What Coaches Need to Know: preseason, meeting, resources & more to get your teams ready!
Hello MHSEL Community!
Welcome to the Fall 2026 MHSEL season! We're excited to kick off a new chapter with USAEL powered by RallyCry and all the opportunities this brings for our league. With the regular season just around the corner, now is the time to explore the new platform and get your teams competition-ready. Here's what you need to know before the season begins:
📌 Included in This Email
- Preseason: Week 1 Scrimmages + Week 2 Queue, with how-tos to guide you
- Mandatory Coaches Meeting: 9/14 at 7:00 p.m.
- Regular Season + Important Dates: Mark your calendar so you don't miss a beat
- Coach + Platform Resources: Guides to help you get competition-ready
Preseason
Week 1: Scrimmages
September 7 – 11
The official warm-up to the season. You'll be able to use the Scrim Finder feature to schedule scrims against other teams, play practice games, and test out the match chat and score reporting features. Keep in mind that you must have at least one registered team for a competition to schedule scrimmages. Here’s a Scrim Finder Guide to help you get started.
Week 2: The Queue
September 14 – 18
Check-in will open on Friday, 9/11 and remain open through Monday, 9/14. Preseason results will not count toward placement, but the week will follow the same match process you'll use throughout the regular season (checking in your teams prior to each match week). It's a great chance to practice check-in, test your equipment, troubleshoot any network issues, and finalize your team rosters. We'll also share a Match Process Guide next week when check-in opens to help walk you through the process.
Mandatory Coaches Meeting
As a reminder, we host a mandatory Coaches Meeting each season to set the stage for the upcoming season, review important information and answer questions before competition officially begins. This fall's Coaches Meeting will be held Monday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m. Please register below to attend.
Regular Season + Important Dates
Regular Season officially kicks off on September 21! As you prepare for competition, be sure to keep these important Fall 2026 dates on your radar:
- Sept. 18: Enrollment Deadline
- Sept. 21–Nov. 13: Regular Season, view the Fall 2026 weekly schedule
- Oct. 19–Nov. 6: Student Award Nominations
- Nov. 11–Dec. 5: Playoffs + State Championships
Coach + Platform Resources
Lastly, we've prepared a series of guides to answer some of the most common questions for coaches, with more resources to come throughout the season!
Registration Guide: How to create a coach account and join your school
Team Creation Guide: How to create teams and invite students
IT & Whitelisting Guide: How to prepare your network and equipment for competition
Managed Member Guide: How to create placeholder accounts for students
Multi-League Guide: How to sign up for the USAEL Open, a free-to-play National League with additional game titles
Scrim Finder Guide: How to find and schedule scrimmages with other teams
Frequently Asked Questions: Answers to common platform questions, updated throughout the year
MHSEL Rulebook: Rules, policies and competition expectations for MHSEL
MHSEL Program Resources: Resources and information to support your esports program
Game Titles/Leagues: Explore the game titles and league opportunities available this season
As always, we're here to support you, so please don't hesitate to reach out with questions, feedback, or just to connect. We're excited for a fresh new season with all of you!
Best,
The MHSEL Team
MHSEL is hosted by Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals and Michigan Student Leadership in partnership with USAEL & RallyCry.