ATL Monarchs – Queens of the Court
Developing Tomorrow's Leaders
Project Description
WHO WE ARE
WE ARE OUR SISTERS’ KEEPER
Playmakers Basketball Royalties (PBR) is a branch of Playmakers International, a sport specific training and development company in the Atlanta Metro Area that focuses on the overall cognitive, social, academic and physical development of student athletes.
Specifically, the Atlanta Monarchs is a community based team personally engaging young girls all over Georgia to ensure the next generation of female athletes capitalize on the long-term benefits of playing sports.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to be an avenue for high caliber professional female athletes to continue to advance their careers or even restart their careers while giving them an opportunity to provide leadership, training and mentoring to young girls who are using sports to increase their opportunities for long-term success.
THE FACTS
- Girls’ self-esteem peaks when they are 9 years old, then takes a nose dive.
- Seven in ten girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.
- 53% of American girls age 13 are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen.
- Girls’ dissatisfaction manifests around body image, particularly weight, at an alarmingly young age:
- Transition to teenage years results in loss of trust and communication with adults
- Girls with low self-esteem are significantly more likely to engage in negative behaviors
WE ARE OUR SISTERS’ KEEPER
- Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork, goal-setting, the pursuit of excellence in performance and other achievement-oriented behaviors—critical skills necessary for success in the workplace. In an economic environment where the quality of our children’s lives will be dependent on two-income families, our daughters cannot be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace than our sons. It is no accident that 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former “tomboys”—having played sports.
- Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
- Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports.
- Girls who participate in extracurricular activities have more self-confidence and higher self-esteem.
- Research conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics found that participation in extracurricular activities have a positive correlation to the students’ attendance, GPA, test scores, and expected educational goals.
- People who have high opinions of themselves as teenagers and young adults earn more money than their less confident counterparts.
- High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy; more likely to get better grades in school and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.
- As little as four hours of exercise a week may reduce a teenage girl’s risk of breast cancer by up to 60%; breast cancer is a disease that afflicts one out of every eight American women. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1994)
AYM participants had the opportunity to watch the FSU/Notre Dame WBB game with Coach Marynell Meadors.
One of AYM's goals is to introduce young girls to fields in which women are underrepresented like science and technology. We are therefore supporting and encouraging our AYM athletes to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, etc.
This fall, AYM awarded the first Rodrick Luke Williams Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $1000 to Alyssa Thomas, a 2017 AYM graduate.
Alyssa graduated HS with a 3.9gpa and has since joined the Lady Eagles Women's Basketball Team at the University North Carolina Central on an athletic scholarship. She is pursuing a degree in Biology with the goal of becoming a Pediatrician.
The Rodrick Luke Williams Memorial Scholarship is a donation from Dr. Crystal Williams. Dr. Williams, a Pharmacists with the VA hospital has a passion for empowering and educating young girls and is interested in introducing young girls to the field of medicine with the hopes of increasing the number of women in the medical/science fields.
Asheika Alexander (middle), an AYM graduate trained, mentored and guided by Atlanta Monarch's PG, LaToya Bond, with two of our current AYM participants. Asheika, a sophomore at Grand Canyon University, spent time sharing her experience as a college-athlete with our young AYM participants.
OUR OWNER
Tamika Milburn, a disabled USAF veteran and Philadelphia, PA native, holds an MBA from Anderson University in Indiana and is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness and Nutrition Specialist. Ms. Milburn works full time in the Office of Organizational Development for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Human Resources Management Office. Ms. Milburn's experience includes organizational development, training and development and human resources in the private and government sectors. Through her sports-performance training company, Playmakers International, Ms. Milburn also provides sports performance training to athletes of all ages and works with professional athletes to help guide and mentor young athletes. Ms. Milburn is also the founder of Atlanta’s Young Misses, a non-profit organization that, through mentoring, one-on- one education assistance/tutoring, and coaching, assists young girls with reaching specific milestones in their lives and proactively provides them with the tools necessary to positively change and impact tomorrow's world. Ms Milburn's goal with PBR is to fulfill specific training and development needs of young athletes throughout the life-cycle of their sport, on and off the court.
