Coaching Staff Bios
15U BOYS
Head Coach: Michael Day
Michael Day is a long-time resident of Alexandria, Virginia. He has been coaching basketball for more than 30 years. He started coaching middle school teams while he attended Temple University in Philadelphia. Most recently, Michael has coached CYO basketball and travel basketball for Lee Mt Vernon Sports Club (LMVSC) in Alexandria, VA.
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After attending Temple and playing rugby for two years, he transferred to Elon University. He played basketball for two years for the Phoenix. Before his time in college, he played for Fort Hunt High School (now West Potomac) where he was All-District and named one of the Top 100 players in the Washington DC Metro area.
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Michael graduated from Elon with a BA in Mass Communications and earned his MBA in Business Administration from Marymount University in Arlington, VA. He is married with 3 boys.
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Michael is excited to join the CTAB family. His coaching approach aligns well with the organization’s philosophy. He emphasizes an up-tempo style, stressing defense and teamwork.
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Assistant Coach: Sam Rollins
Coach Sam grew up in the small town of Clinton, MS where he played City League and AAU basketball. He went on to join the Marine Corps in 2012 after one year of college and took the opportunity to coach or train basketball at his different duty stations, domestic and abroad, across his 12 year military career. In 2017, while stationed in Guatemala, he played point guard for various semi-pro FIBA teams. Following that, he served as the Boys Varsity Head Basketball Coach for The American School of Yaoundé (ASOY) in Cameroon where he led the ASOY Parrots to the West African International Schools Activities League Championship in Nigeria competing against 12 international teams across West Africa. Here, he also ran a weekend basketball camp for the local community kids and volunteered as a coach for the Jr. NBA Africa continent-wide tournament held in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Upon arriving in the DMV area in 2021, he ran a clinic in Arlington, VA providing individual and group basketball training to the local community. He simultaneously worked as a head coach and assistant coach for the Player Progression Academy based out of Washington D.C. leading his teams to multiple league-wide and regional championships. Coach Sam has always had a passion for volunteering and passing on the knowledge he's obtained to the next generation through basketball training. This includes physical and mental resilience as well as foundational basketball skills with the hopes of influencing positive change in the lives of those he coaches.
14U BOYS
Head Coach: Daryl Towe
Associate Head Coach: Donnie Bullock
Coach Bullock is a native of Portsmouth,VA and has been coaching basketball for over 20years. He has experience at high school as well as AAU levels with 2 National Championship Teams. He is an active coach with USA basketball and volunteers regularly with USA basketball Youth clinics. He has worked with CTAB for the last 3 years and is extremely supportive of the organizations philosophy. Coach Bullock has an MBA from the University of Texas and has a degree in Chemistry from University of Maryland. He is married with 2 boys.
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Assistant Coach: Linn Kanon
Coach Kanon is now assistant coach of CTAB Elite's 13u program. Coach Kanon has coached with CTAB since the start of the program alongside coach Donnie Bullock. Under his leadership, the 17u elite team entered the most successful period in CTAB Elite history, reaching five live period finals and winning four championships in 2020-2021. The 2020-2021 team won an unprecedented record of 23-8 games. Coach Kanon is also an assistant Boys Varsity Coach at Winston Churchill in Potomac, MD (20-22 MD 4A South Division Champions, 20-22 MD Regional Division Champions, and '22 4A MD State Runner up finalists with a record of 22-2,) Wheaton high school 2009-2011, middle-high school travel AAU KOA Sports from 2013-2020, and DMV Rebelz 17u 201-2022), and experience coaching adult men’s team, individual skills training,softball, and soccer all with an overall career win percentage of .800. Some of his players have continued to play Division I-III basketball and some at the professional level including the NBA. Coach Kanon is also a special education teacher and an advocate for the No Place for Hate program in a middle school in Maryland. He has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of MD Baltimore County (where he also played club level in his junior and senior year,) and a master’s degree in Transition into Secondary Education/Teaching students with Emotional Disabilities.
Assistant Coach: Bouba Cisse
Coach Cisse has been coaching with CTAB for over 3 years. His current role is handling the administrative duties for the team (i.e, emails, itineraries, etc...) and of course helping out with the game plan. He is very energetic and passionate about helping people reach their goals and full potential, which is why he loves CTAB and admire their beliefs. His goal is to see these kids grow to become positive contributing members of our society while impacting their lives positively.
