2026-27 Athletic Department Parent Meeting

Calvin Christian High School

Welcome to Calvin Christian Athletics! It is a privilege to partner with the parents of Calvin Christian athletes. By the time the school year ends over 75% of our students will have participated in interscholastic sports. We encourage students to get involved at school, and we are proud of how many students make that choice each year. Being on an athletic team at Calvin Christian is a privilege that demands an attitude of good sportsmanship and a Christian responsibility to play the games right. 

Calvin Christian High School seeks to bring athletics under the Lordship of Christ by honoring Christ in all things, teaching Christian commitments, and modeling joyful living through the student’s athletic experiences.  In essence, athletics is a form of worship, a celebration of our life in Christ.  CCHS’s athletic program is concerned not only with shaping the students’ bodies but also their hearts, minds, emotions, and behavior.  Athletics offers an opportunity to learn fitness, proficiency, team commitment, respect for authority, self-discipline, self-control, the pursuit of excellence and how to deal with both success and failure.

We will use the following as our guiding principles as we do athletics:

• Christian character defines who we are.  God-honoring behavior, good sportsmanship, and avoiding drugs, alcohol, and tobacco are required.
• We will pursue excellence in all things.
• Academics lead the way – successful athletes must be successful students.
• We will compete at the highest possible level.
• We will teach an understanding of the rules, techniques and strategies of the various games for maximum enjoyment and benefit.
• We will both win and lose with grace and humility.
• Together students, coaches, parents and fans are witnesses of their Christian faith in practice, competition, or as spectators and as such must represent Christ in all aspects of our athletic program.

Athletic Boosters:

(Brent Maring- The Prez) We have a fantastic group of Athletic Boosters. This fall we are looking for a few more parents who would be interested in joining. Our Boosters are essential in making our athletics successful. They raise over $50,000 each year to spend on our athletes. They run fundraisers and help with concessions and spirit wear. 

It is a privilege to participate in athletics at Calvin Christian High School.  It is essential that players and parents participate to ensure the viability and integrity of our sports programs. The Athletic Department requires all parents to choose two concession slots per athlete per season.  Concessions are a critical fundraiser that provides funds for uniforms, equipment, and field maintenance for all of our student athletes.  You will be required to choose two slots or the slots will be assigned for you. Booster Sign Up Genius

Handbook:  Our student handbook has a lot of valuable information. The largest portion of athletic information is under “Eligibility” in the handbook.   Topics in our handbook are organized alphabetically. Student/Parent Handbook

Here are a few other miscellaneous bits of information that are important to parents of athletes:

Bus Policy: Calvin Christian’s bus policy is to bus athletes to away contests only. We do NOT transport kids to practices.  It is the parents’ responsibility to get their child to practices and  home events. That may take the shape of car pooling if a family has a hard time getting to away contests because of other commitments. If students are asked to drive to “away” contests they will need to fill out this form. The form should be returned to the coach or the Athletic Office.   Student Driver Form for Athletics  

 Accident Forms: (Rachel Thomasma)  If your child has an injury while participating in athletics, Calvin does have supplemental insurance. That insurance is designed to help where your own health insurance does not cover.  Our trainer, Rachel Smestad, will submit accident information where she is present. If Rachel is not present, the parent and coach should work out who is filling out the Accident Report. Contact Mr. Bouma if there are any questions.  You will need to submit an Accident Claim Form to process any claims to BMI Benefits. Accident Claim Form This form MUST be submitted within 90 days of the accident. 

Attendance:  A student shall be in attendance at school on the full day of a scheduled event unless he/she is excused by the principal or principal designee. If a student is absent for any period on the day of a scheduled event, he/she must receive permission from the principal or designee prior to the event in order to participate that day. Funerals, weddings, and doctor appointments are all examples of acceptable excused absence. 

National Signing Day- Calvin athletic social media will host all college athletic signings on two dates. The first date will be the National Signing Date of February 5, 2026. The second date will be for all who make college decisions after that. That date will be in May. Currently we are not planning on the December early signing period. If we have an athlete that is signing early, he or she should contact Mr. Bouma.

