Thursday, August 5, 2010 • HERITAGE NEWSPAPERS/WESTERN REGION
HS sports coming soon The 2010-11 fall sports season begins next week for more than 110,000 students in eight sports at member schools of the Michigan High School Athletic Association with official practices. Practice sessions begins on Monday, Aug. 9 in football, followed by all other sports on Wednesday, Aug. 11. Practice in football must begin on Aug. 9 for all schools wishing to begin regular-season games the weekend of Aug. 26-29. Schools must have 12 days of preseason practice at all levels before their first game, which may not occur before 16 calendar days. All football schools must also conduct at least three conditioning days of practice before beginning contact, and the conditioning sessions may not include any pads. In golf and tennis, competition may commence no earlier than after three separate days of team practice, and not before seven calendar days. The first day competition may take place in golf and tennis is Aug. 18. In all other fall sports, contests can take place after seven days of
Dates to remember Cross Country
Regionals - Oct. 29 or 30 Finals - Nov. 6
Semifinals – Nov. 3 Finals - Nov. 6
Football
Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Qualifying - Nov. 16 Swimming/Diving Finals Nov. 19-20
Selection Sunday - Oct. 24 Pre-Districts – Oct. 29 or 30 District Finals - Nov. 5 or 6 Regional Finals - Nov. 12 or 13 Semifinals - Nov. 20 Finals - Nov. 26-27
Regionals - Oct. 7 or 8 or 9 Finals - Oct. 15-16
Girls Golf
Volleyball
Regionals - Oct. 7 or 8 or 9 Finals - Oct. 15-16
Boys Soccer
Districts - Oct. 18-23 Regionals – Oct. 26-30 practice for the team and not before nine calendar days. The first day competition may take place in cross country, tennis soccer, swimming and diving, and volleyball in the fall is Aug. 20. This year, two football dates precede Labor Day, and Thursday varsity games will take place both weeks. Sub-var-
High Schools
Tennis
DeDoes to play in a different kind of way FGR grad to put on farewell jazz concert Friday By Mike Larson A2 Journal
Baseball fans from around the area are used to seeing Gabriel Richard’s Mattie DeDoes blow fastballs by opposing batters, but on Friday, they will get a chance to see him blow into his saxophone. sity competition may begin on DeDoes, who graduated from Wednesday, Aug. 25. Gabriel Richard in the spring, In Week 1, 54 games will be is getting ready to go off to played on Thursday, 254 conOberlin College, and the former tests will be played on Friday, Irish baseball player, who is also and 20 games will be played on an accomplished saxophone Saturday. The following weekplayer, is treating music fans to end, 255 games will be played a free going away concert. on Thursday, 73 games will be “We’ve done a few things like played on Friday, and 2 games this before,” DeDoes said. “And will be played on Saturday. since I’m going away to college, I wanted to kind of go out with a bang. I wanted to put on a show and give some people the chance to hear some good music before I go.” The concert, which is dubbed “Once More ‘Around The Horn’ in Ann Arbor” will feature several jazz and contemporary year will be a modification selections by DeDoes. where the clock only stops for He said that he chose the set injury time outs once the point list after taking into account all differential meets or exceeds of his former gigs, and trying to 50 points. pick out the songs that got the Other gridiron rules chang- best reactions from the audies include the following: any ences. play resulting in a touchdown “We’ve played a lot of fundduring which team commits an raisers,” DeDoes said. “So when unsportsmanlike or nonplayer we were putting together the foul will allow the offended set list for this show, we tried team to have its choice of the to take some of our most crowd penalty being forced on the subsequent extra point or kickoff; horse-collar penalties can be called even if the act is completed after the ball becomes dead or the runner loses possession; if an official and a coach unintentionally collide in the restricted area in front of the team bench during a play, a 15-yard penalty will ack in 2005, while be called and a second penalty working for a newsfor the same infraction will paper in Colorado, I result in the ejection of the wrote a column that, head coach; and if a player, at that point, defined my career coach or nonplayer is in the as a sports writer. restricted zone while the ball It was part social commenis live but no contact with an tary and part well-thought official occurs, the progresargument (at least that’s what I sion will be a warning on the thought, anyway). first offense, a 5-yard penalty And it did what most good the second time, and the third columns are supposed to do. It offense resulting in a 15-yard garnered a lot of attention. penalty and the ejection of the Some people loved it, while head coach. others despised it. This column, which drew both support and ire from its Other rule changes readers, was about whether or not cheerleading should be conThe most visible rules sidered a sport. change in girls volleyball is In the column I said no, at the addition of a blue-grayleast in regards to sideline white ball to the game for cheering. regular-season competition. Competitive cheering seemed For MHSAA Tournaments, more appropriate to be considhowever, the solid white ball ered sport because there was will be the only ball