NFHS Voice: Madness to Maddening
March 23, 2020
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
March Madness took on another meaning for everyone in the sports world during the week of March 9 – a week like none other in the history of organized sports with the acceleration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States.
The Madness was not the bouncing of basketballs in arenas around the country. Instead it was organization after organization trying to determine the viability of continuing to operate – particularly after the suspension of the NBA season and the cancellation of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships.
And NFHS-member state high school associations were among those organizations faced with making decisions because the heightened state of the coronavirus pandemic occurred in the middle of state high school basketball tournaments across the country. While 13 states had completed their tournaments, the remainder were faced with tough decisions throughout the week.
By the end of that week, another four states were able to complete their girls and boys basketball tournaments – although all of these states had to impose extreme limits on the number of fans in attendance.
About two-thirds of our member state associations had to shut down their tournaments. At this point, 19 state associations have cancelled their state basketball tournaments, while 15 others have postponed or suspended their events, although the hope of completing them seems to fade with each passing day.
In addition to basketball, some states were in the midst of conducting ice hockey, gymnastics and swimming championships. While most of those sports championships, along with wrestling, were completed, some states were forced to suspend or cancel these as well.
Because of varying information from state health leaders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state governors, some states were able to continue playing longer than others. Each state’s high school basketball tournament is one of the anticipated events of the year – particularly for residents in towns with schools playing for a state title.
From start to finish of state basketball tournaments in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, more than one million fans trek to gymnasiums to watch these events. This year, however, many of these fans, along with about half of the 950,000 boys and girls who play high school basketball, were not able to experience March Madness.
And if this wasn’t enough, spring sports seasons and championships are at risk – mainly because schools are closed in many states, which means the discontinuation of school activity programs. The NCAA has cancelled all spring sports championships; and while state associations haven’t cancelled spring championships yet, athletics and activities programs are on hold for a set period of time – or indefinitely in some states.
While the loss of college and professional sports has an enormous impact on everyday life, considering that events surrounding the coronavirus affect some 19,500 high schools and 12 million participants in high school sports and performing arts activities, the impact on high school sports is perhaps even larger.
We support our 51 member state association leaders as they continue to work through these challenges. The loss of state basketball championships in many states is a sizeable financial challenge ahead as they work to continue to make state-level athletics and activities programs available.
On many occasions, we have written about the value of high school sports and activities. This month, we have witnessed the disappointment of thousands and thousands of players and fans who were not able to experience a state championship – many of whom were “going to state” for the first time.
High school sports is different from every other level of sport as these programs are a vital part of communities across our nation. Two weeks ago, when the doors were closed in many gymnasiums, it was confirmation of the desire and need for education-based high school sports and activities in the United States.
During this time of imposed social distancing, it is a time to step back and be thankful for these programs in our nation’s schools.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is in her second year as executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS, which celebrated its 100th year of service during the 2018-19 school year. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.
Parents Master Art of Schedule Juggling
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 18, 2016
If it’s Tuesday, it must be volleyball — or is it soccer or maybe swimming?
Time to check the calendar, the phone app or the white board.
To keep up with two or more students involved in different sports in the same season, families have devised their own ways for keeping track of schedules.
The Carpenters, who have sons Matthew and Alex at Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep, use several calendars, including a master schedule in the kitchen.
The Perkins, whose daughters Lauren and Audrey attend Mattawan High School, rely mostly on the phone app Cozi to keep schedules straight.
For the parents, it’s a question of logistics and juggling, which sometimes takes a lot of creativity.
“We have electronic calendars and paper calendars to look at every morning,” dad Tim Carpenter said. “We talk about who’s going where and who’s going to do what at the start of each day to figure it out.
“I keep a sports calendar to share with all the family so they can see the different things going on. If we are ever home at night without a game, it’s a strange feeling.”
Besides the composite kitchen calendar, “We also have our iPhone calendar so we both can see one another’s calendar at the same time,” mom Julie Carpenter said.
“It’s pretty much Monday through Saturday, some game or practice. Sunday it’s Mass, groceries and laundry.”
The Perkins use a phone organizer app called Cozi.
