Q+A with Donald Toatley, Founder of MyHoopsLink.com

Donald Toatley, co-founder and CEO of MyHoopsLink.com, is a native of Washington, D.C., and has extensive experience in working with young people. Having earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Norfolk State University in biology and education, Mr. Toatley spent over 15 years teaching biology, mentoring at-risk youth, and coaching basketball.

The founder of two start-up organizations - New Vision Investment Solutions, LLC, (a real estate investment firm) and New Vision Youth Services & Outreach (a provider of residential group homes for abused and neglected youth) - Mr. Toatley is committed to inspiring success, particularly for today's youth.

Mr. Toatley currrently serves as a personal basketball trainer for athletes, hosts numerous youth 'Skills and Drills' camps, and is the reigning AAU 9U National Champion coach. His mission for MyHoopsLink.com is to help promote basketball and provide a one-stop-shop for the sport.

Don't forget to follow MyHoopsLink on Twitter and join their facebook group!

There's a lot of buzz going around the web about MyHoopsLink.com. Talk to us about your site - the purpose it serves, who your audience is, how you engage them.

MyHoopsLink.com is a new basketball-specific social network that is designed to connect the entire basketball world at every level and facet through a one-of-a-kind social media platform. All teams, camps, trainers and tournament hosts get their own FREE WEBSITE within a social network with video upload capability and much more.

The website’s features include the following:

• Customizable Web-a-Link’s (a website within a social network)
• Membership database of players, teams, tournaments, and camps/trainers
• Basketball-related job classified ads
• Drills / plays exchange
• Blogs
• "Ask The Coach" section
• E- Learning
• Parent clipboard
• Coaching tools
• Online video games
• Video uploads
• Internal messaging
• E-commerce store

MyHoopsLink.com was a player and you were in charge of delivering a scouting report, how would you sum up his/her game?

MyHoopsLink.com will change the paradigm on sports networking.

Describe some of the benefits for the various types of membership.
MyHoopsLink.com will allow:

• Basketball minded individuals of all ages and levels to connect
• Coaches to communicate, share ideas, and coordinate scrimmages
• Players from the U.S. who are playing basketball overseas to stay connected with their fans, friends, and family members
• Scouts and recruiters to find their next players
• Coaches, players, and fans to search for local and national tournaments in which to participate or attend
• Parents to locate quality basketball camps and trainers for their children
• Former basketball players of all levels the ability to store and share their basketball memories with fans, friends and family members for generations

The success of social networking hinges on the participation level of the community. What's your plan for growing the community. How are you spreading the good message about MyHoopsLink.com.

My Hoops Link will develop a brand that underscores its online community for basketball players as well as its commitment to provide members with cutting-edge social networking tools. The Company has designed a memorable logo as well as a brand that exemplifies its “Where Tomorrow's Star Shines Today” mantra.

With its brand and guiding principles established, MyHoopsLink.com will be able to send a clear message about its mission and what it stands for, thereby building loyalty among users and persuading potential members to visit the website and utilize its services.

MyHoopsLink.com intends to use the following marketing strategies to spread the word:

• SMO
• SEO
• Banner advertising
• Co-branding
• Sponsorship
• Affiliate Member Program
• E-mail blasts

MyHoopsLink is packed with innovative features. Which feature do you see taking off and developing a life of its own? And why?

Customizable Web-a-Link’s (a website within a social network). All other social networks give their members basic profile pages, but we are offering our members customizable website templates that are extremely easy to set up and are designed specifically to cater to their needs. Our social media platform was designed to maximize networking and advertising opportunities for all of our members.

Beginning with the end in mind, where do you envision MyHoopsLink 5-10 years down the road?

I envision MyHoopsLink.com becoming the Google for all things basketball-related.

Rumor has it that there's another Toatley with a lot of game?

My eight year old son Donovann Toatley is the co-founder of MyHoopsLink.com and is the inspiration behind the concept. Donovann is considered by many to be one of the most talented young basketball players ever. He has gained national attention by helping to lead his basketball team, DC Assault 9u, to an AAU National Championship in 2008. ESPN 360 was also following him around last year trying to do a story on high-level youth basketball. Donovann currently averages 15 points per game on the #1 rank 10U team in the country as an eight year old.

The 1 Dream Foundation: Please help keep the dream alive

As the great Nelson Mandela said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." The 1 Dream Foundation (www.1dreamfoundation.com) holds these 13 words as the core to our existence. With education all things are possible. For many children in 3rd world counties, education is their only hope for a secure job and decent future. The 1 Dream Foundation targets these young disadvantaged students and provides them the education that they so desperately desire.

