HOLIDAY THOUGHTS

A very Merry XMAS to all.   We hope that you have a great break and enjoy the time off with family and friends.

We will have the opportunity to do some “recharging” over the holidays, and will be working on several projects for the coming months.

We are in the process of developing host websites for Provincial Championships.  This will mean less work on the part of the host school/zone, as well have templates developed, as well as a hosting server.  The hosts will just have to add information to the site, and all host sites will have a consistent look and design to them.  We are hoping that this will be set for the March Provincial Championships.

We are also working on our “Call me Coach” program.  This is an initiative that will be created with the co-operation of Coaching Manitoba and Coaching Association of Canada.  It will be a 3 hour workshop, primarily aimed at the beginner coach, but will be beneficial for all.  We will be kicking off the program next Fall.  We are also working with the Alberta Interscholastic Administrators (athletic directors) Association to being some of their new coaching education courses to Manitoba.  We are looking to have these at SAG 2011.  Many more details to follow.

The Board of Directors will be working on the MHSAA strategic plan, and as well, we will be trying a new wildcard format for AAA Basketball.

Thanks to all for your terrific support of high school sport.  Enjoy the season.

Morris Glimcher

Provincial Championships

Provincial Championships are always fun and a great experience for the student athlete participants.  Our member schools hosted some great events during the last two weeks of November.  It is always great to see schools that have their elementary students ‘adopting’ a team and cheering them on.  Some schools asked the teams to come to classrooms and read to students, while others studied the home towns of participating schools.  Live webcams were at many of the championships, along with some super Opening Ceremonies and motivating speakers at the banquets.   Getting other students involved in the hosting of the Championships, from scorers and timers, to announcers, to school bands, and web developers, to canteen staff, all bring a sense of unity to the school as well as a sense of Pride.

The MHSAA website received over 1.5 million hits in November, and most of those were looking for Provincial results. 

The participants will long remember being part of the Provincials, and it is a credit to the coaches, athletes and hosts for all making it happen.