Senior Banners– Parents of senior athletes may have banners made up for their athletes if they would like to. Groups of senior parents can contact Geskus and pay for the banners. 

PTP (Pay to Participate) :  All students planning to participate in athletics during this coming school year must have a physical (dated on or after April 15, 2026) on file in the Athletic office before tryouts for their particular sport begins. This is a rule given to us by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. No one is allowed to try out for a sport until the following items have been completed: Athletes will NOT be allowed to participate in a game unless the PTP has been taken care of.

1. Completed enrollment forms are on file at GCCS.  
2. A copy of the current physical is on file in the high school office signed by both student and a parent.
3. A Pay-to-Participate fee of $100.00 is paid at CCHS. Your athlete will not be able to play in a game until this fee is paid.  You may submit your payment in the Business Office or online at gosquires.org The family maximum is now $400.
4. Completed the Consent to Treat Form, Concussion Awareness Form, and the Transportation Permission Form for Athletics. These forms must be turned into the Athletic Office before tryouts. These forms only need to be completed once and are valid for the remaining years your athlete is at Calvin Christian. If your child’s driving status changes, it is the parent’s responsibility to update the Transportation Permission Form.  

NOTE: Only students who are not selected for the teams will have their fees refunded. Make sure you take the steps to make your student eligible before your team tryouts begin the following week. Plan accordingly as students will not be able to participate in the first tryout or practice without being on the “eligible” list.

Below are resources that should help you navigate the high school athletics experience.

Calvinchristiansports.org  

Patience with our website.  Please take time to explore our athletic website. We are working through a change over.   https://calvinchristiansports.org/  You should find team schedules, bus departure times and other helpful athletic information.

Social Media:  Keep up with the latest in Squire sports! Linda Eisma is responsible for all athletic social media. If you have some great pictures that you want to share, please contact Linda @ Leisma@gccsmi.org    Follow us @

Instagram: @gccs.athletics

Facebook:  @Calvin Christian Athletics                                  

Trainer:  Our school athletic trainer is Rachel Smestad. You can contact her via email: rsmestad@gccsmi.org. Rachel normally gets to school around 1:30 pm and can be found in her office in our south hallway or at events. She is a great asset to our school and can help greatly with injury rehab and diagnosis. 

Weight Training: Our weight training instructor is Noah Lee. His contact info is nlee@gccsmi.org. Noah trains teams and also has open lifting. Coach Lee posts times and puts them in announcements.  

Pixellot and YouTube Cameras:  Calvin has placed an NFHS (National Federation of High Schools) camera or Pixellot in our gym. To see live streamed events in our gym, you can buy an NFHS subscription. This subscription allows you to see any high school that has a Pixellot camera set up. You can explore this more at https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/  We also have a HUDl camera in our gym and at some soccer games. Those broadcasts are free. 

Athletic Passes:   We are selling family athletic passes for $150 again this year.  A family pass allows you access to all Calvin Christian HOME athletic events except tournaments or post season events.  A family pass includes 2 adults and all children ages 22 and under in the same household.  A single pass is $50. You can purchase sports passes in the Athletic Office – we take cash, check or charge. The order form is also available on our website. Sports Pass Order Form  

Sportsmanship: Parents can be leaders and social influencers when it comes to good sportsmanship. Our students, athletes, officials and guests are watching our Christian community.  Be respectful and gracious with one another.

Coach Communication:  If you do have issues that you want to discuss with a coach, please follow the guidelines here. Guide to Parent-Coach Communication A constructive conversation can be a great help to everyone. 

Here is a good parent checklist of what you can do to make the season successful:

1. Get Involved. Help create a great, inviting, caring community for our athletics. There will not be many times after high school that you will be able to be as involved as you can now. 
2. Turn in your three forms to the Athletic Office if you are a freshman or new athlete at Calvin Christian.   Spectrum Health Consent,Transportation Permission,Concussion Awareness Form 
3. Decide if a Camera Subscription is right for your Family & Sign Up NFHS Camera 
4. Start an Instagram Account and/or Facebook account to follow CCHS Sports highlights
5. Grab some Spirit Wear, join Athletic Boosters and become involved!!!