Chrisinske has become a go-to person in his league and community, always willing to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for high school athletics and serving student athletes,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. “His dedication shines through as well in his efforts with the MIAAA and as a frequent host of MHSAA tournaments. We are pleased to honor Dave Chrisinske with the Bush Award.”
Inglis also has served as an athletic director at two high schools, dating back to 1997. He spent 11 years at Suttons Bay, first as a teacher and also as assistant principal and middle school principal. He has spent the last five years as athletic director and assistant principal at Traverse City Central High School. Inglis is a 1989 graduate of Portage Northern High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from Hope College and master’s from Ohio University.
He coached boys and girls cross country and track and field at Suttons Bay from 1995-2008, leading his teams to numerous conference championships and the girls cross country team to a runner-up finish at the 2002 Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. He was named Cross Country Coach of the Year after that season by the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association, and the MITCA Track Coach of the Year the following spring. He also served as an assistant coach for eight seasons for the Traverse City St. Francis-led cooperative hockey program.
Inglis has been a member of the MIAAA since 1997, became a Certified Athletic Administrator in 1999, and has served as an MIAAA region representative since 2001. He too is a regular host of MHSAA tournaments in a number of sports and has served as a member of the track and field, hockey, skiing and cross country sport committees and the site and officials selection committees. He was named MIAAA Region 2 Athletic Director of the Year in 2003. Inglis was league treasurer and secretary for the Northwest Conference from 1997-2008 and has served as Big North Conference secretary since 2009.
He’s also active in a number of community programs, including Boy Scouts, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Special Olympics, the Suttons Bay Township Recreation Committee, the Suttons Bay Art Festival and with his church.
“Cody Inglis is named time and again by his fellow athletic administrators as someone of integrity and character,” Roberts said. “He’s passed on these and various lessons to his coaches and athletes, but also as a regular speaker at the MIAAA’s annual conference. His impact continues to affect those he works with regularly in the Traverse City area, but also others across our state. He is a deserving recipient of the Bush Award.”
Despite Overall Dip, 8 Sports Add Athletes
July 8, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Eight high school sports for which postseason tournaments are sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association enjoyed gains in participation during the 2014-15 school year. However, total participation in MHSAA sports decreased slightly for the fourth straight school year, following a continuing trend of declining member school enrollments.
A total of 282,623 participants took part in the 28 tournament sports offered by the MHSAA during the past year – a 1.95-percent decrease from the 2013-14 figure of 288,230. However, enrollments at member schools also decreased 1.24 percent from 2013-14 and have fallen 11.1 percent since the 2006-07 school year – while MHSAA participation has fallen only 9.7 percent during that time. This year’s dip was only slightly larger than the 1.9-percent decrease from 2012-13 to 2013-14.
Overall boys participation fell 1.5 percent from 2013-14 to 2014-15, while girls participation fell 2.6 percent. The overall MHSAA totals count students once for each sport in which they participate, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
Girls lacrosse was the only MHSAA sport to set a participation record during 2014-15, with 2,589 athletes (an increase of 1.9 percent) this spring, and has set a participation record every season since becoming a sponsored tournament sport in 2005. However, boys lacrosse, which also became tournament sponsored in 2005, saw its first decrease in participation, falling 2.6 percent to 4,958 athletes despite five schools adding programs to bring that total to 130.
Baseball participation increased for the fourth straight school year, this season six tenths of a percent to 18,333 athletes. The other six sports that saw increased participation during 2014-15 all bounced back from decreases between 2012-13 and 2013-14. Boys bowling increased 4.2 percent to 3,724 athletes, its second-highest total as an MHSAA tournament sport. Both boys skiing (4.0 percent increase to 775 athletes) and girls skiing (1.4 percent to 671) also saw higher participation after two seasons of declines. Girls competitive cheer (1.0 percent to 7,189 athletes), girls gymnastics (3.0 percent to 618) and boys soccer (1.0 percent to 14,426) also saw bounce-back years after dips the school year before.
However, two of the most popular girls sports continued to experience downward trends. Girls basketball participation fell for the ninth straight season, to 15,702 athletes, the sport’s lowest total since records first were kept in 1991-92. The girls basketball total has decreased 18 percent since a U.S. District Court decision led to the switching of girls basketball season from fall to winter beginning in 2007-08. Comparatively, girls enrollment at MHSAA schools during that time has fallen 11.6 percent.
The sport that swapped seasons with girls basketball and moved to fall, volleyball, saw a 3.3-percent drop in participation this school year to 17,996 athletes, its fewest since 1991-92 and a decrease of 16.5 percent since its final season as a winter sport.
Also of note in this year’s survey:
- Total, eight sports saw increases in participation in 2014-15 (four boys, four girls), while 20 experienced decreases (10 boys, 10 girls).
- A recent drop in football participation, 11 and 8-player teams combined, has continued to slow, the total this season falling only 1.4 percent to 40,088 athletes. The drop from 2011-12 to 2012-13 was 3.7 percent, and the drop from 2012-13 to 2013-14 was two percent.
- Wrestling saw a decrease for the sixth straight year, this season to 9,475 participants, a 7.9-percent drop from 2013-14 with its lowest total since the collection of data began.
- Girls cross country, after five straight years of increases, fell back 4.1 percent, to 8,350 athletes, although that total still represented the third highest of the last seven seasons. The trend was identical for boys cross country, except this season’s total of 8,786 athletes was down only 1.1 percent from a year ago and the second-highest over the seven-season string.
- Swimming and diving saw the largest decrease among a pair of related sports; girls participation fell six percent to 4,938 athletes and boys fell 7.4 percent to 5,617 after both had experienced slight increases during the last three school years.
- Boys golf participation fell for the sixth straight season, to 6,533 athletes, its lowest since 1991-92.
The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations for compiling of its national participation survey. Results of Michigan surveys from the 2000-01 school year to present may be viewed on the MHSAA Website – www.mhsaa.com – by clicking on Schools > Administrators > Sports Participation Listing.
The following chart shows participation figures for the 2014-15 school year from MHSAA member schools for sports in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament:
BOYS GIRLS
SPORT |
SCHOOLS (A) |
PARTICIPANTS |
SCHOOLS (A) |
PARTICIPANTS (B) |
|
Baseball |
639/650/6 |
18,325 |
- |
-/8 |
|
Basketball |
726/733/5 |
21,401 |
665/726 |
15,702/14 |
|
Bowling |
355/371/9 |
3,711 |
339/366 |
2,970/13 |
|
Competitive Cheer |
- |
- |
335/348 |
7,189 |
|
Cross Country |
605/639/0 |
8,786 |
587/637 |
8,350/0 |
|
Football – 11 player |
597/621/59 |
39,338 |
- |
-/65 |
|
8-player |
33/38/0 |
685 |
- |
- |
|
Golf |
503/532/46 |
6,460 |
325/331 |
3,334/73 |
|
Gymnastics |
- |
- |
66/75 |
618 |
|
Ice Hockey |
232/269/11 |
3,448 |
- |
-/15 |
|
Lacrosse |
130/137/3 |
4,955 |
88/91 |
2,589/3 |
|
Skiing |
87/100/0 |
775 |
90/98 |
671/0 |
|
Soccer |
466/495/16 |
14,370 |
459/479 |
13,333/56 |
|
Softball |
- |
- |
570/635 |
13,113 |
|
Swimming & Diving |
233/264/3 |
4,935 |
256/275 |
5,617/3 |
|
Tennis |
299/316/6 |
6,294 |
335/345 |
8,628/11 |
|
Track & Field |
661/684/0 |
22,439 |
645/681 |
16,855/0 |
|
Volleyball |