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Reversing fortunes at a problem school

Coach Tina Wiggins has Audenried on the rise.

Tina Wiggins guided her team to a 14-3 overall record in the regular season, the best mark in school history. Behind her (center) is Wali Smith, one of her three assistant coaches.
Tina Wiggins guided her team to a 14-3 overall record in the regular season, the best mark in school history. Behind her (center) is Wali Smith, one of her three assistant coaches.Read moreSHARON GEKOSKI-KIMMEL / Staff Photographer

Tina Wiggins had her fair share of detractors when she accepted an offer to coach the boys' basketball team at Audenried, the Public League school commonly referred to as "The Prison on the Hill."

"They'd say, 'You know it's got that bad reputation and the kids are always fighting,' " said Wiggins, one of two female boys' basketball coaches in the Public League. "But, it's so different from how it used to be."

After playing last season at the junior-varsity level, Audenried reentered varsity play this season after a four-year absence. The Rockets rattled off eight straight league wins to open their Public League Division D schedule and finished the regular season at 14-3 overall and 10-1 in the league.

It's the best record in Audenried history, topping the 12-win 1992 season.

The school was razed in 2005 after years of test scores and attendance rates that ranked near the worst in Philadelphia, and the school district opened a new Audenried two years later on the same site at 33d and Tasker in Grays Ferry.

In February 2003, Audenried reported 59 serious violations, including 20 assaults and three bomb scares. One of those assaults resulted in the stabbing of a 16-year-old female student, who needed nearly 60 stitches on her face and chest.

Six years earlier, the school district had labeled Audenried as an academic failure and planned to replace 75 percent of the staff and rebuild the school, but the plan was thwarted by the teachers' union.

The old Audenried building held about 1,000 students, 200 more than the new building, and had become run-down, as the school was meant to be used only as a junior high.

Wiggins, her three volunteer assistants, and athletic director Bob Miller see the team as a catalyst for erasing the school's rough reputation.

"The young men who play for her have grown as a team. I'm very proud," said Miller, whose son, Matthew, plays for Wiggins and is the tallest player on the team at 6-foot-3.

When Wiggins applied for the position at Audenried, Miller said he was "jumping out of his skin." Not only did he hire a health and physical education teacher, but also a volleyball, basketball, and track and field coach.

Wiggins had coached boys' basketball at Furness for the last two seasons and for more than 20 years at the middle-school level, where she captured five championships.

Miller described Wiggins' temperament to be "no-nonsense," as he has witnessed her players become more open to criticism. It's the first time many of the players have played for a female coach.

"Ms. Wiggins is calm during the game, but she can get in your face and let you know if you messed up," said junior point guard Maurice Wiltbanks, who said he transferred from Martin Luther King mainly because he wanted to play for Wiggins.

"Everyone knows about the 'Prison on the Hill.' This is a good school," Wiltbanks added, as he spoke of a new attitude at Audenried.

The new school operates as one of the district's career technical education schools, with programs geared to specific occupations such as electrical work and health careers. Last school year, its test scores were on par with the two other public high schools in the area, Southern and Furness.

"This isn't a prison anymore. It's a school," Wiggins said. "Every time the doors are open, the community comes out to support."

Wiggins said the program relies heavily on contributions from the community. Two businessmen last season donated new blue jerseys and this year provided new white jerseys. Also, the team has been helped by 19-year-old Tahquan Nelson.

The Grays Ferry native assists Wiggins at each practice and helps the players with their conditioning. He met Wiggins while he was a student at Furness and said the coach was "like a mother" to him.

"It's like I'm a big brother to them," Nelson said of the players. "I like to work with kids; it feels great to have them look up to you." Nelson's brother attended the old Audenried.

Wiltbanks and junior forward Lamont Bligen also believe the basketball team is helping to change the mind-set of the school. They added that to be eligible to play under Wiggins, each player must attend an after-school SAT Prep course each Monday. The two are beginning to prepare applications for colleges.

Miller sees the team not only as a way to change the school's reputation, but also as a vehicle to empower the players as people. He said the team, which often practices past 6 o'clock in the evening, helps keep the boys off the streets as much as possible, and he didn't "know what they would be doing if they weren't in the gym."

"Here's a school in Grays Ferry. A lot of times, you hear stuff, and it's not good stuff," Miller said. "But, a lot of positive things have happened here, and I'm blessed to be a part of it."