“We try to get all the schedules in there so everybody knows where everybody else is,” mom Valerie Perkins said. “I usually have a white board on the kitchen counter that I update weekly, and it kind of tracks who’s got what when.
“The girls’ meets are on opposite days. Like Audrey will have something on Monday, Wednesday and Lauren has Tuesday and Thursday. Occasionally they both have Saturdays. Then we divide and conquer, for sure.”
With five children, the Carpenters try to split time evenly between all the activities.
Matthew, a senior, is Hackett’s soccer goalkeeper and Alex, a sophomore, plays junior varsity football. Oldest son, Josh, a sophomore at Michigan Tech, plays broom ball – and while his parents don’t travel to watch him play, the games are webcast during the winter.
The activities won’t end soon. Bennett, a sixth grader and Bethany, a third grader, both at St. Augustine in Kalamazoo, also are involved in sports.
The Carpenters try to attend all of their children’s games together, but sometimes that is not possible.
In that case, “We usually base it on who’s closer,” Tim Carpenter said. “If there’s one game south near where I work in Portage (at MANN+HUMMEL), I’ll usually go to that.
“If Julie (who works at Borgess-ProMed Physician Pediatrics in Richland) has only seen one of Alex’s games and I’ve seen two, she’ll go to Alex’s. We try to keep it even.”
Both parents were introduced to new sports once their sons got involved.
“(Our sons) haven’t done tennis or golf,” Julie Carpenter said. “Soccer’s got more action and excitement; basketball is similar. Skiing was neat because it’s such a close-knit community. Cross country was fun because it was a very team environment.
“I had not seen cross country before, but when Josh started cross country it was really exciting because we thought ‘OK, how much can you get out of cross country as a spectator?’ It was pretty exciting for us just to run from spot to spot. They’re such a close-knit group of kids.”
Whether there are five children or two, as in the Perkins family, parents face the same dilemma: trying to juggle work, practices and events.
“We usually try to trade off so we get an even mix of seeing the girls,” said Valerie Perkins, who works at Bronson Urology in Kalamazoo. “Sometimes Rob’s schedule dictates that. Sometimes it’s who’s ever closest.”
Rob Perkins, who works at TRW in Mattawan, said sometimes there’s a glitch.
“When they give us advance warning of what’s going on and it doesn’t change, then I can work around it,” he said.
“The only time it gets frustrating is when something changes at the very last minute, or maybe it was always the same and the girls’ stories change at the last minute,” he added, laughing.
Neither parent was familiar with the sports their daughters chose.
“With dive, Lauren started in eighth grade, so it evolved from a summer camp and she really enjoyed it,” Rob Perkins said. “We kind of fell into Kyle Oberhill, who’s the diving coach for (Kalamazoo College) and he manages the facilities for Western (Michigan University).
“He’s just really easy-going. (Lauren) excelled in it right away. As a freshman, she broke the school record. That kind of kept her motivated to keep going.”
Oberhill also had a workshop for parents to explain the intricacies of competitive diving, and that helped. Audrey, meanwhile, took on another sport new to her parents when she started playing volleyball in seventh grade.
“We didn’t know much about it, but the important thing to know about it is she enjoys it,” her dad said.
Rob Perkins said it would be much easier if volleyball and dive were not in the same season, but there is an upside.
“I would say, generally speaking, being in sports certainly builds their self-confidence, keeps them occupied.”
Their mother said she can see a positive influence of sports on their girls.
“I think sports have definitely improved them,” she said. “They’ve learned how to become leaders and work as a team, and I really appreciate that.
“I can see it develop in both of them over the years. Both are captains of their teams.”
And both sets of athletes said it’s important to see their parents at their games.
“It gives me more confidence,” Alex Carpenter said, “and makes me feel good that they want to see me play.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Mattawan parents Rob and Valerie Perkins cheer on their daughter Lauren during a recent swimming & diving meet. (Middle top) The Carpenters, clockwise from top left: Tim, Julie, Alex and Matthew. (Middle) The Perkins daughters, Lauren (left) and Audrey. (Middle below) Matthew, the Hackett soccer goalkeeper, looks to pass after gathering up a loose ball. (Below) Lauren Perkins dives during a meet. (Lauren Perkins head shot by Becky Anderson Photography, all other photos by Pam Shebest.)