Periodically, The NFHS Voice will be presented in the form of video. As the new school begins, NFHS Executive Director Karissa Niehoff looks forward to everyone being back together, while encouraging schools to take precautions against heat and COVID-19, which would include the opportunity for students to be vaccinated.
The NFHS celebrated its 100th anniversary two years ago, and among all the events that have occurred since 1920, perhaps nothing had a more positive impact on high school sports than the passage of Title IX of the Educational Amendments in 1972.
Ironically, the landmark legislation signed by President Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972, did not specifically mention high school athletics:
“No person in the United States shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
While Title IX may not have been targeted to improving the opportunities for girls to participate in high school sports, the numbers indicate that this historic legislation had everything to do with opening the floodgates. Although sports had been a part of high schools for more than 50 years in 1972, those opportunities overwhelmingly were limited to boys.
In an article in High School Today magazine in 2012, Dorothy McIntyre, former assistant executive director of the Minnesota State High School League and one of the leaders of girls athletics at the state level in the early 1970s, summarized the challenges prior to the passage of Title IX:
“That attitude (that girls don’t play sports) germinated in the 1920s and 1930s when a national attitude swept the country that the lives of girls and women would be better – and more healthy – if they played for fun and not with the pressure of winning, intense coaching and excited crowds . . . Girls sat on the sidelines and watched. The Girls Athletic Association and its recreational activities were deemed to be ‘sufficient’ for girls, or perhaps they could be cheerleaders for the boys teams.”
Opportunity was the key word. After the passage of Title IX, the rapid rise in girls participation in education-based athletics was remarkable. In the last year prior to the passage of Title IX, there were fewer than 300,000 girls who participated in high school sports, or about one in every 27 girls who attended school. In two years, that figure jumped to 1,300,169, and by the 1977-78 school year, girls participation exceeded 2 million – a remarkable increase of almost 1.7 million in just six years.
The number of girls involved in high school sports has continued to increase since those historic years, and currently more than 3.4 million girls are taking advantage of the opportunity to participate in these vital, life-changing programs.
Next year, the 50th anniversary of Title IX occurs on June 23, 2022, and the NFHS has begun a year-long celebration of this historic event. The lives of millions of girls and women have been positively impacted since 1972, and we will be remembering some of those key individuals and events during the next 12 months.
“Title IX at 50 – Celebrating and Growing Opportunities” will highlight the law’s impact by celebrating the inspirational individuals and landmark moments in the history of Title IX, and continuing to grow the educational and competitive opportunities for the future.
The NFHS has created a page on its website (https://www.nfhs.org/resources/title-ix/) to house information throughout the coming year. The page includes a Title IX Timeline, Title IX Milestones, The History and Importance of Title IX, Title IX Fact Sheet, Title IX Frequently Asked Questions and several Title IX videos.
The most recent post highlights two females who have been hired this year to lead NFHS member state associations – Stephanie Hauser of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and Colleen Maguire of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
NFHS member state associations will receive access to a toolkit containing a number of materials to involve their member schools in promoting the upcoming 50th anniversary of Title IX, including social media graphics, email signatures, website graphics, print ads, fact sheets and videos. Push-to-post social media messaging is planned throughout the year, and the NFHS will highlight Title IX trailblazers each week, along with Moments of Magnitude that have occurred throughout the past 50 years. Articles related to Title IX will appear each month during 2021-22 in High School Todaymagazine.
In addition, a Title IX course has been added to the NFHS Learning Center (www.NFHSLearn.com), and is designed to help interscholastic professionals understand the history and impact of Title IX, as well as the responsibilities held by schools and staff members to maintain an equitable balance between boys and girls programs.
In trying to describe the impact of Title IX as it relates to opportunities for girls to be involved in high school sports, Michele Smith, a three-sport standout at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, New Jersey, in the early 1980s, who went on to lead the U.S. Olympic softball team to gold medals in 1996 and 2000 and has been the lead college softball analyst at ESPN for more than 20 years, offered the following thoughts during her recent induction into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame:
“Title IX was life-changing for many women, especially team sports. When President Nixon signed that bill into law in 1972, it truly impacted the ability, especially in high school sports, for girls to have funding to be able to play team sports. In golf and tennis and other sports that were more individualized, there was always a way for girls to be able to compete, but to be able to bring together a group of girls – a basketball team of 10, a field hockey team of 20, a softball team of 20-25 – and be able to fund it and have those opportunities for girls to play organized team sports, it was a game-changer for everybody.
“That’s one of the reasons why the ’96 Olympics was such a big deal for all the team sports that won gold medals because it’s that generation – my generation – of the youth through the ‘80s and early ‘90s that had the opportunity to play teams sports at the high school level and then go on and be elite athletes. Without Title IX, the world of sports for women looks completely different.”
The yearlong celebration will conclude at the 2022 NFHS Summer Meeting, which will be held June 28-July 2 next year in San Antonio, Texas.
