Today, I'm proud to offer an interview with Coach Gary Trousdale, someone who is hustling on behalf of kids, and using the Hoop.la community platform to create a special online gathering place for his team. Be sure to check out his great site at http://wavehoops.com.  Thanks, Gary, for taking the time to share your insights with us!

Tell us about your current position and how you came to start your online community.

After 4 years as Director and Head Basketball Coach at a prep school in Arizona, I decided to move to San Diego and start La Jolla Prep in Southern California.  We are a national high school basketball Prep School catering to student-athletes worldwide.

I learned many years ago that in a sports related field, your website is the most important aspect of your business.  The first thing we did was build our online presence before we went public with our move.

Is the first community you’ve initiated online? 

Actually I started fooling around with forums and message boards years ago with a little company named Infopop.  I added your forums to my high school online sports magazine with Scout.com.  We grew to the biggest online website covering high school basketball.  Then BOOM!  Infopop went big time and forgot the little guy!  Just kidding. (Rosemary says: we never forgot you, Gary, and glad to have you back!).

I learned back then your customer service and stylish forums were the best I could find. (Rosemary says: that makes my day, thanks!).

Have you been a participant in other communities?

Yes I have, but a very minimal level.  More to market and promote what I had going on, basketball camps, clinics and training.

What were the key things you were looking for when you sought a community platform?

Uniqueness, creativity and most importantly, simple to use.  I am a basketball coach, not a computer whiz.  When I first heard the term HTML, I thought it was a new football league, not a foreign language!

I spent years using different platforms.  None did the trick.  Then I received an email from something called Hoop.la.  Being a basketball business, it caught my eye.  Knowing you were Infopop transformed, I was “IN” 100%. 

I really believe the success we had in Arizona and now La Jolla Prep is because we built a facade with our website.  It had the look and feel of success before we even opened the doors.  Hoop.la did that for us.

How have you promoted your new community? 

 When we “officially moved” to La Jolla, CA  Twitter became our lifeline.  We promoted www.wavehoops.com non-stop.  Reaching potential student-athletes, all over the world.  And it worked.

Have you done any cross-promotion at real-world events, games, or with your players?

Yes we have, thanks to ESPN radio 1700 San Diego.  Rod Luck the host has been very gracious in promoting our website and school. I have been a regular on the show the last 6 weeks.  His first comment about our website was this, “If their website is any indication, La Jolla Prep will be big time.”

What’s your goal for the community? 

Provide a home for players, parents, fans and potential customers.  A real sense of comfort for them to talk basketball, get in-depth insight and information and be able to communicate with others around the world.

What are you hoping to get out of the experience?

A nice retirement!  Really I’m not kidding …

But first, make a difference.  Build something meaningful that helps people reach their dreams and goals.

Are you managing it by yourself? 

Yes I am.  But I have a good friend who has helped me from day 1 with design challenges that were over my head. 

I am somewhat of a control freak when it comes to my website.   But as our community grows, I will need help moderating the forums.  I look forward to that in the near future.

Have you involved any of your other coaching staff?

Not really, they focus on the day-to-day operations of La Jolla Prep and leave the website to me.

As a seasoned coach, what advice would you give to someone just 

starting a community? 

I wouldn’t say I am seasoned, but I appreciate the compliment! 

In my experience, there are a few.  Don’t take yourself serious.  Have fun, be yourself and find your niche.  But most important, I believe, don’t go in expecting to make money.  Build your community with your personality and knowledge, the money will follow.

Also expect a long wait for it to catch hold. My first experience, it took over a year before people started visiting regularly

What are your launch lessons learned?

No matter how prepared you might think you are you’re NOT.  Our website is 50% different than when we launched.  Expect to make changes daily (if not hourly). 

Get excited when you see “2 people online now.”  That other person can reach out to hundreds if they like what they see.

What’s your biggest challenge right now?

The forums.  I haven’t quite figured out how to use them with our website.  They have taken a back seat as we continue to learn how to use all the other features of Hoop.la.  It seems like every day we come up with a new idea or “plan of action.”.

I just recently uploaded our first video clip. A feature that will be a huge favorite that will draw large numbers once we get our library in place.

Are there any parallels between coaching basketball and running an

online community?

Oh yes!  Organization, creativity, the ability to adjust on a moment’s notice and the obsession to build the best.  

Coaching at this level or the college level is really about marketing and promoting.  Without a doubt our website has had a huge part of any success we have had, or will continue to have. 

Anything else you’d like to share about your story?

My father, who recently died of ALS, told me something that says it all, he said, “Gary, your website is the nicest sports website I have ever seen.” 

Thanks to Hoop.la for giving us a tremendous platform to help kids!

(Rosemary says: That's why we do what we do; I love hearing stories like this, and we're proud to be a small part of the La Jolla Prep family!)