The hot topic in discussion among coaches and Athletic Directors and often times across social media recently is the high school athlete today and the problem of how to run off-season conditioning programs while still promoting multi-sport athletes and most importantly, letting kids have some free time to “be kids”.  This is a nation-wide dilemma, not just a state of Michigan dilemma and certainly not unique to Portland.  

It should be made clear that participation in high school sports and other extra-curricular activities is one of, if not THE best use of time for school age children after the time needed is spent on academics, family, faith, and other priorities such as these.  The life lessons and habits learned can’t be learned anywhere else.  Not to mention that high school sports are an extension of the classroom and are run with the focus being on such things as team, sportsmanship, and winning or losing with class.  

Unfortunately in many ways, the demands put on high school athletes these days have increased to the point where less and less kids are playing multi sports; the three sport athlete is almost unheard of nowadays, partly due to the off-season programs which have become necessary and the temptations to “specialize”. However, in order to remain competitive, off-season programs are a must.  It’s a fine line to walk and we at PHS do our best to try to provide the best programs we can for our students so that they are ensured a positive, fun experience on quality teams that can compete while still trying to allow them free time for other priorities.  When developing these off-season programs, our coaching staff also understands the importance of allowing for a maximum commitment to the sport the students are currently participating in and know that communicating with each other is of utmost importance.    

With this being said, help from parents when encouraging the involvement of your children and helping them with priorities and the scheduling of them is a necessity.  There are three basic principles that we as a staff try to use as guidelines when running our offseason programs at PHS:  

1. THE BEST OFF-SEASON CONDITIONING PROGRAM FOR ANY HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE IS TO BE ON ANOTHER HIGH SCHOOL SPORT TEAM.  Athletes need to have constant exposure to being a member of a team, being in competitive/pressure-filled athletic situations, and the structure of schedule and supervision.  Plus, it is beneficial to the quality of all of the teams we sponsor and this carries over to school spirit.  

2.  All off-season programs must adhere to MHSAA and PHS rules and regulations

3.  The in-season sport gets precedence when demands on kids’ time become an issue.  

Please do your part to promote multi-sport involvement of your children and help us make PHS Athletics the we can be.  More importantly, our number one priority at PHS is to teach positive life lessons and to do things the right way. Go Raiders! 
 
(Numbers below are national averages of several sports put together in one category.  The percentages of kids going on to Division I college and professional sports speak for themselves). 
 
High School Participants  484,000 
 
NCAA Division I Participants     8,154 
 
Percent of HS to Division I     0.017 
 
Professional Participants        550 
 
Percent of HS to Pros     0.001