Recent Stars Build on HS Sports Foundation
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
January 23, 2018
Mattawan’s Allie Havers experienced high school sports in part as a stepping stone to a scholarship and eventual national championship at the University of Nebraska.
Hackett Catholic Prep’s Hope Baldwin earned two national awards and several scholarships for an essay on the role of high school sports in shaping her future.
But for both Kalamazoo-area athletes, high school sports had a much deeper impact than just national recognition.
Baldwin, who is not playing varsity sports as a freshman at University of Notre Dame, was an MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award winner, received the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association National Scholar Athlete of the Year award in Phoenix in December and will travel to Atlanta in April for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Trophy.
She wrote the essay while a senior at Hackett and, looking back, she said, “When I wrote that essay, I think it was probably March of my senior year. Now, being in college and not being involved in those athletics any more has given me the opportunity to appreciate them even more.
“Reading my speech and being able to look back on how I was writing from that perspective still in high school, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I knew it was important then, but now not having it any more I realize even more what a benefit high school sports are.”
The lasting impression for both athletes is not a specific game or highlight, but “mostly I miss my teammates and coaches,” Baldwin said.
“In each season, coming in every day to practice with the same people really made unique bonds because we were all working toward the same goals.”
Havers, who was first-team all-state in three sports at Mattawan, said looking back, it’s the people who made the deepest impression.
“I remember the people, the coaches, my teammates and the seniors who were on the team my senior year,” she said. “I look back, and it was a pretty cool experience. I’m really humbled.
“I didn’t do it by myself. I had help from my parents, siblings, coaches and teammates.”
Words of wisdom
Baldwin was stunned when her essay won for the state of Michigan and then for her NIAAA section (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana).
She then was chosen as the female national award winner, earning a $2,500 scholarship in addition to a plaque.
Among points she emphasized were the following:
- “Sports have taught me valuable time management skills.”
- “I learned … how to deal with disappointment gracefully, an ability I will carry with me in the years after high school.”
- “Developing a mindset of good sportsmanship has enabled me to look beyond winning or losing. … I realize a disappointing experience is still worthwhile.”
- “I broke my collarbone in a soccer game and had to undergo surgery. … I learned how to lead my team from the bench.”
She added that although most enjoy the thrill of competition, “the true value of athletics lies in the transformation off the court. That is, in the time management, leadership, work ethic and teamwork skills that are carried in one’s character beyond sports and beyond high school.”
Baldwin, who is majoring in neuroscience and behavior with a pre-med concentration, said she chose Notre Dame for academics rather than attending a smaller school where she might have played sports.
While she played four years of volleyball, basketball and soccer at Hackett, that drive for competition has not completely left her.
“I’ve been doing some intramural sports, which is really fun,” she said. “Sand volleyball, basketball and our dorm had a flag football team. We actually ended up making it to the championship and we got to play in the Notre Dame football stadium, so that was really cool.”
Succeeding, switching, succeeding again
Havers had no doubt she would be playing college sports after an outstanding career in basketball, volleyball and softball at Mattawan, graduating in 2013.
She earned a basketball scholarship to University of Michigan but when the coach left, she de-committed and eventually ended up with the Cornhuskers.
The transition from high school to college hoops was an eye-opener.
“I had to catch up to the game,” Havers said. “In college, the girls are a lot bigger, a lot stronger, a lot faster and more physical. I knew the girls at post, my position, were a lot stronger than me.
“I came in at (6-foot-4) 140 pounds, and most others in the post position were 180 to 200 pounds.”
Her practice schedule was also different.
In high school, the team practiced about two hours a day.
But in college, “We practice four hours and on the court just about every day,” Havers said. “You have school work, lifting, meetings, tutors. You will definitely come out with great organization skills.”
After playing four years of basketball at Nebraska and graduating with a degree in psychology, Havers knew she did not want to give up competition in a college atmosphere.
“I had a fifth year of eligibility left but not in basketball, so I went out for the volleyball team,” said Havers, who is working toward a master’s degree in journalism and mass communications. “I knew if I didn’t try, I would regret it. Nebraska is a volleyball dynasty.”