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
ORLANDO – Dave Logan’s father coached him in both little league football and basketball, and that relationship ended up being the primary reason Logan grew up to become a coach himself.
Even at an early age, both of Logan’s parents ingrained in him that should he one day have an opportunity to work with kids that he must take advantage of the chance to guide younger generations and help them grow through sport. Logan took those words to heart and has spent decades doing exactly that.
On Thursday night at the 102nd annual National Federation of State High School Associations Summer Meeting, Logan was inducted into the NFHS Hall of Fame for the wide-ranging impact he has made over his wide-ranging career in the world of sports.
“The idea of working with kids was ingrained in me when I was very young,” Logan said. “Even when my dad was coaching me, he talked about how, ‘You’re going to grow up and eventually, if you get the opportunity, you give back.’”
Logan was a three-sport standout – football, basketball and baseball – throughout his high school years at Wheat Ridge from 1969-72, and insists he never had a favorite despite his future professional career in football. His favorite sport, Logan says, was whatever he was playing a given time.
One of only three multi-sport players to be drafted by all three major sports organizations, Logan went on to be a two-sport star at the University of Colorado and then played nine years as a wide receiver in the NFL. He played eight of those years with the Cleveland Browns before playing his final season with the Denver Broncos, where he would eventually become the organization’s on-air radio voice on KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM.
Logan has been “the voice of the Broncos” for three decades and in 2019 signed an agreement to continue for another 10 years.
Since he returned to the high school coaching rankings, Logan has won nine state titles and 290 games over 28 years split between four schools, including Arvada West, Chatfield, Mullen and Cherry Creek. Most recently, he guided the Cherry Creek Bruins to an undefeated season and a second straight Class 5A state championship in the fall.
(Theodore Stark/tstark.com)
During his NFHS Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Logan reminisced on the many lessons he learned from his own high school coaches and teachers. Now going into his 29th year coaching high school football, he remarked that he remains focused on imparting those same lessons and principles to the young student-athletes he now coaches.
“I think the life lessons you can learn as an athlete and a high school kid, many of those you carry with you and they shape in a lot of ways who you are and who you became,” Logan said. “They shape how you conduct yourself and what’s important to you, and what’s not important. I loved every single sport. I couldn’t wait when the season ended, the next day I was at whatever the next season was. I was able to carry what I learned from my high school experience into playing both basketball and football in college.
“But I think what we need to be able to recognize, and too often we don’t do this, is the importance and the impact that high school coaches, teachers and administrators – those who deal with our youth – have on young people. And even though it might not seem like it every single day, and I know I leave practice some days thinking, ‘I’m not sure they hear a word I said today,’ they do.
“They do.”
Logan entered the NFHS Hall of Fame 2021 class with a pair of other renowned Colorado athletes in former Colorado Rockies player Matt Holliday and former Denver Nuggets player Alex English.
(Theodore Stark/tstark.com)
(PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (June 21, 2021) – Seven outstanding former high school athletes highlight the 2021 class of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame, including three who went on to earn gold medals in the Olympics and four others who excelled in professional football, basketball and baseball.
Joining the seven former athletes in this year’s class are three highly successful high school coaches, one former state association administrator and one speech and debate coach in the performing arts area.
These 12 individuals were selected in March 2020 and were scheduled to be inducted last year; however, the 2020 in-person NFHS Summer Meeting was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, these 12 honorees will be inducted July 1 at the 38th induction ceremony of the National High School Hall of Fame, which will be held at the NFHS Summer Meeting in Orlando, Florida. The induction ceremony will take place at 6:00 p.m. EST on July 1 at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida, and will be streamed live on the NFHS Network at: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/nfhs/evtfb1ffdd8eb
The four high school athletes who went on to professional stardom are Dave Logan of Colorado, Tim Couch of Kentucky, Matt Holliday of Oklahoma and Alex English of South Carolina. Otherathletes in the class are three female stars who landed Olympic gold in the Olympics: Karyn Bye of Wisconsin, Maicel Malone of Indiana and Michele Smith of New Jersey.
Logan was a three-sport standout (football, basketball and baseball) at Wheat Ridge (Colorado) High School in the early 1970s and was drafted by teams in all three professional sports. He was a two-sport star at the University of Colorado and then was a wide receiver with the Cleveland Browns (eight years) and Denver Broncos (one year). In his second career also worthy of Hall of Fame notice, Logan has coached four different Denver-area schools to nine state high school football championships during the past 27 years.
Couch had a record-setting football career as a quarterback at Leslie County High School in Hyden, Kentucky, in the mid-1990s. Couch set three national career passing records – 872 completions, 12,104 yards and 133 touchdowns. He was named National Player of the Year as a senior. Couch also excelled in basketball, leading the state in scoring as a senior with 37 points per game. He had a stellar career at the University of Kentucky and played five years with the Cleveland Browns.
