During the past two months, state championships were held in various fall sports around the country. Many high school athletes – boys and girls – in soccer, volleyball, football, field hockey and cross country received accolades for achieving one of the greatest accomplishments in high school sports – a state championship.

These individuals will relive those moments at reunions for the next 50 years. Without a doubt, the thrill of a team pulling together to claim a state title is one of greatest aspects of education-based sports in the United States. It is one of several benefits that sets our programs apart from out-of-school club programs.

However, claiming a state championship should not be the one and only measurement of success in education-based sports since only a small portion of the 7.8 million participants will reach the winner’s circle. In fact, we would suggest it might be shortsighted to measure success solely on whether an individual or team wins a state title. It is great to acknowledge superlative performances and present trophies to winning teams, but true success in education-based sports has many other measuring sticks – one of which is creating opportunities for more individuals to experience the thrill of simply participating in high school sports.

In an effort to reach high school students who have not had that opportunity in the past, many schools and NFHS member state associations are providing new options. One of the exciting new developments is the growth of programs for students with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.

At the National Athletic Directors Conference co-sponsored last month in Nashville, we heard reports from several state high school associations that had implemented Unified programs in concert with Special Olympics. These programs pair able-bodied athletes and those with intellectual disabilities, and are becoming more prevalent throughout the country.

In Delaware, the state’s first Unified Flag Football Championship was held this fall in conjunction with a state leadership conference. In Wyoming, a 4-x-100-meter relay was held at the state’s Track and Field Championships. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association teamed with Special Olympics for Unified track and bowling championships, and finally, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association added a full-time assistant director to handle Unified Sports.

These states – and many others around the country – are providing opportunities to an entirely new group of students who previously have not experienced the thrill of competition. We would suggest that these individuals are just as successful as those who are crowned state champions.

Surveys have shown that the No. 1 reason that students participate in high school activity programs is to belong to a team with their friends and have fun. While the media will focus on the team that wins a state’s football or basketball championship, equal recognition should be given to schools that establish the highest athletics and activities participation rates.

For example, schools in Minnesota and Texas have opportunities for students to become involved in robotics (see article on page 34 of this issue), which, like those programs for students with disabilities, open doors for a new set of students to participate in high school activity programs.

In his article on page 54, David Hoch details other measuring sticks for success in education-based athletics and activity programs. In addition to achieving high rates of participation, he notes that the success of a school’s athletic program revolves around its commitment to leadership, sportsmanship, community-service projects, academic awards and attendance rates.

Certainly, we concur with David’s examples of success. If education-based activity programs are to continue to flourish within our nation’s high schools, we must focus on preparing student participants for success in life – whether that is on a field or court or on an assembly line, in a board room or raising their own family.

To that end, we believe the leadership of our nation’s education-based athletics and activities programs are in good hands. A record number of almost 2,000 high school athletic directors attended the National Athletic Directors Conference last month in Nashville. Many of these individuals were involved in Leadership Training Classes offered by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and the 40 workshops organized by the NIAAA and the NFHS.

These leaders of our nation’s high school athletic programs were not looking for ways to help their teams win state championships. Instead, their focus was developing programs that will enable more students to achieve success. We are thankful to these men and women who have invested their lives in the future leaders of our nation.