Soccer Hall of Famer Seitz, NFL Analyst Pereira Headline Officiate Michigan Day 2026
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 14, 2026
Officiate Michigan Day 2026 will welcome more than 1,000 Michigan High School Athletic Association-registered game officials July 25 to DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, where they will receive knowledge and instruction from several high-profile voices headlined by recent National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Kari Seitz – a Brighton High School graduate – and one of television’s most recognizable rules analysts, Mike Pereira.
Officiate Michigan Day is designed to benefit officials with any level of experience, veteran to beginner. High-profile clinicians representing several sports and all levels including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA, FIFA and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) will provide face-to-face training during four sport-specific breakout sessions throughout the conference.
Pereira, a past collegiate and NFL football official who also has served as the NFL’s vice president of officiating, will present the opening address at 9 a.m. He has provided his knowledge during FOX Sports football broadcasts since 2010, explaining rules scenarios on-air as situations unfold in-game.
Seitz, also a graduate of Michigan State University, refereed Women’s World Cups in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 and Olympics tournaments in 2004, 2008 and 2012, and will deliver the conference’s closing message. She’s currently the vice president of refereeing for U.S. Soccer and formerly served as FIFA’s heading of refereeing.
This will be the third Officiate Michigan Day, joining events in 2013 and 2018. OMD 2026 will accompany the annual National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) Summit that will take place July 26-28, also at DeVos Place.
Officials may continue to register on the Officials page. Cost is $50. Additional details, including the full lineup of speakers and clinicians, also is available at that link.
Armada's Fredette Receives NFHS Honor
January 16, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Longtime Armada tennis coach David Fredette has been named one of 23 National Coaches of the Year for 2018-19 by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NHFS) Coaches Association.
Fredette was selected first at the state level and then from among the eight sections that make up the NFHS – Michigan is part of Section 4 with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The following brief bio includes an excerpt from Fredette’s coaching philosophy, which nominees were asked to submit after being identified as candidates for the awards.
David Fredette began Armada’s tennis program in 1966 and coached the boys team through the 2018 season. He led more than half his teams over the years to the MHSAA Finals, and 17 to top-10 finishes at the championship meet – including four straight from 2009-12. He also was a major contributor during the early days of the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association, and began serving on its board in 1982. Four times he was selected MHSTeCA state Coach of the Year: in Class C-D in 1982, Class B in 1992, and as one of two selections in Division 4 in both 1998 and 2018. Fredette was inducted into the MHSTeCA Hall of Fame in 1988. Armada’s tennis courts are named for him.
Fredette played tennis at Dowagiac High School and then Benton Harbor Community College. He also coached basketball and football during his time at Armada.
“Athletics give students a chance to become student-athletes, which means athletics teach athletes discipline, a strong work ethic, and cooperation with others. Athletics teach athletes how to not only compete, but how to handle both winning and losing. … I know that students who play sports upon graduation are more prepared to face the challenges that life presents them. While I always expected my players to work hard, I wanted my athletes to enjoy the experiences on and off the courts. My former players tell me how much they enjoyed competing, but also how much fun they had on the trips we went on together, whether it was to play top competition across the state of Michigan or on the Florida trips I took my boys teams on over Easter vacation from 1989 through 2001 to practice and bond as a team. Athletes learn how to compete, but they also gain friendships that last a lifetime, if only in their memories.”
Four more Michigan coaches earned honors in Section 4. Brighton girls swimming & diving coach Jason Black led the Bulldogs to a Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals runner-up finish in Fall 2018, its best placing in program history. Dexter boys swimming & diving coach Michael McHugh was selected for the second-straight year as a Section 4 winner after leading his team to its fourth-straight Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship last winter. Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball coach Vicky Groat at one point guided the Tigers to nine Class D championships in 10 seasons from 2005-14 and is the sixth-winningest coach in MHSAA volleyball history with a record of 1,154-262-93. Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart co-coach Judy Hehs helped lead that program to its second-straight Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship this past fall, its sixth title in eight seasons, in her final tournament before retirement. She previously was named NFHS Coaches Association National Coach of the Year for girls tennis in 2016.
The NFHS has been recognizing coaches through an awards program since 1982. Winners of NFHS awards must be active coaches during the year for which they receive their award.