Basketball Shot Clock, Replay Rules Adopted

New rules governing shot clocks and instant replay were adopted by the MSHSAA board.

MSHSAA will now allow a 35-second shot clock during jamborees involving varsity teams. Shot clocks are currently allowed for varsity tournaments and shootouts.

Instant replay will now be used at Show-Me Showdown to determine whether a basket went in at the expiration of time. If it counts, it will be used to determine whether it will be two or three points.

 

MSHSAA Makes Changes to Private School Classifications

At the MSHSAA Board of Directors meeting held from June 14th through 16th, the board voted to change the way that private schools are classified. Private schools will accumulate points based on postseason accomplishments over the last six years. In following seasons, private schools will go up classes based on points they accumulate. The board removed a two-class maximum shift, meaning private schools will continue to be moved up classes if they continue to accumulate points.

Championship Factor Points are assigned each year and decay over a six year span:

State Championship — 10 points (1st year), 7 points (2nd year), 5 points (3rd), 4 points (4th), 3 points (5th), and 1 point (6th).

Runner-Up — 7,5,4,3,1.

Final Four — 4,3,2,1.

District Championship — 3,2,1.

The following thresholds were adopted based on Championship Factor Points:

0-4 points — Remain classified in current class.

5-10 points — Moved up one class.

11-17 points — Moved up two classes.

18-22 points — Moved up three classes.

23-26 points — Moved up four classes.

27+ points — Moved up five classes.

 

 

Editorial -- Heavy Handed Tactics by MSHSAA Deny Crae Coffey a State Medal

The State Track Meet, and other meets like it, should be a time that kids remember for the rest of their lives. Morgan Beagle, who won three state medals for Worth County in 2021, still remembers that time fondly. However, the heavy-handed tactics that certain MSHSAA officials use at these meets are ruining the fun for some.

South Harrison athlete Crae Coffey was a good kid who put in his time and effort into making Bulldog football better. His efforts, and that of others, led to the Bulldogs having a banner year in football. A state track medal would have been a nice feather in his cap.

Unfortunately, someone at the MSHSAA took it on themselves to play tinpot dictator. Crae and his coaches were specifically told by certain MSHSAA officials that as long as a thrower doesn’t touch their cell phone, they can stand by the coaches box and look at a video of themselves throwing. So naturally, Crae watched a video. For that, another MSHSAA official disqualified them. No warning whatsoever. Another kid was allowed on his phone and was not kicked out.

We and the South Harrison partisans were not the only ones who saw the injustice. Crae Coffey would have finished fourth had he not been disqualified. The kid who finished ahead of him came and found Crae and offered him his medal, which Crae declined.

We understand that some rules are necessary in order to ensure fairness in competition and protect the safety of athletes. But sometimes, like this case, the people in charge of making rules make them just for the sake of it.

And the rule itself against video recordings is bad. Even in an individual sport like track, technique is there for a reason, not only for the athlete to perform better, but to protect them from injury. ACL injuries can and do happen in track. We have enough trouble these days getting kids to come out for sports without making them choose between a sport that they love and their long-term health. If one kid is protected from a serious injury because they were able to fix their form, it would be worth it.

While we are not for a state takeover of MSHSAA or any other non-profit organization, this is the very sort of thing which gives them a bad name and which will add fuel to the fire for certain politicians who want to take them over. 

 

MSHSAA Oversight Bill Passes Legislature

By Brandon Lorenz, Missouri News Network

The House on Thursday passed and sent to the governor a bill that creates an oversight commission for appeals by high school athletes governed by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

SB 863, sponsored by Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, would “establish the ‘Interscholastic Athletic Oversight Commission,’ a board of directors appointed by the governor to hear appeals of certain decisions made by statewide activities associations.”

“MSHSAA is pleased with the outcome of Senate Bill 863,” the organization said in a news release. “This bill is a workable solution and a far cry from the extremely damaging bill that sat on the Senate floor in February and March.”

As originally introduced, the bill would have allowed the board to have broader oversight of the association, including appeals for all eligibility, all contests and contest producers or any rule changes.

The final version only addresses decisions to be made on appeals of athletic related decisions within football, baseball and other sports. When signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, the governmental body will have the final say on all athletic rulings.

