FIRST INVOLVEMENT
FACILITIES
RESULTS SERVICES TALENT
“Dr. Coach”
(Photo courte sy of
St. Joseph's U niversity)
W
Raymond Washington, M.D., coaching his children, Jackson and Mia, and (inset) as a St. Joseph’s University basketball standout
6 Summer 2014
ith a busy medical practice that includes both general and bariatric surgery, Raymond Washington, M.D., decided several years ago that if he wanted to fulfill a mission of “taking care of kids,” he would have to come up with something that they and he enjoyed doing. He found it in coaching youth league basketball, an activity that also allows him to spend more time with his own children—12-yearold Jackson and 10-year-old Mia. During basketball season, Dr. Washington leaves his office or the operating room and heads for one of the gyms where he mentors youngsters involved with the Upward Basketball League or the Pinehurst Parks and Recreation basketball program. He’s a role model—not only as a physician who doubles as a youth league coach but also as a former college basketball standout. Dr. Washington played for Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s University Hawks from 1988 to 1991, serving as team co-captain his junior year and as captain while a senior. Highlights of that experience included playing with the team that captured the 1991 Big 5 Championship and being named outstanding student athlete. For Dr. Washington, basketball became a learning experience that taught him “time management and hard work pay off” and that children—even those who are most at-risk—can become successful by identifying with successful adults. One of those ways is athletics. “Athletics teaches lifetime skills,” Dr. Washington says, “and the ability to manage your time becomes central. I love to see the kids and how, once they believe in themselves—maybe by making a first basket—can improve themselves. I think that means a whole lot to the kids. It means a whole lot to me.”