Overview
All Hillcrest MS students are invited to participate in the athletics program. All MS sports except cross-country are organized through Middle School Sports League, a small school league in the area, which includes: Redwood Day, St. Paul’s, Tehiyah Day School, Bentley, Prospect Sierra, Athenian, Park Day, Raskob, Oakland Military Academy (OMI), Black Pine Circle, East Bay School for Boys, Julia Morgan School for Girls, The Academy and Archway. This year we hope to field the teams listed in the table below.
| Sport | Season |
|---|---|
| Co-ed Football | Fall (Sept through Mid-Nov); practices will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. |
| Co-ed Cross Country Running | Fall (Sept through Mid-Nov); meets are typically on Mondays and Thursdays |
| Boys’ Basketball (JV & Varsity) | Winter (Dec through Mid-March); practice days TBD |
| Girls’ Basketball (JV & Varsity) | Winter (Dec through Mid-March); practice days TBD |
| Co-ed Volleyball (JV & Varsity) | Spring (Mid-March through May); practice days TBD |
Philosophy
The athletic program at Hillcrest is intended to be fun, educational, team-spirited and inclusive. We are a small school, and thus, it is expected that participants will have a wide variety of experience and skill levels. Most students who come out for a sport in 6th grade have not previously played the sport in an organized fashion. The following outlines some basic tenets on which the program is run.
- Every MS student is invited to play, regardless of experience; there are no cuts.
- The number of teams fielded for a given sport is dependent on student interest, experience level of the collective group and number of coaches available to assist.
- If there is more than one team:
- 6th graders should generally expect to play on the JV team. Exceptions to this may be made for players who have significant experience with the sport. Our league guidelines specify that JV is a learning league. If a player is significantly more advanced than kids who are new to the sport they may be placed on the varsity team both to allow their own teammates the best opportunity to develop, and also to ensure we have a JV team that is appropriately competitive in our league.
- 8th graders, particularly if they have participated in the sport for the prior two years, can expect to play on the Varsity team. However, 8th graders are not guaranteed to play Varsity. Coaches will consider prior commitment and experience of individual players, and also the experience level of all players when forming teams.
- At the JV level, coaches are instructed to create game line-up’s with approximately equal play time regardless of player experience
- At the Varsity level we are expected to field a competitive team and equal play time is not guaranteed. However, all players should have an opportunity to play in most games, and coaches are instructed to use opportunities where our team is comfortably ahead to attempt to give non-starting players game experience.
Costs
The MS athletics program must be financially self-sufficient. By its charter, the PTA is not permitted to support MS athletics financially.
This year we are requesting a payment of $180 per athlete for Football, Basketball and Volleyball and $30 for Cross Country. Funds requested are voluntary and scholarships are available such that every interested student should be able to play. Contact the MS Athletic Director for more information on scholarships.
Volunteer coaches help keep the cost of participation down. If you are a parent with a skill set that would help, please let us know. Parent volunteers (and all coaches) are asked to go through the OUSD security clearance process.
Program expenses include: field/court rentals, league referee fees, coaching costs, and equipment maintenance costs. The Athletic Director collects and distributes all funds. This is not a fundraiser — the fees collected for MS sports are expected to directly offset the costs.
Forms
TBD
Communications
Parents are informed about opportunities to participate in athletics via email from the Athletic Director (sent through the Middle School Board Representative). Once players come to the first sessions and commit to joining a team, rosters and schedules for individual teams are maintained online on a Team Snap account. The Athletic Director will provide instructions for how to join Teamsnap and have access to important information.
The following is a link to the home page of Teamsnap: http://www.teamsnap.com
Questions
Contact the Athletic Director, Zoe Sylvester for more information on Middle School Athletics.
