19 July 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) met Tuesday to discuss possible rules and updates to the governing body’s summer regulations.
The main talking point across the desk was: How much should an athlete be able to do during the summer?
In Kansas, there’s a week-long moratorium period the first week of July that prohibits high school athletes from practicing, competing, lifting weights, etc. There’s also rules keeping a limited number of athletes in a gym at a given time.
What restrictions should be in place was the topic of conversation.
One side of the argument says that kids should be allowed to be kids in the summer and not have to worry about athletic commitments. Some think that coaches work athletes too hard, that kids get burnt out.
The other side says that if an athlete wants to be in the gym, why not let them? If an athlete is trying to get better, if a team wants to get better, why keep them from doing so?
KSHSAA Assistant Executive Director Jeremy Holaday says that the meeting today was to try to find a middle ground.
“We all agree that we need to focus on the kids being allowed to be a kid during the summer. Conversations from today put us on a path forward to being able to communicate to our schools that these are some things we heard from your constituents that we feel like needs attention to, and see how that fits your school,” Holaday said.
Holaday says that he’s heard from parents that families have become too focused on sports.
“From the parents’ side, you hear, ‘Man, that’s all we do. Take them to weights, practice, conditioning, games all summer long. We get no family time,'” Holaday said.
The athletes have echoed that notion.
“Students feel like they’re stretched too thin, and coaches don’t get a break either,” Holaday said.
A large contributor to the issue is how different each school district is: from Class 6A to Class 1A, from cities to rural areas. There’s not a formula that’s perfectly one size fits all.
“Kansas is incredibly diverse. I know a lot of people don’t think Kansas is, but it is true,” Holaday said. “That’s one thing that’s very difficult for Kansas to navigate, but it’s also something that makes it really special.”
No actual legislation can pass until KSHSAA configures again at an October meeting.