Drew Cady to serve for 2 years

By Don Rush

Eight student-athletes who will be juniors at their schools during the 2023-24 academic year have been selected to serve two-year terms on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s (MHSAA) Student Advisory Council. One of those eight is Oxford High School Sophomore Drew Cady.

“My initial reaction when I heard the news was, ‘wow.’ There was a roller coaster of emotions,” Drew, 16, said. “That morning I was taking an AP test, I knew I was going to miss the call. I was super nervous. I got my phone back at noon, saw the person who interviewed me had texted me at 10 and asked me when I could call him. I called him right away at 12:05 and he said, ‘Well, Drew, this will be the deciding factor, it should be a relatively easy question for you. Do you want to join the board?’ It was a surreal moment. Wow. I made it. There was a rush of emotions and a sense of pride for my family and our school, for being the first person selected out of Oxford to be on the council.”

According to a MHSAA release, the eight students were selected out of 115 applications.

The Student Advisory Council is a 16-member group which provides feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, and also is involved in the operation of Association championship events and other programming. Members of the Student Advisory Council serve for two years, beginning as juniors. The incoming juniors will join the group of eight seniors-to-be appointed a year ago.

In his high school athletic career Drew has played varsity football, soccer, basketball and is on the junior varsity baseball team. He said his mother, Kim, found the application for him to fill out. “She introduced me to the council,” he said, adding. “One of my friends Keira Tolmie, who goes to Clarkston, is on the council now and introduced me to the board as well.”

He said there was a two-step process for consideration. The first was submitting the application which had questions to answer: Describe why school sports are important to you; and, How will you bring this perspective to the council?

“Then you either passed or were rejected at that point,” he said. “Step Two was on Wednesday, May 3, this was my facetime interview on my phone in one of the assistant principal’s (Kristy Gibson-Marshall’s) office and then I was notified on Friday.”

He believes his answer to one question helped him get the council seat. “If you had a magic wand, what is the one thing you want to change about Michigan high school sports? I said, I would like to work on mental health inside Michigan sports and for student athletes. Here in Oxford we’ve all been affected by it, I’ve been affected by it personally,” he said, adding one of his friends from Ithaca and who played football at Wayne State University took his own life because of mental health issues. “It stuck out to me that mental health is something we really need to be aware of. I think I can stay constant and consistent in trying to do the best you can do, every single day. I think I will bring awareness to mental health issues and help remove the stigma of asking for help.”

Drew said the advisory council will meet at least seven times this year in Lansing. He will be tasked with promoting the value of interscholastic athletics.

Drew said his favorite subject in school, aside from sports, is English Language Arts, “One day I’d like to be a sports broadcaster, whether it’s writing articles or doing interviews,” he said.

He is the son of Jason and Kim Cady. Jason teaches at Oxford Middle School. He has an older brother, Jay, 17, who is a junior at OHS this year.

“I feel that Drew has been surrounded by supportive teachers and coaches,” his father Jason said. “And, even though he was always surrounded by all this support, he still had to deal with his own mental health. He had his own problems. He’s always been a talker and always been outgoing. He’s always cared for others, sometimes more so for others over himself. He’s going to bring that level of energy and care to the other students on that council and hopefully across the state.”

According to the MHSAA release, the Student Advisory Council was formed for the 2006-07 school year. With the addition of this class beginning this summer, members will have represented 137 schools from 50 leagues plus independent schools that do not play in a league. Combined, the new appointees have participated in 16 MHSAA sports, and all eight will be the first SAC members from their respective schools.

The Student Advisory Council generally meets seven times each school year, and once more for a 24-hour leadership camp. In addition to assisting in the promotion of the educational value of interscholastic athletics, the Council discusses issues dealing with the 4 S’s of educational athletics: scholarship, sportsmanship, safety (including health and nutrition) and the sensible scope of athletic programs. There also is a fifth S discussed by the group – student leadership.