Holliday was a three-sport player – and two-sport star – at Stillwater (Oklahoma) High School in the late 1990s. As a quarterback in football for three years, Holliday passed for 68 touchdowns. He was a four-year starter in baseball and hit .443 as a senior with 12 home runs. He played with four teams during his 20-year professional baseball career, which ended in 2018 with the Colorado Rockies. Holliday was second in the MVP voting with the Rockies in 2007 and won a World Series in 2011 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
English is perhaps the greatest basketball player in South Carolina history. He was a three-time all-state selection and Player of the Year at Dreher High School in Columbia, and he was the leading scorer in University of South Carolina history. English played 16 years in the National Basketball Association, including 10 years with the Denver Nuggets when he scored 2,000 points in eight consecutive seasons.
Bye was a three-sport star at River Falls (Wisconsin) High School in the late 1980s and was a trailblazer for girls in the sport of ice hockey in the state. She was team captain and three-time all-conference while playing on the River Falls boys hockey team. She also played tennis and softball. She later excelled in ice hockey at the University of New Hampshire and played on the 1998 Olympic women’s ice hockey team that won a gold medal.
Malone was a track and field star at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1984 to 1987. She won 11 of a possible 12 state titles in the three sprints (100, 200, 400) during her four years at North Central. She set state records in all three events and helped North Central to two state championships. She later won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics as a part of the 400-meter relay team.
Smith was a three-sport athlete at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, New Jersey. She participated in field hockey, basketball and softball, which became her top sport. Smith had a 51-6 record with 11 no-hitters as a pitcher and helped her team to the state title as a junior. She had an outstanding career at Oklahoma State University with an 82-20 record and was the starting pitcher for the U.S. Olympic teams that won gold medals in 1996 and 2000.
Three outstanding high school coaches are a part of this year’s class, including Rickey Baker, who led Hopi High School in Keams Canyon, Arizona, to a national-record 27 consecutive state cross country championships from 1990 to 2017. Another coach in this year’s class is Charles Berry, who retired in 2018 after a 57-year career as a girls and boys basketball coach in Arkansas. With most of his years at Huntsville High School, Berry won 1,377 games as a boys and girls basketball coach. The final coach in the class is Terry Michler, the winningest boys soccer coach in history from Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, Missouri. Michler has won 1,004 games and nine state championships during his 48-year career.
Completing the 2021 class are Bill Farney, who served on the administrative staff of the Texas University Interscholastic League for 32 years, including 14 years as executive director, and Robert Littlefield, one of the top speech and debate educators in North Dakota and nationally for 45 years.
Following is biographical information on the 12 inductees in the 2021 class of the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame.
Tim Couch
During his football career at Leslie County High School in Hyden, Kentucky in the mid-1990s, Tim Couch set three national career passing records – 872 completions, 12,104 yards and 133 touchdowns. He helped Leslie County to a 13-1 record as a junior while completing an amazing 75 percent of his passes – a national record that stood for 15 years. As a senior, he passed for 42 touchdowns and led his team to an 11-3 mark, and he was named Gatorade and USA Today National Player of the Year while earning Mr. Football honors in Kentucky. ESPN.com selected Couch the sixth-best high school athlete in history. Couch was equally dominant on the basketball court. He scored 3,023 points in his career, leading the state in scoring as a senior at 37 points per game. He was two-time all-state in basketball. Couch’s football prowess continued at the University of Kentucky, where he passed for 8,159 yards and 73 touchdowns in his final two seasons. He led Kentucky to the Outback Bowl after his junior season and was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Couch was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns and passed for more than 11,000 yards and 64 touchdowns in his five years with the Browns.
Karyn Bye
Karyn Bye was a three-sport star at River Falls (Wisconsin) High School in the late 1980s and was a trailblazer for girls in the sport of ice hockey in the state. Amazingly, Bye was a three-time all-conference and team captain of the boys ice hockey team at River Falls. With the formation of girls hockey teams still almost 20 years down the road, Bye became one of the state’s top players on the boys team. She also earned four letters in tennis and was a three-time state qualifier, and she was captain of the River Falls softball team and was three-time all-conference and all-state as a senior. She batted over .500 in both her junior and senior seasons. Bye was the leading scorer all four years on the women’s ice hockey team at the University of New Hampshire and was team captain in her final two seasons. Bye was a member of the USA National Ice Hockey Team for many years and was Player of the Year in 1995 and 1998. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic teams that earned a gold medal at the 1998 Games in Japan and a silver medal at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.
