Harrisburg's David Archer extremely excited by new gig as athletic director/coach at York's Hilda Goodling Impact Academy

When York’s embattled New Hope Academy closed for good in early June, a disappointed David Archer knew he would coach basketball again.

Somewhere.

And at some point.

What the enthusiastic Harrisburg native didn’t know at the time was that he’d locate a gig that would enable him to bounce up and down the sidelines encouraging his players in the same city … and, ironically, in the same building.

Hired earlier this summer as athletic director and boys’ basketball coach at Hilda Goodling Impact Academy in downtown York, Archer is tirelessly working to splice together a staff and schedule for a program that’s yet to play its first game ... in any sport.

Since Impact Academy will be fielding a girls' basketball team, Archer also is trying to find someone to front that program for a school that’s been around for several years, but only recently relocated to the former church on King Street that housed New Hope Academy before its recent closure.

Named for the late wife of former United States congressman Bill Goodling — himself a former educator before he decided to run for the seat in the House of Representatives that was held by his father, George — Hilda Goodling was a teacher in the Dallastown and York Suburban School Districts for more than four decades.

Following a brief retirement, Mrs. Goodling worked as a teaching assistant in classrooms throughout the Baltimore area, impacting at-risk students.

“What I was looking for going forward was [to find] something that I believed in the mission statement,” said Archer, who was a finalist for the Steel-High boys’ hoops job and was discussing an assistant coaching job at a local small college before landing at Impact Academy.

“It wasn’t about control, it was about going somewhere where I believed in what they’re doing. Hilda Goodling Impact Academy I believed in hands down. It wasn’t an afterthought. I believed in the purpose and I believed in what was going on.

“Obviously, still having the ability to coach was huge,” Archer admitted. “I wanted to be able to impact lives. Hilda Goodling impacted lives on another note. When it was all said and done, I wanted to make sure I could do the same thing.”

What makes Impact Academy somewhat different is students will spend mornings studying core curriculum subjects such as English, math, science and social studies. Once lunch comes to a close, youngsters immerse themselves in career-path areas such as business, performing arts and sports science/management.

It’s all designed to encourage youngsters to have fun learning while preparing for vocations they might choose to pursue. Prep courses for college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT also are mandatory for those enrolled.

There’s also a community service requirement for graduation at Impact Academy, which will enroll students from kindergarten through 12^th grade.

“Impact Academy is completely different,” Archer said. “It’s a completely different environment. It’s not New Hope and it’s not New Hope II. It’s a stand-alone school. It’s not another way to funnel kids. What made it different was the values and the curriculum. The onus is back on educating kids and helping kids find their way and what’s best for them and what’s best for their lives.”

And while Archer’s role as coach and athletic director will provide a complement to the academic objectives by instituting an extracurricular side, he’s been extremely busy trying to find opponents for Impact Academy’s hoops programs since the PIAA approved the York school at its July meeting.

That means, beginning this winter, Impact Academy will be eligible to compete at the District 3 and state levels.

“This definitely has its difficulties, what with power ratings and big schools reservations of playing new schools and start-up schools,” Archer remarked. “Things are coming along. I’m excited to have the opportunity to play in a couple of showcase events as a first-year program.”

Archer, who in his lone season piloted New Hope to a 16-10 record that included a District 3-A championship and a berth in the PIAA Class A quarterfinals even though the school almost never took the floor during the 2013-14 season, has Impact Academy lined up for a pair of DMV Elite showcases at a pair of Maryland venues, St. Paul’s and Hagerstown. New Hope appeared in two DMV Elite events last season.

Impact, which is so new to the athletic scene it has yet to select the school’s mascot, also is set to play in a Scholastic Play-by-Play event in Williamsport.

Several trips to Philadelphia, as well as local dustups with Harrisburg Academy and York Country Day, also await Archer’s new club.

Archer, who guided Pine Grove to a District 11-AA title and a pair of state playoff appearances during his four seasons (63-42) in Schuylkill County, will have former New Hope assistant Montez Parker making the move to Impact Academy with him.

Guard Montrel Morgan, the only player in New Hope history to land all-state recognition, also is expected to be part of Impact Academy’s first basketball team.

The 6-2 Morgan, who will play later this week in Las Vegas with the Harrisburg-based Team Pennsylvania, is receiving recruiting interest from several academically strong D-I programs in the Patriot and Ivy Leagues.

Impact Academy also is establishing a prep school men’s basketball program.

“It’s a dream opportunity,” Archer exclaimed. “To have opportunities to be in situations to be a trailblazer doesn’t happen much nowadays. Usually, you’re building on the legacy of schools. That’s what I did at Pine Grove. And that’s what I did at New Hope. It’s so exciting because everything comes down to what you do.

“It’s about hard work and dedication,” Archer continued. “To be able to establish a professional setting around academic integrity and athletic integrity is something that’s been instilled in me for all the years.”

Archer just hopes to follow in the footsteps generated by one of his mentors at Harrisburg High School — Destry Mangus — as he takes another sizable step deeper on his own career path.

His employer may have changed, but his values and objectives have not.

“This isn’t pressure. The pressure’s going to be building the program,” Archer said. “I knew what coaching was like, I knew the ins and outs of what coaches do.

“The only pressure we have is the pressure we put on ourselves, the pressure built on serving kids. I don’t know anything else. This isn’t work. This is an opportunity to do what comes naturally. Imparting [wisdom] back into kids’ lives it the most natural thing I do. This was instilled in me from a young age.

“Des Mangus was my JV coach at Harrisburg High, "Archer added. "He singlehandedly helped change my life. I think about him every day when I’m working with kids. It’s exciting to be what Des Mangus was to me while working with other kids. He changed my direction. I would not be in this situation without him.

"He helped a 16-year-old confused kid turn into the person I am.”

And that person is a passionate man/basketball coach/athletic director who merely wants to build a reputable program at a fledgling school searching for an identity on the academic landscape.

He simply wants to make an impact — which he's already done at several other places — at Impact.

Said Archer, who coached at a number of places before landing his first head coaching post: "I can’t wait for September to get here and get in the trenches and get down to business with the kids."

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