A tradition of excellence together with an impressive
competitive record has established the Belles as Michigan's
premier girls' basketball club.

Past success in far reaching competition has led to recognition and a national
reputation enjoyed by only a few clubs in the U.S.

The Belles, originally the East Lansing Youth Stars, began in 1986 and
through 1989 worked solely with ages 10-13 in the National Junior Pro
program.

The Belles' began serving high school players in 1990 with an age 13 and age
14 team competing in the Youth Basketball of America ("YBOA") national
tournament structure. In two years, these original Belles' teams won 2 YBOA
State Championships, 2 State and 2 National Champion Runner-Ups.

In 1991, the first Belles team to compete in AAU won the age 14 AAU State
Championship.

Beginning in 1992 the Belles expanded to annually cover ages 14-18. Since
1992, the Belles have won 15 AAU State Championships and nearly all Belles' teams regularly qualifiy for AAU nationals. However, starting in 2000, the Belles shifted emphasis from AAU Nationals to other shorter events. These events involve fewer overnights, more games per day, shorter travel, less cost and offer a better opportunity for the players observation by college coaches.

In addition to AAU, the Belles annually host and compete regionally in
tournaments with other states and regularly compete nationally in events
including the Adidas Deep South Classic, Nike Boo Williams Classic, Nike USA Cup, Best of the Midwest and other strong competition, high exposure observation events.

Individually, Belles' are encouraged to and attend high exposure observation camps.