NFHS Hall of Famers: Multi-Sport Experience Makes Major Difference
By
The NFHS Voice
National Federation of State High School Associations
July 28, 2026
The theory that athletes in high school need to specialize in one sport in an out-of-school program to progress to the next level was not the theme from the five athletes inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame last month in Salt Lake City, Utah.
At a press conference preceding the 43rd Hall of Fame induction ceremony, five former extraordinary high school athletes – all of whom later excelled at the college, professional and for a few Olympic levels – delivered resounding messages about the importance of playing multiple sports within school-based programs.
Joe Carter, who was a four-sport standout in football, basketball, baseball and track at Millwood High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, long before his stellar pro baseball career, said he might never have been a successful pro baseball player without his multiple sport career at Millwood.
“If I had played baseball all year long, I wouldn’t have been a professional baseball player because I would have burned out,” Carter said. “Coaches will tell you that if you don’t come out for football in the spring instead of playing another sport, you will be passed up. This is not the case because if you’re good they will find you. I will take an athlete who played two or three sports over an athlete who just played one sport because those guys know how to take advantage of a situation and know how to adjust.”
Jordan Larson, a three-sport participant at Logan View High School in Hooper, Nebraska, before settling into volleyball and leading the University of Nebraska to an NCAA championship and playing in four consecutive Olympics, also pointed to multiple sports as a reason for success.
“I can’t emphasize it enough – playing multiple sports helped me personally,” Larson said. “It helped me adapt and adjust as I got older. I can’t recommend it enough from a young age.
“Playing multiple sports helped shape me health-wise from a longevity standpoint. There’s something to be said for the mind. If you’re on the grind in the same sport, burnout will come.”
Another volleyball standout in the 2026 class was Alisha Glass Childress, who also played basketball at Leland (Michigan) High School and who would later lead Penn State University to three consecutive NCAA volleyball titles and team with Larson on the U.S. squad at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
“Playing for your high school team is so important – it’s such a different experience,” Childress said. “Being in the same program for four years and getting to know the athletes you’re with, I felt like it was family.
“High school was a beautiful time and the beginning of a love affair with sports. I fell in love with the sport of volleyball but also tried a lot of different sports. I played basketball as well. For me, high school is when you start to have an understanding of yourself – reflecting on who you want to be or what you want to achieve.
“The life lessons you learn along the way are so important. The majority of the athletes on our team did not continue on to play past high school. The life lessons you learn as a high school athlete – being a leader, accountability, goal-setting – carry with you the rest of your life.”
Patrick Willis was one of Tennessee’s top two-way football players at Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central High School who also played basketball and baseball before his hall of fame football career with the San Francisco 49ers.
“Coming from a small town with two red lights, I would say the most fun I had growing up was playing sports,” Willis said. “Life can throw a lot of things at you, and to be able to adjust is amazing. In sports, we’re able to learn these things – the discipline, the toughness, the perseverance. I wanted to be a representative that anything is possible, and it’s not just the ones from the big cities or towns, but ones from small towns also.”
Another proponent of playing multiple sports was Krissy Wendell Pohl, the most dominant player in girls ice hockey in Minnesota history and the national record-holder in goals scored in a season who went to a stellar career at the University of Minnesota and won a silver medal at the 2002 Olympics. In addition to her excellence in ice hockey, Wendell Pohl also played tennis, baseball and softball.
“It was so special for me to be able to play multiple sports,” said Wendell Pohl. “For me, playing baseball, softball and hockey, you had different groups of friends, different roles on different teams, and all of that had an impact and you don’t realize it until later.
“High school is the purest form of sport. What you learn in high school, as you’re learning and growing and developing, those things stay with you. The people who impact you in high school – you will never forget that.”
We urge coaches today to take the message from these five outstanding athletes about playing multiple sports to heart and make that option available to athletes in their schools.
These vital programs help to shape young student-athletes into successful parents, citizens and leaders of our nation for years to come.
Novak Mourned, Missed After 42 Years of Telling Southwest Michigan's Stories
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2024
DOWAGIAC - One seat at the media table at five schools in Cass and Berrien counties will remain vacant when the 2024-25 high school basketball season tips off in a few weeks.
Scott Novak, legendary sports editor for Leader Publications for the past 42 years, won't be there to occupy his.
Novak, 63, passed away Oct. 23 following an extended illness.
Throughout his storied career, Novak earned several awards from the Michigan Press Association, The Associated Press and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.
Personal recognition wasn't anything Novak sought out. In fact, the Decatur native made it his crusade to see that he got the name of every athlete he covered each sports season into the newspaper at least once.
Novak formed long-lasting relationships with coaches, athletes, parents, officials and athletic directors in the communities of Cassopolis, Edwardsburg, Buchanan, Niles Brandywine and Niles High School, along with Southwestern Michigan College.
Not only did Novak cover local high school sports, but Little League and many other youth and adult recreational sports, along with professional motocross racing at the RedBud Motocross Park in Buchanan.
Novak devoted countless hours during the week and on weekends bringing thorough coverage to Southwestern Michigan. The sports pages Novak designed for the Niles Daily Star, Dowagiac Daily News, Edwardsburg Argus and Cassopolis Vigilant contained more than just stories and photos. The weekly sections Novak produced also contained an entire page or two devoted to statistics and box scores. He took great pride in including those as part of the sports section. Leader Publications is one of very few community newspapers that still does so.
Novak was passionate about his sports coverage in every community, especially Dowagiac where he resided.
