Players, Back Row: Tyler Smith, Jason Grisby, Anthony Lawson, Jeff Anguis, Jarred Jourdan
Coaches: Kwame Nitoto, Casey Smith, Rick Goodman.
The EOYDC youth Basketball Program has achieved tremendous success in 1999. In our first year of competition we are the Northern California Champions of the AAU Boys 11 & Under Division. We qualified for the AAU National Tournament, and in July we took our youth to Cocoa Beach, Florida, to compete for the National Championship. We accomplished a lot in one year. On the local level we won every Oakland tournament that we participated in, and we went to tournaments in Richmond, CA. (1st place), Sacramento, CA. (1st place), and Reno, NV. (5th place). Our over-all record for the year is 31-5. We have competed against the best competition in the country and performed very well. We have established our team as the best in the Pacific Association and the #1 team in Northern California.
In addition to the great basketball that the team is developing, we also have an educational component (we include education in all we do) included in the program. Because we recognize each youth as a future high school and college basketball player we know that they will need to be successful in the classroom as well as the court. We support these youth with a Spanish tutor who will begin to teach our youth to speak and understand Spanish. A foreign language is mandatory for high school and college students, and Spanish is the #1 foreign language in the country (especially in California). Our goal is to prepare these students to get excellent grades in foreign language at the high school and college level.
Dear Miss Rasheed,
This year I played on the EOYDC HOYAS basketball team. We just recently went to the AAU National Championships in Cocoa, Florida. I had a lot of fun. It was one of the greatest experiences I ever had in my whole life. I would like to thank you for making it possible for the players to play and contend in such an important basketball tournament and life experience. Most of all I would like to thank you for having such an impact in my life and my teammates lives.
In the course of the trip I saw a lot of learning and growing by teammates, and it all started before we even arrived in Florida. We all knew that Desean had never flown on a place in his whole life and we were all scared that he would get sick from flying but when we saw Desean's eyes light up when we were about to take off then we knew he would be okay. I felt that I had witnessed one of Desean's most important experiences in his whole life.
I also felt very good inside when my sister, myself, and Mrs. Smith taught Kareem and Desean how to swim. They were so proud when they could do freestyle or breast stroke and I was so proud that I taught them to swim.
Most of the team went into the ocean for the first time, and I saw their happy faces when the waves crashed against their chests. I thought to myself that I am so lucky to be experiencing things with the team.
I would like to thank you for giving the team and me the joy of trying something new, even if it's learning to swim, teaching someone to swim, or maybe learning how to lose with class. What I'm trying to say is with all we've accomplished and learned I would like to thank you for sending us to Florida. We couldn't have done what we did without you, so one last time, thank you.
Sincerely,
Jeff Anguis
P.S. The team did not really win much in Florida but as the letter described we had fun. If you are wondering, the team and I represented EOYDC as well as we possibly could.
