BRIGHTON — The Michigan High School Athletic Association constantly promotes the importance of multi-sport participation, citing its benefits.
This is a good thing and should be applauded. In an era of sports specialization and outside organizations lobbying for kids’ undivided attention and their parents’ money, too many athletes are burning out, suffering from overuse injuries or missing out on other experiences as a high school athlete.
But then someone like Howell senior Lilly Williams tries a new sport while still taking advantage of opportunities her talent has given her in her primary sport and the MHSAA cracks down on her.
I went out to Brighton on Thursday, April 9 looking to write a fun story on Williams, Michigan’s Miss Basketball winner, trying track and field for the first time. She never had that opportunity until enrolling at Howell as a senior, having been homeschooled.
She was all smiles as she interacted with her teammates while waiting her turn to throw the discus and did quite well for her first meet, scoring points for the Highlanders with third-place finishes in discus and high jump. She threw the discus 84 feet and cleared 4 feet, 10 inches in high jump after practicing that event only twice.
It was a promising start for a complete newcomer. With another month of practice, Williams might qualify for the state meet in one or both events.
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But she won’t get that chance because of an MHSAA rule regarding participation in all-star events.
Williams earned a chance to play in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game during spring break in Phoenix. She will also be heading to an all-star camp in San Diego in two weeks, and that’s where she runs afoul of the MHSAA.
Under Section 12 (C) of the MHSAA rules, a student who has completed his or her senior season in a sport may participate in one high school all-star event after the MHSAA finals are held in that sport without losing eligibility for other sports.
For Williams, that one event was the McDonald’s All-American Game. If she goes to the event in San Diego, she will no longer be eligible for a spring sport.
Williams, one of the top players in the country, is heading to Michigan State University to continue her basketball career. She still works on her basketball skills during track and field season to be ready to compete at MSU. Having the chance to go away for a weekend to test herself against similar talent should be her prerogative.
So, that fun story has become a lot less fun. Williams is competing and trying her best for Howell knowing it will all be over in two weeks.
“It kind of hurts, because it’s something I’ve been looking forward to,” Williams said. “I’ve put a lot of work and effort into it already, even during basketball season getting started with discus and drilling. It’s upsetting for me. I’m only going to be able to do this for two weeks, because I want to go and do a basketball camp that’s on a weekend.”
Going to Howell has given Williams opportunities she didn’t have when she was homeschooled. She wouldn’t have been eligible for Miss Basketball or McDonald’s All-America if she didn’t play for a high school team. She is one of Howell’s 12 Senior Survivors, who raise money for charity, live in the school for a week and complete challenges. And there’s also the chance to compete in a new sport.
“We’ve got a good coach helping me to get better every day and pushing me to do something different outside of my comfort zone,” she said. “It’s my only chance to do another sport. I’m good friends with (basketball players) Emma Kanka and Norah Hull. It’s another opportunity to be able to hang out with them before I leave for college just being able to try something new.”
Why does the MHSAA have such a rule to begin with?
It used to be even more stringent, with zero tolerance for all-star events. The MHSAA began allowing athletes to participate in one in 2014-15.
Geoff Kimmerly, communications director for the MHSAA, said the organization and — this is significant — its member schools (Howell being one) have always emphasized local and in-state competition.
“The rationale behind the rule was where does it end if you continue to allow more and more?” Kimmerly said. “Do you allow a second, a third, a fourth? How much school is being missed? How much travel is involved? How much expense is involved? How much focus is being put on these events instead of things happening at school?”
Howell track and field coach Josh Noble said he comes from the south where athletes have more opportunities to showcase their talent and have experiences outside of their home state. He is upset Williams won’t be able to compete after two weeks, not because he’s losing an athlete who could help his team, but because she will miss out on the experience of trying something new.
“You have an amazing girl who, in a month, sports will become her full-time job,” Noble said. “She just wants to be a kid for one more month. They’re taking that away, because she’s elite at what she does. It’s a basketball camp. It’s not a track camp.
“She hasn’t done track before. She hasn’t done a lot of things in high school before? They said, ‘Well, it’s a rule.’ Why is it a rule? How can we not look at it person by person? This is an amazing young lady. She’s doing everything right.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Lilly Williams’ Howell track career ending soon because of MHSAA rule
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
