Online Course Trains Leaders Nationwide
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 11, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The valuable lessons student leaders have received over the last decade during Captains Clinics presented statewide by Michigan High School Athletic Association staff are now available to students nationwide and beyond as part of an online Captains Course produced by the MHSAA and available from the National Federation of State High School Associations on its Learning Center website.
The Captains Course, created over two years with assistance from Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports (ISYS), is broken into 10 segments providing instruction on leadership styles and skills to how to handle situations faced by leaders of teams in any sport. A total of 20 past members of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council speak during the program, providing peer-to-peer guidance that has proven effective in student leadership campaigns.
The online Captains Course has been started 2,881 times since its release in July, including 802 times during the first 10 days of this month. The first MHSAA Captains Clinic was conducted in March 2005, and clinics are presented in person on a league-by-league basis to approximately 1,000 students each school year.
The online Captains Course is free and can be downloaded after an account is created on the NFHS Learning Center website at http://www.nfhslearn.com.
“Many student-athletes have characteristics that allow them to become leaders, but rarely do they receive lessons in how to be an effective team captain; this has been the goal of our Captains Clinics and is the aim of this Captains Course,” said MHSAA assistant director Andy Frushour, who coordinates the association’s student services programs and advises the Student Advisory Council. “Our in-person Captains Clinics are still a great way to deliver leadership lessons and to get students from rival schools to interact with each other in a fun and worthwhile way. But we can only do so many in-person clinics per year.
“With the online version, we can deliver the same message, albeit through a different format. And we can do it 24 hours a day, at the user’s convenience, using a medium that kids use like the rest of us use oxygen, and potentially delivering our captains message to exponentially more students than the in-person version; even to students outside of Michigan.”
The online Captains Course is an introductory program, with plans for two more advanced leadership courses that will be facilitated online but with activities and discussions to take place offline in local communities. The goal for the “hands-on” portion of later training courses will be for leaders to conduct interviews with coaches and administrators, write short answers and interact with teammates for a more transformational learning experience.
The first course is made up of 10, 10-minute segments, and takes about two hours to complete – but is meant to be completed over multiple days. The short “bite-sized” segments make it easier for students to digest all of the information being given to them, and are based on research by the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports. Doctoral students working with the institute serve as instructors during Captains Clinics.
The Captains Course is hosted by recent high school graduates Caycee Turczyn of Lapeer High School and Connor Thomas of Marlette. Both were two-year members of the Student Advisory Council; Turczyn will begin studies this fall at the University of Michigan, while Thomas will start at Oakland University.
“All of the lessons are based on research conducted by MSU’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports,” Frushour said. “Dr. Dan Gould and his doctoral students are rock stars in the field of youth and leadership development, and we are lucky to have them as partners on this project “
The Institute for the Study of Youth Sports was launched in 1978 to establish a world-class institute that would scientifically study the beneficial and detrimental effects of sports participation on children and youth and then work to maximize the beneficial effects. The mission of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports is to provide leadership, scholarship and outreach that transforms the face of youth sports in ways that maximize the beneficial physical, psychological, and social effects of participation for children and youth while minimizing detrimental effects.
The Student Advisory Council is a 16-member group which provides feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, and also is involved in the operation of MHSAA championship events and other programming. Members of the Student Advisory Council serve for two years, beginning as juniors. Eight new members are selected annually to serve on the SAC, with nominations made by MHSAA member schools.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
PHOTO: Lapeer's Caycee Turczyn and Marlette's Connor Thomas host the online Captains Course, with this segment shot at DeWitt High School.
Century of School Sports: Top Performers Tell Us What High School Sports Mean to Them
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 17, 2025
As we move into the final installments of our MHSAA 100th-anniversary "Century of School Sports" celebration, we present a project we've been working on this entire school year -- an opportunity for some of the state's highest achievers from 2025-26 to explain how school sports have played an important role in their lives.
Following is a collection of answers from athletes we recognized with our "Performance of the Week" over the last 11 months, as we asked all of them: "What has participating in high school sports meant to you?"
@mhsaasports What do high school sports mean to you? Student-athletes like you share their take on high school sports. Stay tuned as we share our #HighSchoolSportsMeanToMe series starting in July🔥🚨📢 #MHSAA ♬ Inspirational - neozilla
Be sure to check out the MHSAA's TikTok channel starting on July 8 to see more answers to the question "What does high school sports mean to you?" Search the hashtag #HighSchoolSportsMeantoMe.
