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Every so often, even the best game plan needs modified, even if only a little bit.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association Foundation, a longstanding ally to the organization and its member schools, is in the process of working toward changes while maintaining its base focus.

Chris Kaufman, one of the IHSAA’s five assistant commissioners, and Foundation Director Trip Lukemeyer, will oversee whatever variations will be made in the weeks and months ahead.

“I think the biggest thing for Trip and I moving forward is that we want to set a new course for the foundation,” said Kaufman, President of the Foundation. “Trip has been phenomenal. He’s going to do phenomenal things here.

“It’s just taking it a little different direction.”

The purpose of the IHSAA Foundation is to be organized and operate exclusively for the charitable benefits of member schools and their student-athletes. Monies are used to promote the educational purposes of the IHSAA, its member schools and support deserving student-athletes in their pursuit of post-secondary education.

Included in the Foundation’s 16-person Board of Directors are current IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig, as well as two of his predecessors, Bobby Cox and Blake Ress.

“The Foundation has done some incredible work,” said Neidig, “but we’re looking forward to this next chapter as President Kaufman and Director Lukemeyer take over and point this ship in a direction that will be beneficial for student-athletes across this great state.”

According to Lukemeyer, private donations will continue to play a significant role in the Foundation’s growth. Other objectives include increasing its outreach while exploring avenues to potentially benefit as many member schools and student-athletes as possible.

And, yes, coaches.

One of the programs the Foundation helps fund is the InSideOut Initiative, which is geared toward getting coaches to think of their potential impact beyond wins and losses.

“It’s about transformational coaching compared to transactional coaching,” said Lukemeyer. “Transactional is win at all costs. What’s going on the scoreboard, and in that stat book compared to what the Foundation likes to look at is kind of supplemental things.

“Sports, especially high school sports, teaches them leadership skills, accountability, and giving coaches and athletic directors those resources to help make that possible in a day and age where that’s becoming less and less.”

Considering victories and losses have historically been the determining factor in how long a coach has his or her job, this might seem a difficult sell.

Not so, said Kaufman.

“First of all, it’s not just coaches,” he said. “You have to convince administrations, athletic departments of the schools that hiring a transformational coach versus a transactional coach will pay much longer dividends in the future for your student-athlete.

“It teaches coaches to be better coaches. We’ve had great attendance with it. We’ve had a lot of schools already go through this.”

The IHSAA and IHSAA Foundation also offer Officiating 101, which allows students an opportunity to develop communication, management and leadership skills while providing a path to employment during high school, as well as post-secondary graduation.

Meanwhile, the Champions Together program is a partnership between the IHSAA, the IHSAA Foundation and Special Olympics Indiana. It encourages student-athletes to work hand-in-hand with students in their school who have intellectual disabilities.

“The one thing we’re looking for are people who understand what we do, and why we do it, and want to preserve that into the future and help schools,” said Kaufman. “The great thing that we have is a lot of people who understand that concept, and who have contributed to help see that that process occurs.

“You can always look at dollars raised, but that’s not what we would necessarily consider successful. We would consider successful the amount of people who want to be part of the IHSAA Foundation.”

The IHSAA Foundation was created to protect, sustain and nurture the proud tradition of education-based athletics in Indiana.

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Kaufman and Lukemeyer are determined to not only continue the IHSAA Foundation’s good works, but take it next level.

“Our mission is to give back. We want to give back to schools,” said Kaufman. “Schools need help and support. We have 400-plus schools. We want to support the mission of education-based athletics for our member schools.”

To learn more or donate, go to IHSAAFoundation.org.