“The voices of our member schools, coaches and directors associations, education partners, and many other Missourians were clearly heard, and that collective input helped shape a more favorable result,” MSHSAA said in its statement.

The board will be made up of five members, all appointed by the governor, with advice and consent of the Senate.

The bill got initial hearings in the Senate in February and was passed April 13. While in the House, bills need a “handler,” a representative that will help guide the bill through the House. Rep. Bennie Cook, R-Houston, was tasked with that responsibility for this bill.

“I hope this achieves where parents and students have another board, and that’s what it’s going to be. Another board where they can appeal their issues to, if they feel that they’ve been wronged by the MSHSAA board,” Cook said. “This is another option for them, that won’t cost them an arm or a leg. Right now, the other option is the court system.”

A similar bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Mark Meirath, R-Excelsior Springs, and was tied into this bill string in March. Meirath’s bill would have created a “transfer board” that would have three members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, three members appointed by the president pro tem of the Senate and one member appointed by the governor.

“If (parents or athletes) are going to appeal, then they’re going to have to go all the way through what’s currently on the MSHSAA bylaws,” Meirath said. “Then it comes, if they choose, to the oversight committee. It has nothing to do with the organization within MSHSAA. It has everything to do with making sure there’s true oversight.”

Some confusion brewed on the House floor as Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, and Cook discussed the bill. In one part of the final version of the bill, there is a line that does not include the word “athletics.”

“When I read (this part) I do not see it specifically aimed at athletics,” Steinhoff said, “so it could apply to scholar bowl, it could apply to the music side of MSHSAA, it could apply to all of the things MSHSAA does.”

“I get the feeling that was not the intent of the bill because the name of the commission is ‘the athletics commission,’ so I’m wondering if we are intentionally allowing appeals to all the other parts of MSHSAA?” Steinhoff asked.

Cook did not directly answer the question, responding that the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was going to be involved in the future of this bill and some of the decision making.

Once signed by Kehoe, this law will go into effect Aug. 28.

Department of Justice Joins State Lawsuit Against MSHSAA

The Missouri Independent reported Friday that the US Department of Justice is getting involved in a lawsuit between the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) over allegations that organization denied a board position to a white man.

In 2004, the MSHSAA created a policy reserving two at-large positions on its 10-member board for “candidates representing the under-represented gender of the current board or an under-represented ethnicity.” They created this policy after they had never , with one exception, had a minority or female board member, the organization’s attorney, Natalie Hoernschemeyer, wrote in a series of exchanges between her and State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick. Following those exchanges, Mr. Fitzpatrick referred the matter to the Missouri Attorney General.

In March 2025, the Independent reported that Cassville Superintendent Merlyn Johnson was advised by an employee of MSHSAA that due to that policy, he could not run for an at-large spot. Mr. Johnson reported the alleged discrimination to Mr. Fitzpatrick, which prompted the exchange of letters.

The US Department of Justice argued in a Thursday motion to intervene that Loving vs. Virginia, a 1967 case which struck down laws banning interracial marriage, means that MSHSAA’s policy constitutes “systemic unconstitutional race and sex discrimination.”

The US Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in 2023. The difficulty is that MSHSAA is a private non-profit that is not normally subject to such claims under the 14th Amendment. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the DOJ argue that MSHSAA is public, given that its members are predominantly public schools and that its employees are eligible for the state retirement system.

MSHSAA Changes Basketball Sectional Hosting

The Missouri State High School Activities Association has changed how basketball post-district hosting is assigned. Previously, participants would host sectionals and quarterfinals. For instance, Gilman City traveled to Santa Fe last year to play in the girls sectionals. Now, the MSHSAA has assigned these events to schools with bigger seating capacities.

The District 15 vs. District 16 Class 1 boys basketball sectional matchup will be played at North Platte High School in Dearborn Tuesday, March 3rd at 6 pm. District 16 involves Worth County, NEN, and North Nodaway. 

The District 13 vs. District 14 matchup will be Tuesday, March 3rd at Maysville at 6 pm. District 14 involves North Harrison, Gilman City, and Pattonsburg.

The Quarterfinal matchup will be played at Chillicothe High School on Saturday, March 7th at 1 pm.

For the girls basketball games, The District 15 vs. District 16 matchup will be Monday, March 2nd at 6 pm at Bishop LeBlond High School. District 16 involves Worth County, NEN, and North Nodaway.

