'Retired' Garvey Remains Eager to Give
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 18, 2020
Earlier this week, Mike Garvey told his wife she can't let him quit all that he does to contribute to school sports across the state of Michigan, even if he is officially "retired."
But after 40 years serving in a variety of roles, he really doesn't have plans to stop. And she wasn't intending to make that request.
"I married the best girl in the world," Garvey said, "and she’s supportive and urges me to do the stuff that I enjoy."
And that has stretched over tenures at four Michigan high schools, serving as a teacher, coach and administrator, and continuing today in various roles at the local and statewide levels.
To celebrate his devotion and many contributions, Garvey has been named the 2020 recipient of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Charles E. Forsythe Award.
The annual award is in its 43rd year and named after former MHSAA Executive Director Charles E. Forsythe, the Association's first full-time and longest-serving chief executive. Forsythe Award recipients are selected each year by the MHSAA Representative Council, based on an individual's outstanding contributions to the interscholastic athletics community.
Garvey, who grew up mostly in Detroit, began his educational career in 1980 teaching at Marian Central Catholic in Woodstock, Ill., before returning to Michigan in 1985 to teach at Lawton High School. While at Lawton, he helped the Blue Devils’ wrestling program continue a dominating run as an assistant coach on Lower Peninsula Class D championship teams in 1986 and 1987 and runner-up teams in 1988 and 1989, and then as head coach of the 1990 Class D title winner. He also served as athletic director at Lawton from 1994-99 before leaving for the same position at Delton Kellogg, where he served from 1999-2006. Garvey then was athletic director at Otsego from 2006-10, and he then served as athletic director at Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep from 2010-18.
He earned a number of accolades during his time as a coach and administrator, including the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award in 2015 for his many contributions to educational athletics that often went unsung despite their great importance. Garvey also has been a registered MHSAA official for 35 years, in softball for all 35 and for a mix of seasons in baseball, basketball, volleyball, wrestling and track & field. He continues to instruct as part of the MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program (CAP) and has served as tournament manager for the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals since their 2018 move to Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo.
“I never looked at my jobs as jobs. I always looked at it as I had a mission and was trying to complete a mission,” said Garvey, who continues to reside in Lawton. “I think I can still help people, so maybe my mission isn’t complete.
“It’s a blast. I just feel like it’s a chance to give. Schools and athletics and everything have given so much to me. Plus the human interaction – working with kids and coaches and officials, it just fits me and I enjoy it.”
Among accolades at the state and national levels, Garvey received the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) 2016 Distinguished Service Award and the George Lovich State Award of Merit in 2009 from the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA).
Garvey remains an active member of both the MIAAA and NIAAA and the Michigan Wrestling Coaches Association. He remains on the faculty for the NIAAA’s Leadership Training Institute and has served as Michigan’s coordinator for the program. He’s been a long-serving member of the MHSAA’s Wrestling Committee and hosted more than 75 tournament events while an athletic director. He served as co-commissioner of the former Kalamazoo Valley Association and currently is the executive secretary of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference.
He’s also rejoined the coaching ranks, taking over as head coach of Vicksburg High School’s girls and boys golf teams this school year.
“Even in ‘retirement,’ Mike Garvey continues to serve students, coaches and administrators with enthusiasm,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “He continues to pass on to our current coaches the best practices he’s learned over decades, and he has played a sizable role in making the Team Wrestling Finals a record-setting event for attendance the last few seasons. His brings a genuine enjoyment to these activities, and we’re fortunate to have him continuing to take leading roles.”
Garvey began classes at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice as a high school freshman, but after less than a month moved overseas as the family followed his father’s job with Chrysler. Garvey matriculated in Geneva, Switzerland, and then completed high school at The American School in London, England. Once back in the United States, Garvey earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western Michigan University. He remains active in community service through his church and lake association.
