Official Sports 1978 television commercials

for a growing number of today's high school students. The key word in sports is participation. That's because more than 5 million young men and women are taking part in intercolastic athletics. Nearly one half of the student body at many schools now enjoy the thrill and excitement of athletic competition. Obviously, the nation's high schools are expanding athletic programs to fulfill this growing desire for participation. Schools are supporting more sports and sponsoring more levels of teams at each one. And they're doing all this while keeping athletic program spending down to less than 5% of the total school budget. By any measure, intercolastic athletics are an educational bargain and they're a sound investment, one that the National Federation of State High School Associations continues to preserve, protect, and support. We urge you to support intercolastic athletics in your community. [Music] If you're looking for fast, colorful, and exciting sports action, one of the best bets is a high school in your community. There you'll be able to watch some of the more than 2 million varsity athletic contest that will be held this year. You'll be among the 1 billion spectators who will attend. But what you won't see is the large amount of work behind the scenes to make all the action possible. It's the work of coaches who teach sports techniques, of athletic directors who coordinate programs within school districts, of administrators of state high school associations who coordinate athletics on the state level, and of the National Federation of State High School Associations, which protects the interests of intercolastic athletics throughout the nation. The purpose is to promote athletic programs of sound educational value to every student. Inter Scholastic Athletics are America's most comprehensive sports program. They deserve your support. [Music] No matter what the sport is, the key to safe and fair competition is always the same. Good officiating. That's why such a large number of state high school associations conduct comprehensive programs to train officials using books, audiovisisual aids, and tests prepared by the national federation staff. State associations teach, test, evaluate, and certify athletic officials, and association personnel crisscross their states to conduct rule interpretation clinics. Even with all this guidance and instruction, the job of an official will never be an easy one. But intercolastic athletic programs could not operate without the thousands of men and women who have accepted the challenge to become officials. And to them, the National Federation of State High School Associations offers its sincere thanks. [Applause] [Music] Hello, I'm Fa Odell. And probably that name doesn't mean very much to you, but if you lived here in Drum Right, Drumright, Oklahoma, I'm sure it would because I have more direct influence over young people than anyone else in town. I'm the high school football coach. And each year 50 boys come to me and in their own words say, "Coach, make me a football player, and I do that. But I usually do a lot more. I make them better people." You see, there's much more to coaching than X's and O's and blocking and tackling. A good coach is a counselor, sometimes a friend, and maybe even a father or mother. The truth is, coaches spend more time with boys and girls than most parents. So, coaches have to be special people, and most of them are. You can honor these men and women in your community on National Coaches Day, Friday, October the 3rd.