The District 13 vs. District 14 matchup will Monday, March 2nd at 6 pm at Maysville. District 14 involves North Harrison, Gilman City, and Pattonsburg.

The Quarterfinal matchup will be Friday, March 6th at 6 pm at Gallatin High School.

All State Championship games will be played at Mizzou Arena.

 

Missouri AG Announces MSHSAA Under Investigation

On Tuesday, November 18th, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced that the Missouri State High School Activities Association was under investigation from her office after what she said was reverse discrimination by that body.

The announcement followed an extended correspondence between State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick and Natalie Hoernschemeyer, an attorney for MSHSAA.

The issue involves Article IV, Section 2(b)2 of the MSHSAA Constitution regarding the appointment of at-large board members, which states, “Each of two at-large positions shall be filled by a candidate representing the under-represented gender of the current board, or an under-represented ethnicity.”

Auditor Fitzpatrick, in his April 16th letter to MSHSAA, wrote, “Given that MSHSAA receives significant revenue from Missouri taxpayers through membership fees collected from member schools and event costs charged to students and parents, I am concerned board members tasked with oversight of the operations are being chosen, or excluded, based on their gender and/or ethnicity, rather than their qualifications.”

The MSHSAA board consists of eight elected members from each of its districts along with two elected at-large members. Members must be active school superintendents, principals, or activities directors of member schools in good standing. The section in question states that at-large members who represent the under-represented gender or ethnicity of the current board must still meet the qualifications.

In one of his letters to MSHSAA, Mr. Fitzpatrick attached a letter from a MSHSAA employee to an administrator who had been nominated for one of the at-large positions and who subsequently contacted Mr. Fitzpatrick’s office. The letter from the MSHSAA employee to the prospective board member read in part, “The current Board of Directors, after taking out members whose terms are us, has a majority of males, Since you are a male, you do not meet this requirement. The ethnicity of the board has a majority of white, non-Hispanic members. Without knowing your identity or race, we ask for you to respond with the minority ethnicity or race group in which you identify, if applicable.”

Ms. Hoernschemeyer, representing MSHSAA, wrote to Mr. Fitzpatrick that MSHSAA’s selection policies for at-large board members was in compliance with state and federal law. She wrote, “The Association, with the possible exception of one individual, has never had a minority or female board member initially join the Board through the standard nomination and election process prior to the addition of the at-large provision.” She continued, “The enduring underrepresentation highlights the presence of systemic barriers to participation, and the at-large provision aims to address this imbalance — not through exclusion or preference, but by ensuring that voices historically absent from the table have a meaningful opportunity to be heard.”

She wrote in another letter that the individual in question was not precluded from serving on the Board of Directors. “He was unable to run for a particular at-large seat because he did not meet the current qualifications pursuant to the MSHSAA Constitution.”

Bill Would Allow Homeschoolers to Participate in High School Athletics

Senate Bill 63, passed by both the Missouri House and Senate, has gone to Governor Mike Kehoe’s desk for his consideration. It will allow homeschoolers to participate in MSHSAA sanctioned athletic events or activities. In the Senate, the vote was 34-0. Senator Rusty Black voted in favor of the bill. In the House, the vote was 94-44. State Representative Mazzie Christensen voted for the bill. State Representative Jeff Farnan voted against it.

The requirement of parents to provide at least 1,000 hours of instruction, at least 600 hours of which shall be in reading, language arts, meth, social studies, science, or academic courses, is unchanged. This section applies to children who are between the ages of 7 and 16.

In a press release, the MSHSAA issued a press release saying they are working with the Missouri School Boards Association to help implement the law.

 

Editorial -- Bring Back Sectionals to the Civic Arena

We second Chris Roush’s call to bring back sectional basketball to the St. Joseph Civic Arena.

For some reason, MSHSAA, after COVID-19, outsourced the hosting of sectional basketball games to host schools, many of which do not have adequate facilities. So if a tiny school like Gilman City or Grundy County has to host and they don’t have adequate facilities, they have to scramble to find a suitable facility on short notice. Or create a major fire hazard due to overcrowding. Last year, Grundy County had to play a sectional game in Trenton.