In this tough economic time, non-profits like the 1 Dream Foundation must adapt and creatively seek out the funds required to continue to change lives. Each year our goal is to have 8-10 students from around the world join our program. The 1 Dream Foundation seeks out students ages 16-17 who have the desire to learn, the motivation to succeed and the sparkle in their eyes. These are students from some of the poorest places in the world that just need an opportunity, an opportunity which us Americans so often take for granted.

In our short three year history we have had many success stories. A 16 year old student from the Dominican Republic who had his father murdered when he was three years old and had to live on his own from age 13 to 14… he is now in the United States speaking flawless English and has found the family, school and love that was so hard to come by in his home country.

There’s also the 19 year old from Angola who came to the United States legally blind in one eye and nearly blind in the other. Unbeknown to us prior to his arrival, we found him an eye specialist who generously donated his services and now he has eyes of an eagle. He had been blind for nearly 5 years so he has had to play catch up academically but he is making incredible progress.

Every kid has an amazing story and we hope to touch the lives of many others. Here is where we need your help. We need to raise $10,000 by June 28th to “Keep the Dream Alive” for our new students. Whether you can donate $10 or $1000, every single dollar goes directly to the kids and makes a huge difference.

Please forward this letter to your friends, your family and your co-workers. Payment methods are simple, via our secure website www.1dreamfoundation.com (paypal) or by sending a check to PO Box 3655, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406. Our non-profit tax id # is 26-0320711

Please help us give these kids the opportunity that all kids deserve… a quality education, great host families and an organization that will mentor them every step of the way.

Thank you for your support.


Tom Mott
Director
The 1 Dream Foundation
“Changing Lives… One Student at a Time”

2010 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest to Include Non-Pros

The NBA and Sprite, with the help of LeBron James, are bringing the best amateur dunkers in the U.S. to the NBA All-Star Weekend 2010 in Dallas to crown a Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown champion. It’s time to put non-NBA dunkers with the skills on the big stage!

The program has a lot to offer for dunkers and fans who want to take part in the action.

For Dunkers:

The Twitter Power System helped me grow a following in online hoops

I love to write about hoops and connect with people in the basketball community on Twitter. Back in December '08, I even listed the top 10 basketball twitterers you should follow. Since then, I've connected with a trio of Twitter experts - Stuart Laing, Peter Francis, and James Rivers - that put together a comprehensive system to harness the enormous reach of Twitter.

Thanks, in part, to their system, I've become the #1 most-followed 'basketball' person in the WeFollow directory. Though, as we speak, John Calipari is closing in on me.

The Twitter Power System provides a complete set of information, tools and resources in a must-have package. The package is divided into several different elements, including a quick start guide and videos showing you the basics of Twitter, and the main Twitter business strategy manual showing you how to build up your Twitter account to achieve various business objectives.

The best Twitter tools (over 90 by my reckoning) are then outlined in the Twitter Tools guide, allowing you to find the right tools according to the results that you want to achieve.

Finally, the package is completed by a selection of resources to accelerate your Twitter business success.

Mindmaps provide you with a visual reminder of the main techniques and a viral tweets tool allows you to create messages that other Twitter users can retweet at the click of a button.

A selection of follow lists provide you with information about the best people to follow in a variety of the most popular subject areas.

Overall, the Twitter Power System is an extremely impressive package that will allow you to supercharge the growth of your business. It contains several powerful techniques that will benefit both new and experienced Twitter users alike.

The only potential drawback is the speed at which the Twitter network is developing. Techniques, attitudes and tools alter, appear, disappear, improve and deteriorate on a daily basis.

However, this situation has also been taken into account, as the secure members' area will be updated to take account of these changes on a regular basis.

Highly recommended.

http://cli.gs/aUm1mm

Playing hoops with jackasses

Did you ever play hoops with a jackass?

I'm not referring to the blatant hacker or the guy who argues the score after each made basket. I mean a real jackass.

If you thought playing basketball on skates or trampolines was excessive, wait 'til you check out this asinine idea. Modestly popular in rural America, Donkey Basketball - despite enduring stiff resistance from the ubiquitous PETA organization - is still "alive and well" these days.

According to a recent ChicagoTribune.com article the "game is played 4-on-4, usually with local celebrities, school faculty or members of student organizations making up teams. Players wearing helmets but no other padding attempt to maneuver their donkeys up and down the floor during two eight-minute halves. A player isn't allowed to shoot unless he or she is seated on a donkey."

Naturally, I had to go to YouTube to see if the always-reliable database of videos could corroborate this article. While the game has already been banned by school districts in multiple states, Kenny Schappacher of Ohio-based Buckeye Donkey Ball, offers this counterargument for its continued existence: "This is just good old fun riding a bunch of donkeys. If these donkeys weren't doing this, they would probably be in a dog-food can somewhere."

Sounds like a jackass to me!