13U BOYS
Head Coach: Connor Joransen
Connor is a native of Alexandria, Virginia, who went on to graduate from Gonzaga College High School, where he played basketball and baseball. After Gonzaga, Connor graduated with a BA in Political Science from Marquette University.
He is a USA Basketball Certified Youth Developmental Coach who has been coaching ever since senior year of high school, the end of his playing career, when he took over as the head 8th grade coach of Blessed Sacrament Middle School. He has since been the head JV Coach at John Paul the Great High School, and is currently the Freshman Coach at Bishop Ireton High School.
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Assistant Coach: Jeremiah Brooks
Jeremiah Brooks is a Springfield, Virginia native and graduate of Bishop Ireton High School and Virginia State University. Jeremiah has played high-level and travel basketball and has experience playing JV and varsity basketball in high school. He then attended and played atWheeling Jesuit University for three years, then transferred to Virginia State.Jeremiah is a CTAB alum looking to work with young athletes to improve their game on and off the court. His focus is to help improve students’ character, coaching ability, footwork, and overall sustainability of their future. Jeremiah is politically active in local and state government, earning his master's in Public Policy at George Mason University.
17U GIRLS GOLD
Head Coach: Jason Kirby
Jason Kirby is entering his second season as a coach for the CTAB Elite AAU program, coaching 16U in 2019. He is also an Assistant Coach of the Hayfield Secondary School Girls Varsity Basketball team.
Jason is a native Washington DC, with most of his childhood spent in Fort Washington, Maryland. He would begin his journey through sports at the age at 10, playing multiple sports for the Oxon Hill Boys & Girls Club. This would lead to standout high school career at Riverdale Baptist School, graduating in 1996.
Prior to joining the CTAB ELITE organization, Jason coached 17U Girls for the B.L.A.S.T. AAU program during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. As a member of the SYC Youth Organization, he coached the 2016 10U Boys county team and the 2015 14U Girls summer team. Between 2011 – 2014, Jason coached multiple teams for the Maryland Lady Heat and Team Takeover girls AAU organizations. In 2003, he founded the Fort Washington FORTRESS, a sports and learning organization focused on at-risk male youth throughout the DMV region. Jason began his coaching career as a volunteer for the Oxon Hill Boys & Girls Club from 2000 – 2008, coaching multiple boys and girls youth teams.
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Assistant Coach: Pamela Kirby
Pamela Payne began her love for basketball career at the age of 10. She continued feeding her passion in high school, leading her school to state and national championships. Pamela graduated high school as a conference MVP, tournament MVP, school scoring leader, and as a Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention player. After high school, Pamela decided not to continue a career in basketball.
Pamela received a B.S. in Telecommunication from Morgan State University and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore. During her college career, Pamela played for various intramural leagues and coached boys-n-girls club teams. In 2018, Pamela was inducted into Riverdale Baptist School’s Basketball Hall of Fame for her contributions to the schools’ basketball program.
Pamela joined the Hayfield Secondary School (Alexandria, VA) girls’ basketball program during the 2019-2020 as the Assistant JV Coach; where the team had a winning season.Pamela has over 17 years of experience in youth programming, mentoring, and coaching. She also has 13 years of service with the Federal Government. Pamela has a passion for mentoring and coaching youth. She has served as an AmeriCorps Member in Baltimore City Police Athletic Leagues Centers, Baltimore City Public Schools, and as a Youth Coordinator for local faith-based ministries. For the last seven years, Pamela has served as a Program Coordinator for College Bound, a program that prepares middle and high school students to enter college or vocational programs.
Pamela has a passion for coaching youth and through her previous experiences has the unique ability to tap into the players and help them develop and reach their goals. This is her second year with CTAB and she enjoys coaching with the organization because she is able to teach players more than the game of
basketball.
Assistant Coach: Barbara Burgess
Coach Barbara Burgess has a combined 28 yrs of coaching on the collegiate as well as high level.
She coached for Boo Williams B team for several years and has helped young ladies continue their dream to basketball on Division I,II, and III.
Barbara truly enjoy watching the players she coach's grow into productive citizens within their communities.