Having both boys and girls sectionals in one place, like the Civic Arena, would reduce travel hardships for us. Had both Hawk teams won districts, we would have had nightmares scrambling to go to 2-4 different places with 4-8 hour round trips. Having them both in one location cuts down on travel time. And had Worth County’s boys, say, won the Mound City district, we would have had to choose whether to cover the Tigers or the Hawks, with either decision disappointing a lot of fans.

And having sectionals at the Civic Arena rewards players for their hard work and allows them to play on a much bigger stage than most kids ever will. MSHSAA has the money to do so given that they charge $10 to watch a stream of a post-season game.

Class and District Basketball Assignments for 2022-23

Class 1 

District 13

Braymer High School

Breckenridge High School

Hardin-Central High School

Norborne High School

Orrick High School

Santa Fe High School

Southwest (Livingston County) High School

District 14

Gilman City High School (North Daviess)

Green City High School

Grundy County High School (Newtown-Harris)

Mercer High School

North Harrison High School

East Harrison

Tri-County High School

District 15

DeKalb High School

King City High School

Osborn High School (Stewartsville)

Pattonsburg High School

Stanberry High School

Union Star High School

Winston High School

District 16

Jefferson (Conception Junction) High School (South Nodaway)

Mound City High School (Craig)

North Nodaway High School

Northeast Nodaway High School

Rock Port High School

South Holt High School

Worth County High School

Class, District Assignments Released for Basketball

 Class and district assignments were released for basketball by MSHSAA Monday. Worth County barely made the cut for Class 1, with 74 students enrolled. After speculation that MSHSAA would drop the enrollment threshold, they did so this year, dropping it to 78. Class 1 basketball power Platte Valley also came under the threshold, at 72 combined students. 

Worth County was assigned to District 15, and will see some new faces this year. They will be paired with DeKalb, Pattonsburg, St. Joseph Christian, Stanberry, Union Star, and Winston. 

On the boys side, the district is loaded, with Pattonsburg, St. Joseph Christian, Stanberry, and Winston as favorites along with Worth County. The Tigers’ Friday contest at Christian will be a key contest; not only will it affect GRC standings, it will affect district seedings as well. Winston is undefeated as of Monday; they have only been challenged by two teams and their smallest margin of victory this year is 16 points. MSHSAA no longer uses the multiplier to classify charter and private schools, meaning that Christian has dropped to Class 1 this year. Two years ago, while competing in 11 man football, Christian was forced to travel to Maryville for the first round of districts.

The girls side will see Stanberry as a favorite; they beat Worth County by 30 at the start of the year. Pattonsburg and DeKalb will also be teams to watch. Union Star will also compete.

North Nodaway and Northeast Nodaway will face the unenviable task of playing in District 16 with Platte Valley and Mound City. Other teams will be Nodaway-Holt, South Holt, and West Nodaway.

The boys side will be loaded; Mound City will be a favorite with its two headed monster of Landon Poppa and Tony Osborn, both of whom can dunk. South Holt is usually solid, Platte Valley, while off to a bad start, is still a team to watch, and West Nodaway is loaded, with everybody back from last year. Nodaway-Holt is much better than last year, with two wins already under its belt after one all last year.

For the girls, Platte Valley has designs on the State Title this year; they are 15 players deep and beat Maryville and Serena Sundell 53-50 Friday. South Holt graduated their best post player, but is still solid; Mound City has a lot of size and is trying to combine it with speed like the boys team is. Nodaway-Holt has one of the better post players in the area in Shaina Culp, and West Nodaway showed some improvement from last year despite their Game 1 loss to Essex (IA).

North Harrison will be in District 14 along with East Harrison, Gilman City, Grundy County, Linn County, and Tri-County. 

On the boys side, North Harrison will be a favorite with traditional power Mercer rebuilding this year. Their 74-64 win over Tri-County turned out to be important for district seeding purposes. Grundy County has jumped out to a promising 3-1 start. For the girls, Mercer has designs on going back to state; they have talked Dan Owens out of retirement to coach the team, and they are one of the most physical teams in the area. Tri-County has emerged as a solid team over the last few years; they are a difficult matchup with anybody with their chaotic style. Grundy County, which has risen as a power in the HDC over the last few years, is rebuilding; this year has been feast of famine for them with two blowout wins and two blowout losses. Gilman City played Princeton tough at the start of the year. Princeton, the elephant in the room, moved up to Class 2.

