Getting It Done In Class & On Court Is Ford                                         

Brandon Ford Gwynn Park HS 2011

Video: Brandon Ford & Gwynn Park JV Basketball

Brandon Ford a Class of 2010 guard from Gwynn Park HS , takes his school education just as seriously as his pursuing basketball career. Brandon has been an honor roll student consecutively from elementary all the way into high school whilst' also balancing three sports throughout the year including Basketball , Football and Baseball. That is a streak that Brandon will focus on continuing as he begins his sophomore year in a couple of days.

Ford also had a dynamic summer on the hardwood with his AAU traveling team DC Assault Blue. In the Agent Zero to Hero Invitational at Hoop Magic in Chantilly , VA Brandon scored 18pts as he led DC Assault Blue to the 15&U Championship Title. Ford along with teammates Sharrod Baltimore(Friendly HS) and Ray Gatling Jr (Oxon Hill HS) also participated in the Nike Hoop It Up Tournament in Boston , Norfolk , Atlanta , Washington D.C. , and Baltimore and remained undefeated in each city. Adidas named Brandon a Jr. Phenom All Star by mid summer.

 Brandon finished up his summer at the Eastern Invitational Camp where he was selected the to the All Star Game and garnished the MVP award for rising sophomores as well. The mixture of practicing against All Met Sean Thomas and Harold Washington , and guidance from Coach Mike Glick formerly of Archbishop Spalding HS has paid dividends for the 6'2" shooting guard who grew up in Oxon Hill , MD.

As busy as Brandon has been all summer you would think that it would be nearly impossible for him to currently have a 3.7gpa while taking Honors/Advanced Placement classes as a freshman at Gwynn Park HS. However this is exactly the pace that Brandon is setting for himself which if continues Ford will be a sure scholarship athlete. Brandon has a lot of potential on the basketball court and he is very aware of that , but it is his potential in the classroom that sets him apart from the pack. Brandon wants to pursue a degree in Health Sciences in College.

 Brandon will play Varsity Basketball with the Yellow Jackets of Gwynn Park HS  this winter , a team that went 25-2 last season and lost in the Maryland State 2A Championship to Winters Mill HS on a buzzer beater. Ford hopes to be one of the pieces that not only help them get back to Comcast , but this time as State Champions.  

Gazette file photo Laurel basketball coach Keith Coutreyer can only sit with the crowd and watch as his team plays Flowers in summer league play at High Point High School in July, 2007

Laurel basketball coach moving on

Coutreyer joins mentor as assistant at Hampton University

Keith Coutreyer, who coached the Laurel High School boys' basketball team to the Class 4A South Region championship last year, is leaving the Spartans to join the staff at Hampton University next season.

Coutreyer finalized the deal at the historically black university in southeastern Virginia Monday after mulling an offer from head coach and longtime friend Kevin Nickelberry since mid- July. He said leaving Laurel was the toughest career decision he's ever made.

"It's just one of those things, an opportunity," said Coutreyer, who last season guided Laurel to the school's first regional title in boys' basketball since 1980. "At the same time, I'm definitely losing a place I've called home for 14 years. It's hard to wrap my mind around it."

Laurel principal Dwayne Jones, who was the head coach at Laurel when Coutreyer first joined the staff, said he was sad to see Coutreyer go, but understood his decision.

"You never want to see anybody leave, but if folks leave you hope it's for something bigger and better," Jones said, adding that the search is under way to fill the coaching job and Coutreyer's position as a special education teacher.

Coutreyer and Nickelberry, a Central High School graduate, have a long relationship, dating to when Coutreyer played for Nickelberry at Columbia Union College in Takoma Park in the early 1990s. Nickelberry's first college coaching job was as an assistant there for one year, alongside current Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick. Coutreyer and Nickelberry later were roommates, while Nickelberry was an assistant at Howard.

Nickelberry is entering his third season at Hampton, which went 18-12 and placed second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference last year. He is regarded as a rising coach and a strong recruiter. He arrived at Hampton after stints as an assistant at Clemson, Charlotte, Monmouth and Howard.

Coutreyer said he never seriously considered joining the college ranks, even when his friend landed the top job at Hampton. When Nickelberry contacted him in July, seeking to fill two assistant coaching positions, the idea of coaching alongside a friend appealed to Coutreyer even more than the prestige of the job.

