Dear NAIA Hoops Report Nation,
Not the way we thought our first season would end, and we can’t help but to feel bad for ALL the seniors out there!! On a positive note though; What a first season it has been for us. When I first started NAIA Hoops Report back in late May, I would have never thought we would have grown as fast as we did in just one season. The original vision, was to put some of my thoughts down, and see if I could build an audience, then if people continued to like what I did, I would look at growing the site more and more as the years went on. I am humbled and overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness, that the site has attracted so many people so quick.
Don’t get me wrong, I went into this with goals, but the main focus always was, and will always be, to bring more attention to a level of basketball I love and have passion for. The goals I had, I thought could be reachable in 3-5yrs of growth by slowly building the brand. I am still really raw when it comes to Blogging, and Adobe Photo Shop. I do promise that our graphics, and our overall product will continue to improve! Things I thought I would have a few years to learn how to do, I am now forced to learn on the fly. That in itself is awesome, and I am more than thrilled that the site blew up so fast that it forces me to be better.
To The Seniors
I don’t know what is in store for you, I don’t know if the NAIA is going to give out a full year exemption to come back, and I know many of you already have been accepted into Grad School, Med School, or have made arrangements to play basketball professionally. For those of you in the tournament, who were still alive and playing, we wish we had the perfect words for you, but we don’t. All we can say, is THANK YOU, for choosing NAIA. It is a special level of basketball, and we cant thank you all enough for letting us share in your journey!
To The Coaches, SID’s, AD’s, and Other School Officials
We weren’t sure what to expect in our first year, and we tried hard to coexist with, and direct people TO your stories, not away from them. To all of you who tagged us in posts, DM’d us stories, talked hoops with us, or simply sent us encouraging notes, we THANK YOU! It has made working on the site easier, and the encouraging words make us feel good about what we are working on. I truly believe that the NAIA is a community, and while we may not agree with every decision the NAIA makes, we aren’t here to attack them, or any of their institutions. We are here for you, so if we can ever help, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
To the Fans
Thank you for reading the site, and for being professional with most of your comments on social media! We are still far from perfect, and we will try our best to keep improving, but we are here for you, and we want you to have the best experience possible with the site. We also want to create an environment where people can voice opinions, in a professional manner, and without being attacked. We don’t all have to agree on everything, but on this site, we will always respect everyone.
To the “WE’s” That Make Up The Site
You will mostly hear me say “we” more than “I” when talking about the site. That is because we have so many people, some who you know publicly like Jake and Tad, as well as soooo many others who either provide information to the site, or write for the site, who like me, prefer to remain behind the scenes for now. To all of you who have helped, THANK YOU! Thank you for your passion, thank you for your hard work, thank you for being professional, and thank you for believing in the site and being so willing to contribute. You have all brought so much value to the site, and I forever will be loyal to you all for helping to make us who we are!
Again, we wouldn’t be here without all of you reading this, so thank you for your interest, and thank you for following us! We had so much more planned to end the season, but we weren’t able to get to the segments with the way the season ended. We will continue to make posts all off-season, especially with everyone moving to 1 Division. We will also get to our popular features from last Summer, when we did our “Player Spotlight” and “NAIA To The Pros” features. If you have some players you want featured, feel free to reach out to us!! We try to release one a week! We also have a few other special things planned for release over the next few months! It is still an exciting time on the site, and we look forward to our continued growth! God Bless you all, and from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!
In Hoops,
The NAIA Hoops Report Admin and Staff
