Did you lose this medal?
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 19, 2013
It’s not quite a needle in a haystack. But it could turn into a great story.
This 1984 MHSAA Regional medal, pictured above, was found recently in Massachusetts with a metal detector. The finder, coincidentally a former collegiate track and field coach, hopes to return the medal to its rightful owner.
Doing so might not be as difficult as it sounds, but we’ll need help from our friends in the track and field community.
Here’s what we know:
- The medal was received for finishing fourth in the 800 meters at a Class B Regional in 1984.
- The Regional had to be in the Lower Peninsula, because Class A and Class B were and continue to be combined in the Upper Peninsula.
- There were 10 Class B Regionals during the 1984 season, hosted by Sturgis, Parma Jackson County Western, Chelsea, Warren Fitzgerald, Linden, Corunna, Ovid-Elsie, Fremont, Greenville and Gaylord.
- So that means the medal could have only 20 possible owners.
Unfortunately, we do not have Regional results from the 1980s on file in our office. That’s where our helpers come in.
If you have results, or any idea who won this medal, please contact me at [email protected]. If we can connect medal with owner, we’ll tell much more of this story – including that of the coach who found it and made the call to start its return trip home.
Adult Fans: HS Sports' Biggest Challenge
August 27, 2019
By Karissa Niehoff, NFHS Executive Director
and Mark Uyl, MHSAA Executive Director
Inappropriate adult behavior at high school athletic events in Michigan has reached epidemic proportion.
When more than 2,000 high school athletic directors were asked in a recent national survey what they like least about their job, 62.3 percent said it was “dealing with aggressive parents and adult fans.”
And the men and women who wear the black and white stripes agree. In fact, almost 80 percent of officials quit after the first two years on the job, and unruly parents are cited as the reason why. As a result, there is a growing shortage of high school officials here in Michigan, and in some sports like wrestling, swimming & diving and track & field, the shortage is severe. No officials means no more games.
If you are a parent attending a high school athletic event this fall, you can help by following these six guidelines:
1. Act Your Age. You are, after all, an adult. Act in a way that makes your family and school proud.
2. Don’t Live Your Life Vicariously Through Your Children. High school sports are for them, not you. Your family’s reputation is not determined by how well your children perform on the field of play.
3. Let Your Children Talk to the Coach Instead of You Doing It for Them. High school athletes learn how to become more confident, independent and capable — but only when their parents don’t jump in and solve their problems for them.
4. Stay in Your Lane. No coaching or officiating from the sidelines. Your role is to be a responsible, supportive parent — not a coach or official.
5. Remember, Participating in a High School Sport Is Not About Getting a College Scholarship. According to the NCAA, only about two percent of all high school athletes are awarded a sports scholarship, and the total value of the scholarship is only about $18,000.
6. Make Sure Your Children Know You Love Watching Them Play. Do not critique your child’s performance on the car ride home. Participating in high school sports is about character development, learning and having fun — not winning and losing.
Purchasing a ticket to a high school athletic event does not give you the right to be rude, disrespectful or verbally abusive. Cheer loud and be proud, but be responsible and respectful. The future of high school sports in Michigan is dependent on you.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) is one of 51 members of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).