High school all-star games and hall-of-fame coaches still reward the things that actually matter — competition, merit, and local pride — even as school boards across the country divert energy toward gender ideology and anti-American curricula.

The contrast is sharp. In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association held three all-star games at Titan Stadium on July 17-18, and the results were pure sport: the South edged the North 24-17 in the Large Schools game after outscoring them 14-0 in the second half, the North demolished the South 41-0 in Small Schools, and the South came from behind to win the 8-Player game 22-18. In Albuquerque, former Roswell coach Flo Valdez was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame after more than four decades of coaching and over 1,000 volleyball victories.

These are the outcomes parents actually want from education: measurable achievement, fair competition, and mentors who build character. No ideology required.

In the Large Schools game, Vidal Spivey of New Berlin Eisenhower scored on a 24-yard run and Brady Melum of Sun Prairie East kicked the go-ahead extra point with four seconds left in the third quarter, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Joey Passaglia of Middleton went 13-for-22 for 102 yards and a touchdown. The North's Tino Massa of River Falls hit Will Svendsen of Rice Lake for a 63-yard touchdown, but it wasn't enough.

The Small Schools game was a rout. Carson Roemhild of Boyceville completed 7-of-8 passes for 108 yards and three touchdowns. Connor Kilgore of Kewaunee returned an interception 35 yards for a score. The North held the South to 55 total yards.

In the 8-Player game, Logan Schuh of Sevastopol scored on a 1-yard run and Bryce Schultz of De Soto ran in the two-point conversion with 6:19 remaining to complete the comeback.

Every player earned the spot. Every result was settled on the field.

Valdez's career tells the same story from the coaching side. She was honored June 29 in Salt Lake City as one of 12 members of the NFHS Hall of Fame Class of 2026, the Albuquerque Journal reported. She started in 1967 in Tatum, New Mexico, and helped pioneer girls' athletics during the early years of sanctioned competition. "It was always my passion to see women's sports become what men's sports were," Valdez told the Journal. "I have always wanted our girls to be treated equally by getting those schedules, practice times and uniforms similar to the boys teams."

That's equality of opportunity — not the word-bending the establishment press uses to launder ideological agendas. Valdez built winners through decades of work, not committee resolutions.

Former player Jordan Bostic Grantham recalled her first varsity start under Valdez, when she shanked a back-row attack into the net. Valdez smiled and told her: "Don't worry, you scared the hell out of them." Grantham said she still returns to that moment when she's nervous about failure: "Give it your all, swing with all your might, and maybe you'll scare them."

NMAA Executive Director Dusty Young said Valdez's "dedication to creating opportunities for young women, advancing education-based athletics, and leading at both the state and national levels has left a lasting legacy."

The Omaha World-Herald, meanwhile, promoted its All-Nebraska basketball team selections and various all-class rosters — a reminder that local outlets still cover these achievements even when the institutional press would rather lecture readers about equity.

The open question: how long will administrators let merit-based traditions survive before they come for them too?