This past fall, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) in conjunction with the Minnesota Interscholastic Activities Administrators Association (MNIAAA) and the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association (MSHSCA) released a series of videos and PowerPoints to help illustrate some of the concepts related to Education Based Activities. I would like to share the five main points of the presentation with you.

1) MSHSL activities:

* are education based
* are an extension of the classroom
* emphasize growth an improvement
* reward effort and not just winning
* allow participants to fail (growing opportunity)
* focus on the process, then the outcome.
* focus on the student first, the athlete second

2) Goals vs. Purpose

* Our goal is to win, but that is not our purpose.
* Our purpose of our activities program is…
* Teaching and Learning
* Human Growth and Development
* Connecting Students to Caring Adults

3) Future Athletic Participation after High School

* Less than 1% will play professionally
* Less than 3% will play beyond high school at any level
* For 97% of our athletes, participation will end when they leave high school.

4) Value of Education-Based Athletics. Multiple studies show that students who participate in Athletic and Activity programs will;

* Do better in the classroom
* Be less likely to use drugs or suffer health issues
* Have better attendance and have a higher graduation rate
* Have higher SAT and ACT scores
* Have greater post-secondary opportunities
* Be healthier overall

5) How do we define success?

* Did you do your best?
* Did you help others be successful?
* What did you learn?
* Did you have fun? Did you help make it fun?
* Did you improve? How will you get better tomorrow?
* Did you conduct yourself well?
* Were you a great teammate?
* How did you handle the outcome? How did you handle winning or losing?

If you are interested in watching the video, you can find it on the school website on the left side of the activities page, MSHSL Parent Video.

See you at the games!