Alex English
Prior to his stellar college and professional careers, Alex English was one of the top high school basketball players in South Carolina history during his days at Dreher High School in Columbia. English was a first-team all-state selection three consecutive years, Player of the Year in South Carolina in 1971 and 1972, and he was a two-time all-American. He set the all-time scoring records at Dreher, and his No. 22 jersey was later retired. English stayed home for his college career and is still known as the greatest player in the University of South Carolina history. He ranks first in scoring and third in rebounding in Gamecocks’ history and was a two-time all-American, and he had his second No. 22 jersey retired by USC. While he played for four teams during his 16-year professional career, English will always be remembered for his decade of the 1980s with the Denver Nuggets. He was the NBA’s leading scorer in the 1980s with 19,682 points and was the first player in league history to score 2,000 points in eight straight seasons. English set 31 records in 10 seasons with the Nuggets and is the team’s all-time leader in points (21,645) and assists (3,679). English was an eight-time all-star – all with the Nuggets – and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Maicel Malone
As a member of the girls track and field team at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1984 to 1987, Maicel Malone was one of the most decorated athletes in Indiana high school track and field history and was, perhaps, the first superstar in any Indiana girls sport. She was an 11-time state champion in the 12 sprint events during her four years of competing in the state track and field meet. She won the 100 and 400 meters all four years and the 200 meters three years (finished second as a sophomore). She is still the Indiana state record holder in the 200 (23.12 in 1986) and the 400 (52.42 in 1986), and her 100-meter state record (11.52 in 1986) stood until 2015. She is the only Indiana female athlete to set three state records (100, 200, 400) in the same meet (1986). Malone (now Maicel Green) helped North Central to two state championships – as a freshman in 1984 and in her senior season in 1987. She was a four-time NCAA champion in the 400 meters (three indoor, one outdoor) at Arizona State University, and she was a member of the 400-meter relay team that won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She won five other gold medals in international competition and was inducted into the Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1993.
Matt Holliday
Matt Holliday would rank high on a list of the top high school athletes in Oklahoma history, thanks to his days as a three-sport player and two-sport star at Stillwater High School in the late 1990s. He was a three-year starter at quarterback in football and led his team to a 30-6 record while passing for 6,211 yards and 68 touchdowns. In baseball, he was a four-year starter at third base and he also was a pitcher. He hit .438 as a junior and .443 as a senior with a combined 18 home runs. In between those sports, he was a three-year starter on the basketball team. Holliday was highly recruited in both football and baseball by a number of top universities, including his hometown choice of Oklahoma State University, but he was drafted in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft and embarked on a 20-year professional baseball career that ended in October 2018. Holliday played for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland A’s, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and returned to the Rockies to close his career. In 15 major league seasons, Holliday hit 316 home runs and finished with a .299 career average. His best season was 2007 when he hit .340 with 36 home runs and 137 runs batted in for the Rockies and finished second in the MVP voting. He was a member of the 2011 Cardinals team that won the World Series.
Dave Logan
In a state rich with standout high school athletes, Dave Logan was second to none during his days as a three-sport star at Wheat Ridge (Colorado) High School from 1969 to 1972. And with his eight state championships as a high school football coach the past 26 years, Logan has become the face of high school sports and activities in Colorado. He was two-time all-state in football as a wide receiver and defensive back and received the Gold Helmet Award as a senior as the state’s top senior player, scholar and citizen. He was a three-year starter in basketball and was Colorado Sidelines Player of the Year after averaging 24.1 points per game. In earning three letters in baseball, Logan hit .380 and was 7-2 as a pitcher as a senior and claimed all-state and team MVP honors. And if that wasn’t enough, Logan was a trombone player in the school band. He was one of only three multi-sport players who was drafted by all three major sports organizations. Logan was a two-sport star at the University of Colorado and then played nine years as a wide receiver in the National Football League, including eight years with the Cleveland Browns and his final season with the Denver Broncos. Logan has coached four schools to nine state football titles, including the 2020 championship with Cherry Creek High School in metro Denver. Finally, Logan is the radio voice of the Denver Broncos and hosts a popular midday radio talk show.
Michele Smith
Michele Smith was an accomplished three-sport athlete at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, New Jersey, in the early 1980s. As a pitcher in softball, she was 51-6 and recorded 11 no-hitters. She helped her team to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Group 3 state softball title as a junior with a 23-1 record, 0.17 earned-run average and 229 strikeouts. She was selected to the all-state softball team three consecutive years. In field hockey, Smith was named first team all-conference as a junior and senior, and in basketball, she scored 1,114 points in her career and was a two-time all-conference selection. At Oklahoma State University, Smith compiled an 82-20 record as a pitcher, and her career batting average was .343 with 15 home runs. She was a three-time All-Big Eight Conference selection and was a two-time Division I All-American. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic softball teams in 1996 and 2000, and she was the starting pitcher for both gold-medal winning teams. She also played on three gold-medal winning World Championships teams and two teams that won gold medals at the Pan American Games. Smith joined ESPN in 1995 and has been the lead college softball analyst since 1998. In 2012, she was the first woman to serve as commentator for a nationally televised Major League Baseball game.
