The GA Pearls Girls Basketball Club is a Christ-center club dedicated to empowering young girls 8U-16U spiritually, academically, and athletically.

The GA Pearls Girls Basketball Club's mission is to fundamentally develop the basketball skills of young girls and coordinate programs that will prepare them to excel at the collegiate level.

We teach the fundamentals of basketball with simplicity and understanding while exemplifying quality and excellence. Through the teaching of basketball fundamentals and strategies of play, the all-volunteer staff aspires to instill discipline and self-esteem, with special emphasis placed on academic excellence and spiritual awareness. In addition, these players are placed in an environment of cooperative learning through teamwork. This fosters the ability to make prudent choices and instill respect for authority, traits that are important as they develop into mature adults who will make positive contributions to society.

The Georgia Pearls Girls Basketball Club stands on the 6 Pearls of Wisdom:

P erseverance
E ncouragement
A ttitude
R espect
L oyalty
S pirituality

We compete in tournaments and leagues on a state and national level, including AAU and YBOA. We have teams for ages 9-16.

The Georgia Pearls Girls Basketball Club's  14U, 15U and 16Under teams are travelling teams dedicated to acquiring collegiate scholarships. These team will play the majority of their games out of town to ensure a high level of visibility. The Pearls will develop recruitment materials to enhance players' exposure. Our Director of Player Management will assist all players in obtaining an athletic scholarship.

Please call 770-369-7779 or email us at info@gapearls.com for more information.

The Georgia Pearls Basketball Club was created by LADYS, Inc.(Leadership And Development of our Youth in Sports), a federally recognized 501 c 3 not-for-profit community service organization that informs young girls about the benefits of participating sports. Started in 1996 by Hall of Famer Darlene Beale Norris, LADYS, Inc. has created opportunities in sports for young girls to learn, compete, and achieve. Norris is known for producing quality athletes who go on to succeed at the high school, college and professional level.

Lord, give us the insight to recognize our responsibilities.

Help us to strenghten our weakness.

Allow us to be better in those things we practice. 

Father, protect each player from harm and injury.

In Jesus' Name. Amen

The GA Pearls Girls Basketball Club's 11-Under team headed by Coach Dee, with Assistance from Coach Mitchell(10-U Purple team), won the first National tournament for the basketball club.  The 11-Under team, lead by MVP Kayla Potts, took on the GA Pistols to win the YBOA National Championship in Winter Haven FLA. With a 7-2 overall National Record, the GA Pearls persevered to win the final game 31-26.  In addition to Kayla Pott's MVP, the GA Pearls had 3 players selected to the all tournament team:

Chloe Branch

Shaylon Tarver

Kayla Mitchell

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE PLAYERS, PARENTS, AND COACHES!

The 2008 inaugural year of Project P.A.S.S. was a Success

LADYS, Inc.'s  Project P.A.S.S. program design to assists and educates athletes and parents on the collegiate admission and recruiting process was a complete success. (Project P.A.S.S. consists of  collegiate campus tours, recruitment readiness workshops and SAT Prep-Courses.  Players also compete in collegiate exposure events to be evaluated by college coaches for potential athletic scholarships.)

In Project P.A.S.S.'s  inaugural year, member of the 2008 GA Pearls Girls Basketball program on the 13U-16U teams were able to tour colleges and speak with college coaches to receive an insight on becoming a collegiate athlete.  In addition, the teams played in over 50 games between the months of March and July.  Players visited and competed in the following schools and/or cities:

• University of N. Florida
• Jacksonville University
• UNC
• NC State
• Duke
• Memphis
• Las Vegas
• Orlando

The Ultimate goal of Project P.A.S.S. is to get athletes to the next level both academically and scholastically. In the 2008 graduating class 6 GA Pearls players received athletic scholarships. The majority of the 2009 graduating class will sign Collegiate Letters of Intent during the early NCAA signing period in November 2008.

Three GA Pearls players were selected to attend the invitation only Micheal T. White Top 10 All-American Camp.  With over 200 collegiate coaches in attendance, the players were able to show their skills and ability.  Lisa Capellan, Morgan Goss, and Jaleah Holsey  represented themselves and the GA Pearls organization well.  Morgan and Jaleah has been with the GA Pearls for 6 years.  Lisa has played with the group for 5 years. All players play on the 16U Purple Elite team. Congratulations Ladies!

So You Want to Be a GA Pearl?

The GA Pearls Girls Basketball Club is now forming teams for ages 9-16. We are looking for young girls who are committed and dedicated to learning and competing in basketball. Players and parents must understand that this is not recreation basketball, and that it will take a level of commitment from parents and players. For players ready to play at the next level, AAU offers the sophistication and complexity that recreation leagues and even some school programs can't match. And for some girls, the opportunity to learn a lot more about a sport they already love is just plain fun. AAU is the highest level of youth basketball. The GA Pearls strives to be an basketball club that offers almost as many opportunities to play and develop as there are girls who come to play.

9U-13U teams are forming now to participate in a Winter AAU League.Tryout schedules for the Spring Competitive Season will be posted by Dec. 15th.

Do you love the sound of balls dribbling in a dusty gym, the squeak of shoes, the clock buzz, the shriek of the whistle? The Georgia Pearls can probably help. Faint of heart need not apply

AAU (Amateur Athletic Union)www.aau.org and YBOA (Youth Basketball of America)www.yboa.org games are mostly on weekends and there will be travelling for competitive teams.

Evaluation dates start in January, however if you are interested please email us at info@gapearls.com, so we may send you more information and include you on our mailing list. You may also call us at: 770-369-7779.

9U Wins AAU and YBOA Div. 2 State Championship

The GA Pearls 9U team, made of mostly 7 and 8 year olds won the AAU Div. 2 State Championship and the YBOA Div. 2 State Championship.  The Great thing about the team is that they will be back next year to do more damage.  Congratulation to Coach Darrell and his crew.

All 6 of the GA Pearls 2008 seniors have confirmed the schools they will attend for the coming college season.  These players have received scholarships to play collegiate basketball for the 2008-09 school year.