West Nodaway Drops North Nodaway Cooperative

On Wednesday, December 9th, the West Nodaway School Board voted by a 6-1 vote to drop the football cooperative agreement with North Nodaway that had been in place since 2014. West Nodaway will enter an all sports cooperative agreement with Nodaway-Holt, which is leaving its cooperative with South Holt. That will leave both North Nodaway and South Holt on the drawing board as far as a football program is concerned. On Thursday, the Nodaway-Holt school board approved a five year cooperative agreement with West Nodaway that covers all sports.

The upper limit for an eight man football cooperative for Missouri is 150 students. The combined enrollment for West Nodaway, Nodaway-Holt, and North Nodaway is 155, which would put them over the limit, unless they wanted to go 11 man. 

North Nodaway Superintendent Chris Turpin said that he would be looking at all of North Nodaway’s options. Worth County and Northeast Nodaway border North Nodaway to the south and east, but both schools are happy with their current cooperative. Maryville borders North Nodaway to the south, which means that North Nodaway is free to pursue an agreement with Platte Valley, consisting of Jefferson and South Nodaway. A cooperative of those three schools would be close to 130 students, which is below the threshold of 150 students. Similarly, North Harrison is bordered to the south by South Harrison, an 11 man power, meaning they were free to make their cooperative agreement with Pattonsburg.

The other option for North Nodaway would be to strike out on their own. That would involve figuring out how many students would be needed to field a competitive program. Back in the 1970’s, North Nodaway dropped their football program for a few years due to lack of numbers and restarted it when interest revived later that decade.

Previously, North Nodaway had conducted a survey regarding interest in an all-sports cooperative. Responses were receptive to the idea, but less receptive if West Nodaway were involved. Most students were willing to be part of such a cooperative. 

MSHSAA member schools can have cooperative agreements with different schools for different sports. For instance, Worth County can continue their football cooperative with Northeast Nodaway and enter into a basketball cooperative with North Nodaway. The complication is that a basketball cooperative agreement with North Nodaway would force Worth County to compete in Class 2 in basketball, since the combined enrollment for the two schools is 129, and the cutoff for Class 1 is 78. Such a cooperative with Northeast Nodaway would also require a move up to Class 2 in basketball, since the combined enrollment would be 105. 

However, schools can compete in Class 2 in basketball and still offer eight man football. That is because the cutoff for Class 1 (78) is much lower than the cutoff for eight man football (150). The new West Nodaway and Nodaway-Holt sports cooperative would compete in Class 2 in basketball, since their combined enrollment is 105 students; however, since their combined enrollment is less than 150, they can still compete in eight man football.

MSHSAA to Allow Alternate Sport Seasons for Fall Sports

On Thursday, the MSHSAA Board voted to approve alternative seasons if a school cannot continue in the traditional fall season. This means that a softball or football program that cannot continue in the fall season can compete in the alternative spring season. The first allowable competitions would begin on March 12th and conclude May 1st. There would be a postseason as well.

This measure also applies to spring sports such as baseball and track. For baseball and track teams that cannot complete a traditional spring season, alternative competitions would start on May 14th and conclude on July 10th. There would also be a postseason for that.

Winter teams can join the winter season whenever their local guidelines allow. 

Schools are still subject to the maximum allowable competitions and weeks requirements in the traditional season. 

MSHSAA Grants Relief From Two Bylaws

Last Tuesday, the MSHSAA board voted to grant relief from two bylaws and a board policy.

Schools will now be allowed to participate in MSHSAA sports while schools are not meeting in-person. Schools will also be allowed to participate in MSHSAA sports if a school is forced to transition to virtual instruction due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Students must still meet MSHSAA and local school standards to be eligible. Decisions will be up to local schools.

Schools will now be allowed to participate in two-team jamborees this year. This will allow jamborees to still be held if two schools opt out.

Schools will now be allowed to compete in post-season events if they compete in less than half of their permitted contests under a particular sport. This allows schools whose teams are forced to quarantine due to a Coronavirus outbreak to come back and compete in the post-season. Schools will have until September 11th to notify the MSHSAA that they will not be able to participate in fall postseasons. MSHSAA will do class and district assignments for football and softball later than usual, on September 18th.