Past recipients of the Charles E. Forsythe Award
1978 - Brick Fowler, Port Huron; Paul Smarks, Warren
1979 - Earl Messner, Reed City; Howard Beatty, Saginaw
1980 - Max Carey, Freesoil
1981 - Steven Sluka, Grand Haven; Samuel Madden, Detroit
1982 - Ernest Buckholz, Mt. Clemens; T. Arthur Treloar, Petoskey
1983 - Leroy Dues, Detroit; Richard Maher, Sturgis
1984 - William Hart, Marquette; Donald Stamats, Caro
1985 - John Cotton, Farmington; Robert James, Warren
1986 - William Robinson, Detroit; Irving Soderland, Norway
1987 - Jack Streidl, Plainwell; Wayne Hellenga, Decatur
1988 - Jack Johnson, Dearborn; Alan Williams, North Adams
1989 - Walter Bazylewicz, Berkley; Dennis Kiley, Jackson
1990 - Webster Morrison, Pickford; Herbert Quade, Benton Harbor
1991 - Clifford Buckmaster, Petoskey; Donald Domke, Northville
1992 - William Maskill, Kalamazoo; Thomas G. McShannock, Muskegon
1993 - Roy A. Allen Jr., Detroit; John Duncan, Cedarville
1994 - Kermit Ambrose, Royal Oak
1995 - Bob Perry, Lowell
1996 - Charles H. Jones, Royal Oak
1997 - Michael A. Foster, Richland; Robert G. Grimes, Battle Creek
1998 - Lofton C. Greene, River Rouge; Joseph J. Todey, Essexville
1999 - Bernie Larson, Battle Creek
2000 - Blake Hagman, Kalamazoo; Jerry Cvengros, Escanaba
2001 - Norm Johnson, Bangor; George Lovich, Canton
2002 - John Fundukian, Novi
2003 - Ken Semelsberger, Port Huron
2004 - Marco Marcet, Frankenmuth
2005 - Jim Feldkamp, Troy
2006 - Dan McShannock, Midland; Dail Prucka, Monroe
2007 - Keith Eldred, Williamston; Tom Hickman, Spring Lake
2008 - Jamie Gent, Haslett; William Newkirk, Sanford Meridian
2009 - Paul Ellinger, Cheboygan
2010 - Rudy Godefroidt, Hemlock; Mike Boyd, Waterford
2011 - Eric C. Federico, Trenton
2018 - Gary Ellis, Allegan
2019 – Jim Derocher, Negaunee; Fredrick J. Smith, Stevensville
PHOTO: Teams take the mat for this season's MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals at Wings Event Center, again managed this winter by Mike Garvey. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Council Adopts Heat Management Policy
March 26, 2013
The adoption of a heat management policy for MHSAA tournaments and a detailed model policy to be submitted to member schools for suggested use during practice and regular-season competition was the main focus of the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its annual Winter Meeting on March 22 in East Lansing.
Heat and humidity management is the next step of the MHSAA’s ongoing focus on health and safety issues in school sports. The model policy, while not setting requirements for member schools, proposes actions based on heat index – the degree of felt discomfort derived by combining temperature and humidity measurements – that are designed to minimize the risk of heat-related illness during interscholastic participation. It will be published as a recommendation for regular-season practice and competition in the 2013-14 MHSAA Handbook, and it will be mandatory for MHSAA tournaments beginning this fall.
Executive director John E. “Jack” Roberts said there are a number of member schools with solid heat management policies in place, but he hopes the adoption of this “best practice” will further raise awareness of the risks of heat-related illness while giving schools – especially those without a protocol – an opportunity to adopt a standardized policy similar to what is in place for other environmental factors such as lightning and tornadoes.
“For the past several years, we’ve used four ‘H’s’ to focus our efforts to improve the health and safety of student-athletes: Heads, Hearts, Heat and health Histories,” Roberts said. “To maintain momentum, we’ve identified several focus areas for the next four years: better acclimatization of athletes, better health and safety preparedness for coaches and modification of practice policies and contest rules to reduce head trauma and the frequency of each sport’s most injurious situations.
“Friday’s action was significant; but it’s just the next step in a continuous series of actions being taken to make school sports as healthy as possible for students.”
The heat management policy states that temperature and humidity readings should be taken at the site of the practice or competition 30 minutes prior to its start and then 60 minutes after it has begun. Recommendations for hydration and levels of activity are suggested for each of four levels of heat index readings.
Key tenets include frequency and length of water breaks, appropriate uniforms based on heat index and mandates on what time of day practices should be conducted and for how long. Practices are suggested to be postponed or moved when the heat index measures 99 to 104 degrees, and all outdoor activity (and indoor if air conditioning is unavailable) is to be stopped if the heat index rises above 104.
The Representative Council also discussed raising expectations for coaches’ education and preparedness for promoting student-athletes’ health and safety. Three proposals are under consideration for Council votes during its next three meetings:
- The first would require all assistant and sub-varsity coaches at the high school level to complete the same MHSAA rules meeting required of varsity head coaches (which includes safety information) or one of the free online sports safety courses posted on or linked to MHSAA.com. This would take effect in 2014-15 and could be voted on at the Council’s May meeting.
- The second proposal would require current CPR certification for all varsity head coaches at the high school level, with AED training a recommended component of the course. This would take effect in 2015-16 and could be voted on at the December meeting.
- The third proposal would require varsity head coaches hired to begin on or after July 1, 2016 to complete Level 1 or 2 of the MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program, a six-level educational regimen that aids coaches in their growth and development. This could be voted on at the Council’s March 2014 meeting.
Two sport-related actions also were taken by the Council during last week’s meeting:
- Boys lacrosse: Beginning this season, an official must be a member in good standing of an approved local boys lacrosse officials association in order to be eligible to work MHSAA tournament games. This is in addition to other existing requirements.
- Wrestling: For school years during which there are only 15 Saturdays between the first day of practice and the MHSAA Individual Finals (rather than the traditional 16 Saturdays), the number of days from the beginning of practice until the first competition shall be reduced from 23 to 19. For the 2013-14 season, the earliest day of competition is Dec. 7, instead of Dec. 11 under the previous regulation. There is no reduction in the minimum number of days when practice actually is held prior to the first competition.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.