17U GIRLS BLACK
Assistant Coach: Floyd Edwards
Coach Edwards enter his 2nd season at CTAB. Coach Edwards has been in the coaching and training field for approximately 20 years (Fort Belvoir boys/girls Youth Basketball). He is a retired Army veteran who has over 25 years of military service. He is currently the Head basketball coach for Hayfield High School Girls JV team. During his years in the coaching field, he has developed his coaching philosophy which is centered around his core principles of commitment, selflessness, and team unity. His core value is focused on being honest and open with his players while holding them accountable for their efforts. Coach Edwards focus is on the process of growth, which entail the need for his players to focus on getting fundamentally better every day.
16U GIRLS GOLD
Head Coach: Thomas Watson
Thomas Watson started his basketball career at John R Lewis (formerly known as Robert E. Lee); graduated and moved onto Northern VA Community College where he graduated in 2013 finishing with an associate degree. Shortly after, he became a practice player for Norfolk State and ODU between 2013-2015. He returned back to the Northern VA area, where he played semi pro basketball and began his career as a HS coach.
Coach Watson has a strong desire for basketball and giving back to the youth/community. Coach T has been coaching High School girls basketball for 4 years starting at John R. Lewis, and now at W.T. Woodson. His passion and mission is to develop student-athletes on and off the court, focusing a lot of the game on skills development.
Assistant Coach: Kayla Ramsey
Coach Kay was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the spring of 1999. Growing up she was very active and wanted to play any sport that was introduced to her. It wasn’t until middle school that she realized her love for basketball. During her middle school days, her school unfortunately didn’t have an organized team but they did offer after school activities which included basketball. When she first showed up, she was the only girl out of a whole gym of boys. After a while, the boys not only accepted her but they would constantly ask if she would come to afterschool. This is where the love of the game started to grow.
Moving onto high school, Kay , as a freshmen made the Varsity Team at John R Lewis high school (formerly known as Robert E. Lee high school). Towards the end of her freshman season she began to start games and then from sophomore year until her senior year she was the captain. From the 4 years spent at John R Lewis her team made it to the final four 2 years in a row. During this time Kay kept up with her grades, earning herself A-B honor, student athlete awards and an athletic and academic scholarship to play basketball in college.
Succeeding high school, Kay attended New England College which for 4 years she
played basketball, rugby and graduated with a major in health science with a minor in chemistry. During her 4 years she was a part of the deans list multiple times and won 2 conference championships for basketball in a row. If the COVID pandemic hadn’t happened she believes her team could have won another one.
Currently Kay works as a Vet Technician for the PGSPCA and an animal hospital in
Woodbridge Virginia. Alongside that she also plays Rugby for NOVA ( travel team, not the community college) and in her spare time goes to help young athletes improve their game so they can make it to the next level. She explains that she is able to connect with the athletes because Coach Leia Towe and Coach Daryl Towe invited her into their family.
Assistant Coach: Pat Neri
Coach Neri played four years of high school varsity basketball.
He has coached in the girls program at W.T Woodson High School for 24 years at all levels to include 12 years as varsity assistant and eight years as varsity head coach. Those included three District titles, two Regional finals appearances, and trips to the state quarterfinals as well as the state semifinals. His teams achieved 116 wins while he was head coach. He is excited to assist the CTAB organization, and help elevate student-athletes to the next level.
16U GIRLS BLACK
Head Coach: Edward Barfield
Coach Ed Barfield is a 30-year United States Navy retiree who has dedicated
nearly 40 years plus to coaching youth basketball. He is a student of the
game that stays current and up-to-speed on the finer points of training
required for mastering his craft as a coach. Since the start of his naval career
as a player coach for his shipboard teams in intramural play to his current
coaching position as Girls Junior Varsity Coach for Hayfield Secondary
School, Coach Barfield has been a strong advocate for “giving back to the
community” by instilling in youth - young men and women - a sense of drive
and confidence to be better on and off the court. He is a longtime volunteer
coach – 14 years - for the Ft Belvoir Youth Sports and Fitness organization
where he has coached and trained elementary to high school students in all
aspects of basketball, with a heavy emphasis on player development and
fundamentals. He recently joined the CTAB organization as member of the
coaching staff for the girls, 8 th -10 th grade, developmental group that improved
immensely in their pursuit and readiness to play at the next level.
