I am a friend of Tommy Lizotte, who is the father of Nikhill Lizotte, who is your point guard on your 8th grade Quick Handle team. I was Nikhill Lizotte’s football coach this year, what a great kid he is to coach.

I just want to take a moment to tell you I watched your 8th grade Quick Handle Gold Team play 3 different times this weekend in the Best of The West Tournament in Yakima this last weekend. I saw your game against Friends Of Hoop, the quarterfinal game against the Seattle Rotary and your championship game against Team Washington.

I must tell you your team is the best middle school aged team I have ever seen come through Yakima and I have officiated the Best of The West tournament for many years. The reason I make that statement is because your team plays such great team ball & is so unselfish.

We all know that these elite tournaments consist of teams made up of all superstars, but to me what was so impressive about your team was the way they played as a team, sharing the ball, setting each other up and playing unbelievable team defense and the most intense totally dialed in group of kids I have seen. It is a real testament to you as a coach, because I have seen a lot of elite teams in AAU and I have just never seen a team with all those attributes I just listed.

My son and I sat a few rows behind your bench in the championship game and we constantly heard you reminding your team that it is not about one individual it’s about togetherness. I loved the way you challenged your big tall center (I believe his name is Cal) when he was on the bench in the first half when you told him to start being a leader etc etc. All in all it was just an absolute treat to watch your team play and to see youth basketball played with such a premium on a complete team concept.

Looking forward to watching your team play in the future.