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About Middle School Basketball:LEAP middle school basketball welcomes 6 - 8 grade students of all ability levels and experience. This 8 - week program of educational athletics will focus on skill development, gaining an appreciation for the sport of basketball, and teamwork. Effort, attitude, and commitment will directly influence individual growth within the program. A high level of sportsmanship will be expected of all involved with the program. It is our goal to prepare as many young student athletes as possible for involvement at the next level. Students are evaluated by the Director of Basketball Operations (DOBO) as well as the other coaches on staff. We have 3 tiers in middle school basketball (gold, white & green/black):Gold Tier Teams: All 6th graders are placed on a gold tier team. Gold tier team rosters are created with players of a similar skill set based on evaluation results. With rare exception, 6th grade teams will only play other gold tier teams from both East and West Middle Schools.White Tier Teams: The white tier has a combination of grade specific teams, as well as teams made up of both 7th & 8th grade students. White tier teams will play other white tier teams from EMS and WMS. On occasion, white tier teams have the opportunity to play outside competition. These teams are still working on growing and improving their fundamental skill set, while also working towards involvement at the next level. Combining grades on some white tier teams allows for intermediate level players to learn and grow at the same pace as their peers, regardless of grade level.Black & Green Tier Teams: The black & green tiers are made up of the most advanced players in 7th & 8th grade. Athletes placed in the black/green tiers will play most of their games against teams from other school districts. Students placed at this level have strong fundamental skill sets and are ready for a higher level of instruction and play. It is our goal to prepare these student athletes for involvement at the next level. Season Start & End Dates: January 4, 2027 - February 25, 2027Practice Schedules: Each team will have 4 - 6 hours of on-court direct instruction each week. Practices during any one-week may include any of the 7 days during the week and will be between 1 and 2 hours long on any given day (based on the availability of the coach and facilities). Practice start times will range from immediately after school to 8 PM. Weekend practices may be scheduled and would range from 9 AM to 1 PM on Saturdays and/or 1 PM to 5 PM on Sundays.East Middle School Evaluation/Tryout ScheduleDates & Times: Monday, January 4th and Tuesday, January 5th.6th Grade - check in 2:45, evals 3 -4:15 PM7th Grade - check in 4:15, evals 4:30 - 5:45 PM8th Grade - check in 5:45, evals 6:00 - 7:30 PM***Please be dressed for tryouts. Shorts/T-shirt and water bottles MHSAA travel teams may begin practices on Wednesday, January 6th & scheduled through the weekend. All other teams will be finalized and coaches will be identified Friday - Sunday. Gold & White tier individual team practices will not begin prior to the week of January 12th. Coaches will be reaching out to players/families regarding practice days/times as soon as they are available. We appreciate your patience with this process! West Middle School Evaluation/Tryout Schedule Dates & Times: Wednesday, January 6th & Thursday, January 7th - Tentative6th Grade - check in 2:45, evals 3 - 4:15 PM7th Grade - check in 4:15, evals 4:30 - 5:45 PM8th Grade - check in 5:45, evals 6:00 - 7:15 PM MHSAA travel teams may begin practices on Friday, January 9th & scheduled through the weekend.. All other teams will be finalized and coaches will be identified Friday - Sunday. Gold & White tier individual team practices will not begin prior to the week of January 11th. Coaches will be reaching out to players/families regarding practice days/times as soon as they are available. We appreciate your patience with this process! Game Schedules: MHSAA teams may begin games as early as Wednesday, January 13, 2027. Travel teams will travel to other schools around the region and game dates may fall outside of the typical M/W LEAP schedule. Exact game schedules TBD. Tournaments: Saturday tournaments may be scheduled for the black & green tier teams. On occasion, white tier teams may participate in Saturday tournaments.For Gold & White tier teams, games will be scheduled between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm beginning Monday, January 18, 2027. With few exceptions, games are typically played Mondays and Wednesdays. Exact game schedules will be communicated to players through their coach following evaluations. **All dates are subject to change based on the availability of officials**Schedule Release: MHSAA schedules will be released at the start of the season. The first two weeks of team game schedules for the remaining LEAP teams