She was faced with a situation unfamiliar to her.
“I played every basketball game, but I played just two volleyball games,” she said. “It was a lot different. I was used to playing a lot in basketball and all through high school, too.”
“No athlete likes sitting the bench, but you learn your role and you go with it. I feel really blessed for the opportunity and knew I had to work hard for a spot.”
The payoff was the NCAA National Championship when Nebraska defeated Florida in the four-set final Dec. 16.
Even though her college eligibility is gone, Havers, who hopes coach once she graduates, is still playing sports at the intramural level.
“Beach volleyball is a college sport at Nebraska,” she said. “It’s a three-month season with an indoor court.”
Havers' advice for high school athletes is: “Go in with an open mind, go in with heart and leave nothing on the table. Go to practice earlier and stay later.
“Coaches promise you anything, but that’s not always the way it goes. You have to go with the flow.”
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’s Allie Havers, left, and Kalamazoo Hackett’s Hope Baldwin enjoyed outstanding high school athletic careers. (Middle) Baldwin, top, and Havers. (Below) Havers went on to play both basketball and then volleyball at Nebraska. (Basketball photo courtesy of Nebraska’s athletic department; soccer photo courtesy of Hackett’s girls soccer program.)
ESSAY: See the full text of Baldwin’s essay below that contributed to her selection as an NIAAA Scholar Athlete winner for 2017.
Century of School Sports: MHSAA Over Time
December 17, 2024
The Olympics in Paris have just completed. A presidential election was held in November. The information technology industry rolls out new products impacting everyday life for years to come. And, there was an MHSAA Representative Council Meeting in December.
The year is 1924.
History, indeed, repeats itself. Yet, each time it does, history is also made.
Johnny Weissmuller, later of Tarzan fame, won three swimming gold medals and a bronze medal in water polo at the VIII Olympiad. Calvin Coolidge defeated John W. Davis in the 1924 presidential election. International Business Machines Corp. took over a small company with sights set on becoming an international force, creating what we know as IBM that February.
Fast forward 100 years, and Simone Biles, Trump v. Harris, and SpaceX and AI have taken the place of those before them for their rightful place in history.
The MHSAA? Well, it’s still rolling intact 100 years after that groundbreaking, inaugural meeting on Dec. 13, 1924.
Not that there haven’t been changes, challenges, and gymnasiums and fields full of history along the way. There have been plenty. Following is a timeline highlighting some of the important dates, personnel and battles outside the athletic boundaries that have us where we are today.
OPENING DAYS (1800s) – A new form of secondary education – the public high school – started to sweep the state in 1848. In 1895, the High School Section of the Michigan State Teachers Association deemed that conditions required a cooperative effort to supervise and regulate inter-school athletic contests.
A NEW GAMEPLAN (Early 1900s) – Athletics in Michigan high schools spread rapidly during the early 1900s, often following the collegiate model that emphasized winning over sportsmanship. Such behavior endangered the future of school sports, before educational leaders – seeing the positive side of these additional activities in school settings – gathered to formulate rules for regulating games.
BIRTH OF THE MHSAA (1924) – From 1909-1924, the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association set forth eligibility rules and administrative regulations for school sports. When the office of the state Superintendent sought to take control in 1924, the MIAA resisted, seeking to maintain its autonomy and authority. Negotiations ensued and ultimately resulted in the creation of a Representative Council for the new Michigan High School Athletic Association. The first Council meeting on Dec. 13, 1924, included representation of schools large and small, public and private, and from both peninsulas – much as the Association operates today.
FOUNDING FATHER (1924-42) – A driving force behind the new MHSAA was Lewis L. Forsythe, an educator from Ann Arbor who twice served as president of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association. He was elected as president of the first MHSAA Representative Council, serving from 1924-42, during which time he joined colleagues from Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa to found what is now the National Federation of State High School Associations. His book “Athletics in Michigan High Schools: The First Hundred Years” provides us with much of the historical record and context we point to today.
