Who is HDMD?
HDMD is a small 501c3 Non-Profit AAU Basketball Club serving the youth of the greater Santa Cruz County area since 2012.
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We are a competitive travel basketball club dedicated to providing opportunities for kids of all abilities to learn and grow in the fundamentals of basketball while providing:
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an opportunity to bond and establish healthy long-lasting relationships with peers from all of the schools in the greater Santa Cruz County through the common interest of basketball.
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confidence and character building through teaching effective communication, leadership, positive sportsmanship, discipline, etc....
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a safe environment to keep the youth of our community involved in productive activities while helping with life lessons about teamwork, responsibility and accountability
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an opportunity to travel outside of Santa Cruz to cities that some of the participants would not otherwise have a chance to visit and meet and interact with kids from surrounding areas.
Coach Craig Wooden
Is one of the original Founders of HDMD along with Bytheal Ratliff.
Coach Craig came to California from Florida to serve our country. Having enlisted in the United States Army right after high school, Santa Cruz became his second home after his service was completed at Fort Ord.
Coach Craig played basketball and wrestled for his high school in Florida. An avid basketball enthusiast himself, he believes in teaching fundamental basketball in a disciplined, yet fun atmosphere where his players' personal and individual growth is made a priority for their future success.
Coach Craig is a resident coach at B40 Middle School in Santa Cruz and the Head Coach of the Boys Basketball Program at Habor High School. He has also coached at the Boys and Girls Club Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Little League and Scotts Valley Warriors.
Coach Craig's eldest son Rashaun Wooden played basketball for Monterey Peninsula College, then transferred in his junior year to play for La Sierra University. His son Malik began playing AAU in 2018, with the creation of the youngest team in HDMD history. Composed of 3rd and 4th graders with limited experience, "The Littles" as we called them, finished their season winning the hearts of our organization and 3 of their 4 championships.
In Memorium
Coach Bytheal Ratliff (1967-2017)
Bytheal was larger than life, with a smile and giving spirit to match. A beloved athlete-turned-coach, he dedicated much of his time giving back to his community. Bytheal's time as a Coach at HDMD, from our humble beginnings until his untimely passing, will always be treasured by the organization he helped create.
Bytheal became a seasoned coach, holding the position for: JV football for the Santa Cruz Cardinals, HDMD AAU basketball, Little League baseball, Cabrillo's GALS and Crushers softball, as well as a variety of teams at Shoreline Middle School.
Bytheal worked as the Athletic Director at Shoreline Middle School and provided campus security for the Live Oak School District.
An alumni at Santa Cruz High, Bytheal graduated in 1986 where he played football, basketball and baseball for the Cardinals. He also played football at Cabrillo College before falling ill. We keep Bytheal's spirit present in our hearts and in the work we do for the kids of this community.
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Thank You to All of our past and present Coaches and families!
From it's inception, HDMD was a small organization with 2 teams.
Coach Bytheal's son Deonte, Coach Craig's son Rashaun were part of HDMD's original teams.
Their vision was to provide quality coaching and to seek healthy competition in order for their sons to better prepare for their future athletic goals.
Along the way, HDMD has seen growth, not only as an organization but with the number of families that see the commitment that we have to their children's basketball development and want to become a part of something special. We thank our families for all of their unwavering support.
In our 9 years, many have come forward to Coach. Some have moved on and some remain. For them, we are thankful. We continue to exist for the kids and with the help of those who are willing to take on the challenge! Our hope is to help develop players that are passionate and serious about their craft. We encourage them to put in the hard work now, in order to be ready for their middle school, high school, college pursuits and beyond.
We are excited for each new season and for the opportunity to be better each year. We hope that you will join us and continue to support our vision.