SAC Sound-off: Lessons Taught

May 9, 2012

MHSAA Student Advisory Council members are charged in part with passing on the lessons of educational athletics. We asked them what they tried to teach their teammates this school year.

“I tried to teach my teammates …”

Focus on the end game

“… How to be intense throughout the game and to be united in our goal to win.” – Portland St. Patrick junior Elle Lehman

“… To work together for a specific goal.” – Muskegon Catholic Central senior Alissa Jones

It starts with work

“… It doesn’t matter how big, strong or fast you are. What matters is how much heart and effort you put into any sport or life situation. Because hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work.” – New Buffalo senior Lena Madison

Stand together

“… Respect each other, because it’s nearly impossible to succeed as a team if you don’t work together.” Walled Lake Central junior Taylor Krumm

“… We are a family. Even if it’s cliché, it’s true. We win together and lose together. As a captain of the golf team, sometimes it is difficult to keep the team mentality since it is also an individual sport.” – Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central junior Abby Radomsky

“… The importance of being a good teammate – and how that includes both playing hard on the field and being supportive off of the field.” – Pontiac Notre Dame junior Carly Joseph

It’s about more than physical skills

“... Be selfless. It is so difficult for us as teenagers to stop and realize that not everything is about us. So I wanted to make sure we worked as a team, not as individuals, by communicating.” – Detroit Country Day senior Maria Buczkowski

“... To have a better attitude on the golf course.” – Grand Blanc senior Bailey Truesdell

“... Even in times of trouble (loss, problems, etc.), you need to keep cool and continue to work hard.” – Vandercook Lake junior Thye Fischman

“… To give it their all and to have fun; also to not get worked up over mistakes.” – Rogers City junior Evan Lamb

Don’t take this for granted

“… You need to have fun. Sports are not about winning or losing.” – Benzie Central senior Travis Clous

“… Love the game. My main message as a senior captain in three sports this year was simply to cherish every moment of high school sports. To me, there is nothing better.” – Rudyard senior Tyler Wilson

Advisory Council Names Class Of 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 26, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Eight student-athletes who will be juniors at their schools during the 2018-19 academic year have been selected to serve two-year terms on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Student Advisory Council.

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 Association 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 incoming juniors will join the group of eight seniors-to-be appointed a year ago.

Selected to begin serving on the Student Advisory Council in 2018-19 are: Grace Beardsley, Gladwin; Kaitlyn Bricker, Pellston; Nathan Eccles, Port Huron Northern; Jack Fairman, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; Alexis Mohney, Mattawan; Trevin Phillips, Caro; Isabella Santiago-Lindsay, North Muskegon; and Lance Wiltse, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

The first Student Advisory Council was formed for the 2006-07 school year. With the addition of this class beginning this summer, members will have represented 102 schools from 43 leagues plus independent schools that do not play in a league. Combined, the new appointees have participated in 13 MHSAA sports, and six of the eight will be the first SAC members from their respective schools.

The Student Advisory Council meets seven times each school year, and once more for a 24-hour leadership camp. In addition to assisting in the promotion of the educational value of interscholastic athletics, the Council discusses issues dealing with the 4 S’s of educational athletics: scholarship, sportsmanship, safety (including health and nutrition) and the sensible scope of athletic programs. There also is a fifth S discussed by the group – student leadership.

This school year, the Council revamped its annual “Battle of the Fans” contest to allow more schools to contend for the title, and selected the 2017-18 champion. Council members also presented Sportsmanship Summits in front of more than 1,000 students from across the state, handed out championship trophies at Finals events and provided feedback to the MHSAA Representative Council on proposed rule changes.

The new additions to the SAC will join the Class of 2019 members who were selected a year ago: Taylor Adams, Allendale; Neil Bazaj, Ann Arbor Greenhills; Megan Corbe, St. Joseph; Shane Dolan, Clarkston Everest Collegiate; Chloe Idoni, Fenton; William Jontz, Brighton; Pierce Morrissey, Big Rapids; and Abigail Nelson, Negaunee.