Santa Cruz High School - my alma mater - won the Division III California state basketball championship last night. While I am proud that these boys represented my school well, I’m happiest for Coach Pete Newell Jr. Coach Newell is the son of legendary basketball coach Pete Newell Sr. who is now known mostly as being a guru for big men but also coached Cal to it’s last NCAA championship. Coach Newell is retiring from coaching and he will be missed. While I never played basketball, I was a pretty good athlete at SCHS and Coach Newell always went out of his way to congratulate me on my athletic achievements.

Thinking of this made me reflect on how important teachers and coaches are to young students as they begin their journey towards adulthood. I was blessed to have caring, dedicated teachers and coaches who, to this day, mean more to me than they will ever know. Perhaps I should have told them - because I wonder if they really realize how important they are to kids growing up.

I hope my own children are lucky enough to have the types of teachers I had growing up. And I hope I’m wise enough to let these teachers know just how important they are to my child and to my family.