Spirit Award Program

The Eden Prairie Girls Basketball Association mission statement reads: Our mission is to create a fun, fair, and safe basketball environment that is focused on providing skills development as well as fostering respect for others, self-confidence, leadership, and teamwork in our Eden Prairie student athletes. We will strive to provide the best competition at all levels while maintaining the highest degree of participation and sportsmanship.

To further this mission, the EPGBA and Eden Prairie High School girls basketball coach Ellen Wiese wants our players to exhibit and promote these values on and off the court:

TEAM FIRST

SPORTSMANSHIP

ATTITUDE

TEAM FIRST: We want our athletes putting their teams above themselves and understanding that by playing basketball they accept that they must put the best interests of their team above their own individual goals and desires. This value should be exhibited both in practices, during games, and even off the court by players accepting their role on the team and cheering their teammates on regardless of circumstance.

SPORTSMANSHIP: Sportsmanship expands beyond putting the team first. It encompasses respectful, fair, and gracious behavior not only toward a player’s teammates but also toward their coaches, the officials, their opponents, and the fans. 

ATTITUDE: We want players who exhibit a positive approach to the game. This includes being coachable, responsible, and accountable. Players should respect, listen to and follow what their coaches are teaching them. They should be responsible by showing up on time, by being engaged during practices and games, and not making excuses for mistakes. Players should acknowledge mistakes so that they can effectively learn from them rather than casting the blame elsewhere. 

To accomplish this, Coach Ellen Wiese and a committee of EPGBA parents first developed the EPGBA Spirit Award Program in 2019. It will be continued by Coach Ellen Wiese this upcoming season. EPGBA Coaching Director Lawrence Barnes will be giving Spirit Awards to use in recognizing players who go above and beyond in demonstrating the values of Team First, Sportsmanship, and Attitude during the season. These are not participation awards, so not everyone will get one and a player could certainly receive more than one. Each award will include a note recognizing the player’s accomplishment along with a food establishment coupon. 

We believe by promoting and positively acknowledging examples of our mission and core values in the behavior of our players, we will build leaders on and off the court. This will instill an EPGBA culture that truly values the contributions of every athlete regardless of minutes played or baskets scored.