will be communicated to players through their coach following evaluations and the start of practices. There are many layers to the master schedule, so we appreciate your patience in advance. LEAP schedules can not be created until all teams and coaches are finalized at both EMS and WMS. Additionally, we do not complete the entire game schedule until after each team has played at least one league game. While we do our best to create equitable gold and white tier teams from what we see at evaluations, the initial games give us valuable insight to the strength of teams. We then use that information to create the best possible match ups for the remainder of the season. Our goal is to have the completed game schedule by the 3rd week of the season.Admission Prices: Admission will be charged for all games at EMS and WMS. Admission for away contests will vary.LEAP General Admission - $5.00Children 5 & Under - FreeDirector of Basketball Operations:East Middle School - Kyle Kitzmiller- kitzmillky@tcaps.netWest Middle School - Eric Quine - quineer@tcaps.netHelpful Information: District provided transportation is NOT guaranteed for girls basketball season. Parent/guardian transportation will be required for all practices and games within the district. Transportation to out of district contests is subject to availability. FAQ - Basketball 3 STEP ENROLLMENT PROCESS:1) Registration and Payment (ELEYO)TCAPS Middle School athletes will now participate under the umbrella of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). The middle school teams under the MHSAA must be composed of students enrolled in TCAPS. MHSAA teams include Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Cross Country, Wrestling, Softball, and Track & Field and Tennis. In addition to MHSAA teams, LEAP will still have non-MHSAA teams in Volleyball and Basketball. LEAP will accept students from non-TCAPS schools on our non-MHSAA teams whenever possible. If your student is not enrolled at TCAPS, please select the Non-TCAPS option and enroll your student as an individual. All out-of-district individual students will initially be placed on a waitlist. Following the close of registration, these individuals will be contacted by LEAP to inform you if your student’s enrollment has been accepted.Participation Fee:TCAPS Students: $150.00Reduced fees are available to TCAPS students who qualify for the free and reduced meals program:Reduced Meals Participation Fee: $75.00Free Meals Participation Fee: $50.00 TCAPS shared-time students: $190.00 (GTACS, Children’s House)*Reduced Rates are not available for any Non-TCAPS students.**Any non- TCAPS students that are not registering for a specific team participating in our league will initially be placed on a waitlist.Non-shared time students: $215.00 (Greenspire, Homeschool, Pathfinder, Woodland)*Reduced Rates are not available for any Non-TCAPS students.**Any non- TCAPS students that are not registering for a specific team participating in our league will initially be placed on a waitlist.Registration Deadline: Sunday, December 13, 2026Registration deadlines are final. Late registrations may not be accepted after the posted registration close date. If late registration is available, there will be a $25.00 late fee added to the cost of registration.NOTE: Payment is required at the time of registration. To register online using a Discover, MasterCard, Visa, or ACH (via a checking or savings account) please select the registration button for your school below. Registration is not complete until your course appears in your dashboard. You will also receive an email from Eleyo confirming your registration. If you need assistance please call the LEAP office (231.933.7480).2) Final Forms ALL TCAPS STUDENTS MUST REGISTER FOR A FINAL FORMS ACCOUNT IN ADDITION TO REGISTERING/PAYING Please register at: https://traversecity-mi.finalforms.com and follow the prompts to create your account, create your students, and sign your forms. You will need to upload your athlete's sports physical directly to their FinalForms account (How to upload your athlete's physical guide) If you require any support during the process, scroll to the page bottom and click “Use Support,” or feel free to contact our office. NOTE: During parent registration, you will need to input your students’ TCAPS email address. 3) Sports PhysicalTCAPS Middle School Athletes must have an updated physical on file each school year. Sports physicals must be dated April 15th, 2026 or later, & can be used for the entire 2026 - 27 school year. Athletes MAY NOT attend evaluations/practices/games etc. until this is on file. Upload them DIRECTLY to your athlete's FinalForms account. (How To Guide) Need a new physical? Download and print the TCAPS physical form here and then call your family physician or the TCAPS Student Health Center at (231-642-5291) to schedule a physical for your child.

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