The difference between high school sports and all other levels of sport in the United States? Education, without a doubt. And with the focus headed in other directions at the college level the past few years, the NFHS is leading the way to ensure that high school sports remain focused on the EDUCATION in education-based sports and other activity programs.
Today, the NFHS is launching its Protect the Purpose campaign. The goal is to help high school students learn valuable lessons through participation in high school athletics and activities that prepare them for successful lives and careers. This special emphasis will help state associations, coaches, administrators and others to keep sports competitively balanced, minimize the risk of injury for students and keep programs focused on education.
While the Protect the Purpose campaign is new, the focus on education has been the heart and soul of the NFHS throughout its history – particularly the NFHS Learning Center, which is now in its 18th year of providing online education courses at www.NFHSLearn.com. And the year-by-year increase in the number of people taking courses is confirmation that coaches, administrators, officials, performing arts educators, students and parents realize the importance of making education the top priority.
Amazingly, since July 1 – a mere 44 days ago – more than one million courses have been taken through the Learning Center. And the past 365 days, more than four million courses have been accessed.
The response by individuals who want to keep winning in the proper perspective continues to rise. Two years ago at this time, 19.7 million courses had been taken since the start of the Learning Center in 2007. Now, that number has reached 27 million – an additional 7.3 million in just two years!
The all-time top five courses – all of which are free – include Concussion in Sports (9 million), Sudden Cardiac Arrest (3.7 million), Heat Illness Prevention (3.5 million), Concussion for Students (2 million) and Sportsmanship (1.6 million). Combined, these five courses account for almost 20 million of the 27 million total courses.
Perhaps the most encouraging of these figures is the continual interest on the part of high school students in accessing courses on the Learning Center. While not originally designed for students, an amazing 2.6 million different students have accessed courses over the years. These students, who are being taught the concepts of education-based sports and activities, become the next generation of coaches and officials!
Students accessing the health and safety and sportsmanship courses, among others, come to understand their state association, the NFHS and the essence of interscholastic sports. They recognize the values of these programs in framing a positive direction for their lives.
The flagship course for coaches – Fundamentals of Coaching – is the No. 1 course for interscholastic coaches and could serve as the heartbeat to Protect the Purpose of high school sports. With fewer and fewer coaches in the classroom in many parts of the nation, this course is a must for ALL coaches in a school’s athletics program.
With the ever-present focus on sportsmanship and improving behavior in sports, the Sportsmanship course is used by many states and schools as a teaching tool, as well as a requirement for returning to competition following an ejection.
With good sportsmanship being one of most important outcomes of involvement in education-based activity programs, perhaps appropriately, students have taken the majority of the Sportsmanship courses in the past. Given the decline in behavior by other groups at high school games, this course reiterates the critical importance of positive behaviors by everyone – parents, coaches, students, officials and others.
The Learning Center, which offers more than 100 courses – many of which are available free of charge – is constantly evolving to meet the needs of coaches, administrators and others. In the past year, Coaching Mental Wellness and CPR and AED Training have been popular and useful courses for leaders in high school sports.
Most recently, Emergency Action Planning for Afterschool Programs has been added to the slate of free offerings. Having an Emergency Action Plan, or EAP, is essential to ensure the safety of students, staff and spectators. This course demonstrates the purpose and importance of EAPs, explains how to build a venue-specific EAP tailored to a school’s activities, and provides practical steps for rehearsing and implementing an EAP.
The NFHS received a boost to its commitment to education three years ago when it earned accreditation by Cognia, a nonprofit organization that provides quality assurance for schools, school districts and education service providers. It was confirmation that the NFHS is effectively providing appropriate leadership and resources to help everyone involved with high school education-based activity programs.
High school sports are unique, life-changing – one of a kind. They are formative, not performative. These afterschool programs complete the other half of the educational experience, and the NFHS is committed to working with its member state associations to Protect the Purpose of high school sports and other activity programs.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is beginning her eighth year as chief executive officer of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.
