This winter season is going to be interesting for T.C Williams. New Athletic Director James Parker hired new boys and girls basketball coaches and a new staff for the swim and dive team.
With big names like Lisa Willis and Darryl Prue, the basketball teams are going to be guided into a different direction. Indoor track, led by 2018 All-Met Coach of the Year Michael Hughes, will try to duplicate last year’s performance. The boys were Occoquan Region Champions while the girls came in as runner ups.
New swim and dive coach, John Gullickson, has high hopes for this team’s upcoming season as well.
Gymnastics is always improving each year with assistance by Coach Novgrod.
Thanks to Parker, T.C.’s athletic program is flooded with new big name coaches. With additions to the basketball, swim, and continued success of other winter sports, Parker’s utilities are shown within all levels of sport. Parker has strong background in sports. He has worked with the NBA, NFL, and United States Olympic Committee. “When I got here a lot of those people [high profile athletes] wanted to support my decision and I was able to land some pretty big names for those positions.”
The first big announcement was Lisa Willis. Willis being a WNBA champion and Olympic gold medalist, she has some pretty big shoes to fill in. But with experienced star senior Palacio, the team is prepared. “I expect that we’re going to win some games; we might lose a couple but I think our team will still be good.”
On the other side of the court we have a Washington Metropolitan legend leading the boys team. Darryl Prue played at West Virginia University and coached big names like Roy Hibbert and Greg Monroe. Prue said, “I expect them to play extremely hard and very unselfish.” With a new head coach for the past four years, the team has some experienced veterans that help the team. Other than Prue’s expectations, Senior Jaquan Johnson also has high expectations from his team, “a lot of tough love and demand”.
A lot is also expected from the track team with constant years of success in the district championships. Continued success falls in the hands of Mike Hughes who has brought prestige and a level of integrity to the team.
A new addition to the Titan team is John Gullickson. Gullickson has taken position as head coach of the swim and dive program. Another product of Parker’s capability to bring the best coaches for T.C.
The gymnastics program is continuing its quiet but prestigious start to the season. Novgrod states, “I expect them to give max effort in practice to get their skills ready so they will be able to compete in meets”. Many gymnasts already practice in private clubs which allows them to be prepared for the regular season.
With tryouts starting this week, athletes will have new leaderships accepting of all talents. Known for an image of athletic and academic success, T.C.’s winter is looking pretty warm.
