The state of Michigan has always been a great high school sports state. There is usually a nationally-ranked team in several sports each year from Michigan. However, up until this past spring, Michigan teams could not play teams from outside the state that were over 300 miles away from their respective high school. The MHSAA’s 300-mile rule handcuffed a lot of teams wanting to play high-level competition from outside Michigan. Even though there are many great teams in every sport in Michigan, teams wanted to fill their schedules with the best teams in the Midwest. Last spring, the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team ventured outside of the state twice to compete against teams from Indiana and Ohio. 

“Early in the year last season, we went to play Carmel in Indiana, the top-ranked team in that state. It was great for us as we won, beating a really good team,” Alex Collins ‘24 said. “We also traveled to St. Xavier and Lakota East in Cincinnati, Ohio. There, we stayed the night in a hotel, so we got a great team-bonding experience as well. It was cool to play new teams that were really talented.”

The East Hockey Team also played some out-of-state competition this winter. The team played St. Edwards from Cleveland, Ohio.

“There are only so many teams in Michigan that are in the same skill range as our team. So, playing teams from places like Ohio that play different styles of hockey helps us a lot in growing as a team. We learned a lot from the game, and picked up a win on the way,” Henry Cuff ‘24 said. 

Since the 300-mile rule was lifted, any team in Michigan can play teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Ontario. This gives teams plenty of options when it comes to planning their schedules each season. It also enables teams to create great experiences for players, as they get to travel to new places. Teams will likely make places like Chicago a destination trip, playing great Chicago competition while getting to explore the big city.