UNITED WE STAND (1933) – Michigan's two peninsulas make it unique among states. Recognizing that, the Upper Peninsula was one of four designated Representative Districts at the MHSAA’s conception in 1924. Tournament travel, expenses and weather – often more extreme in the UP – led to the creation of the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee in 1933. For a time, the UP and LP conducted separate postseasons in all sports. In 1948, UP teams returned to postseason competition with LP schools in select sports. That arrangement continues to this day, with the UP Athletic Committee recommending the mix of statewide and UP-only championships.
WRITING THE BOOK (1931-68) – Charles E. Forsythe (L.L. Forsythe’s nephew) became the MHSAA’s first full-time executive director in 1931 and would literally and figuratively write the book on athletic leadership. His college textbook, “The Administration of High School Sports,” continued to be published even after his time as the longest-serving director in Association history concluded in 1968. Interest in school sports thrived during his tenure, highlighted by growth in MHSAA Basketball Tournament attendance from 126,000 to 775,000 at his retirement. “Charlie” also championed methods to make the games safer by collecting injury data and focusing on equipment. Notably, Forsythe took a three-year leave to direct physical fitness activities for the U.S. Navy during WWII.
LOCALLY GROWN (1958) – A close working relationship between the MHSAA and the state’s athletic directors has long been key to the administration of school sports in Michigan, and 1958 saw the creation of the Michigan Association of Physical Education and Athletics. Renamed the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association in 1982, the MIAAA still works hand-in-hand with MHSAA staff to foster growth in statewide school athletic programs through local educational leaders.
GIRLS BEGIN CHAMPIONSHIP RUN (1972) – Women’s athletics gained steam nationally with the passage of Title IX on June 23, 1972. In Michigan, the law only furthered participation growth, as girls had been playing sports as early as 1898. The first Girls Regional, in skiing, took place in 1952. The first MHSAA girls championship also predates Title IX, as a statewide MHSAA Final in gymnastics was held on March 11 of that year – and girls were competing for Finals titles in nine sports by the end of the 1975-76 school year. Competitive Cheer, created by the MHSAA in 1994, continues to be the country’s only variety of cheerleading that meets the federal criteria for sport under Title IX. This trailblazing spirit continues as Michigan consistently ranks among the top 10 states nationally in girls sports participation.
INDEPENDENCE DAY (1972) – The MHSAA’s hard-earned status gained during the mid-1920s again was challenged nearly 50 years later, in 1972. A Michigan Attorney General ruling determined private organizations lacked legal grounds for eligibility matters and that authority for athletics rested with the State Board of Education. A battle for control of school sports made its way to the state legislature, where the House and Senate voted to give the authority to the MHSAA. On April 18, 1972, new Articles of Incorporation officially made the Association a non-profit 501(c)(3), untethered from state government, and affirmed the independence of the MHSAA.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (1975) – Despite being a staple of Michigan fall Friday nights for decades, football was the last existing sponsored sport added to the postseason menu, first offering pigskin Finals in 1975. Now a Thanksgiving weekend tradition, the Pontiac Silverdome served as host from 1976-2004, with Detroit’s Ford Field welcoming the event in 2005. The 8-player variety came to the table in 2011, most often showcased at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome. Football remains the most-played and most-attended sport among MHSAA offerings.
MAKING – AND ANSWERING – THE CALL (1980) – Officials have been a core constituency of the MHSAA throughout its century-long history. Nearly 10,000 register every year so that students can play the games they love, with the total growing to a high of 12,722 during the 2008-09 school year. Since 1980, the MHSAA has honored officials who reach milestone years of service and annually presents the Norris Award to recognize a veteran official's involvement in mentoring and education.
ON THE COURTS v. IN THE COURTS (1986- 2004) – School sports are the lifeblood of the MHSAA, but occasionally games on our courts have shifted to contests in courts. Victories there have further strengthened the MHSAA’s leadership position for schools. In 1986, it was determined that school sports are a privilege and not a right, with transfer regulations created by member schools and not outside entities. The MHSAA Restitution Rule was upheld in 1991, allowing the association to defend its rules. That same year the Maximum Age and Semester rules also received a positive verdict. The Michigan Supreme Court further stamped the MHSAA’s authority in 2004 in a ruling that helped set legal standards for all private, nonprofit associations in Michigan.
