THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 13, 1995 TAG: 9502130130
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
Karen Barefoot was set to order uniforms for the Apprentice School women's basketball team when suddenly she was stumped.
``Hey, what's our motto?'' she asked athletic director Bill Casto. ``What's our name?''
``Builderettes?'' Casto suggested.
``Too girlish,'' Barefoot replied. ``How about Lady Builders?''
And with that, the Apprentice School's first-ever female sports team had a nickname.
``I'm so excited,'' Barefoot says, ``I can already hear the announcers: `Introdu-u-u-u-cing the Lady Builders!' ''
In the next few months, Barefoot will introduce the Lady Builders to just about everyone she can. The three-time All-American at Christopher Newport University will coach the new team at Apprentice, the industrial school whose students build careers in shipbuilding.
``When you start a program from scratch, you have to think of every scenario,'' says Barefoot, who at 22 is believed to be the NCAA's youngest basketball coach.
Like?
``Like practice gear, ankle braces, basketballs, socks . . . .''
And uniforms.
Armed with a burgundy notebook filled with notes about local hoops talent, the former Menchville High star is a regular at Tuesday and Friday night girls games on both sides of the water.
``The hardest part is marketing myself,'' she explains. ``I always feel like I can't market myself enough. I have but so much time. Just getting out there and telling people what this program is about - I think that's the biggest key right now.''
When Barefoot talks about her new job, she exhibits the same boundless energy that was her trademark as a player - talking a mile a minute, constantly brushing her reddish-brown bangs out of her face and exuding limitless confidence.
``Her enthusiasm and her zeal for the game are going to help her,'' Christopher Newport basketball coach Cathy Parson says of her former point guard. ``Just like anything new, she'll have her trials and tribulations, and she'll learn quickly. But the other side of that is, there's no pressure.''
Last summer, when Casto was looking for a coach, he hired Barefoot, part time at first, largely because she knows how to market herself. Particularly on the Peninsula, everyone in basketball knows the woman who is the only player in NCAA history, male or female, to record 2,000 points and 1,000 assists in a college career.
``She is probably one of the best-known female athletes in the area, and maybe in the state,'' Casto said. ``That does help when you're trying to create an identity with a program.''
The Apprentice School is unique - and largely male. Of the 400 apprentices, only 60 are female. Exactly 100 apprentices are admitted each year, and because there is no tuition, coaches have no traditional scholarships to offer.
Barefoot is allowed a certain number of recruits - students who have a 2.0 grade-point average or better, rather than the required 2.5. The rest of her team will come from students who qualify academically or from women already enrolled.
And she's not limiting herself to in-state players. ``Pennsylvania, Maryland, the D.C. area - I'm looking at places where there's proven basketball talent,'' she says.
Although female athletes have competed on the men's softball, track, golf and tennis teams - as a high school senior, Barefoot toyed with thoughts of playing men's hoops at Apprentice - the women's basketball team marks the first time in the school's 75-year history that a program is strictly female.
Apprentices learn any of 20 trades - heavy-metal fabricator and pipe fitter are among the options - and spend half their day working for Newport News Shipyard, where they qualify for extensive company-paid benefits. There is no tuition, and in fact, apprentices are paid for their work - ranging from $7.97 to $13.48 an hour, depending on their term in school.
Barefoot, whose father, John, is an Apprentice grad, says it's an easy sell to prospective recruits. Female apprentices are guaranteed a job once they graduate, and they make money instead of paying it during school. There are no SAT requirements, but applicants must have credit in a minimum of four math/science courses.
Already, Barefoot has plans to sign three postgraduates - players who have either completed one or more years of college or who did not attend college after high school. Although she plans to have her team in place by June, she can recruit year-round, since Apprentice accepts applicants monthly.
Even now though, she stresses, she can field a team.
``Definitely I would like to have 15 (players),'' she says. ``I know with what I have right now, I can build a team. But I'm trying to be as competitive as possible the first year.''
The Lady Builders will play a Division III varsity schedule that includes such teams as Ferrum and Greensboro College. Barefoot would like the team to play at least 20 games.
``We already have 13 games scheduled,'' she says. ``Next year we'll have to start scheduling earlier because a lot of the teams we wanted were already booked up.''
The team will practice in the nearby Julie Conn gym, but on days before games, the Lady Builders will practice at Apprentice. All home games will be played in the Apprentice gym.
``The only thing I'm concerned about is how long we'll be able to have that gym at Julie Conn before other people come in,'' Barefoot says. ``I would love to be able to practice 2 or 2 1/2 hours.''
Barefoot, who has wanted to be a coach since she was 10 years old, admits that with everything being so new, it can be difficult to know if she's ahead or behind schedule.
She's planning to hire an assistant within the next few weeks. But as far as actually coaching the team, she can't wait. Barefoot considered playing overseas, but for now, her game is limited to shooting hoops with the guys on an intramural team at Christopher Newport, where she will receive her degree in physical education and leisure studies this spring.
``When I was a little kid, I woke up every morning after dreaming of playing basketball,'' she says, speaking faster with every word. ``But this past year my dreams have been on the sidelines, coaching.
``When I think about it, I'm going to be the one to start this program. And in years to come, I think that will be one of the best things I've ever done.'' ILLUSTRATION: Karen Barefoot isn't just the coach of the first women's team at
the Apprentice School. The former Christopher Newport star is
building the program from scratch.
by CNB