LETTERS: THANKS FOR GYMNASTICS MEMORIES

To the editor:

This letter is to the friends of Southeast Missouri State University gymnastics:

For the past 18 years I have had the honor and privilege of being the head coach of the Southeast gymnastics team. It has been a great 18 years: two national championship teams, nine regional championship teams, seven individual national champions, 50 All-Americans, 63 U.S. Collegiate National Team awards, four resolutions from the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives and more and more.

No one person is responsible for the program with the success that the Southeast gymnastics teams have achieved. This has truly been a team effort, and I want to take this opportunity to thank those who have been so much a part of this program.

First and foremost, I want to thank my athletes. You have been a pleasure to work with. No one knows better what it has taken to make this program what it has become. We have competed from the Bahamas to Alaska, and you have made the name of Southeast Missouri State respected from coast to coast. You were up for morning conditioning at 6 a.m. You practiced from the first day of classes in the fall to the last day of finals in the summer so you could return a better gymnast than when you left.

You competed in gyms that were so cold you couldn't touch the metal parts of the equipment. You traveled on buses whose wheel feel off while we were driving, buses that blue up and burned while you scrambled to get off. You compete against the best in the nation, in front of crowds of over 10,000, and you competed like champions.

We did not win every meet, but you never went to a meet that you didn't give your best. You overcame the ripped hands, sprained ankles, broken bones and blown-out knees. You did all of this while you graduated at a rate of over 95 percent and a team grade-point average of 3.4. You did everything that was asked of you. I love you, and I am going to miss working with you.

Next I want to thank my assistant coaches, some of the finest coaches in the country. I have had a lot of excellent assistant coaches, and they have been a major reason for the teams' successes. I especially want to thank my current assistants, Carrie Johnson and Mark Sontag. I only hope the team realizes how lucky it has been to have two assistants the quality of the two of you.

I want to thank the Southeast faculty and staff. You have always been there supporting my teams in and out of the gym. You are the reason that the team achieved so much academically, and I appreciate everything you have done for our program.

Over the past 18 years, the people of Cape Girardeau have been a constant source of support. You have given your time, your meals, your resources and your money. I want to thank you for all you have done and encourage you to continue your support to the new head coach.

To the media I want to give a special thanks. Without your support, the program could never have achieved the success it has. I especially want to thank the people of KFVS-TV. You saw the team for what it could be and gave me the power of your medium to help make the Captain Crunch Invitational and the NIT great successes. Your support showed the capability of the women's gymnastics team in becoming a substantial money-making sport.

To the administration of the university, I say goodbye.

BILL HOPKINS

Cape Girardeau