Rickey Baker
Rickey Baker has become one of the most successful boys cross country coaches in the nation since his arrival at Hopi High School in Keams Canyon, Arizona in 1987. Three years later, Baker led Hopi to its first state boys cross country championship, and his teams didn’t lose another state title until 2017 – a streak of 27 consecutive team championships. The 27 consecutive state cross country titles is a national record and is third all-time when considering all sports (girls swimming and boys swimming). Baker’s 1999 team scored a perfect 15, which means Hopi runners finished 1-2-3-4-5. Perhaps most amazing about the streak is that Hopi continued to win despite moving into larger classifications. Hopi won 11 straight 2A titles (1990-2000), six consecutive 3A titles (2001-2006) and 10 straight 4A titles (2007-16). Since the streak ended, Hopi has finished runner-up the past three years. Baker started coaching the girls cross country team three years ago and has led his teams to two second-place finishes. He has also coached Hopi’s boys basketball team for 18 years, with a 2A state title in 1997, and the girls and boys track and field teams for the past 10 years. Nine of his track and field athletes have won individual state titles. During his days as a high school athlete, Baker was Arizona’s one-mile champion in 1977 while attending Winslow High School, and he was a member of Winslow’s state cross country team in 1976.
Charles Berry
Charles Berry retired in 2018 after an amazing 57-year career as a boys and girls basketball coach in Arkansas. After four years in the Hector School District and two years in Plemerville, Arkansas, Berry moved to Huntsville in 1967 and remained for 51 years. He resurrected a dormant boys basketball program upon his arrival and coached the boys team for the next 20 years. In 1978, he established the girls basketball team, which he coached until his retirement in 2018. Berry’s overall combined record as a high school boys and girls coach was 1,377-686, with a 1,116-619 record at Huntsville. Along the way, he won two Arkansas Activities Association state girls basketball championships (1997, 2008), and his girls teams finished second two other times (1984, 2013). Berry’s teams made 30 appearances in the state tournament, and they won 16 conference championships and six regional titles. The Huntsville High School gym was renamed Charles H. Berry Gymnasium in 2006, and Berry was inducted into the Arkansas Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.
Terry Michler
Terry Michler is the winningest boys high school soccer coach in history, and in 2019, he eclipsed the 1,000-victory mark in his 48th season at his alma mater, Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, Missouri. After graduating from Rockhurst College in Kansas City and playing professional soccer for three years, Michler returned to CBC in 1972 to direct the soccer program. After the 2019 season, Michler’s career coaching mark stands at 1,004-284-117. His CBC teams have claimed 31 district championships and have won nine Missouri State High School Activities Association State Soccer Championships in 15 appearances. Michler’s state titles have been distributed throughout his career, with his first in 1983 and his last in 2018. His teams have been ranked nationally in 13 different seasons, and he has had about 300 former players who played at the college level and more than 30 who played professionally. Michler has written – or helped to write – four books on soccer, and he has been inducted in numerous other halls of fame, including the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame and the CBC Sports Hall of Fame.
Bill Farney
Bill Farney retired as executive director of the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) in 2009 after leading the nation’s largest state association staff for 14 years. Farney joined the UIL in 1977 and served as an assistant director and athletic director for 18 years before assuming the executive director’s position in 1995. During his tenure at the UIL, Farney developed the academic and fine arts programs into the most expansive offerings of any state association. He also helped to expand more opportunities for girls by adding team tennis, soccer, softball and wrestling as sanctioned sports. Farney also developed a waiver process to help disadvantaged students with unavoidable circumstances, and he also implemented the Coaches and Officials Positive Expectations (COPE) course for coaches and players to learn proper sportsmanlike conduct. Farney was a teacher, coach, principal and superintendent at schools in Oklahoma and Texas for 15 years before joining the UIL, including the final seven years as superintendent of schools in Crawford, Texas. Farney earned his bachelor’s degree from Tulsa University and his master’s and doctorate from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He was a member of the NFHS Board of Directors, NFHS Basketball Rules Committee, NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules Committee and the NCAA Football Rules Committee.
Robert Littlefield
Robert Littlefield has been one of the top speech and debate educators in North Dakota and nationally for more than 45 years. After beginning his career as director of forensics and fine arts in the Barnesville (Minnesota) Public Schools in 1974, Littlefield worked at the high school and college levels in North Dakota until 2016, when he moved to the University of Central Florida. In addition to serving as debate coach at Shanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota, for eight years, Littlefield was the state planner and coordinator for speech clinics for high school teachers and students for more than 20 years. He also coordinated summer speech and debate camps for high school students and was founder and executive director of the Valley Forensic League. During his time at Shanley, Littlefield revitalized the program and had teams regularly place at regional, state and national competition. Littlefield has been involved in national leadership positions with both Pi Kappa Delta National Forensic Honorary and the National Speech and Debate Association. In addition to service on boards and committees with these organizations, Littlefield’s research, development and publication in scholastic journals and instructional workbooks has been extensive. During most of his time in North Dakota, Littlefield was a professor at North Dakota State University and directed the NDSU Speech and Debate Invitational for 25 years.