MSHSAA Releases Guidelines for Athletic Competition

On Wednesday, MSHSAA released guidelines on participation in athletics. All students and coaches and officials will be temperature screened before practices and competitions. If someone is tested and they test positive, they will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and identify any recent close contacts. If it is uncertain who the close contacts are, the entire team may be required to self-isolate.

Schools must have a traditional school schedule in order to have sports this fall. If a school is forced to offer online learning only, then MSHSAA will not allow them to offer sports. 

If a participant, coach, or official has a positive finding on their temperature screen or shows symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness or breath, sore throat, loss of smell or taste, or vomiting or diarrhea, they will be sent home immediately and referred for testing. Written clearances by a healthcare provider or documentation of a negative test shall be required for return to participation.

The complete guidelines can be found at the MSHSAA website.

Mosaic Medical to Give Physicals July 13th

Mosaic Medical in Maryville will be holding a Sports Physical Clinic July 13th in Maryville. All prospective athletes must complete physicals every two years in order to participate in MSHSAA sanctioned athletics contests or practices. You must call to schedule an appointment. To make an appointment, call (660) 562-7999. Please bring the two-year MSHSAA form with you to your appointment, filled out and signed by a parent or guardian.

Vance Proffitt Named New NEN Girls Coach

Vance Proffitt, the former North Nodaway coach, has been named coach of the Northeast Nodaway Bluejays. He inherits a team that won 85 games and lost only 23 in the last 4 years. They still have horses coming up with a strong sophomore class along with upperclassmen Kristan Judd, Rachel Runde, and Michelle Schulte, the tiny but deadly version of the family. The announcement was made at the Northeast Nodaway Athletic Banquet Friday. Outgoing coaches Eric Fairchild and Amber Guthrie are both leaving, with Fairchild assuming a teaching job and basketball coaching duties at Rock Port and Guthrie going to her home school at West Platte after the first semester this year. Boys coach Ryan Madden is leaving as well.

"I could not have asked for more from this group," said Coach Eric Fairchild. "They had their third coach in four years and they did everything I wanted them to and that's all I can ask," he said about his 23-5 squad.

Emily Bryant was honored for 3-point shooting. Rachel Runde led in assists while Kristan Judd and Taylor Dougan both shared the 6th player award. Michelle Schulte won the steals award as well as the defensive MVP while Kristin Sherry won the Black and Blue award for being willing to do whatever it took to win a game. Repeat second team all stater Blair Schmitz was awarded for leading in points (16 per game), rebounds (8-9 per game), offensive MVP, and team MVP. She scored over 1,000 career points, with her 1000th point coming against CFX this year.

Fairchild said that the team would have a strong nucleus for incoming coach Vance Profitt to work with as the freshmen got a whole lot better as the season progressed. They constantly pushed the upperclassmen in practices and the results paid off on the floor.

Coach Ryan Madden said that he was proud of the character and integrity of his team and that he was sorry to leave. They finished with a 19-8 record, their best in quite some time. He said that there were several signature games starting with Tarkio where they came from 16 down to win. Madden pointed to DeKalb where he said he was out of answers, but they found a way to stay in the game. He mentioned South Nodaway, where they did not play well, but found a way to win thanks to Kevin Stoll's last second shot. He said their two best games of the year were against Princeton and Trenton, where they completely outplayed them to win. The most memorable was the 100-93 six overtime win against King City.

Bryce Farnan was awarded the most points with 489, nearly 20 per game. He also got the blocks award with 69 with Dalton Welch a close second. Aaron Patton won the assists and steals award, getting over three steals per game. Farnan won the rebounding award, averaging 12.6 per game and getting over 15 several times. His most was 20 against North Andrew and he had several 15-15 efforts as well. Defensive Player of the Year was Aaron Patton. Most Improved was Dalton Welch, but Madden said it was a close call between him, Jason Henggeler, and Bryce Farnan. The Black and Blue Award went to Colby Wiederholt, who always did what he was asked, never talked back, and was a coaches dream. Bryce Farnan became the MVP. "Once he realized he could get into the paint and score, he could not be stopped," said Madden.

Erica Hovey, Morgan Porter, Taryn Farnan, Ashley Standiford, and Katrina Freemeyer were recognized for their cheerleading throughout the year.

