Mr. and Mrs. Hoelzel, family, Kerstin and friends,

   It is with the deepest sympathy that I write this letter. Stefan had many friends in California who loved him. He was my brother. It is hard for me to understand this tragedy. He will always be a part of me. I would like to take this time to share with you some of Stefan’s many accomplishments and experiences during his time in Los Angeles.

   I met Stefan in 1994 while I was the athletic director at Chaminade high school in search of a coach for track and field. I heard of a coach working for Tommy Smith at Santa Monica College who was from Easy Germany. During my studies of sports science we were told that the East Germans were 15 years ahead of us regarding sports training. Knowing this, I was anxious to get to know him. During the interview he only said a few phrases (“this is normal” and “this is your problem”) in a heavy German accent. It wasn’t until he left and I had hired him that I realized he probably didn’t understand a word I said. Still, I had a good feeling about him and for the reputation of East Germany. At the beginning, I would joke him about his English and he would joke me because when he couldn’t understand, I would try to count to 10 in German and I could only say about 6 numbers (out of sequence) skipping a few. He would mimic me for fun. Here were two guys who couldn’t explain thing to each other but still became good friends.

   The whole process dealing with his immigration was difficult but well worth it. One of the many examples was one of his athletes (Liz Giltner) who, under his direction, won the U.S. national pentathlon and the California state high jump championship (5’ 10”). Liz went on to U.C.L.A. and competed for 4 years and never went over 5’4” under the ‘so called’ expert coaches. He was the only coach with a high school and a college (Ruth Moeks, triple jump) national champion. That tells you how advanced he was at his job. Along with track and field, Stefan was the strength and conditioning coach for all sports at Chaminade and for our football team. In his first year we won our league title and reached new heights because of him. In one year (’96-’97) our school won 4 sectional titles, a number equal to the combined total of the previous 40 years. Coach Hoelzel has prepared our macrocycle every year since (including this year) and that has been a big reason for our success. We have won 4 of the last 6 L.A. city football championships and last year we finished ranked #13 in the U.S. (out of 14,500 schools). I am convinced that there is no one in the western U.S. with more sports training knowledge than him, at any level. The only reason he didn’t ‘move up’ was because he had difficulty with marketing and capitalism, but he really knew his business. He was too honest, too loyal and too genuine to try to ‘sell himself’. His family should be very proud.

   Stefan was a rare man for Los Angeles. He was loyal, principled, and unwilling to compromise his beliefs. He wouldn’t be phony just to get ahead. I respect him for that. His life was not lived in vane; he touched many lives here, including mine. We will forever be grateful to the people of Jena for ‘lending’ him to us for that time.

   Funny things would happen all the time just because of the differences in customs and culture between Germany and the U.S. One time he got a traffic ticket for a crack in the windshield of his car. He did everything he was supposed to do, getting it repaired, but because of the language barrier he didn’t understand that he had to give the completion notice back to the judge so he spent 5 days in jail. He did nothing wrong but because he was unfamiliar with the technicality of our laws, trouble sometimes found him. It never dampened his spirit. He never complained.

   Stefan was full of life and enjoyed his time here. Everyone who knew him loved him. He could laugh at his English. He was a good man, a ‘man’s man’. He was honest, hard working and of outstanding character. He was credit to his family and to Germany.

   I will never forget Stefan Hoelzel! Although he is gone, there is much of him that will stay with us. That part of him, the things he taught me, the good times and successes we had, all of that is alive and well in Los Angeles. His work will continue to live through us.

   Our deepest condolences are with his family and friends at this time of great sorrow. Everyone here is saddened by his passing. I have lost my sports training mentor but more important, I have lost my friend.

                                                                        Sincerely,

                                                                        Ed Croson

Los Angeles,  June 2008