Leaving Sideline Behind

by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond

Central Region coaching sidelines will feel a bunch of different footprints next season.

Hopewell boys basketball icon Bill Littlepage, Huguenot football legend Richard McFee, Colonial Heights longtime coach John Thomas and Midlothian field hockey coach Marjorie Brooks have all left for various reasons, establishing a lenghty list.

And that list will claim Meadowbrook boys basketball coach John B. Gordon III, who is not as accomplished as the aforementioned group, but has made as terrific an impact in 10 years of head-coaching in the Richmond-area.

“I knew this was going to be my last year,” Gordon said after Tuesday’s practice. “I’m done with all of my course work. Now, my goal is to become a principal somewhere in the Central Region.”

Gordon, 34, is as close as he can be to a principal right now, in his first-year as the “right-hand man” for principal C.W. Fletcher after being a Dean of Students for a couple of years.

He’s handling various duties, including the school’s master schedule, the guidance department, English, science, world languages and ESL.

It’s sort of like an athletic director being a coach. There’s just too much to do to do both successfully. So hoops took the fall.

“I’m going to miss it,” Gordon said. “I’m not going to miss the preparation, but I’m going to miss being on the sidelines.”

Ahhh, the sidelines where Gordon jumped, pointed, yelled, instructed, clapped, almost played for his players. He’s as intense a coach the Central Region has seen in any sport.

Gordon is in his 10th year as a head coach, sixth at Meadowbrook.

He started at Armstrong in 1998, winning one Capital District title with the Wildcats in 2001-02 when L.C. Baker, Marlon Smith and Donte Atkins was his core.

He left for Meadowbrook the next season with advice from his well-known mentor, Highland Springs coach George Lancaster.

“John, you’ve got to take a look at Meadowbrook,” said Gordon, mimmicking Lancaster’s trademark voice. “I looked at this gym compared to the gym I had at Armstrong and I didn’t need to see the auxilary gym.”

He interviewed for the job in April of 2002 and was offered on the spot. He took it and ran his streak of Central Region tournament appearances – including his first in 2000 after an upset of Henrico in the district tournament – to seven.

It ended last season, in which Meadowbrook fell from region champion to 10-13.

“I thought being here, I would never have a losing season,” Gordon said. “Last year humbled me a little bit. We will go [to the region tournament] this year.”

Same old Gordon, as confident as ever. Why shouldn’t he be when he’s going to help 18 players play college basketball, including seniors P.J. Finn, Quinton Doggett and Ahmad Bizzell, who each have offers to play at various levels after the season.

He’s coached Meadowbrook to two of its four district titles and holds the highest winning percentage in the school’s 44-year history, while grooming eight-year assistant Ksaan Brown for his coaching post next season.

But now the whistle goes into his pocket and his trademark suits will do most of the talking, as Gordon strives to become a high-school principal in the region in the next year or two.

“One thing about being a basketball coach is people will know you around the region,” Gordon said. “Being a principal, people know you around the community. So I changed my focus.”

And another sideline will have new footprints.