OUR COACH
Coach Marynell Meadors, one of Legendary Ladies Middle Tennessee’s Elite Eight, former WNBA Atlanta Dream Coach and 2012 Gold Medal Olympic Coach.
OUR TEAM
In addition to being coached by one of the best coaches in women's basketball, Marynell Meadors, the Atlanta Monarchs' is a WNBA caliber team! Our team includes players such as:
- LaToya Bond, former Indiana Fever & Charlotte Sting PG, Former FIBA All-Star Player and Mizzou standout.
- Meighan Simmons, University of Tennessee, Atlanta Dream
- Chrelle George, Purdue, Indiana Fever
- Tanae Davis-Cain, our 3-pt shooter!! FSU alum and WNBA draftee
- Courtney Hurt, WNBA draftee, current FIBA’s Lattes Montpellier Agglomeration Basketball Team’s (France – LFB) 2nd leading scorer
- Bre McDonald, a Chamblee Charter High School and Eastern Carolina alum, her playing career includes West Virginia Women’s Basketball, the WBCBL 2017 Championship team the GA Soul and currently the starting small forward for Spain’s (LF2) second ranked team, Barca CBS
- Monique Reid, a member of the Louisville WBB team that upset the #1 Baylor Lady Bears in 2013, is a current FIBA star averaging 17 points per game
- Shayra Brown, a 5'10 versatile, athletic combo guard from Boston College. Her professional career includes averaging 24ppg, 8rpg, 3apg and 3spg with BSNFPR, the top professional women's basketball league in Puerto Rico.
- Alysha "Lele" Harvin, FSU, Spain
- Kellindra Zackery, Rugters, Lebanon
LaToya Bond
Shayra "Shay" Brown
Monique Reid
Our team also includes AYM high school interns who serve as Team Managers, Marketing Assistants and Community Relations Representatives. Our interns are mentoring under professional women in specific fields to gain knowledge of these fields, build their resumes and gain valuable communication, networking and real-world business experience.
Jasiah Washington, an AYM intern at the 9th Pre-Grammy Networking Event. Jasiah is a sophomore in HS serving as a Marketing Intern for PBR. Jasiah had an opportunity to network with potential sponsors and business partners, a few celebrities and other Pre-Grammy attendees.
Updates
The Campaign FAQs
SEE US IN ACTION!
On March 24th, prior to the Atlanta Monarchs' inaugural season, PBR will host a fundraising family-friendly fundraising coed basketball tournament with the Fulton County Sheriff's Department and Atlanta's Police Athletic League.
Our first season game will be on March 5th. Please visit www.atlantamonarchs.com for a full schedule.
HELP US REACH OUR GOAL
- You have an opportunity to be a part of an exciting and competitive season while giving back to our future athletes and leaders.
- Girls who participate in extracurricular activities have more self-confidence and higher self-esteem.
- Research conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics found that participation in extracurricular activities have a positive correlation to the students’ attendance, GPA, test scores, and expected educational goals.
- People who have high opinions of themselves as teenagers and young adults earn more money than their less confident counterparts.
- Witness the excitement of watching some of the country's best coaches and players compete to take home the WBCBL championship title in our first season!
HOW YOU ARE HELPING
- 10% of your support of the Atlanta Monarchs' WBB is donated directly to Atlanta's Young Misses. These funds help AYM provide the year-round programs and support that have already helped dozens of girls earn college scholarships, improve their self-esteem and increase their opportunities for long-term success and sustainability.
- Season expenses include:
- Practice gym
- Home gym
- Travel Expenses
- Referees
- Marketing
- Videographer
- Family-friendly entertainment at games and events
- Photographer
- Youth cheer squad
- Dancers
- Adult cheer squad
- Head Coach's expenses (housing, transportation, etc)
- Team uniforms to include sneakers, practice uniforms, etc
- Team merchandise to sell
Just Because I Care
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Rewards
Just Because I Care
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