Girls Basketball Finals CHAMPS Clinic Sign-Up Begins

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Nov. 14 – To enhance the atmosphere of selected tournament finals, the Michigan High School Athletic Association is in its sixth year of conducting youth clinics, with registration now underway for the CHAMPS Clinic at the Girls Basketball Finals in East Lansing on December 4.

CHAMPS (Cooperation, Hard Work, Attitude, Motivation, Participation, Sportsmanship) Clinics target local female junior high/middle school-aged students and their parents in a morning-long workshop designed to provide game skills and life skills information.

There is no charge for the CHAMPS Clinic, but enrollment is limited to the first 40 girls and their parents – parental attendance is a requirement. The clinic will take place from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at the Breslin Student Events Center, where the four MHSAA Girls Basketball Final games will take place.

Applications are available exclusively from the MHSAA Web Site – click here.

“The CHAMPS Clinics fill up very fast every year, and the feedback we continue to receive about them in girls basketball and girls volleyball has been very positive.” said John E. "Jack" Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. “Some people believe that you can’t get anything for free anymore, but in one morning-long clinic, the young people and their parents receive a great dose of game skill training and life skill information from some of the best clinicians around,”

The basketball skills clinic will be presented by local girls basketball coaches. While the youngsters are improving their game skills, their parents will hear from different members of the Michigan State University Youth Sports Institute staff about sports nutrition, academic eligibility requirements, sports parenting, and the role of high school sports. The MHSAA-produced videos, “What Kids Wish Their Parents Knew About Sportsmanship,” and “High School Sports: It’s About TEAM!” will be a part of the latter classroom presentation.

All youngsters participating in the CHAMPS Clinic will receive a t-shirt, and lunch will be provided for all players and parents. CHAMPS Clinic participants and their parents will also be guests of the MHSAA for the Class D-A session of the Girls Basketball Finals that day, and the participating youngsters will be recognized on-court during the Class D championship game.

Registrations must be submitted by November 24. For more information, contact the MHSAA office.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.