Parents, Coaches, and Friends,
I would like to thank all of you for the support, hard work, and dedication that you have given to this program over the last two years. I can honestly say that in my 10+ years of coaching youth football I have never had the honor of being a part of an organization with as much promise as I have seen in SHYFA. I have made some great friends, and worked with a really great bunch of kids. I never intended on getting as involved in this program as I did, but I think it becomes infectious. People always ask me why I do it since I don't have a kid in the program, and I always answer "Because I have 400 kids in the program." To me that's what it is about, it's about kids, not egos, not winning, not parents, just the kids. I don't think anything in the world gives me more satisfaction than seeing the look on child's face when he scores his first touchdown, or makes that big tackle. Leaving Spring Hill has been one of the hardest decisions in my lif e, it is my home, it is my community, it has been my life for three years. I will always miss New Orleans, but it was never a home like I found in Spring Hill. I want to thank everyone for the opportunity to be a part of this program, to see it grow the way that it did, and to be a part of something that I know will continue to develop the future. I will miss all of you, and I know that no matter what logo is on my chest I will always be a Raider.
Mark
