While interscholastic sports help young athletes enhance sport skills, physical fitness, self-discipline, sportsmanship, teamwork, time-management skills, self-confidence, and mental toughness, their benefits actually surpass even these. Interscholastic sports also promote life skills and lessons and enhance academic performance. The National…

A fundamental objective for the physical educator is to provide students with effective, age-appropriate physical education (PE) in a safe environment. The importance of PE must be emphasized in light of the strong association between regular physical activity and health. Currently, 18% of U.S. children ages 6 to 19 are classified as overweight…

The Communities For Equity was a group of Michigan mothers who filed a Title IX discrimination suit against the Michigan High School Athletic Association due to its athletic scheduling practices. The 10-year court battle went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This case study reviewed the policy decisions of the Wisconsin Interscholastic…

Physical activity is a crucial part of preventing or reducing childhood obesity, and may also yield important academic and social benefits. However, many children do not attain the level of daily physical activity recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Schools are uniquely positioned to provide students opportunities…

In most school systems in the United States, interscholastic sporting events and other extracurricular activities help bring people together while enhancing opportunities for students to become integral parts of their communities. Because of the important role that extracurricular activities, especially sports, play in the lives of students,…

One in six high school football players in the United States will sustain a concussion at some point during their playing career. The consequences of concussion can be catastrophic, especially since the symptoms are rarely visible and often overlooked. To ensure the safety of athletes in youth and interscholastic sports programs, having Certified…

Educational transformation in South Africa not only brought about Outcomes-based Education and Curriculum 2005 but also a new Learning Area/Subject, called Life Orientation (LO). A major challenge for LO as a new Learning Area/Subject is the preconceptions that exist about it, and the fact that the attitude of school principals is not conducive to…

Lacrosse has been the fastest growing team sport at the interscholastic athletic level for the past 10 years according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). As a result, many physical educators are branching out from their traditional team sport units and teaching lacrosse in their classrooms. They are exposing…

Administrators in public schools are undoubtedly familiar with their duties under federal law to serve students with disabilities in the educational program. Far fewer, however, are aware of their legal obligations to these same students in after-school athletics and extracurricular activities. Are students with disabilities entitled to…

Job announcements often work to either encourage or discourage prospective applicants. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if gender bias existed within the job announcements for interscholastic athletic administrators. The study's results revealed that over a two-year period there were 301 advertisements for positions in the state…

The purpose of this investigation is twofold: First, the portrayal of the present situation in numerous phases of secondary-school athletics; and second, the presentation of suggestive materials gleaned from an intensive study of schools having especially promising practices in the phases studied. Stated more specifically, a few of the purposes of…

The elementary school years are crucial in the life of a boy or girl. In this formative period, children's experiences profoundly affect their physical, social, mental, and emotional growth. Today's schools are challenged to provide meaningful experiences that will help these children realize their full potential. Physical education is one of the…