A note of thanks to two coaches

Now that school is upon us and we reminisce about the days of summer, we recall the time of flip-flops and suitcases rather than backpacks and raingear. But in addition to all that, there are two exceptional individuals that come to mind.

• Photos

Jim Hamey and Lesslie Knight need to be recognized for their time commitment and energy put forth on our (Juneau-Douglas High School girls basketball team) summer basketball trip to Southern California. Their dedication to our team and our program is incredible and we are so grateful for their leadership. So this is our chance to thank them and remind them of our summer travels.

In addition to learning how to win basketball games, we learned how to ride the waves on our boogie boards at Zuma Beach in Malibu, Calif. We came to understand the value of money when we bought our $12 dresses at Target. Our team became familiar with the "Indiana Basketball Tradition" when we all crowded into a hotel meeting room to watch "Hoosiers." We learned that the little schools could win big.

We learned, the hard way, the benefits of applying sunscreen when we all burned and looked like big red cherries. Then we discovered Aloe Vera. We came to realize girls don't pack light, and ultimately became skilled at cramming 11 girls, one coach and a whole lot of luggage into our van. We learned to how to compromise in trying to accomodate different music tastes and, one time, we even managed to listen to a song the whole way through. In the meantime, we learned to make a distinction between Nelly "It's all good," and Martha Stewart "It's a good thing."

We discovered how to show pride in our hometown athletes by making t-shirts honoring Caroline Gruening (a former JDHS basketball player and recent college graduate and basketball player at Santa Clara University). We learned about keeping track of important things - like airline tickets. We won a tournament, had a birthday party, took a trip to the hospital, made several visits to Jamba Juice - not "Java" Juice - and met a movie star in Malibu.

So thank you for making us better basketball players, for all the Gatorade and Power Bars, and the endless hours of waiting in the parking lot as we shopped for new school clothes. Thank you for taking time out of your summer to make ours better.

Summer wouldn't be the same without the basketball trip, and basketball wouldn't be the same without Coach Hamey and Coach Knight. Thank you so much. We appreciate what you do for us.

- The JDHS girls varsity basketball team, Summer Trip 2002

Amy Neussl, Danielle Larson, Kendri Cesar, Letasha McKoy, Heather Dillon, Alida Bus, Nicole Lupro, Julie Heard, Bianca Carpeneti, Mary Rehfeld and Jordan Harvey