Baseball Coach Jared Freemeyer recognized the baseball team, which was 3-9 in their inaugural season. He said that he got two comments from other coaches. The first was that they were impressed with how they did as a first year team. The other comment was about the number of Schmitzes on the team. It used to be that the Schmitz family was known for basketball and they still are, but now they have opened a new chapter without sacrificing the old.

Offensive Player of the Year was Tyler Schmitz, who batted .346 with 3 home runs and 6-7 doubles. Cody Hunter was Defensive Stopper of the Year as he struck out 14 batters in one game and 8 or 9 in the inaugural win against South Nodaway. Colby Wiederholt got the Leadership Award as he was named all district. He was a leader both on and off the field as he made Freemeyer's job easier by telling the players stuff before he had to. Coaches remarked that he was the best 2A and 3A center fielder at this level. Cody Schmitz was named the MVP as Freemeyer said that he pushed himself, made plays while lying on the dirt, sold himself out, and was the hardest worker on the team. Jason Henggeler was the Most Improved as he went from not seeing the ball very well to becoming one of the best clutch hitters on the team and was willing to bloody his lip going after foul balls.

Coach Charley Burch recognized the track teams. Michelle Schulte got the award for most points on the girls side and Sage DeLong got the award for most points on the boys side.

The MSHSAA Award of Excellence was given to Emily Bryant and Dalton Welch. They were recognized for living up to the ideals of sportsmanship, ethics, and integrity.

Lawmakers Send Concussion Awareness and Brain Injury Prevention Act to the Governor

Students athletes must sit out of play after suffering a concussion until a doctor signs off on their return thanks to an awareness and prevention initiative the General Assembly today approved and sent to the governor. Several state lawmakers and the National Football League (NFL) championed House Bill 300 that would create the “Interscholastic Youth Sports Brain Injury Prevention Act” to educate and protect student athletes from the risks of concussions and other brain injuries.

Senate Leader Robert N. Mayer, R-Dexter, handled the bill in the Senate where it passed by a vote of 33 to 1.

“Today, we know that some brain injuries are the result of young athletes continuing to play a sport after they have suffered a concussion,” said Mayer. “By educating them, their parents and coaches, we can better protect these students from life-altering brain injuries.”

“With up to 18 percent of all high school sports being contact sports and with up to 19 percent of all the athletes in those contact sports receiving a concussion (over 62,000 of them),” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chuck Gatschenberger, R-Lake St. Louis. “I feel it is high time our coaches, athletes and parents know the symptoms of a concussion - when in doubt set them out.”

Under the bill, student athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion or brain injury must stop play for at least 24 hours and could not return without written permission from a medical professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussions. Plus, student athlete’s parents would be required to sign a concussion and brain injury information sheet prior to participation in any practice or competition.

The act also requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to work with school boards, the Missouri State High School Activities Association, and an organization that provides support services for brain injuries to implement educational information for youth athletes on the risks of concussions and other brain injuries. The department and organizations must develop guidelines, and forms to educate coaches, student athletes, and their parents or guardians on the nature and risks of concussions and other brain injuries by the end of the year. The materials they produce must include information on continuing to play after a concussion.

Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, sponsored a similar bill in the Senate and said the sooner these common sense guidelines are put in place, the sooner we will reduce the number of brain injuries stemming from contact sports.

“Education is half the battle,” said Schaaf. “The more our student athletes, their parents and coaches know, the better decisions they will make when faced with the symptoms.”

The NFL is supportive of the awareness and prevention effort, helping champion similar legislation in at least ten other states this year.

“The league has strict return-to-play guidelines that apply to some of the best athletes in the world,” Kenneth Edmonds, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy for the NFL, told a Senate committee earlier this month. “We believe a similar approach is necessary when dealing with some of the youngest athletes. This legislation does that.”

Former linebacker for the World Champion St. Louis Rams and current Lincoln University Head Football Coach Mike Jones also testified in support of the bill earlier this month.

“We are learning today that returning to play with a sprained ankle or a swollen knee is one thing; returning to play before being fully recovered from a concussion or other head injury is a great deal more serious,” Jones said to senators at a hearing. “Young athletes and their parents need to be educated on the symptoms and dangers of concussions and should not be allowed to return without medical clearance. That is what this bill is about.”

If signed by the governor, the bill would take effect August 28.