The special place that high school sports and performing arts has in the hearts of millions of Americans was celebrated last week at the 106th NFHS Summer Meeting in Chicago.

Heading those events was the induction of the 42nd class into the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame. As with many previous groups, the accomplishments of the inductees were extraordinary, but their love, appreciation and dedication to high school sports were even more compelling.

As Caryn Schoff-Kovatch said, being involved in high school spots “was a magical time.” Schoff-Kovatch, who played basketball at New York’s St. Johnsville High School in the 1990s and remains the state’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball, was one of four former high school athletes in the 2025 class.

Others included Anna Maria Lopez, a multi-sport athlete who led St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, Oregon, to two state volleyball championships; Tim Dwight, who helped City High School in Iowa City, Iowa, to its first state football championship and won 12 individual track titles before outstanding college and professional careers; and Prince Amukamara, a three-sport standout at Apollo High School High School in Glendale, Arizona, before his days in the NFL.

While these athletes had stellar college and professional careers, they were all about celebrating their accomplishments in high school and how high school sports set them up to succeed in life – not just sports.

“The excitement of going to school at City High School was something special,” Dwight said. “Now, to go into the school and see the trophies for our state championships is special. You’re proud of what the teams you were on accomplished. It’s special to win a state football championship. It was special to win a state track championship.”

“Playing for your high school – one word that comes to mind is pride – putting on your school colors,” Amukamara said. “I really cherished the time in high school and built a lot of long-lasting friendships.

“Sportsmanship is very important and says a lot about your character. It’s not saying you can’t play with “swag,” but you have to do it in a respectful manner. I learned about that at the high school level. If you can’t get sportsmanship down in high school, it’s going to affect your college and professional careers because coaches are looking for good guys.”

There were three high school coaches in this year’s class with a combined total of 133 years of experience and 39 state championships. The consistent message from all three coaches was their love for helping high school students succeed in life as well as on the court or field.

And one of those coaches remains active at 83 years of age. Jim Ciccarello has been coaching girls track and field in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for more than 55 years and has led teams at Manzano and La Cueva high schools to 11 state titles.

“My immediate family is myself and my two brothers, but my extended family is the 70,000 kids I’ve taught all these years,” Ciccarello said. “That’s my motivation. I consider these kids as part of my family. I’m so proud that I’ve been in high school track and field for 56 years. I’ve coached thousands of athletes, and they keep coming back. I never jumped 7 feet in the high jump, but I taught others to do that. And I’m proud of all our teams have accomplished over the years.”

The other coaches in the class were Linda Lampkin, who was the most successful girls volleyball coach in Missouri history with 13 state championships at Hermann High School, and Phil Savitz, who retired last year after 44 years as the winningest soccer coach in South Carolina history with 15 state titles at Irmo and River Bluff high schools.

“What I love about high school soccer is the relationships you get to develop and how deep the relationships become,” Savitz said. “When you get to see these players every single day, and when you get to talk to them about academics, commitment, character, communication. You see them every day – in the weight room, at practice and games, and in team meetings – it really resonates with me. Club sports, I like, but high school sports, I love. I feel what players can get from high school sports every day is greater than the club scene. Both are important, but the benefits of high school sports you take on the rest of your life.”

Others in the class were Lloyd Hisaka, a leader in officiating in Hawaii for more than 50 years; Ron Laird, who won two state basketball titles as a coach in Wyoming before leading the Wyoming High School Activities Association as executive director for 19 years; Jane Berry-Eddings, the performing arts inductee in the class from Salem, Oregon, who has directed the Oregon state speech and debate championships for 40 years; and Diane Wolf, a coach and state administrator from Idaho who for 25 years was one of the biggest contributors to the development of NFHS national spirit rules.

The ability of high school programs other than sports to make a difference and change lives was evident at last week’s conference as well. The Opening Ceremony featured the presentations of the NFHS National High School Spirit of Sport Award and the National High School Heart of the Arts Award.

Jack Punswick, a state champion swimmer from Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park, Kansas, who battled cancer, received the National High School Spirit of Sport Award. Punswick, who won the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) Class 6A state title in the 100-yard breaststroke as a junior in 2024, began his senior year at Blue Valley West with a cancer diagnosis that suddenly threatened his promising future as a swimmer.

During his months of treatment, his connection to the school’s swim team provided Punswick with the determination to rally and attempt to defend his state title at the 2025 KSHSAA Swimming Championships. He continued to practice even though his body was struggling to maintain his elite level of performance.

At the state championship in February, Punswick swam to a second-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. Although unable to claim a repeat title, he celebrated the fact he was even at the meet and able to compete. While cancer presented Punswick with a formidable challenge, he also viewed his ordeal as an opportunity to appreciate “daily wins” for himself and others. It has inspired him to pursue a career in physical therapy, where he can devote his life to improving other people’s lives by helping them rebound from their setbacks.

The recipient of the Heart of the Arts Award was Eden Coppersmith, a student at Paxton High School in Nebraska. Amazingly, through the speech program at Paxton and the school’s coach, Crystal Fox, Coppersmith was able to alter the course of her life that had been defined by silence and, by her senior year, become a confident speaker, participant and medalist at meets.

Coppersmith was born with Spina Bifida and selective mutism, an anxiety disorder, and faced significant challenges from a young age. In addition to life in a wheelchair, her journey to speak began with a single word. By fifth grade, she managed only three words in class the entire year. In sixth grade, her voice disappeared entirely. She wanted to speak and be heard, but her mind refused to let her talk.

And then came the decision that would open the door to a new life – Eden announced that she wanted to join the school’s speech team. Although she had never spoken in class, she wanted to be heard. And thanks to the opportunity to be a part of the Paxton High School speech team, it happened.

Truly, high school sports and performing arts are much more than games, concerts and championships – they are helping to shape high school student participants into successful citizens and leaders for years to come.

Read all NFHS Voice columns here.