Varsity News: Friendship Collegiate Is Slowly Breaking Into The Local Football Picture
Malcolm Crockett of Friendship Collegiate
Friendship Collegiate is only about a decade old, but its already asserted itself as an up and coming football power in D.C. We talk to head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim about what it's like to be the new kid on a very crowded and difficult block.
Friendship Collegiate has had a football team since the school opened its doors in 2000, but that means that the program is still just about a decade old. Friendship has spent the last 10 years trying to prove to everyone in the area -- and itself -- that it belongs in the conversation as one of best teams in Washington. But that is not an easy group to break into.
Two weeks ago, Friendship had a 12-point second half lead over then No. 1 DeMatha, only to give up that lead with a series of costly turnovers late in the game. The final score was 35-32 DeMatha.
Coming within three points of beating one of the best teams in the area is a hell of an accomplishment, particularly for such a young program. But Friendship coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim isn't satisfied with good enough.
"Maybe three years ago, [it would be]." Abdul-Rahim said in a telephone interview when asked if the loss would be good for his program. "This year, we expect to win every time we come out and play."
But to beat the best teams in the area, or any team for that matter, Friendship first has to schedule them, which Abdul-Rahim said has been "extremely difficult, to impossible."
"We follow the same rules as D.C. public schools, as well as the catholic schools but because we don't have someone vouching for that outside of Friendship, it's been difficult," he said.
One of the biggest roadblocks is that Friendship doesn't belong to a conference, meaning every school that plays against Friendship must do so outside of its conference schedule.
"Usually teams won't want to face a strong opponent early on in the season," Abdul-Rahim said. "Or, coaches maybe view it as they definitely want to win their out of conference games."
"I think as a coach you should want to compete and play against some the better teams, and I don't think all coaches really view coaching in high school football like that."
You can see Abdul-Rahim's philosophy in the games he schedules for his own team. Because the school does all scheduling on its own, there is no governing body that ensures it gets a full slate of games to play. Friendship will play any team, whenever Friendship can fit it into its schedule, but it prefers to play the best teams when it can.
As a result, Friendship find itself between a rock and a hard place. It wants to play the best teams so that it can prove it belongs, but the best teams don't want to play a team that is playing with so much at stake and nothing to lose.
Which brings to light the bigger issue at stake: the position of charter schools in the greater D.C. athletic scene. As of right now, they don't really belong to anybody. But Abdul-Rahim is confident in what the future holds for these schools that have been struggling to find their way.
"[New D.C. mayor Vincent Gray] has assured me that he's going to do something about charter school athletics," Abdul-Rahim said. "I don't know if that means going into the DCIAA or just creating oversight for charter schools with another organization so that other school districts will recognize our governing body, but I think that will help our program a lot."
But even the disorganization in the charter school system hasn't stopped Friendship from growing, both as a legitimate football threat and a program that enables student athletes to get the most out of their opportunities.
"I'm more proud of the amount of kids that are in college and are playing college football," Abdul-Rahim said. "I think our championship is on signing day when we're on stage and we have nine or 10 kids that are getting a free education."
Friendship bounced back from that loss to DeMatha with a win last week over West Virginia school Wheeling Central Catholic on the road, which shows you the kind of hoops it has to jump through to put together a full schedule of games every year. Friendship now stands at 3-1, with another away game against Wyoming Seminary College Prep in Pennsylvania tomorrow.
Friendship will continue to play the best teams in the area whenever it can, and will continue to be competitive in those games. If it can find a conference, or at least a way to maintain some consistency in its scheduling, it might be be able to get the credit it deserves for being one of the best teams in the area.
= = = Friendship Public Charter School is the District of Columbia’s largest community of public charter schools, serving nearly 4,000 students in grades pre-k to 12. Friendship succeeds in preparing a cross-section of children as scholars, workers and citizens on five school campuses. The mission of Friendship Public Charter School is to provide a world-class education that motivates students to achieve academic standards, enjoy learning and develop as ethical, literate, well-rounded and self-sufficient citizens that contribute actively to their communities. To learn more about Friendship Public Charter Schools go to:http://www.friendshipschools.org/home/content.asp?section=our%20schools
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