allowed. actually a winner that came Schools conducting “Pink Out” from it. contests to raise money for My argument was good, and Volley For The Cure may utiI have yet to be convinced of lize a pink ball. anyone that sideline cheering is In soccer, the overtime proor should be considered a sport, cedures have been modified despite lots of angry emails for MHSAA Tournaments. from cheerleaders and their Beginning this year, the two 10- parents. minute overtime periods will The column ran, I got a lot of be played to completion, rather feedback for a couple of days, than the game concluding with and then people forgot about it. the first goal scored. After the I pretty much forgot about it two overtime periods, penalty too. kicks will be used to determine Then recently, something a winner at all levels of the made me remember that piece Tournament. of writing. Last month a judge from Connecticut ruled that cheerleading could not be considered a college sport. The ruling came after the brass at Quinnipiac University decided to eliminate the school’s (7 a.m.), 18 holes with a cart volleyball program and replace (8 a.m.), snack on the course, it with a competitive cheer beverages, buffet lunch, squad. contests and auctions. All for The school cited budgetary only $100. concerns. In short, it was just Guests who don’t want to cheaper to maintain a cheer proplay golf are invited to the gram than it was to maintain a luncheon and auction. This volleyball program. includes a buffet lunch (1 This led to outrage by the p.m.), contests, silent auction volleyball team, which resulted and live auction. The cost is in several of the players, along just $25 per person. with their coach, suing the uniFor more information, call versity. Priscilla Schwarze at 1-734Their suit claimed that 323-3563. cheerleading wasn’t a sport, and There are more than 100 if Quinnipiac started a cheer auction items including consquad, the school would not be dos in northern Michigan in compliance with Title IX, the and Florida, golf packages, 1972 federal law that mandates tickets to EMU, MSU and equal opportunities for men U-M football, jewelry, signed and women in education and sports memorabilia and athletics. much more. Long story short, U.S. District Districts – Nov. 1-3 & Nov. 4 or 5 or 6 Regionals – Nov. 9 & 11 Quarterfinals – Nov. 16 Semifinals – Nov. 18-19 Finals – Nov. 20
New rules designed for safety One of the biggest rules changes ever affecting the health of all interscholastic athletic activity participants takes effect this upcoming season. Keeping safety at the forefront of school sports, the MHSAA Representative Council approved a five-step protocol to be followed during the course of contests when an athlete sustains an apparent concussion, which will be utilized in all sports at all levels beginning with the 2010-11 school year. The National Federation of State High School Associations had previously adopted language to appear in all rules books beginning this fall calling for the removal from a contest of a athlete exhibiting the signs of a potential concussion, leaving the mechanics – including the clearing of a young person to return to play – to be decided by each state association. Here is a summary of the protocols for all regular-season and MHSAA post-season tournament contents to be applied: Officials will have no role in determining if an athlete has sustained a concussion, but will only point out to the head coach that the player has been apparently injured and should be examined by a health care provider. If the school’s designated heath care profession at the event confirms a concussion did not occur, the athlete may reenter the contest. In the event the game continues and the athlete is withheld for an apparent concussion, the athlete may not return to play that day and may only return at a future date after a written clearance is issued by an MD or a DO. The game official will file a report with the MHSAA and the removed player’s school. For MHSAA post-season tournaments where an MHSAAassigned physician is present, that individual will make the determination regarding same day return to play. At its June meeting, the MHSAA Executive Committee
followed-up on the Council action by approving sanctions for non-compliance with the concussion management policy. A student-athlete who returns to competition in a subsequent meet or contest without the written authorization of an MD or DO after being removed from play for exhibiting concussion-like symptoms and not being cleared by the school’s designated medical authority to return to that contest is considered to be an ineligible player, and any competition in which the student-athlete participates without the proper authorization is forfeited. The school will be place in probation in that sport through the end of that sports season of the following year. A second offense in that sport during probation will result in the extension of the probation for an additional year, and the school will be prohibited from participating in the MHSAA post-season tournament in that sport during the original and extended probation period. The detailed language can be found on the Health & Safety page of the MHSAA Web site. In addition, the MHSAA will be working in cooperation with the Brian Injury Association of Michigan to develop a variety of methods to promote public awareness of the issue of concussions in youth sports and the new MHSAA concussion protocols.
