Those responsible for school sports . . . should stop to consider how all the projects and programs we contemplate either do or do not help us tell the story of educational athletics in Michigan.
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You probably wouldn’t be much attracted to a “Help Wanted” posting in the classified ads of your local newspaper that read: Help Wanted! Long hours. Late nights. Low pay. Frequent criticism.
While it may be true that recent times in Michigan have seen a deeper and longer recession than most people have lived through before, it is not true that these are the worst times ever for school sports.
The pilot said that to get such a huge weight off the ground you don’t go with the wind. You go against it. He said, “What pushes against us, lifts us up.”
Expectations and efforts will be in continuous crescendo no matter how close the goal line gets. In fact, as it is with any good football team in the “red zone,” the closer the goal line looms, the greater the sense of urgency there will be.
In what could have been our bleakest years, we’ve had our best. We accelerated our learning and expanded our services. Expenses went down and revenues went up, without increasing our basic tournament ticket prices.
We should be excited about our programs and encouraged by their historical popularity and continuing growth. But clearly, we are not. In fact, we are a discouraged bunch.
It is almost laughable to assert that modern political debate is disintegrating. Heck, in 1804 our nation’s vice president, while in office, challenged a critic to a duel. And shot him dead! Now that’s discord!
From the Director is the official MHSAA Blog which will touch on pertinent school sports topics periodically throughout the school year from various MHSAA Staff.