Established in January 2016, the Maryland Basketball Coaches Association is led by a group of local coaches from various counties throughout the state – John Brown, Linda Caccavalla, Heather Dewees, Barry Green, Arnie McGaha, Mike Mohler, Casey Rudzinski, Rob Slopek, Kathleen Stoudt and Teresa Waters. Our primary goal remains, to provide quality service to players and coaches throughout the state.
Instead of focusing on many things, emphasis was placed on quality vs quantity. That said, this years’ focus was on increasing membership and delivering a quality showcase event.
After two complete years, we are proud of the strides made but still have a journey ahead. Our membership was increased by 36%, growing from 88 members to 120 members. Improving our membership registration process by providing online service has been an intricate part to that growth. After a tremendous amount of planning, we were finally able to have our signature event, a Statewide All-Star Showcase Game displaying Maryland’s top basketball players. This event took place two weeks after the state championship games, March 24th, 2018. The top 30 boys and girls were invited to participated. Teams were coached by four 2017-2018 state championship coaches. Each player was recognized as well as provided plaques and state t-shirts. Also in attendance and recognized were the All-State Academic teams. The final player recognition was honoring the one outstanding female and male basketball player, Mr. & Ms. Maryland Basketball. Finally, the pinnacle of this event was the recognition of coaching legends, honorees Breezy Bishop, Linda James and Tom Dickman respectively for their contributions made. As a token of appreciation, these honorees received legendary complimentary rings provided by partner, Baron Championship Rings. In addition, players were also able to purchase All-State rings. This event was highly attended and received statewide media coverage.
Three of our members attended the WBCA Women’s Final Four in Columbus, Ohio. The conference provided these individuals with professional development by attending the workshops, seminars, oncourt demonstrations and a vast amount of networking opportunities.
Lastly, special thanks goes out to the National High School Basketball Coaches Association for orchestrating the opportunity for Teresa Waters to resume the position of Scholastic Director for the WBCA (Women’s Basketball Coaches Association) Board of Directors for the later portion of the 2018 calendar year. The MBCA continues to make a commitment to grow as an organization and strive for the betterment of youth and fellow coaches throughout the state.