(Steve Abeyta/steveabeytaphotography.com)
INDIANAPOLIS — Adjusted points of contact that reduce injury risk during inversions and release stunts and tosses are the most notable revisions in the 2021-22 high school spirit rules.
At its recent virtual meeting, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Spirit Rules Committee produced rules changes that emphasized the committee’s continued focus on risk minimization. A total of seven proposals were recommended to the NFHS Board of Directors, which reviewed and later approved the changes to take effect next year.
“The NFHS Spirit Rules Committee continues its efforts to increase the health and safety of all cheer and dance participants,” said Dr. James Weaver, NFHS director of performing arts and sports and liaison to the NFHS Spirit Rules Committee. “This year’s rules changes allow for good safety practices and allow for education and practice in the sport of spirit.”
To reduce injury risk for the top person in a pyramid during a braced inversion that does not flip or roll, Rule 3-3-3 no longer mandates that the top person make hand-to-hand or hand-to-arm contact with a bracer. Removing this contact requirement keeps the top person out of a potentially dangerous position caused by attempting an unnatural connection with the bracer.
The same change was made in Rule 3-5-5c, which deals with contact between a top person and a bracer during a transition from a release stunt or toss. This modification also allows a top person to land in other positions besides a cradle position after a hand-to-foot release.
An alteration to Rule 4-1-21 now permits spirit participants to wear religious head coverings during performance without seeking state association approval beforehand. The rule states headwear must be made of non-abrasive and soft materials, fit securely and be attached in such a way that it is unlikely to come off while performing. The NFHS Spirit Rules Committee is the fourth NFHS sports rules committee to adopt or adjust a rule related to the wearing of religious head coverings so far in 2021.
An exception was added to Rule 3-2-1 (Rule 4-2-1 for dance) that allows a base and top person to share a pom during a dismount from a thigh stand, a shoulder sit or straddle, a shoulder stand or a prep. Previously, bases could not hold any objects or accessories while supporting a top person in these positions; only a hand-to-hand connection was acceptable.
Finally, language was removed from Rule 3-3-6 and Rule 4-2-8. Rule 3-3-6d was deleted as a response to a 2020 rule change that withdrew the requirement for upper body contact during a suspended stunt. Minute changes were made to Rule 4-2-8 to clarify that a spotter is required anytime the feet of the top person are in the hands of a base, or during the toss portion of a toss to shoulder stand.
A complete listing of the spirit rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Spirit.”
According to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, competitive spirit ranks ninth in participants for girls with 161,358 in 7,214 schools.
INDIANAPOLIS — Religious headwear will now be permitted without state association approval in high school soccer, effective with the 2021-22 season.
This change in Rule 4-2 of the NFHS Soccer Rules Book was recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Soccer Rules Committee at its January 18-20 meeting, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two recommended revisions to Rule 4 were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
Acting on an earlier recommendation to all sports rules committee by the Board of Directors, the Soccer Rules Committee adopted the following new language for Rule 4-2-10: “Head coverings worn for religious reasons shall not be made of abrasive or hard material and must fit securely.”
Theresia Wynns, NFHS director of sports and officials and liaison to the Soccer Rules Committee, said the new rule will allow student-athletes to express their religious beliefs through the wearing of headwear without the approval of the respective state association.
Language regarding religious headwear was deleted from Rule 4-2-11, which now refers solely to head coverings for medical or cosmetic reasons. Head coverings for these usages still require a physician’s statement before a state association can grant approval.
With many states that play soccer in the fall affected by the pandemic, there were fewer rules proposals this year, so the committee turned much of its discussion to points of emphasis for the 2021-22 season. Eight states that normally conduct boys soccer in the fall were unable to play due to restrictions from COVID-19, and 18 other states had to modify their seasons in some way. On the girls side, six states were unable to play in the fall, and 15 states modified seasons.
“In addition to addressing the religious headwear situation, the committee agreed to continue three points of emphasis from last year and approved two new ones for the coming season,” Wynns said. “One of the points we are continuing is to emphasize that high school athletics, and high school soccer, is education-based. Improving skills and winning games is a part of the overall goal; however, the quest to win games, events and championships cannot come at the expense of providing these educational opportunities.”
In addition to this point of emphasis, others being continued from last year are reckless and serious foul play, and properly worn uniforms and marked fields.
The new points of emphasis for 2021-22 are sportsmanship and professional responsibilities for officials.
With regard to sportsmanship, the committee noted that the message of good sportsmanship should be addressed by school administration with their students, coaches, parents and spectators alike, which includes a message that prohibits taunting and the use of profanity during games.
A complete listing of the soccer rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Soccer.”
According to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, soccer is the fifth most popular high school sport for boys with 459,077 participants in 12,552 schools nationwide. Soccer is the fourth most popular sport for girls with 394,105 participants in 12,107 schools.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
INDIANAPOLIS — Guidance for the use of face masks and the allowance of religious headwear to be worn during play without state association consent are among the most significant rules changes that will take effect with the 2021 high school field hockey season.
