The "Class of 62"....the first of Coach VanPool's teams to reach the state tournament...like it was yesterday. We fell to El Reno, 62-58, or something like that. We thought the world had ended that night and all of us cut school the next day to avoid the disappointment we perceived would be schoolwide. The starters on that team were Tracy Freeney, Russell Lawson, Phillip Wiles, Dennis klingsink and Rusty Fleming. And we were all touched in a special way from none other than Don VanPool. But we were just five from the Class of 62 which included the entire team. There were so many more. Of course, every one of his teams probably considered themselves special, but damn it, ours was. We had only won three games the previous year and to defeat Douglas and advance to the state tournament had to be one his finest coaching jobs. Especially the way he tinkered with the lineup, made position changes and developed a game plan for a rag-tag group like us. But he impacted our lives in so many more ways than on a basketball court. And many of those lessons paved the way for all of us to live our lives in a better way. There's not much we can say to lessen the loss to your entire family in this time of grief, but take time to really look back at his contributions to oh so many over the years. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire VanPool family.