MSHSAA eligibility standards to change

The Olympics have ended and it was a solid success for the US Olympic teams in most areas. We have now moved into political convention season.
Thank goodness high school sports season has also kicked in.
This time each year I touch on MSHSAA requirements for high school athletes.
One of the most important is the academic standard to be eligible to participate in a sport. This is the final year that the academic standard for students in grades 9-12 will be that each student must have earned 2.5 units of credit or have earned credit in 70 percent of the maximum allowable classes in which a student can be enrolled during the preceding semester.
Effective July 1, 2009 the minimum academic standard will increase to 3.0 units of credit or 80 percent of the maximum allowable credits which may be earned, whichever is greater.
Eligibility for the fall semester of 2009 will be based upon a student meeting these standards during the spring semester of 2009.
Another big MSHSAA requirement that can be of concern to parents and students is the citizenship requirement.
The rule states that a student who commits an act for which charges may be or have been filed by law enforcement authorities under any municipal ordinance, misdemeanor or felony statue SHALL NOT be eligible until all special conditions of probation have been completed (restitution, community service, counseling, etc.) and most importantly when all proceedings with the legal system have been concluded and penalty (jail time, fine, court costs, etc) have been satisfied.
My advice to all high school athletes is “do the right thing.”
A final area of concern each season is always non-school competition. Student athletes may not practice nor compete as a member of an organized non-school competition in that same sport.
The definition of a school sports season is the period beginning with the date of the schools first practice with any part of a sports squad held on or after the first allowable practice date for the MSHSAA sport season and ending with the schools last contest, including district and state tournament contests in the sport.
For any questions regarding any of the MSHSAA rules and regulations you can contact your local athletic director or contact MSHSAA at (573) 875-4880 or email@mshsaa.org.
n Maybe the Olympics organization will bring softball back in the 2016 Olympics.
n Hopefully the Olympic track teams will get that hand-off down for the 2012 games.
n Speed and defense make a difference in every sport – look at the Olympic men’s and women’s basketball teams.
n My quote of the week is from sportscaster Gib Shanley, “I would like to impress upon young people the importance of honesty and integrity. If they have both, they’ll never want for anything in life. The other less important things – the material things – will follow.”