thanks

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SoCalHoops High School News

A Special Thank You To
All Of Our Friends--(Feb. 28, 2001)

This past weekend, I and my family experienced a personal loss with the passing of my mother. She was 85, and died on February 24th, a day after her 85th birthday. She lived a good life, and will be missed by many. As a result of her passing though, for the past few days we've had to attend to family matters and we've put basketball aside.

So many people have written to express their heartfelt best wishes and condolences. All I can say is thank you. When I can get some uninterrupted time later this weekend, I'll try to respond to those who wrote personally. In the meantime, thanks again.

We also want to say a few words on a couple of other subjects. Some have written, saying that SoCalHoops hasn't been the same, that it doesn't work unless the Daily Articles are updated constantly. . . But I think just exactly the opposite is true: The past five or six days have proven that the site works not because one person updates a single section of the site, but instead it keeps working because of the thousands who visit each day, exchanging information, news, and sometimes barbs and tirades on our message boards. It works because of you. . . all of you out there who are basketball in SoCal. This site works because of the players who visit, their coaches, and parents.

I started this site because I got back into youth coaching after a long absence from the sport, and discovered that there was no central place, no "clearinghouse" for information about all of the various opportunities that existed for kids within basketball in Southern California. Sure, there were the elite organizations, those clubs and groups that those who were "in the know" already knew about. But for the average shmoe (and believe me, I'm just an average schmoe), it was pretty difficult getting a handle on all that was out there and where it could be found. We started off small, with just a collection of links and bookmarks, and things just mushroomed from there. Recruiting info, leagues, tournaments, games, coaching, private workouts and strength and conditioning, links to virtually every college program in the country. Sure some of the stuff on the site is now of "historic" value only, and some of the links need updating, but we're still here, and we're not finished, not yet. There's a lot of work to do, and the amazing thing about this sport is that there's always another generation coming up behind the last, a new group of players. So, once again, thank you.

Now back to work. . .