Wow! The above picture is an actual photo from 1909 of a high school girls basketball team out of Chicago. That’s right, those are high school girls from a hundred years ago…and those are also their uniforms. Regardless, the pose/look on the girl in the middle’s face basically says that she could take any of today’s players to school. Bottom line – great grandma had game.
First of all, I wish we had more action shots and camp activities to show, but unfortunately, most of those pictures came out blurry and out of focus. Regardless, the 09 ballher skills academy was a huge success. Once again, Tamika Catchings, who is a leading candidate for this year’s WNBA MVP award, was there as well as a new notable guest – Christine Baker. In case you haven’t heard of her, Christine is the author of a great book about the passion of girls basketball entitled, “Why She Plays.” You can visit her website by clicking HERE. As for the camp, everything went planned as scheduled and everyone had a great time. Overall, more than 80 campers, coaches, and helpers made the day a memorable moment for all involved. Thanks again to all who volunteered their time – your efforts were very much appreciated. Also, thanks again to Tamika for taking the time out of your busy WNBA schedule to reach out on such a personal level to so many of your young admirers. Good luck in the upcoming post-season playoffs!
The 2nd annual ballher skills academy is set to take place June 13th in Canton, Ohio. Once again, WNBA Superstar and Olympic Gold Medalist Tamika Catchings is coming to run things – so register now before it’s all booked up. You can sign up online at the bottom of our SHOP page – OR – you can email us at info@ballher.com, and we’ll send you the official camp flyer to be mailed back along with payment. In the meantime, check out the spot that Tamika did last year for the WNBA’s Expect Great campaign. Oh yeah – she’s got some pretty good highlights too…
Last summer was our 2nd annual ballher skills academy for all girls entering grades 4-9. In attendance was a special guest – WNBA Superstar and Olympic Gold Medalist – Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever. Below are more pictures of that special 4-day camp. And for all of you who are looking to make it out for the 2009 camp – stay tuned as we’re currently making plans now.
This is a first. While at the Hall of Fame last summer, the women pictured above – who absolutely loves our brand and the game of basketball – actually asked for my autograph. As a basketball coach/teacher, the only thing that I had ever signed before for someone else was a yearbook or a pass to the bathroom. I’ll have to admit that I was flattered.
The Hall of Fame invited us down to their 2008 enshrinement ceremonies. While there, we bumped into Hall of Fame Coaches Pat Summitt and C. Vivian Stringer. What a great experience it was meeting these two quality and down-to-earth individuals.
Coach Summitt even signed our ballher Broken Hearts and Ankles Poster. Her advice: “Play hard. Play smart. Play together.” While I’ve probably used those same exact words with my own team a countless amount of times over the years, I’m definitely sure that the same advice comes across a little more meaningful when the person saying those words has over 1,000 career wins. While I’m certainly not counting, I’ve definitely got a ways to go to reach that win total plateau.
Back in 2007, the NCAA Div. I Women’s Final Four was in Cleveland, OH. Here, we met Dana Hart – the Vice President/General Manager of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, TN. To make a long story short, she loved our shirts and made sure that they ended up for sale in the Hall of Fame’s gift shop. Since, then our items have been some of their best selling products. We’ve even done a collaboration piece together with our “You Best Believe Tee” (available only at the WBHOF).
Welcome to the NEW ballher.com. My name is Tom Miller and the woman standing next to me is my wife, Kelly. Together, we are the creators of the nationally known ballher girls basketball apparel brand. So how did all of this get started? Well – first of all – I’m actually a high school girls varsity basketball coach in Alliance, Ohio. Our team is the Lady Dukes of Marlington. Several years ago, though, I always noticed that the girls coming to our open gyms were always ill-equipped with insufficient basketball gear. They were either showing up with the team shorts that their older brothers had out-grown or they were making due with the same athletic apparel that they had worn for their other sports (volleyball, soccer, cheerleading, etc.). I thought to myself that there had to be more out there in terms of an appropriate selection for today’s female players. Surprisingly, and after researching the selections offered by today’s biggest brands, there really wasn’t anything – especially nothing to make the girls game more respected, more authentic, and more appreciated. Thus, the ballher brand was born.