Raising our game
W
hen the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, and we roll into 2014, we will essentially be turning 3.5-years old (SportStars, Issue #1 released on June 10, 2010). This makes us only slightly older — and slightly less susceptible to meltdowns — than my son Connor, who turned 3 in mid-October. But it does mean we’re still relatively young. And that means we’re still trying to figure things out. And part of figuring things out is how we can properly blend our detail- and story-driven print editions, with a desire to be slightly more current with a stronger web presence. We think we just might have found the answer. We’re calling it the SportStars Digital Weekly, and the first edition will be available on Jan. 9 — one week before our first print edition of the new year. The Digital Weekly edition, which will be available at SportStarsOnline.com or through a free email subscription, will be a smaller version of our print product. It will include exclusive features, up-to-date rankings, timely news and notes and a handful of the other items that you’ve grown accustomed to seeing in our pages. It will have a different look from any digital publication we’ve put out to date. We’re launching this project in conjunction with a leap to the online magazine platform, Ceros. This means a lot more bells and whistles are at our disposal, including animation and a variety of dynamic layout options that we can’t attempt currently. And because we’re producing this content on a weekly basis, we’re rearranging our print schedule so that we can produce larger issues. Our 2014 print schedule will begin Jan. 16 with a string of 12 editions, which release at the top of month. We’ll also sprinkle in four special-edition double issues: Our Camps and Clinics Resource Guide (March 20), the Yearbook Special Edition (June 19), the Football Preview (Aug. 21) and Basketball Preview (Nov. 20). So what can you expect in the first SportStars Digital Weekly on Jan. 9? Well, we believe in coming on strong or not coming at all. So we thought we’d kick it off with the first ever SportStars All-NorCal Football Team. We’ll also throw in a recap of the West Coast Jamboree girls basketball tournament, which will draw multiple nationally-ranked teams to the East Bay during the last week of December. If you’re interested in joining us on this new adventure, and we hope you are, you can subscribe to the Digital Weekly right now for free at the following URL: http://www.sportstarsonline.com/promotions/index.php Once you’re signed up, you’ll begin receiving the new edition each Thursday (starting with the Jan. 9 debut issue) directly to your email account. Until then, everybody have a safe and happy holidays! ✪
join our team PHONE 925.566.8500 FAX 925.566.8507 Editorial Editor@SportStarsOnline.com Editor Chace Bryson • Chace@SportStarsOnline.com Staff Writers Jim McCue Contributors Bill Kolb, Mitch Stephens, Matt Smith, Clay Kallam, Ben Enos, Dave Kiefer, Liz Elliott, Tim Rudd, Trevor Horn Copy Editor Bill Kruissink Photography Bob Larson, Jonathan Hawthorne, James K. Leash, Norbert von der Groeben, Phillip Walton, Doug Guler, Dean Coppola, Berry Ivans, III Marketing/Events Intern Ryan Arter Creative Department Art@SportStarsOnline.com Production Manager Mike DeCicco • MikeD@ SportStarsOnline.com Publisher/President Mike Calamusa • Mike@SportStarsOnline.com Advertising Sales@SportStarsOnline.com, 925.566.8500 Account Executives Leslie Ellis • Leslie@SportStarsOnline.com Camps & Clinics: Ryan ArterCamps@SportStarsOnline.com Alameda County: Bobby Pope • BobbyTPope@yahoo.com Reader Resources/Administration Subscription, Calendar, Credit Services Angela Paradise • Info@SportStarsOnline.com Distribution/Delivery Phillip Walton • Mags@SportStarsOnline.com Information technology John Bonilla CFO Sharon Calamusa • Sharon@SportStarsOnline.com community SportStars™ Magazine A division of Caliente! Communications, LLC 5356 Clayton Rd., Ste. 222 • Concord, CA 94521 • info@SportStarsOnline.com www.SportStarsOnline.com
Caliente!
LLC
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER IN USA
your ticket to california sports admit one; rain or shine This Vol. #4, December 2013 Whole No. 78 is published by Caliente! Communications, LLC, 5356 Clayton Rd, Ste. 222, Concord, CA 94521. SportStars™© 2010 by Caliente! Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscription rates: 24 issues, U.S. 3rd class $42 (allow 3 weeks for delivery). 1st class $55. To receive sample issues, please send $3 to cover postage. Back issues are $4 each. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission of Publisher is strictly prohibited. The staff and management, including Board of Directors, of SportStars™© does not advocate or encourage the use of any product or service advertised herein for illegal purposes. Editorial contributions, photos and letters to the editor are welcome and should be addressed to the Editor. All material should be typed, double-spaced on disk or email and will be handled with reasonable care. For materials return, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. SportStars™© and STARS!™© Clinics are registered trademarks of Caliente! Communications, LLC.
Read Me. Recycle Me. 6
SportStars™
December 19, 2013
Score Digital Content: Scan SSM With LAYAR
Upload photos and team stats! www.SportStarsOnline.com