Dowagiac High School's 1990 Class BB championship football team was one of the most notable stories Novak covered, along with the Chieftains' 2011 Class B semifinalist boys basketball team. Edwardsburg's 2018 Division 4 championship football run, along with a Final Four run by Niles in softball, were other big events he covered.
Ken Fox, sports editor at the Elkhart Truth, remembers a comment Novak made in the media room following Dowagiac's 35-14 win over Oxford in that 1990 Football Final at the Pontiac Silverdome.
"I'm not sure anyone could have been happier than Scott covering that Chieftains team. We both covered Dowagiac games in the tournament, and each win made Scott's smile grow bigger," Fox recalled. "Somehow we timed it right the day of the game and ended up walking into the Pontiac Silverdome together. When he was ushered right onto the field for the game, that smile was as wide as it had ever been. His first words to the rest of the media when he came into the interview room after the win over Oxford was vintage Scott."
"I told you all back in August that Dowagiac would win it," Novak said.
Robert Oppenheim, a sportswriter at the Elkhart Truth, remembers Novak for being upbeat and positive.
"Scott certainly enjoyed his high school sports and was very knowledgeable about the area,” Oppenheim said. “Personally, he was great to me. He was one of the first people to reach out to me about a job when I was looking for one after my past job experience as a sportswriter ended. I remember having a meeting with him at a Subway in Niles talking about what the job would involve. Each week we would discuss my assignment, and he was great to work with. He understood and wasn't upset when I got a full-time sports writing opportunity at the Elkhart Truth. That's the type of person Scott was. He cared about others. Heaven got a great sportswriter and an even better person."
Brent Nate, a 1997 Dowagiac graduate now in his 14th year as the school's athletic director, grew up knowing Novak.
"I've known Scott my entire life. Looking back, I now realize how special it was to have the local sports editor there covering our middle school football games. You always knew there would be an article on the game in Saturday's newspaper," Nate said.
Nate remembers fondly the night Novak visited his home to interview his older brother after Scott Nate was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1994 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
"I just remember the great interest he took in getting to know our family that night. Later when I returned to Dowagiac as athletic director, we rode together to several games,” Brent Nate said. “Scott was a great advocate for high school sports, and what he did for Dowagiac athletics will never be duplicated."
The Dowagiac athletic department will have Novak's empty seat on display this winter in the exact spot where he regularly sat during home basketball games.
Edwardsburg football coach Dan Purlee remembers Novak riding the bus with the team to playoff games when Purlee coached at Cassopolis.
"I always thought very highly of Scott and got to know him really well. He just really loved the Cass and Berrien County area in terms of covering high school sports and did a tremendous job," Purlee said.
Josh Hood, Niles Brandywine's assistant principal and varsity girls basketball coach, first met Novak when Hood was a student-athlete at the school.
"Scott just loved sports, and it was more than just a job to him,” Hood said. “He was very passionate about what he did. I'll remember all the laughs we had in the Bobcat Den and just sitting around talking to him before games and all the friendly banter."
Novak was nominated by Hood as a media member to BCAM's Hall of Honor in 2022.
"It was an easy decision to nominate Scott. I was so excited that he was selected in his first time on the ballot. The articles he wrote were unbelievable," Hood said.
On the day of Novak's passing, Niles Brandywine athletic director David Sidenbender left the school's football stadium lights on overnight in his memory.
"I got to know Scott pretty well when I attended and played baseball at Southwestern Michigan College. He was always fair in his writing and always showed interest in other people's opinions about what he put in the paper," Sidenbender said.
"We will always feel Scott's presence. He always made our kids feel special by interviewing them after covering our games. He will be greatly missed."
Matt Brawley knew Novak both as an athlete and more recently as Niles’ athletic director.
"Scott was a staple in Southwestern Michigan sports. He was very accessible and he knew his stuff,” Brawley said. “He really enjoyed the area and covered me as a player during our District championship and Final Four runs. I also was privileged to work with him during my time at Cassopolis and Niles as AD. He was just an amazing human being, a good friend and was there for everything. You could trust him if you told him stuff off the record as well.”
Brawley set up a table in Novak's memory at last Friday's home football playoff game with Paw Paw. The table contained candles, Novak's photo and a Niles Vikings hat as a memorial to him.
"Scott was the ultimate writer who was an even better human being,” Niles varsity boys basketball coach Myles Busby said. “I can see him, even now, sitting in his chair in the corner of our gym. He had an incredibly warm and welcoming presence about him that made it easy to talk to him. I always enjoyed talking to him as a student-athlete, but I found great appreciation learning more about him during my time as head coach.”
Niles senior tailback Sam Rucker stated that Novak's presence at the games never went unnoticed.
"It means a lot to us to see the media at our games. Just having him at the games inspired us and made everyone feel good," Rucker said.
Sports weren't the only thing Novak covered for Leader Publications. He also enjoyed country and classic rock music and covered many popular artists when they appeared at area venues. He conducted interviews with Tommy James and Kenny Loggins, along with several other stars.
Outside of work, Novak enjoyed being a father to his daughter Kirsten, who survives him.
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Niles High School set up a memorial table in honor of Scott Novak at Friday's home Division 4 playoff game against Paw Paw. (Middle) Novak, right, conducts a postrace interview with former professional motocross and supercross racer Mike LaRocco at the RedBud MX track in Buchanan during the Red Bud Trail Nationals several years ago. (Below) The Dowagiac High School athletic department will honor Novak by keeping his vacant chair present in the school gymnasium throughout the upcoming 2024-25 basketball season. (Top photo courtesy of the Niles athletic department. Middle photo by Amelio Rodriguez. Dowagiac photo courtesy of the school’s athletic department.)