Basketball program provides opportunity

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Basketball program provides opportunity

New fall league could be in future for county players

by Terron Hampton | Staff Writer

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Basketball Coaches Without Boundaries founder Raymond Whiten claims the organization’s duty is to provide opportunity.

BCWB, based out of Frederick, expects to expand to several areas, including Prince George’s County. Whiten, a Fort Washington resident, hopes to start a fall basketball league with participants from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties along with the Baltimore area.

And Whiten wants middle and high school teams along with teens not a part of a basketball program to participate.

Whiten had a grass roots approach to forming the nonprofit organization.

‘‘Originally, we just wanted to bring teams in and gives the kids an opportunity to play,” Whiten said of BCWB, which is typically a summer league.

BCWB also has an educational component that helps teens learn strategies for taking the SAT and provides tutoring in specific subjects. Whiten said the organization offers scholarships to cover the expenses of the SAT preparation and tutorial sessions.

The program has become popular in Frederick over its nine years.

BCWB – which started with just four teams – has had several standouts participate such as former Washington Mystics forward Nikki Teasley and former University of Maryland forward Terrance Morris.

Program graduate Dallas Pryor, a Frederick native, spoke highly of BCWB’s leagues and in its educational program.

‘‘It was definitely a good experience,” Pryor said. ‘‘They kept in close contact with me and pretty much did everything they could to help me pass the SAT.”

Whiten said he hopes to hold the fall league in Frederick for the time being, as Frederick County has provided free facilities, and he added that teachers there have volunteered to tutor the league’s players.

One of BCWB’s hooks is that the program is affordable. On the basketball side, BCWB runs instructional camps, including its eight-week summer program for $130. Programs in the other seasons cost about three times less with the incentive of receiving cash back if players and their families participate in fund-raisers.

‘‘We started charging $20 for an eight-week program,” Whiten said. ‘‘Over the years, we’ve expanded and now we charge $45 for certain programs. I don’t know any other programs with prices like that.”

Whiten can be reached at 240-832-3670 and more information is available at www.bcwb.org.

E-mail Terron Hampton at thampton@gazette.net.