Sunday Sitdown: Dr. Karissa Niehoff on her educational path from Marblehead to executive director of the NFHS

Boston Globe

20-04-2025

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'She said, 'Hey Niehoff, grab a [field hockey] stick,'' as I was running by the field."
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Niehoff's extracurriculars had centered on equestrian, but with the family's move from Wellsville, N.Y. — prompted by the appointment of her father, Randall, as minister at Old North Church in town — the focus outside of the classroom became athletics (field hockey/basketball/track) and music (violin).
She was a Globe All-Scholastic in field hockey as a senior (′83), and starred in the classroom too, earning entry to Brown University for one year before a financially-driven transfer to UMass to complete her degree and play field hockey. The teaching/coaching component began in 1989 at Greenwich (Conn.) High, with stops at Litchfield High and Joel Barlow, followed by administrative roles before running the state's athletic association (CIAC) for eight years.
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Along the way, there was work with the US Olympic Committee's education committee and USA field hockey.
In August 2018, Niehoff was hired as CEO of the national federation, the first female to hold the post.
Before the arrival of state executive directors and legal counsel for the annual national summit this past week in Indianapolis, Niehoff chatted — equal parts enthusiasm and conviction — with the Globe about her journey, the current climate of high school athletics, and its future.
Karissa Niehoff on the importance of high school athletics: "Sports is part of the overall growth puzzle, along with the arts, clubs, family, job, [the kids] are just growing up. And within the wins, and losses, are teachable moments."
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How important were your formative years, and early involvement in athletics?
The strongest place that I was impacted was at Marblehead High. I had great influences. Deb Caulkins, my English teacher [who pointed her toward Brown] . . . Mike Thibodeau (basketball), and Susan Redfield (track) and Arthur Leavitt (track), who was also my Latin teacher. Coaches and teachers were everything to me. I owe everything to Marblehead High. That's my home.
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In high school, and college was there ever a vision for this [kind of role]?
I saw examples of kids not connected through club or sport. I wanted to give back to all the kids, not just the kids who have their path laid out for them, or that were lucky like me. I got the leadership bug, and then started saying 'yes' to opportunities. There is a simple person inside of me that will always be simple, and always focused on someone else's experience, whether they are a kid, a teacher, a coach, or a colleague.
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What are the biggest challenges today?
People have lost perspective of the high school experience, sports and the arts. Sports and the arts save lives. For some kids, it is their shot . . . The [Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association] and the associations in the other 49 states, are being challenged by people that are not trained in education-based experience. Upset people go to their [state] legislatures. We have to serve kids with equity in mind, and when academics are the priority. When people challenge state associations because of sports, we are losing the complete picture. Athletics are a privilege, not a right. If you are a good student, you get to try out for a team.
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At the college level, there
are now NIL deals, and the transfer portal.
What does it mean
for high school and youth sports?
Youth sports used to be formative in nature. They have become performative. And we have lost the mission of what high school sports should be about . . . 96 percent-plus of our kids in high school will not play in college, at Division 1, 2, or 3. So when we look at the high school experience, it's about going to the Friday night football game, or the basketball game in February when it is snowing outside, and the roads are being plowed. So why are we saying high school sports should be modeled after college sports? The schools that are the academies and the private schools, that pull out the elite athletes? Good. There are a handful of kids that are elite, and deserve that tract.
But the great majority of our high school kids are kids. Sports is part of the overall growth puzzle, along with the arts, clubs, family, job. They are just growing up. And within the wins, and losses, are teachable moments . . . In college, those moments are professional now.
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With the challenges daily, are you still excited about the future? What gives you hope?
The hope is that every year there is a new freshman class, and every year, there is a graduating class, and this is their year, their homecoming, their senior year, and the freshmen are watching that . . . Teachers and coaches choose to work with kids. There is fresh turnover every year, you congratulate seniors, and welcome wide-eyed freshman. We promise them an experience that is going to matter. That's what the MIAA owns. That's why they fight for regulations and bylaws, because of that 14-year-old. Because for the majority, it is probably the last competitive jersey they will wear.'
Craig Larson can be reached at