The Mercer Island Girls Basketball Booster Club (MIGBBC) and Jamie Prescott, Mercer Island High School (MIHS) girls' varsity head coach, have been working hard to create a competitive middle school feeder program and MIHS girls' basketball program. Coach Prescott's goal is for the varsity team to reach the State tournament in 3-5 years. Working together, we are building a program to achieve that goal.
The MIHS boys' basketball program has been a regional powerhouse under Ed Pepple for thirty years. He developed a strong middle school feeder program -- a proven method of success for a winning high school program. The results of his program are:
| MIHS Boys Varsity | MIHS Girls Varsity |
|---|---|
| 27 State Appearances | No State Appearances |
| State Champions | 4 years |
| Placed 2nd | 4 years |
| Placed 3rd | 5 years |
| Placed 4th | 4 years |
The MIGBBC would like to applaud Ed Pepple's Mercer Island Boys' Varsity Program for its accomplishments over the last thirty years. Besides the strong feeder program, an essential part of the success of his program is the funding of the MI Boys Basketball Booster Club by generous donors and the community.
In 1972, Title IX created opportunities for equality for girls in sports, but the funding of girls' programs have typically not matched the funding of boys' programs. Many advances have been made for girls and women in sport, but equity has yet to be achieved. For the girls to achieve the same success as the boys, we need financial resources. Currently, the MI Boys' Basketball Program's financial resources are 5 times greater than that of the girls' program.
The MIGBBC is raising the money needed to support the club's goal of building a strong 5th -8th grade feeder and high school girls' basketball program. We have applied for 501(c)(3) not for profit status. Financial strength is imperative in order to achieve program success. The steps we are taking to build that feeder program are:
- Recruiting, hiring and paying two experienced coaches for each select feeder team in grades 5-8. Completed. Eight coaches have been offered and have accepted positions with the Club. The coaches will be working under Coach Prescott's guidance.
- Sending feeder and high school teams to tournaments, summer clinics and team camps for competitive tournament experience and more skill development year round.
- Coordinating/organizing year round league playing opportunities.
- Facilitate advanced training opportunities for players.
- We hope to purchase a "Shoot-A-Way" TM, a machine for concentrated shooting repetition, Proven success of over 100 state high school champions and 20 NCAA championships.
By raising $30,000, we can provide these key steps to building a program for the girls.
The MI Girls Basketball Booster Club is asking for your help in building a successful girls' basketball program on Mercer Island. Please indicate your level of donation on the downloadable PDF. Thanks so much for supporting Mercer Island Girls Basketball!