15U GIRLS
Head Coach: Stella Holloway
Coach Stella is from the DM(V) area. She went to High School at Thomas Edison and played under Dianne Lewis. She started her high school basketball career as a starting Junior Varsity player and then got moved up to Varsity at the end of the season. During her tenure on Varsity, the Eagles won 3 consecutive district and regional titles as well as played back to back state title games.
For college, Coach Stella went to Norfolk State University in Norfolk, VA as well as Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC where she was fortunate to play for those institutions. While at Livingstone College, Coach Stella was Captain and one of two student athlete representatives for the CIAA. Coach Stella graduated from Livingstone with a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics.
After college Coach Stella returned to the DMV where she started here coaching career at Gum Springs Community Center, coaching 16 and 17 year old boys. After much success she then moved to coaching girls basketball at West Potomac High School. There, with Coach Tenesha Green she accumulated a 41 - 5 record from coaching Freshman (1 season) and Junior Varsity girls basketball (2 seasons).
Besides coaching, Coach Stella enjoys being with her friends and family as well as being active, traveling, painting, playing video games, and relaxing watching a good series or movie.
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Assistant Coach: Tenesha Green
Tenesha Green is an Alexandria, Virginia native. Her love for basketball began at the age of three when she was dunking on her Little Tikes hoop. That eventually led to her joining the Rec team at Gum Springs Community Center when she was nine years old.
Tee eventually went on to make the JV team her freshman year and then the Varsity team the next three years at West Potomac High School. After graduating in 2016, she went on to play two years at Marymount University. There she won a CAC Championship and made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 her sophomore year.
After graduating from Jacksonville University, she returned back home to the DMV and began coaching at her alma mater, West Potomac. In the past three years she has accumulated a 41-5 record from coaching Freshman and JV Girls Basketball.
When Coach Tee isn’t in the gym she enjoys going to amusement parks, watching limited series on Netflix and spending time with her friends and family.
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14U GIRLS
Head Coach: James Watson
With over 25 years of coaching experience, Coach James Watson firmly believes that preparation, determination, and hard work are the keys to success on and off the court. He focuses on player growth and development and wants every player to achieve their maximum potential.
Coach Watson's coaching experience includes 10 years coaching high school basketball, 12 years coaching girls and boys AAU teams, and 15 years coaching in the Fairfax County Youth League (FCYBL). He has been able to create opportunities for his AAU players to compete on the national level, with his AAU Girls 13U basketball team finishing 11th in Nationals (D2) and his AAU Boys 13U Team finishing 4th in Nationals (D3).
Coach Watson has also helped pave the way for his players' future success. More than 10 former players from his girls' teams have played at the collegiate level, with schools such as UConn, Georgetown, Longwood, Mary Washington, Eastern Mennonite, Emory, and Randolph College. His focus on individual player development is reflected in the fact that 90% of his Youth League players have gone on to play high school ball.
He was previously Associate Head Coach of Osbourn High School’s boys’ basketball program and, for the past two seasons, has served as the Varsity Head Coach of Unity Reed High School’s girls basketball team, where his focus has been on rebuilding a successful program.
Assistant Coach: Theresa Cano
Theresa Cano has a vested interest in helping players work at their highest potential while also building the confidence and love for the game they need. Theresa was raised in Annapolis Maryland but moved here to play volleyball and lacrosse at Marymount University. She was a captain of her volleyball team her junior and senior years and received all conference recognition.
She has focused the last three years on coaching her daughter and son’s basketball teams for BRYC and ABGC. Theresa has also worked at some
Clinics to help build fundamental skills and has helped to organize middle school basketball in the Mason district region.
She hopes that with Coach Watson they can individually improve the girls skills while also building a powerhouse team.
12/13U GIRLS
Head Coach: Keyhana Wakefield
Keyhana Wakefield is a Delaware State University graduate with a bachelor's degree in Accounting. She was initially recruited by George Mason University, where she played the first two years of her college career before transferring to Delaware State University.After graduating, Keyhana worked for the Department of Defense for over 10 years, became a basketball referee at the High School Collegiate level, and competed in local basketball leagues and tournaemnts. Most recently, she was part of the semi-pro women's team, D.C. Cyclones, that won the 2023 Women's American Basketball Association Championship. In addition to basketball, Keyhana is passionate about real estate, traveling abroad, and fitness.