THEY’RE SHOOTING FOR GOOD GRADES : Educator Uses Basketball Program to Prepare Girls for College Entry

Thirteen girls with basketballs at their feet fell silent as the voice of instructor Laurie Woerfel resounded off the walls of Victoria Regional Park gymnasium in Carson:

“What are you here for?”

Kim Anderson, 10, sitting on the lower strand of wooden bleachers, gnawed at the sleeves of her shiny black jacket as Woerfel directed the question her way.

“I’m gonna ask you that question until I get an answer from everybody,” said Woerfel, who clutched schoolbooks firmly in her right hand.

The youngsters may have been uncertain of the answer, but for Kim’s father it was as obvious as the plot of a television soap opera.

“You want to go to college, you come” here, said John Anderson, founder and driving force behind the Olympic Girls Development League, a program that combines the three Rs with fundamentals of basketball.

Husband-Wife Team

Since 1984 Anderson and his wife, Shirley, have taught college prep and remedial education courses for girls at Victoria Regional Park on Saturday mornings.

The Andersons offer the remedial instruction to all girls, but specialize in helping high school players achieve passing scores on national collegiate entrance exams.

Recent regulations by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. prohibit freshmen from practicing or playing unless they score well on entrance tests. John Anderson said the program offers “the proper atmosphere” to succeed.

“What good is a college (athletic) scholarship if you can’t play because of poor grades?” he asked.

His Saturday program has attracted athletes from throughout Southern California, although the couple’s target group is minority girls, primarily from the inner city.

The program is growing, although not as fast as Anderson would like. The cost is $35 a year, but Anderson said he won’t turn away an athlete if she can’t pay.

Anderson, a vice principal at Monrovia High School, recognized a need for tutoring inner-city girls about five years ago when he noticed that many talented players weren’t going on to college and those who did often flunked out and returned to the streets.

At 6-foot-3, the burly Anderson is an imposing figure. As the person in charge of discipline at Monrovia, he can be tough.

But behind that facade, according to some of his basketball pupils, lies a warm father figure. The girls call him “John,” and he often greets them with hugs and kisses.

Disappointing Turnout

“We’re a family,” he said simply.

At 9 a.m. on this Saturday, the junior high school-age group numbered more than 30, but the college exam course for high school students attracted only a few. Anderson was disappointed with the high school turnout, saying that many girls have transportation problems so early on Saturdays.

After Woerfel’s opening pep talk, the girls listened to USC forward D’yann Crosby, a graduate of the program.

Crosby, a junior walk-on player at USC who may start this year, wore a chain around her neck that said, “Try God.”

Crosby told the youngsters they should consider attending a college for its academic programs, not because it has a good athletic reputation.

“We all dream of being another Cheryl Miller,” she said. “Consider academics first. That’s your ticket.”

Later she would participate in drills, along with several high school players who had volunteered to help.

Anderson was pleased with Crosby’s speech.

“We preach academics,” he said.

Woerfel explained that this session was designed to show young students how to put basketball and education in perspective. She encouraged them to return next week.

Anderson said he receives no monetary reward for his work. The program has no funds for instructors either, but Woerfel, a junior high school teacher from Huntington Park, said the lack of pay isn’t a problem because she looks forward to handpicking the best players for a junior high school traveling team.

With the sound of basketballs thumping against the hardwood floor, Woerfel and teacher Kevin Fielder of Long Beach put the girls through a series of drills. They were asked to rebound and were taught the correct position. Fielder conducted passing drills. Woerfel took a group aside and had them put on blinders, which resembled sunglasses with blacked-out lenses to block the view of the floor. The students were taught to learn to dribble without seeing the basketball. A few were frustrated, but Woerfel seemed pleased with most.

Traveling Teams

During the peak summer season Anderson said he gets about 300 high school players in the summer development league. The best players are selected to play on traveling teams and compete against some of the best athletes in the country in tournaments sponsored by the Amateur Athletic Union and Basketball Congress International.

Outside the gymnasium, 6-foot-5 Morningside center Lisa Leslie ambled up to Anderson.

“This is the franchise,” said Anderson of Leslie, a highly touted sophomore who can dunk a basketball.

Leslie hugged Anderson, who wore a hooded black sweat shirt with the program’s motto: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” He greeted her with: “What’s up, pretty? How you doing this morning?

“I want kids to know Lisa is articulate, bright and she can play basketball, not that she plays basketball and (studies),” he said.

Leslie smiled.

Later she said many athletes are ignorant of the academic problems that occur in college. “It isn’t important for them to study (in high school),” she said. “Then they get (to college) and realize it’s important (and too late).”

Leslie said her main goal in the program has been to gain experience.

Anderson said the most difficult problem faced by the program is persuading girls to give up a Saturday morning for studies. He said many area high schools have been lax in responding to the new NCAA entry requirements, consequently hindering the future of many players.

“The NCAA warned every coach this was coming,” he said.

Shirley Anderson said John’s ultimate concern is for the student-athletes he calls “his kids.” She’s seen them come and go through the living room of their Carson home many times since they moved here from Louisiana in 1969.

“John loves kids so much,” she said.

Then with a giggle, she talked of the effects their involvement with youth basketball has had on their 23-year marriage. She speaks of busy nights and unmade beds, free meals for athletes and extra dirty dishes.

“You think she doesn’t get mad at me all the time?” John said with a smile.

The response drew a smirk, but Shirley had no time to answer. She was off to check on two of their kids who were taking a college placement exam in a room across from the gym.