During its virtual meeting held January 11-13, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Field Hockey Rules Committee included these subjects in its list of eight proposed rules changes that were reviewed and later approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
“Given that many schools played a modified or shortened season with the 2020 rules and some have not yet played or may not play, the committee thought it wise to limit changes to the 2021 rules,” said Anna Saccoccio, chair of the NFHS Field Hockey Rules Committee. “Safety of players is always a main concern, and the 2021 rules will clarify any confusion and concerns around the use of face masks during play.”
Face masks were addressed as an addition to Rule 1-6-5, which now permits field players to wear face masks throughout the game provided they are smooth, rounded, preferably transparent or single-colored and fit flush with the face. Players may not affix masks to hard, unyielding headgear – even if padded – and are prohibited from using them to endanger opposing players.
“With the NFHS Board of Directors making changes to the rules book pertaining to goggles in June of 2020, it was important for the Field Hockey Rules Committee to offer guidance for the state associations on the wearing of face masks,” said Julie Cochran, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the Field Hockey Rules Committee. “The committee’s continued focus has been to make sure the rules book is organized effectively for high school officials.”
To promote the participation of student-athletes from all religious backgrounds, Rule 1-5-4 was amended to include religious headwear that is secured to the body and made of non-abrasive, soft materials as acceptable player uniform attire. As a result of this change, which was first recommended by the NFHS Board of Directors, players are no longer required to seek permission from their state associations to wear religious head coverings and have a better ability to exercise their freedom of religion without increased injury risk to themselves or others.
Schools may now display their team names and/or logos on the 18-inch goal boards at the base of the field hockey net, with the caveat the boards must remain predominantly dark-colored. Goal board decals are an optional customization element for schools and are strictly limited to team name and logo; advertisements are not permitted.
Substitution procedures were edited to assist officials in managing field entries. Previously, players could join the game from the designated substitution area or the equivalent space on the opposite side of the field. Rule 1-4-5 now states that participants may only be substituted at the designated area, and the corresponding access point across the field has been eliminated.
The 2021 Field Hockey Rules Book will also feature three new definitions that will provide necessary clarification of key terms. Two new articles in Rule 3-3 (Rule 3-3-10 and 3-3-11) define an “aerial ball” as “an intentional pass in the air above players, using a flick or scoop” and a “sweep” as “a legal stroke which involves a swinging movement of the stick, maintained horizontal and close to the ground, towards the ball.” The official definition of a “dangerous ball” is outlined in Rule 3-4-4 as “a ball that causes legitimate evasive action by a player.”
Finally, minor changes were made to remove redundant language from Rules 8-1-1 and 8-1-1c, which deal with fouls and penalties.
A complete listing of the field hockey rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Field Hockey.”
Sixteen NFHS member state associations conduct state championships in girls field hockey, a sport that includes 60,824 participants in 1,768 schools nationwide according to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey.
(Lance Wendt/Wendt5280.com)
INDIANAPOLIS – The rule regarding blocking below the waist in the free-blocking zone in high school football has been revised for the upcoming 2021 season.
This rule change was recommended by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee at its January 10-12 meeting, which was held virtually this year. This change to the 2021 NFHS Football Rules Book was subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
As a result of numerous interpretations of current language regarding blocking below the waist in the free-blocking zone, the committee approved another condition in Rule 2-17-2 that must be met for a legal block below the waist in the free-blocking zone, which is a rectangular area extending laterally 4 yards either side of the spot of the snap and 3 yards behind each line of scrimmage.
The new requirement (2-17-2c) is that the block must be an immediate, initial action following the snap. Under the current rule, an offensive lineman can delay and then block below the waist if the ball is still in the zone. In the committee’s ongoing quest to minimize risk in high school football, the change was approved to require the block to be immediate.
“This change makes it easier for game officials to judge the legality of blocks below the waist and minimizes risk of injury for participants,” said Bob Colgate, NFHS director of sports and sports medicine and liaison to the Football Rules Committee. “This change lets game officials observe the block and make a call without having to determine where the ball is and what formation the offense lined up in.”
Blocking in the back continues to be legal in the free-blocking zone by offensive linemen who are on the line of scrimmage and in the zone at the snap, against defensive players who are in the zone at the snap and the contact is in the zone.
The committee noted there has been no criticism of the current rules governing blocks in the back as they are delayed blocks by nature, above the waist and considered to be a safe and necessary legal block.
“I believe this rule change will help make the interpretation of blocking below the waist consistent across the country starting next football season,” said Richard McWhirter, chair of the NFHS Football Rules Committee and assistant executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.
The Football Rules Committee is composed of one representative from each of the NFHS member state associations that use NFHS playing rules, along with representatives from the NFHS Coaches Association, NFHS Officials Association and NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.
