Dear league officials, coaches, players and parents:

      This letter is to introduce you to The Decatur Sports Page. The Decatur Sports Page is a website on the World Wide Web (Internet) that is devoted to Youth Sports in Decatur, Alabama.  For those of you with access to the internet our address is:

http://www.decatursports.com/

       Decatur Sports Page is an idea that Ken Gamble and Mark McWhorter came up with in 1995. It is an easily accessible place right in your own home where those with computers can access the latest information on youth sports in Decatur, Alabama. Decatur is a typical community where approximately one in three households have computers in their homes with most either already on-line or planning to go on-line soon.

       This is an evolving idea. We have taken the best ideas from similar sports websites in other parts of the world. What you see at our site right now is just the beginning. We envision an all-encompassing website where spectators, parents, players, coaches, officials can go for drills, tips, team and league schedules, download sports software, look at weekly awards, chat with other players and coaches, print out sign-up forms, look up scores and standings, view rulebooks, rain-out notifications, make-up schedules, recruit coaches, find used and new equipment, see game pictures, find the latest coaching and player clinics, etc.. The possibilities are endless. We will provide space on our website for any legitimate youth sports league as long as they provide the information to us to keep their pages up-to-date.

        That is where we need the help of the sports league officials in Decatur. We need you to provide us with the information to be put on the web. We are not asking you to fill out forms or do any paperwork. We need the same information that you are currently using for other purposes. We need team rosters including coaches and their phone numbers, player names (no phone numbers), team moms, team names, rulebooks, scores, logos, sign-up forms, pictures, advertising brochures, flyers, newspaper announcements, sponsor names, etc.. Any information already on pc disks is great. If you have it on a spreadsheet such as Lotus 1-2-3 or Excel or most any word processor we can convert the information to HTML to be used on the web. If your information is printed on paper we will use a scanner to put the information directly on-line.

         We would like the name and phone number of a contact in your league to call to get that information. We would also like the name and phone number of a contact at the state or national headquarters that oversees your league so that we can obtain authorization to use their proprietary information and logos on our site. We have already been given carte blanche by the commissioner of Dixie Youth Baseball to use whatever we need. In addition we have been given permission by several authors to use their work and we will be putting their writings on-line as soon as possible.

         If you as a coach or parent want to send in information on your team we will include that on your team page. There is room for game summaries, team announcements, and most valuable player listing for every team.

What is the cost?

       There is no charge to anyone for this information. This is strictly a volunteer effort by Mark and Ken. At the point that we feel the site is somewhat complete we may accept some advertising to defray the cost of the website and to provide funds for future expansion.

Why?

       You might say that we saw a need. Mark and I have both been involved in Youth Sports in Decatur for many years. I am a partner in North Alabama Glass Company which has sponsored at least one Dixie Youth Baseball team every year since 1968. We also sponsor several AAU, high school, Dixie Girls Softball, and club teams every year. In addition, I coach several baseball, basketball and soccer teams and referee USSF and school soccer. I have a wife and two children who are also very much involved in youth sports. Mark is the owner of Sequential Systems. His company also annually sponsors Dixie Youth Baseball teams. Mark has a wife and three children who are also very much involved in youth sports. Our children have been on Dixie Youth Baseball, Dixie Boys Baseball, Decatur Dixie Girls Softball, AYSA Soccer, Boys & Girls Club Soccer, Premier Travel Soccer and Boys & Girls basketball and Decatur City League basketball teams.

        We know the trouble with trying to juggle practice and game schedules. We know the anxiety of being rookie coaches and not knowing how to run a practice. We know how hard it is to find a coach's phone number when you can't decide if it is raining too hard to play.

        So this is our effort to provide a solution to those and other problems. If you have any suggestions or questions please call us at (256) 353-9181 or (256) 355-9273 or e-mail us at dsports@hiwaay.net

         The current website is an ever changing and evolving entity which is updated daily and is changed quite often. We have quite a few revolutionary ideas that we are currently working on so please check back often for updates.

Thank you,

Ken Gamble and Mark McWhorter