Program prepares high school players for life after basketball

Monday, November 10th marked the first day of practice for high school basketball teams throughout the region. But before they run a single drill or take a single shot, players from three local schools are already prepared for the upcoming season — and, more importantly, for what lies beyond. 

About 35 varsity and JV boys from George Washington, Chatham and Gretna gathered in the GW gym Saturday morning for an achievement day, co-sponsored by the GW Basketball Booster Club, along with the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

The underlying theme of the event: whether you’re a star athlete destined to play in college, or one who rarely gets off the bench, academics and character matter.

“Every kid needs to have a vision for their future,” said GW head coach Bobby Martin. “And if that’s the NBA, that’s fine. But what are you going to do if you don’t make the NBA? If you’ve got an education, you’ve got some other options. And that’s what we’re trying to preach, an education so you’ve got some other options in your life.”

Players also heard from Bob Smith of Preps Plus Services and prepplus.com. Smith, a scout who works with colleges and universities throughout Virginia and the Carolinas, explained NCAA regulations and guidelines as they pertain to aspiring collegiate athletes.

Omega Psi Phi has been involved with the achievement day program for more than 20 years, and Chatham coach Barry Mayo has been sharing it with his players for the past nine. However, Saturday marked the first time that other area schools were included.

“As we get together as coaches,” Mayo said, “our season’s getting ready to come in, we knew that there was something we needed to address to our student-athletes, especially our basketball players. It’s that you know you’ve got to build that bridge. You’ve got to have your academics along with your athletics, to balance.

“Well, a good balance is when your academics are much higher than anything. Because that’s what’s going to help you get to where you need to go.”

The achievement day is offered to high school students in the fall and to middle and elementary school students in the spring. “We try to educate all our kids,” said Mayo. “The sooner we can get them, the better their chances are.”

According to Martin, coaches have a responsibility to help steer their players down the right path in life. “We used to have a saying, ‘it takes a village.’ I think our village has kind of dropped off, so we’ve got to pick that up again,” Martin said. “The main thing is to keep pushing what we’re pushing. … Living right, getting your education. That’s what I’m (telling them).”

GW senior forward Stephen Coles, a second-team all-metro selection last year, was impressed with the dedication of the coaches and others who spoke on Saturday.

“It builds you for the next level,” Coles said, “and also for the upcoming season. And it lets everybody know that there’s still people who want them to do well, and they’re not trying to turn their backs on them. … They could be doing anything else. But they decided to come in here and work with people.”

For Coles, contininuing his career in college is more important now than ever before.

“It means a lot,” he said, “because I lost my father during the summer. So it means a whole lot now. Because that’s one thing he wanted me to do, go to college, go to the next level. And I’m going to try my best to do it.”

Mayo looks forward to a day when players who have been through the program return to share their experiences with the next generation of young athletes.

“This is just an avenue to pull them in, to help them reach their potential,” said Mayo. “And their potential, when we can help them reach that, all we want to do is see the success and see them growing. That’s the unique thing about this. When you can see the growth and know that they made it — that’s our happiness, that’s our joy.

“That’s all we want. We’re not wanting them to give us a million dollars and so forth. We want them to come back and tell others about their success and how they got there, and what avenues they used. Because we’re going to do this every year.”