A complete listing of the football rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Football.”
According to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 11-player football is the most popular high school sport for boys with 1,006,013 participants in 14,247 schools nationwide. In addition, there were 31,221 boys who participated in 6-, 8- and 9-player football, along with 2,604 girls in all four versions of the game for a grand total of 1,039,828.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
INDIANAPOLIS — As high schools nationwide continue to deal with the fallout from COVID-19 and make plans for the restarting of activities this fall, the NFHS Network – the leader in streaming live and on-demand high school sports – has announced an unprecedented offer for schools that are facing possible attendance restrictions at events during the 2020-21 school year.
Through its High School Support Program, the NFHS Network is offering up to two free Pixellot automated-production units for schools that lack production capabilities to stream events on the NFHS Network.
The offer of two Pixellot units – one for indoor events and the other for outdoor contests – has been extended to all 19,500 high schools in the 51 NFHS member state associations. The NFHS Network is a joint venture of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), its member state associations and PlayOn! Sports.
In addition to receiving two free Pixellot production units, schools will receive a larger percentage of subscription revenue generated from their events, effective August 1, in an effort to offset revenue losses from reduced attendance.
“We recognize that the next several years will be challenging for our high schools and state associations,” said Mark Koski, CEO of the NFHS Network. “Many are facing budget cuts and reduced resources, and attendance at athletic and other school events may be restricted. From the NFHS Network’s inception seven years ago, we have been driven by the goal to create a platform that showcases every high school event across every sport and every level of competition. Consistent with this goal, we want the High School Support Program to demonstrate our continued commitment to help our partner schools manage through the inevitable complications created by COVID-19.”
The Pixellot automated production solution was introduced to high schools three years ago and has quickly become an integral component of the NFHS Network’s offerings. The Pixellot solution allows every event to be streamed live without requiring personnel to produce the games. There are currently more than 5,000 Pixellot units in high schools across the country which will produce in excess of 250,000 live games this upcoming school year with no human involvement.
In addition to livestreaming 27 different sports, the NFHS Network also covers performing arts, graduations, award ceremonies and other school events. To date, the NFHS Network has distributed more than $25 million back to participating high schools and state associations.
For more information about the High School Support Program, please visit www.nfhsnetwork.com/supportprogram.
Schools wishing to sign up for free Pixellot units should visit www.nfhsnetwork.com/pixellot.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
For several weeks, Americans have been awaiting answers to several questions. When will restaurants restart dine-in services? When will hair salons and gyms be open? When will people be able to congregate for worship services? And, of course, when will education-based sports and activities return?
And the answer to the all-important last question is the same as the first three – it varies from state to state.
If there was ever any doubt about the popularity and interest in high school sports and performing arts – and how much these programs have been missed during the past three months – it was erased last week as the NFHS released its Guidance for Opening Up High School Athletics and Activities document.
The response was non-stop through the mainstream media as well as our social media platforms as the first nationwide discussion about the return of high school sports and other activities was in full swing.
Since that disappointing week in mid-March when it seemed like all of life came to a halt, millions of people – from high school students, coaches, parents, administrators, officials and fans – have been looking forward to the return of school-based sports and other activity programs. And the guidance document offered some hope that soon the light at the end of tunnel will not be the oncoming train we have felt for many weeks.
Now, state high school associations are developing timetables and protocols for return of activities in their states. And those guidelines will be different from state to state. This is not a one-size-fits-all plan. Depending on the specific circumstances of a state with respect to the containment of the virus, its progression through the various phases of returning to activities could be much different than another state.
As the guidance document developed by the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee noted, our hope is that students can return to school-based athletics and activities in any and all situations where it can be done smartly. When it comes to education-based sports and performing arts within our nation’s schools, nothing is more important than the health and safety of the participants AND the individuals conducting those programs.
Some individuals have expressed concern that our guidance document is too cautious, noting that some non-school youth programs have already restarted in some areas.
In one state this past week, a non-school sports program was allowed to restart because the “data shows children are less affected by the coronavirus.” While the preponderance of evidence shows that to be true, plans in education-based activities will include also protection for adults who coach, officiate and administer those events, which may be seen as a more conservative approach.
Within high school sports, the drive of coaches and dreams of parents cannot run ahead of player safety. Last week, a successful high school football coach with three previous state titles was suspended for allegedly holding practices. And there have been reports of parents considering moving to another state with fewer COVID-19 cases to enhance the chance of their son playing football and earning a college scholarship.
The NFHS, through its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, took action in developing its Guidance for Opening Up High School Athletics and Activities document. The various state high school associations are taking action in the coming weeks in developing plans for a return to activities at the state level.
Now, we would ask parents and other fans to take action – and that action is patience. The urge to return to normal is understandable, but the path back to where we were three months ago will take time, and that “time” will not happen at the expense of the safety and well-being of everyone involved in high school sports and performing arts programs.