Craig Pitti San Marin Memorial
People often contact me and ask me questions about photography, but a couple weeks ago I received an unusual phone call about some of my photographs. A woman found pictures of the 2011 San Marin High School basketball team’s North Coast Section championship season.
She wanted the pictures for a memorial service.
That’s how I learned that San Marin’s basketball coach Craig Pitti died. Craig had been diagnosed with Cancer this September. He died last month. San Marin High School held a memorial service last week.
I attended the memorial and brought my camera.
I taught at San Marin High School during the 2010-2011 school year when SMHS won it’s first section title. For the five year anniversary, I created a photo book and sent it to Pitti. I neglected to include my name, but he responded with a beautiful message that I plan to keep as long as possible. During the playoffs last year, I attended one of San Marin’s games when they played at another one of my former schools. Pitti looked like he could have coached another 25 years.
I have written a few times about the 2011 San Marin season. In one post, I discuss the last eleven days of the basketball season as “A Season to Remember.” In many of the pictures, the gym is full. After the games, people are hugging and celebrating. Many people were stunned in 2011.
This year, I recognized many of the people from my 2011 photos. Perhaps because I have relived my old basketball pictures so often, I also noticed that I began reproducing similar images. I noticed the crowd outside. I saw the coaches wait on the sideline. I watched the families gather. I witnessed people hugging each other on the court holding onto memories.
It was as if we were looking for the next season to remember.