CHSAA Board president encourages high school athletes to participate in multiple sports and activities
LONE TREE — In a wide-ranging speech given to the All-School Summit on Tuesday, CHSAA Board president Jim Lucas zeroed in on the importance of participating in multiple sports.
Lucas, an assistant principal at Pine Creek who entering his first year as the president of CHSAA’s Board of Directors, referenced an interview former Valor Christian star Christian McCaffrey did with national radio host Dan Patrick last month.
McCaffrey participated in football, basketball and track in high school, and also played baseball growing up. He told Patrick that he was “not a fan of locking in to one sport,” according to CBSSports.com. “I just think it’s so important as a kid to venture off and do multiple things,” McCaffrey said.
“I appreciate that (McCaffrey) talked about how important that was,” Lucas told the gathered athletic directors on Tuesday morning. “We need to educate parents to allow their high school athletes to participate in multiple sports instead of simply playing one sport. Research has shown that those who play in multiple sports are less likely to be injured.
“When the opportunity presents itself, please educate your parents and student-athletes to participate in multiple high school sports, and to participate in non-athletic activities in the high school,” Lucas said later. “Research has shown that those who are involved in high school activities or athletics – or both – have higher GPAs and are less likely to be in trouble.”
In his address to the membership, Lucas also touched on:
- New commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green: “She has hit the ground running – and when I say running, she is running. She is full of energy and looking to make adjustments and changes to make CHSAA a better Association.”
- The importance of the membership reaching out the Board for any reason whatsoever: “It is crucial that we all communicate together so that we are on the same page. We want your voice to be heard. We are a membership organization, and you are the membership.”
- New athletic directors: “Do not be afraid to ask for help from your fellow ADs or the CHSAA staff. You are in a great profession, and I would tell you, as I am in my 34th year, you are in the greatest profession that anybody could ever be in, and that’s educating students.”
- Club sports and the culture of chasing scholarships: “We are not here compete against club ball, but to educate parents that it’s not about a pot of gold – meaning scholarship money – at the end of a rainbow.”
Another huge focus for Lucas was the InsideOut Coaching philosophy, which has hosted two sessions for the athletic directors during this All-School Summit.
“Today, more than ever, we need transformative coaches who can help mold our young people to be great athletes, and who play for the love of the game,” Lucas said. “We also want our student-athletes to become great citizens with high morals, integrity, and so on.
“We need everybody to find a way to integrate that system and keep it sustained to the future for our young athletes,” he added.
