Mike Fortune aims to revive Wareham High girls basketball program

Wareham High School girls basketball coach Mike Fortune is determined to turn around the basketball program and create a winning culture. After five consecutive losing seasons, Fortune is determined to build the program from the ground up and foster a love of the game of basketball in his players.

"I want the girls to shine," Fortune said. I just wanted to start with the basics and get the girls to enjoy basketball. I think that's what the girls are missing.

Fortune and his assistant coaches, Kendall Baptiste and Shayne King, are working hard to create a positive, engaging environment for the players. They believe that building a strong foundation at the youth level is critical to success at the high school level.

"There is no pipeline for us," Fortune said. For fifth, sixth and seventh graders, if they didn't want to play with the boys, they had no choice. We decided to start with third and fourth grade girls."

To address this issue, Fortune implemented an after-school program for the town's elementary school students. The program was so popular that more than 50 girls participated.

"We talked about it and we thought we needed to start with the elementary students", said Ed Rodrigues, athletic director. He started the afternoon school program, which now has 50 girls participating. This is the future.

"When the girls get to seventh and eighth grade, they all want to be Wareham Vikings."

With an abundance of enthusiasm and dedication, the Wareham High School girls' basketball team is poised for success. The team is off to a 2-0 start and the players are embracing the new culture.

"The girls want to turn things around," said Fortune, "I think we have the strength and team spirit. I think we have the strength and team leadership to turn the team around.