In addition to the 38 workshops on key topics in high school sports and a report on the new NFHS Coach Education Program, the 25th induction ceremony for the National High School Hall of Fame closed the week’s activities in grand fashion with another stellar class of high school athletes, coaches, officials, and contributors. Former two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Jim Plunkett, who was a high school standout at James Lick High School in San Jose, Calif., and Terry Steinbach, former Major League Baseball star who was one of Minnesota’s best two-sport athletes at New Ulm High School, were two of the more noteworthy inductees in the 2007 class. However, Hawaii’s first athlete in the Hall of Fame, Charlie Wedemeyer, stole the hearts of everyone in attendance.

Wedemeyer, a three-sport high school star in the 1960s at Honolulu Punahou High School, has survived the past 30 years with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Although he can no longer walk, talk, or breathe on his own, Wedemeyer, who communicated through his wife, Lucy, delivered the acceptance speech on behalf of the 2007 class and received a standing ovation when he received his award.

Other members of the 2007 class were Clyde Duncan (Iowa), and Jim Johnson (Michigan) in the athletes category; John Bagonzi (New Hampshire), Lewie Benitz (Wisconsin), Rick Insell (Tennessee), and Joan Wells (Kansas) in the coaches category; Jane Hansen (New Jersey) and Sam Short (Alabama) in the officials category; and Tim Stevens, a sportswriter from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Summer Meeting attendees also received an update on the new NFHS Coach Education Program, which was launched earlier this year as the first and only education program designed exclusively for interscholastic coaches. Tim Flannery, the NFHS Assistant Director who is in charge of the program, told attendees that about 40 state associations would be on board with the Coach Education Program in 2007-08.

The online portion of the program was started in January, and the blended approach, which utilizes a classroom setting for part of the course and offers the remainder online, was launched in June. This one-of-a-kind education opportunity consists of two courses: a Fundamentals of Coaching course and a First Aid for Coaches course.

The Fundamentals of Coaching course addresses the following subjects: educational athletics and the role of the coach, the coach as manager, the coach and interpersonal skills, the coach and physical conditioning, and the coach as teacher. The First Aid for Coaches course is a sports safety training program developed by the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Flannery said the program has received the endorsement of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).

In addition, a new four-minute DVD entitled “Minimizing Risk – A Shared Responsibility” was unveiled at the NFHS Summer Meeting. The DVD, which was produced to be shown at preseason meetings, will be used by athletic directors and coaches to warn athletes and their parents about the inherent risk of injury in sports. Copies of the DVD will be sent at no charge to the 51 member associations of the NFHS.

Among the national topics of concern discussed during the 38 workshop sessions were the public/private school issue, steroid use and abuse, marketing, heat and hydration, threats at events, and recruiting and retaining officials.

The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and fine arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 18,500 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; produces publications for high school coaches, officials and athletic directors; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, spirit coaches, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; and serves as a national information resource on interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS Web site.