This year's Athletic Director workshop is a webinar PowerPoint with NYSPHSAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas and Assistant Director Todd Nelson. As presented in previousyears, the workshop answers questions about eligibility, transfers, maximum number of games and other important topics.

On Thursday October 1, Administrative Assistant Sandy Schanck retired as full time NYSPHSAA staff member.

This is the week to say thank you to fall sport coaches for all that they do.

Coaches Appreciation Days will start on Tuesday, October 6th and run through Thursday, October 8th. In the past, Coaches Appreciation Day was one day, but NYSPHSAA expanded the event to make it three days. Three days to say thank you and show gratitude to the people who make fall sports possible.

Take a minute and say thank you to a fall sport coach who goes above and beyond for student-athletes. Give them a shoutout on social media and use the hashtag #NYSPHSAACoachesDay

The NYSPHSAA Captains Club, presented by NYSCOPBA, has a new look for the 2020-21 school year.

The Association is teaming with Omari Pearson and Passion to Purpose to help student-athletes. The focus is on empowering students for high school, college, and beyond.

The first workshop video was released last week, and asks the question "What's Your Why?" It can been viewed by using the link below.

The next video will be released on Tuesday, October 13th. Please follow the NYSPHSAA YouTube channel to be notified when the video has been released.

It's time to start thinking about honoring your school or team for what they do in the community.

The window to begin applying for the fall Community Service Challenge is now open.

The community service challenge is sponsored by Team Up 4 Community. For more information on the program and to apply, please click here.

Deadline to apply for the Fall community Service challenge is Monday, November 9.

Fall, winter and spring rule books are available for purchase now on our website: www.nysphsaasales.org.

Orders placed online DO NOT require prepayment. Simply choose member order, put school name and PO number in special instructions box and your books will be shipped and an invoice sent.

We are now offering digital books through the NFHS rules app for most sports! The app gives instant access to rulebooks on your mobile device. No more remembering to carry the book with you and the search feature brings you right to the rule reference you are looking for! Simply purchase the digital app license for your sport and access your books from your mobile device. Once downloaded, internet access is not required.

Deadline for Fall book orders, including Football is October 15th.

Spring 2020 rule books will be used again in the spring of 2021, so if you ordered last season you do not need to reorder this year.

NYSPHSAA reminds you about our partnership with ezSCRN, an application that can help track, collect data, report and communicate both COVID-19 cases as well as traumatic brain injuries.

The ezSCRN app is being offered to NYSPHSAA member schools at a discounted rate. Watch the video below for a brief description of the app and more information.

The Association has launched a web page exclusively for the ezSCRN app. You can find all the answers to your questions there. Plus you can sign up for a demonstration as well.

To visit the ezSCRN page click here.

Quarantines, school closures and sports cancellations have some kids going stir crazy, but there are resources that can help.

The Fuel Up to Play 60 program, a collaboration between the American Dairy Association North East and the NFL is launching a new microsite that will inspire students to get back to a healthy routine through a series of videos, challenges and classroom activities focused on nutrition education, healthy eating and exercise that can be done at home. To access the microsite and be eligible for prizes, you must first sign up here!

Once you’re signed up, you can visit our challenge site here and get started on fun activities! Stay tuned for details about the “NYSPHSAA Section Challenge” for a chance for your section to win $4,000!

Grant-funded programs are available at no cost to NYSPHSAA member schools and include Survivor Advocacy speakers, Battle of the Belt competitions, and classroom resources for Health or PE classes. All programs can be conducted virtually or socially distanced in-person. NY SADD has also created a Google Classroom with virtual materials and lesson plans as well as a Back-to-SADD Guide with different activities.

If you are interested in hosting a program for your district or have any questions about these materials, visit the Coaches Care page of the NYSPHSAA website or contact Chris Joyce at cjoyce@nysphsaa.org.

Check out the officials page on nysphsaa.org. It has important information for current officials and information on signing up if you are interested in becoming an official.

Click here to visit the officials page

Don't forget to tell us #MyReasonWhy on social media. Tell us why you participate in sports, after school activities, coaching, officiating or other ways athletics has made a difference in your life.

Access to financial aid is a key factor in whether low-income students, including many of New York’s student athletes, have the opportunity to attend college.

Yet across New York, low-income high school students are more likely than their wealthier peers to attend schools with low rates by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The New York FAFSA Completion Project aims to raise awareness of the importance of completing the FAFSA and provide easily accessible resources to schools so they can help more students through the process, drawing on national research and best practices already being used in New York schools.

Those resources include an interactive data tool that allows users to track the progress of New York high schools, with new FAFSA completion estimates updated weekly and comparisons to similar schools and top performers

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The “3 Steps Every High School Can Take” resource at NYFAFSAChallenge.org encourages schools to:

1. Help their seniors make a plan to complete the FAFSA;

2. Hold a FAFSA completion event; and

3. Set targets and track the data.

At the end of the school year, Ed Trust–NY’s FAFSA Completion Challenge will recognize schools with high completion rates and that show improvement. Twelve awards will be granted to schools across the state. Each award will consist of $750 granted to the winning high schools for the purpose of providing a scholarship to one of its students.

Explore the data, read more about FAFSA completion strategies being used at New York schools, and find additional resources at NYFAFSAChallenge.org.