Video transcription:
Asher Clark – Bay City John Glenn: [00:00:00] Every time I step on the field, I get to wear the name of my high school on my jersey, which is an honor.
Aubrey Hillard - Rochester: [00:00:05] It's basically shaped me into the person I am today. It's brought me closer to some of my favorite people, like with my team and my coaches.
Chloe Qin – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: [00:00:11] It like helps you figure out how to manage your time better and how to, like, cooperate on a team and how to, like, push yourself past your limits.
Izzy Horvath – Bangor: [00:00:23] It's also a stress reliever for me, playing with my friends.
Kate Simon – East Grand Rapids: [00:00:26] I love competing and pushing myself, and they've taught me how to set goals and stay focused and work hard.
Katie Spicer – Fowler: [00:00:32] To me, high school sports are kind of like an escape from reality, and they brought me friendships that I'll have forever and memories that I'll hold on for my whole life.
Alex Graham – Detroit Cass Tech: [00:00:40] You build real good, strong relationships with the coaches, and even after football they'll be there for you and everything.
Asher Clark – Bay City John Glenn: [00:00:46] It's very unique in that you're playing with kids who are older than you that you can learn from, and kids that are younger than you, who you can pass on your knowledge to.
Brock Morris – Southfield Christian: [00:00:54] Being an athlete has taught me discipline, mental toughness, and it's taught me how to push past my limits. I've learned how to lose. I've learned how to win. I've learned how to lead my team through all of that and support my teammates through all of that.
Hunter Lemmon - Fraser: [00:01:06] There's a lot of people that like, I don't know if I ever would have talked to them, and they're like my best friends to this day.
Maggie Buurma - Fowlerville: [00:01:12] The team atmosphere that you get out of high school sports is not really comparable to anything else I've ever experienced. Whether I won or I lost, they were there for me the next day. They didn't base my worth off of my wins and losses.
McRecco McFadden III – Burton Bentley: [00:01:26] It's definitely a learning experience to watch yourself grow. Throughout this whole experience, it made me who I am, if I'm being honest.
Olivia Flynn – Harbor Springs: [00:01:32] Being on a team has had a huge impact on my confidence. It's bringing and embracing the leadership roles on and off the court. And then, just like I said, playing with girls from all different backgrounds, just being together to accomplish one goal, it's so fun and I love it.
Wyatt Spalo – Reed City: [00:01:47] It's become my home away from home in a sense. High school sports has definitely been like a key factor in not only who I've become today, but like, also how I've grown.
Victoria Garces – Midland Dow: [00:01:57] Every school day, no matter if it's good or bad, you always have your practice after school. And it's just such a fun way to see all your friends and then also get to focus on something that you love.
Shaelyn Perry – South Lyon United: [00:02:08] And all those lessons are so applicable in other areas of my life, and they've enabled me to be successful in other areas of my life, and it opens up so many other doors and other relationships that without it, I wouldn't have.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
June 10: 'The Mitten' Becomes Sought-After Symbol of MHSAA Greatness - Read
June 3: MHSAA's Move to TV, Now Internet, 60 Years Old & Growing - Read
May 27: Upper Peninsula Helps Make Michigan's School Sports Story Unique - Read
May 20: From Nearly A to Z, Schools Repped by 221 Nicknames - Read
May 13: These Record-Setters were Nearly Impossible to Defeat - Read
May 6: 200+ Representatives Fill All-Time Council Roster - Read
April 29: MHSAA Programs Prioritize Health & Safety - Read
April 23: Patches Signify Registered Officials' Role in MHSAA Story - Read
April 16: Student Advisory Council Gives Voice to Athletes - Read
April 9: State's Storytellers Share Spring Memories - Read
April 2: Sharp Leadership Synonymous with MHSAA Success - Read
March 25: Athletic Directors Indispensable to Mission of School Sports - Read
March 18: 2025 Finals Begin Next Half-Century of Girls Hoops Championships - Read
March 11: Boys Basketball's Best 1st to Earn MHSAA Finals Titles - Read
March 5: Everything We Do Begins with Participation - Read
Feb. 25: Slogans & Logos Remain Unforgettable Parts of MHSAA History - Read
Feb. 19: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value - Read
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read