PCA Now On Hoops Map
Ron Bailey, Publisher
June 15, 2006 – Last season, Van Whitfield coached a group of talented high school players to a 27-6 record at Southern Maryland Christian Academy, in the process earning a number 10 Hoopsusa.com’s Super Sixty-Six National Team listing. In 2006-2007, Whitfield and many of his former players at Southern Maryland will represent Progressive Christian Academy (PCA) on and off the hardwood.
PCA, a 500 student (100 of high school age) school in Camp Springs, MD which is directed and pastored by Don Massey, has been in existence since 1998. Whitfield shared that despite the school never fielding a true varsity hoops program, he suffered no trepidation in taking the job.
His willingness to accept the enormous challenge of basically starting a program from scratch was impacted by several factors. These include provision of need-based scholarships from the school, institutional commitment to upgrade existing facilities which currently include a gymnasium, and a willingness to field varsity, junior varsity, and middle school teams for boys and girls.
But according to Whitfield, the driving force behind the move was PCA’s academic reputation and focus. He shared that the institution offers college preparatory instruction with class sizes in the 12-15 student range, in addition to being approved by the State of Maryland and enjoying accredited status. That combination of factors was desirable, as he revealed, because “We want our kids, to be somewhere that’s accredited”. Based upon of state approval and accreditation, Whitfield expects SAT and NCAA Clearinghouse approval this summer for the school.
A 10 year coaching vet, Whitfield believes PCA will be a team to be reckoned with this season, and “nationally competitive within three to five years”. Fueling their immediate success will be former Southern Maryland players, including seniors Jeremiah Bowman (4th team All Met) and Gary “Chip” Artis, along with Jasper Williams, Lahmad Duncan, Ernest Watson, and Vincent Murphy. Several high profile transfers are likely as well, in addition to the enrollment of a few very talented freshman student athletes.
If the spring/summer is any barometer, Whitfield’s prognostication regarding success may hold true. PCA has won both the Crossland Spring League’s regular season title and last weekend’s HBC tournament championship. This upcoming weekend, the team will compete in the 6th Annual Golden Child Awards tournament at Washington’s Trinity University (check back with i95Ballerz.com for coverage of that event).
Presently PCA is compiling their schedule for the upcoming season, though several games have been solidified, including a season opening scrimmage at Oak Hill October 28th as well as participation in Erie, PA’s Fall Frenzy Tournament November 3-5, and the Liberty Holiday Classic (Lynchburg, VA) during December. Plans are also afoot to compete in Cincinnati, Ohio sometime during the season.
League affiliation has not been finalized at this time, though several offers have been received to date. Given that and his plan to “travel at least once a month”, Whitfield is soliciting both home and away game opportunities for PCA. Interested parties should contact 301.219.6391.
Hoops in the immediate Washington, DC area just got more competitive.