Sport is becoming one of the means of unifying the American population, which is culturally, racially, and religiously diverse. Nonetheless, with the new technological developments, which are highly increasing isolation by allowing people’s engagements in solitary activities, organized sports are not only beneficial to the athletes but also the spectators (Mitten & Davis, 2008). According to Mitten and Davis (2008), the sports' governing bodies, monolithic sports leagues, and the sports competition at the various levels establish conditions and the eligibility necessities that an individual ought to meet to engage in certain sporting activities. Various sports governing organizations authoritatively regulate either a group or a single sport on the national or international, which may result in the exclusion of an individual or athlete from participating or condition their participation to meet certain requirements before their inclusion in a certain sport.
The learning outcomes I expected to achieve from the student sports eligibility internship at Manual High school included;
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To put theory into practice in analyzing the learners viable in participating in various athletic sports.
To understand better the legal framework that is applied in the world in solving the eligibility disputes in international sports.
To apply critical thinking skills in handling diverse cases that do not meet the eligibility criteria among the athletes in Manual High school.
To apply the experience in administrative and leadership processes to deal with the respective athletes in Manual High school.
The Internship Activities
The main activity I participated in the internship was foreseeing the recruiting process of athletes in Manual High school. Learners willing to participate in various interscholastic functions ought to comply with the eligibility rules governing all students. Therefore, my duty was to ensure the recruiting of the various teams complied with the eligibility rules (AIA Bylaws, 2019). The process was challenging requiring keenness to avoid any failures in the process that could result in the disqualification or forfeiture of the Manual High school team or other extreme punishments the AIA board of executives chooses. Other disciplinary actions that could result from failure to meet the requirements include warnings, advisement, and probations, which could affect my goals as a sports manager. Therefore, my roles were to ensure all parts of the learners' eligibility rules are met and cancel any mutual agreements plans by the participating schools that are not in line with the set rules (AIA Bylaws, 2019). The recruiting process in Manual High school helped to put the sport management theories, which include organizing, planning, directing, leading, and controlling into practice (Suntharalingam & Jeganenthiran, 2018).
The application of the student eligibility conditions was a long and tiresome process. The AIA Bylaws allowed students enrolled in the Manual High school in grades 9 through 12 to participate in team tryouts, practices, and interscholastic competition. However, the rule includes home-schooled learners, students with educational convenience certificates, and online charter learners. Students eligible in the various sporting activities are required to have enrolled in the school before the 14 th day of the semester. Following the Domicile rule, a learner whether young or an adult was eligible for the interscholastic competition in the area where the guardians are domiciled except for learning institutions termed as open schools (AIA Bylaws, 2019). Learners were eligible to participate in interscholastic competitions if they turn 19 years after the 1of September, with those turning on or before 1of September becoming ineligible as outlined by the birth records provided.
Other rules governing the recruiting process include the physical examination report from a certified doctor of medicine or any other qualified medical professional who ascertains the student’s viability in participating in various athletic activities. The Transfer rule, maximum participation, recruitment, prior contact, open house, international student, hardship and the academic rules are other conditions influencing the recruitment process of the learners in various sporting activities (AIA Bylaws, 2019). Therefore, the process of analyzing students to ascertain whether they met the AIA Bylaws was challenging especially due to the exceptions included in various rules. However, the process was meaningful as it provided an opportunity for application of the critical thinking skills in handling the diverse cases, which could not meet the eligibility criteria in the athletics recruitment process in Manual High School.
The management skills and knowledge I incorporated in the internship from the schoolwork was the sports management’s fundamental functions. Suntharalingam and Jeganenthiran (2018) highlight the basic management functions like organizing, planning, leading, and evaluating. The planning process involves the process of setting goals and a course of action to achieve them. Appling the planning management function in the sports eligibility analysis led to the choosing of the AIA Bylaws, which would govern the process of recruiting the most eligible teams in athletics. According to Suntharalingam and Jeganenthiran (2018), the organization process involves the implementation of the set plans while keeping in mind the goals set during the planning process. The organization process requires the designation of the recruitment jobs, offering the set guidelines, training, as well as motivating the staff we are working within the recruiting process to ensure they adhere to the set AIA Bylaws (Suntharalingam & Jeganenthiran, 2018). The leading practice encompasses the act of directing the sporting activities through the various staff or employees. Analyzing the sports eligibility of the various learners is a tiresome process that needed the authority delegation and diversified tactics in the management of conflicts, hence, requiring the leading experience of a sports manager, which I incorporated whenever the need arose. Suntharalingam and Jeganenthiram (2018) define evaluation as the process of reviewing progress to ensure the processes are meeting the goals set at the planning stage. Goals ought to be measurable, simple, relevant, and achievable and time-bound. Therefore, to ensure the achievement of the eligibility criteria I established the performance standards as well as implemented ways of reporting progress towards the achievement of the defined goals.
Deeper Reflection on the Internship Project
Participation in the internship project has led to an understanding of the similarities in the interscholastic and intercollegiate sports. According to Mitten and Davis (2008), courts have established significant deference to educational institutions and the sports governing bodies when considering the regulations and conditions limiting them in the sporting activities. Mitten and Davis (2008) ascertain that various interscholastic rules and regulations are formulated at the national and the local levels by the districts as well as the individual schools. The AIA Bylaws, which are a sample of state laws, are enforced to achieve legitimate targets and objectives such as competitive balance, academic integrity as well as safety and health to their member states (Mitten & Davis, 2008). The AIA laws are different from the college laws as they inhibit the direct recruitment of learners by member high schools for the sport-related type of reasons. Assessing the AIA Bylaws direct recruitment of student-athletes is achieved by their transfer rules that inhibit learners to participate in interscholastic athletics immediately after transferring form a certain district or school to another (AIA Bylaws, 2019).
The internship project also led to a better understanding of factors such as home-schooling, minimum academic requirements, misconduct, exceeded maximum age limits, and transfer to other schools, as exclusionary effects that denied learners chances to participate in certain athletic sports (AIA Bylaws, 2019). Analyzing these kinds of situations led to the understanding that sporting activities have various influential factors such as social, economic, cultural, and political effects. Additionally, the community's wellbeing is capable of influencing the operations of any learning institutions including their sporting activities. For example, analyzing home-schooling, and misconduct cases whose parents were forcing participation in various sporting activities, led to an understanding of different types of people in the community, with some willing to stick by the rules with the rest working by all means to break them. Therefore, the internship program brought an opportunity to build positive professional relationships with the team we were working with, as well as learn more from the immediate supervisor who would criticize and complement my work accordingly. More so, I took the opportunity to network, as it is necessary for the sport management career.
References
AIA Bylaws, (2019). Article 15 Student Eligibility Rules (2019-2020) http://aiaonline.org/files/65/article-15-student-eligibility-rules.pdf
Mitten, M. J., & Davis, T. (2008). Athlete eligibility requirements and legal protection of sports participation opportunities. Va. Sports & Ent. LJ , 8 , 71.
Suntharalingam, T., & Jeganenthiran, S. (2018). School Sports Management https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322917017_