THE FUTURE IS THE PRESENT (1990s and 2000s) – Leadership is passed from generation to generation. The 1990s and 2000s introduced dedicated programs to train and educate student leaders. The first Women In Sports Leadership Conference was held in 1990 and remains the largest and longest-running of its kind. Other student-centered programs, including Sportsmanship Summits, online Captains Courses, the Scholar Athlete Award and the Student Advisory Council, also came to prominence during these years.
SAFE AT HOME (2010s) – As Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts entered the final decade of his 32-year tenure, Michigan became a national leader in school sports health and safety initiatives. His “Four Hs” – Health Histories, Heads, Heat and Hearts – yielded programs aimed at a safer environment. This focus included a more comprehensive preparticipation physical exam questionnaire, heightened concussion reporting and care protocols, creation of a heat management policy for practices and contests, and CPR requirements for coaches with a goal of placing AEDs in every school. The MHSAA also provided catastrophic and concussion care insurance free of charge to all student-athletes, which is yet another additional benefit of MHSAA membership.
TELLING OUR STORY (2010s) – For most of the MHSAA’s history, school sports enjoyed comprehensive media coverage at the local and statewide levels. During the early 21st century, a seismic shift in mediums led to instant, electronic coverage with multitudes of entertainment options all vying for attention. MHSAA staff kept pace through enhanced pages on MHSAA.com which featured stories, scores and schedules, and video and audio productions, and promoted this new content through a robust presence on social media. These efforts contribute to ensuring school teams, coaches, administrators, officials and fans are celebrated on the public stage.
CONTINUITY COUNTS (1931-Today) – The strength of any association is its leaders. Continuity is vital, too, transitioning seamlessly from one era to the next. With only five fulltime executive directors in its history, the MHSAA has checked those boxes. That exclusive roster is as follows: Charles E. Forsythe (1931-68), Allen W. Bush (1968-78), Vern L. Norris (1978-86), John E. “Jack” Roberts (1986-2018) and current director Mark Uyl.
ROSTER EXPANSION – The additions of MHSAA Tournament sponsorship for bowling in 2004 and lacrosse in 2005, and a court-mandated switching of eight sports seasons to begin the 2007-08 school year, have produced the current MHSAA sports calendar. A girls individual wrestling bracket was added to the MHSAA Tournament in 2022, while girls field hockey and boys volleyball were added for 2025-26. These may not be the last as the evolution of sports, changing student interests, and a continued focus on participation will drive our future.
Longtime communications director John Johnson said the following upon his recent retirement: “Being the voice, and often having to be the face (of the MHSAA), is something that came with the territory – somebody had to be the storyteller. And while you can be prideful about that, the important thing is still the story. I’ve said it a lot: I was the lucky guy who got the job. Because the story was there to be told.”
Yes, the Association’s missions remain largely unchanged since the winter of 1924. But, it’s the stories of our students, coaches, officials and administrators that always have been – and will continue to be – the motivation for the MHSAA’s efforts.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
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
PHOTOS (Top) Clockwise from left: Runners approach the finish line during a race at the 1950 Lower Peninsula Boys Track & Field Finals at Michigan State College. A pair of officials take a photo during the 1977-78 school year. Flint Northern's Tawana McDonald (33) gets a hand up on a shot by Walled Lake Central's Nicole Mullins during the 1996 Girls Basketball Finals. Racers sprint toward the finish during the 2015 Upper Peninsula Girls Track & Field Finals at Kingsford. Detroit Cass Tech's Corey Sadler Jr. (1) stretches for the end zone during the 11-Player Division 1 Final last month. (Middle) Livonia Ladywood's Jenny Belcher tips the ball during her team's 1988 Class A Volleyball Semifinal win over Lake Orion. (Below) Past MHSAA executive directors (from left) Allen W. Bush, Charles E. Forsythe and Vern L. Norris take a photo together. (MHSAA file photos.)