Football rule changes The major football rules change in Michigan this season is a modification to the point differential rule, which provides for a running clock beginning with the second half of a game where a team has a lead of 35 points or more. The original rule provides for the clock to stop after scoring plays, for called time outs, for penalty enforcement and for injury time outs. New this
Golf outing tees off for local family Most states, including Michigan, do not require insurance companies to cover treatments and services for autism, a neurological disorder affecting one in 100 children in the U.S. and characterized by severe delays in communication and social interaction and difficulties with behaviors. In order to help a Chelsea family defer these ever rising costs, friends and family have organized a golf outing to benefit Grant Bareis and his friends at the Autism Collaborative Center at Eastern Michigan University. And talk about a hole-inone, Thrivent Financial is matching all auction proceeds up to $5,000. The money raised will be
used by the Bareis family for increased therapy and services for Grant. In the absence of coverage, families pay upwards of $10,000 to $50,000 per year for vital treatment. According to autism experts, early intervention is critical. This outing will help Grant and other children who attend the ACC to afford the therapy and services they desperately need. The golf outing/luncheon/ silent auction to benefit Grant Bareis and his friends at the Autism Collaborative Center at EMU is Saturday, Aug. 7 at Reddeman Farms Golf Club. There are still openings for golfers and the event will include a continental breakfast, driving range
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Photo by Todd Sexton/A2 JOURNAL
Mattie DeDoes plays his saxophone during a previous concert. On Friday he will play a free concert in Ann Arbor. pleasing selections.” The set list will include tunes from the likes of Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane. “We really wanted to do a show for the people of Ann Arbor,” DeDoes said. “It’s going to be a nice way for me to start my college career.” DeDoes, who plays the alto sax, will be joined on stage by his father Steve on the piano and keyboards, friend and Western Michigan sophomore Mark Pickel on bass and Huron senior Don Gozzard on drums. “We have a really good dynamic of young talent and experience,” DeDoes said. “We just all really enjoy playing music.” The recent graduate has been playing saxophone since middle school and says his dad is one of his biggest influences. “My dad is a professional
musician, so I have been exposed to music my whole life,” DeDoes said. “But I started playing the saxophone in fifth grade, and that’s when I really fell in love with it. He said that once he got the chance to start playing the kind of music he wanted and found the freedom to experiment with his horn, his passion for music really took off. The concert will start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and will be held at the Ann Arbor Free Methodist Church. Admission is free, and DeDoes said he expects a good crowd. “We’ve played at this venue before,” he said. “And I think it was pretty close to a full house last time.” For more information on the concert, visit www. Dedoesmusic.com.
Guest Column
Cheering needs to be safer
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GENERAL ADMISSION
MIKE LARSON Judge Stefan Underhill agreed with the volleyball team, citing that, “Competitive cheer may, sometime in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX. Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students.” So there it was in black and white. A judge agreed with me. Cheerleading isn’t a sport. After all the hate mail I received all those years ago I had been vindicated. I should be happy, right? No. Not really. I don’t feel like I won. I don’t feel like I was right. I feel like competitive cheerleading should be a sport. I feel like some competitive cheerleaders are some of the most amazing athletes you can watch. But a judge says what they do shouldn’t be considered a sport. That seems kind of sad to me. But I also think it is the right decision. This is a necessary setback for the cheerleading community. Now organizers, coaches and enthusiasts can start doing the ground work that will make cheerleading the sport it can be. And one of the most important things the cheering community needs to address is safety. According to a 2008 study by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, High school cheerleading accounted for 65.1 percent of all catastrophic sports injuries among high school females over a 25 year span. In college, it accounted for 66.7 percent of all catastrophic female sports injuries. The report also cited that
between 1982 and 2007, of 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries that occurred to female high school athletes, 67 of them occurred in cheerleading. The next most dangerous sports were gymnastics with nine such injuries and track with seven. So when you see one of those fancy, yet pointless human pyramids, realize the people who are making it don’t just have another person’s foot in their palm. They also might have that person’s life in their hands. Do you trust anyone that much? Should your high school daughter be forced to? But it doesn’t have to be so dangerous. As competitive cheerleading works to become a sport under Title IX, it will no doubt be given more attention and funding. And those are two of the main components necessary to make it safer. Padded training facilities, expert coaches and strict oversight by some kind of governing body are things that cheering is missing right now, but are all things that could be within reach as the sport continues to evolve. Football players used to compete in leather helmets. But at some point a governing body made the ingenious decision to have the players wear helmets that might actually protect their heads. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I imagine the number of head injuries went way down… The same thing will happen with cheerleading. Maybe the participants won’t be wearing protective gear, but there will certainly be more rules involved to keep the participants safe. It has to happen. Those involved with the cheering scene might take issue with the fact that I don’t think sideline cheering is a sport. That’s OK. But I think we can all agree that for the safety of the people participating, cheerleading needs an overhaul. Sport or no sport, the injury rate is just too high. More oversight and regulation will not only get cheering over the Title IX hump, but it also just might save some lives. Mike Larson can be reached by email at Mlarson@A2Journal.