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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. These teams are considered our MHSAA Travel teams. TCAPS Middle School athletes 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. 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 DatesMonday, October 26, 2026 - Wednesday, December 16, 2026Practice Schedule Practices during any one-week may include any of the 7 days during the week and will be between 1 and 3 hours long on any given day (based on the availability of the coach). Practice start times will range from immediately after school to 8 pm during the week and from 9 am to 2 pm on Saturdays and/or 1 pm to 6 pm on Sundays. Once student athletes are evaluated and placed on a team, you will be contacted by their coach and receive the practice schedule for the remainder of the season.East Middle School Practice SchedulePreliminary Evaluation ClinicsExact Days TBA 6th Grade - check in 2:45, evals 3:00 - 4:15 PM 7th Grade - check in 4:15, evals 4:30 - 5:45 PM 8th Grade - check in 5:45, evals 6:00 - 7:30 PM MHSAA travel teams may begin practices immediately following the completion of evaluations & scheduled through the weekend. All other teams will be finalized and coaches will be identified by Sunday, November 1st. Gold & White tier individual team practices will not begin prior to Tuesday, November 3rd (No School Monday, November 2nd) 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 Practice SchedulePreliminary Evaluation Clinics Exact Dates TBA 6th Grade - 3:00 - 4:15 pm 7th Grade - 4:30 - 5:45 pm 8th Grade - 6:00 - 7:15 pm MHSAA travel teams may begin practices immediately following the completion of evaluations & scheduled through the weekend. All other teams will be finalized and coaches will be identified by Sunday, November 1st. Gold & White tier individual team practices will not begin prior to Tuesday, November 3rd (No School Monday, November 2nd) 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 ScheduleGames: Games will be scheduled between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm beginning Wednesday, November 4th for MHSAA travel teams and Wednesday, November 11th for all LEAP teams. Games are typically played Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 PM. MHSAA travel teams may occasionally travel or host games on Tuesday and/or Thursday. Tournaments: 1 - 3 Saturday tournaments may be scheduled for the MHSAA travel teams. On occasion, white tier teams may participate in Saturday tournaments. 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.2026 Boys Basketball Schedule- TBAExact game schedules will be communicated to players through their coach following evaluations.**All dates are subject to change based on the availability of officials** All dates are subject to change. Transportation is not a guarantee to away games.Director of Basketball Operations East Middle School Kaitlin Markwart markwartka@tcaps.net West Middle School Nick Whipple Whipplenick77@yahoo.com Equipment Needed: Tennis/Athletic Shoes (required) Black Shorts preferred. Admission: Admission will be charged for HOME contests as outlined below. Admission for AWAY contests varies by school and is set by the host school. General Admission - $5.00 Children 5 & Under - Free 3 STEP ENROLLMENT PROCESS: 1) Registration & PaymentTCAPS 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 or at a school with which we have a MHSAA cooperative agreement in place. In addition to MHSAA teams, LEAP will still have non-MHSAA teams in 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 one of the the Non-TCAPS options provided. Registration Deadline: Sunday, October 11, 2026. Registration 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. Participation Fee: TCAPS Students: $150.00 Reduced fees are available to TCAPS students who qualify for the free and reduced meals program: Reduced Meals Participation Fee: $75.00 if registered by the deadline Free Meals Participation Fee: $50.00 if registered by the deadline Compass Jr. High School MHSAA Co-Operative Fee: $190.00 Reduced Fees are not available to co-op students. We do not need a Final Forms account for TCH 6th graders. We do not need physicals turned in for TCH 6th graders or 7th/8th graders participating on the Compass Jr. High team. CJH will handle tracking physicals for their own students however they see fit. Students who wish to try out for a West Middle School MHSAA team must complete the Final Forms process through West Middle School and follow all MHSAA participation requirements, including submitting a current physical if required by TCAPS. GTACS shared-time student Fee: $190.00 Select GTACS 6th Grade ONLY at registration. We do not need a Final Forms account for GTACS 6th graders. We do not need physicals turned in for GTACS students. GTACS will handle tracking physicals for their own students however they see fit. Woodland School Non-shared time students: $215.00 Select Woodland School students at registration. We do not need a Final Forms account for Woodland Students. We do not need physicals turned in for Woodland students. Woodland will handle tracking physicals for their own students however they see fit. Reduced Rates are not available for any Non-TCAPS students.NOTE: Payment is required at the time of registration. You may register online using a Discover, MasterCard, Visa, or ACH (via a checking or savings account) please register 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 & MHSAA CO-OP 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. 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 '26 - '27 school year. Athletes MAY NOT attend practices/evaluations etc. until this is on file. Once obtained please upload it to the students Final Forms Account using the document button that looks like a file folder. 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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