Can my Homeschool Child Play Sports?
Thank you to Stephanie Freed Charlot for this helpful summary.
Not-School Sponsored in Younger Grades
Children younger than 7th grade can generally participate in sports no differently than schooled children. Few schools sponsor teams below that age. Even if a youth team practices at a school and shares the school name, it is probably run by a club rather than the school district. (Junior Pro Basketball is a good example of this. Teams usually practice at schools and share the same name as the school teams – e.g. Dewitt Panthers – but they are independent of the school district.)
Residency Requirements
Youth sports clubs set their own rules for residency requirements. Some clubs allow anyone from anywhere to join a team. Others limit participants to residents of the city the operate in and out-of-town students enrolled in the local school district via schools of choice. (These clubs often see themselves as “feeder” teams to the local high school, but are nevertheless welcoming of homeschooled students inside their boundaries.)
Finding Opportunities
The homeschooling athlete's biggest challenge is becoming aware of sports opportunities, since many clubs advertise almost exclusively through the local elementary and middle schools.
If you have friends with kids in school, you can ask them to be on the lookout for sports opportunities your children are interested in, or consider stopping in at your local elementary or middle school to ask if they have any fliers pertaining to the sports you want.
Do not rely solely on the internet as many smaller organizations have limited web presence. (See the list of Individual and Team Sport resources on this site.)
Recreation vs. Competitive
Be aware that clubs and organizations vary widely in their competitive nature, from purely instructional to highly competitive. Know what you are signing up for to avoid disappointment! In the Lansing Area, the Capital Area Homeschool Athletic Program (CHAP) offers several sports opportunities exclusively for homeschooled students, from youth through high school varsity.
School Sponsorship for High School
Once a child reaches an age where the school takes over sponsorship of their sport (7th grade for a few sports, 9th grade for most), options become more limited for the homeschooled student. Nevertheless, opportunities still exist for the motivated family. CHAP currently sponsors high school level basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, track and field, cross country, and golf. Club sports are still available to some degree, but tend to be for serious athletes, often requiring try-outs, extensive travel and large team fees. Basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, cheerleading, gymnastics and hockey are among the sports that are offered for teenagers outside of the school team system. (Michigan High School Athletic Association, MHSAA) Other sports, such as tackle football, are virtually unavailable outside of the MHSAA system. CHAP is a member of MHSAA and complies with their rules.
Can my child play on their local school team if the school gives permission?
MHSAA rules are such that “all students on MHSAA member teams must be enrolled in the school they play for. The students on your school team and those you play against are all taking and passing at least 20 credit hours on the official records of the school they are playing for.” 20 Credit hours is not full-time enrollment, but it is a significant chunk. If your child enrolls in the local school for at least 20 credit hours, they should be able to play, but most schools limit part-time enrollment to non-core classes only. Thus, many homeschooling families find it impractical to take this route. Likewise, CHAP athletes must be homeschooling for at least half of their education (the equivalent of 20 credit hours), so a student enrolled more than half time in public or private school, yet homeschooled for the rest cannot legally play for a CHAP team at the high school level. CHAP athletes must also attest that they are maintaining academic eligibility, although it is not clear that there is an enforcement mechanism in place as there is for school students.
Not-School Sponsored in Younger Grades
Children younger than 7th grade can generally participate in sports no differently than schooled children. Few schools sponsor teams below that age. Even if a youth team practices at a school and shares the school name, it is probably run by a club rather than the school district. (Junior Pro Basketball is a good example of this. Teams usually practice at schools and share the same name as the school teams – e.g. Dewitt Panthers – but they are independent of the school district.)
Residency Requirements
Youth sports clubs set their own rules for residency requirements. Some clubs allow anyone from anywhere to join a team. Others limit participants to residents of the city the operate in and out-of-town students enrolled in the local school district via schools of choice. (These clubs often see themselves as “feeder” teams to the local high school, but are nevertheless welcoming of homeschooled students inside their boundaries.)
Finding Opportunities
The homeschooling athlete's biggest challenge is becoming aware of sports opportunities, since many clubs advertise almost exclusively through the local elementary and middle schools.
If you have friends with kids in school, you can ask them to be on the lookout for sports opportunities your children are interested in, or consider stopping in at your local elementary or middle school to ask if they have any fliers pertaining to the sports you want.
Do not rely solely on the internet as many smaller organizations have limited web presence. (See the list of Individual and Team Sport resources on this site.)
Recreation vs. Competitive
Be aware that clubs and organizations vary widely in their competitive nature, from purely instructional to highly competitive. Know what you are signing up for to avoid disappointment! In the Lansing Area, the Capital Area Homeschool Athletic Program (CHAP) offers several sports opportunities exclusively for homeschooled students, from youth through high school varsity.
School Sponsorship for High School
Once a child reaches an age where the school takes over sponsorship of their sport (7th grade for a few sports, 9th grade for most), options become more limited for the homeschooled student. Nevertheless, opportunities still exist for the motivated family. CHAP currently sponsors high school level basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, track and field, cross country, and golf. Club sports are still available to some degree, but tend to be for serious athletes, often requiring try-outs, extensive travel and large team fees. Basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, cheerleading, gymnastics and hockey are among the sports that are offered for teenagers outside of the school team system. (Michigan High School Athletic Association, MHSAA) Other sports, such as tackle football, are virtually unavailable outside of the MHSAA system. CHAP is a member of MHSAA and complies with their rules.
Can my child play on their local school team if the school gives permission?
MHSAA rules are such that “all students on MHSAA member teams must be enrolled in the school they play for. The students on your school team and those you play against are all taking and passing at least 20 credit hours on the official records of the school they are playing for.” 20 Credit hours is not full-time enrollment, but it is a significant chunk. If your child enrolls in the local school for at least 20 credit hours, they should be able to play, but most schools limit part-time enrollment to non-core classes only. Thus, many homeschooling families find it impractical to take this route. Likewise, CHAP athletes must be homeschooling for at least half of their education (the equivalent of 20 credit hours), so a student enrolled more than half time in public or private school, yet homeschooled for the rest cannot legally play for a CHAP team at the high school level. CHAP athletes must also attest that they are maintaining academic eligibility, although it is not clear that there is an enforcement mechanism in place as there is for school students.