"He's been a mentor to me as I've gotten into coaching," Coutreyer said. "More than coaching at the college level, it was working for coach Nickelberry [that led to the decision]."

Coutreyer said his position will focus on coaching guards and academic coordination.

The Pirates' roster has several county products, including Chris Tolson and Milade Lola-Charles, who played for Coutreyer two years ago at Laurel. Jordan Brooks from Charles H. Flowers, Kwame Morgan from Largo and John Ntoko from Eleanor Roosevelt also are on the team.

Coutreyer spent 13 years as a teacher and coach at Laurel, the first five as an assistant under Jones before taking over the head job in 2000, tallying an 89-94 career record.

Also under his leadership, Laurel produced three Gazette-Star All-County First-Team selections in Tolson, Will Alston (Jacksonville) and John Vaughan (George Mason).

"There's not many opportunities to do what you love solely," Coutreyer said. "Being in the classroom was great and I loved those kids, but coaching was my passion."

E-mail Kevin Hilgers at khilgers@gazette.net.

Team camps about more than wins, losses

Exposure to life, recruiters can be beneficial, albeit expensive

And in addition to those events, team camps have become popular summer options over the past decade. The camps are sort of like extended summer leagues, but they serve an important purpose.

‘‘I would say it’s just a chance to get used to playing with each other and building team chemistry,” said Eleanor Roosevelt High boys’ basketball coach Brendan O’Connell. ‘‘The season is still so far way, wins and losses don’t really matter, we’re just trying to get the kids a chance to play.”

Roosevelt senior point guard Francis Ashe said team camps have more functions than just X’s and O’s and jump shots.

‘‘I think they allow us to bond with our teammates,” said Ashe, whose team participated in a team camp last weekend at American University. ‘‘So far this summer, we’ve had to deal with people on our team who are also playing football and injuries and don’t get the chance to be on the court with the rest of the team. [Last weekend], we actually had the chance to see what [the team] had to work on and improve in.”

Gwynn Park boys’ coach Mike Glick likes the opportunity a team camp provides, but added that he doesn’t look too much into performance during the camps.

‘‘We decided to attend the U.S. Naval Academy team camp [June 13-15] because not only does it create team building, but it gives our students an opportunity to see a different side of life,” Glick said. ‘‘They have the chance to be spending time with their teammates and players they don’t know on college campuses. It’s a 100 percent positive experience, but I wouldn’t read too much into the wins and losses of the camp. It’s not an indication of what your team is going to be like.”

Another crucial aspect of team camps is that individual players are offered the chance to show their talents to college coaches. Some team camps on college campuses aren’t designed as recruiting events, but coaches from the host college are present and watching. Others, like the Eastern Invitational Elite Team Camp, are not affiliated with any university. And as a result, camps like the Eastern Invitational have an advantage over camps held on college campuses, because many college coaches attend.

‘‘Our biggest thing is exposure,” said EI Elite Team Camp Co-Director Michael Farrelly. ‘‘We want to provide a forum for high school programs to play against really good competition. The feedback that we’ve gotten from coaches is that they want to play and want to get the kids exposure. It’s very rare that we’ve had a bad experience.”

The EI Elite Team Camp started in 2001 with 12 teams. Farrelly said this year’s camp, set for July 9-10 at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J., will include 72 teams, including Bishop McNamara, Bladensburg, Eleanor Roosevelt, Laurel and Riverdale Baptist. More importantly, Farrelly added, more than 200 colleges coaches are expected to attend.

Team camp does have a drawback. Participation can be expensive.

‘‘I think this year going to a team camp was a double-edged sword,” said Charles H. Flowers boys’ basketball coach George McClure. ‘‘The travel part, that’s an issue. This day and age, it’s so many expenses coming up, like with gas, it’s time to rethink how you do everything. We went to the [Naval Academy] camp where we didn’t have to pay as much because we can commute back and forth.”

The EI Elite Team Camp will charge $100 per player as the standard rate, which includes jerseys. The overnight rate is $190 per player, including housing and meals.

While the rates are expensive, Ashe said many players and their families view it as a worthwhile cost.

‘‘Money can probably be an issue,” he said. ‘‘I think parents sometimes see the benefit of team camps and would pay the price. They look at it as their kids and their college future and can actually benefit in the long run.”

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