Dear High School Team Mates,

As the school year is quickly approaching, some of you will be beginning a new chapter of your life and moving on to a new town and a new school including myself, as well as those who will be heading to their next year of high school. In high school, most of you who are reading this now will have the privilege of heading back to the comfort of your home court or field to re-join forces with 13 of your closest friends and begin a new season and new adventures. For those of us who graduated, however, that will not be the case and as a result, there are a few things I wanted to say to my old teammates.

First and foremost, I would like to start off by giving you guys the biggest thank you from the bottom of my heart. Going into high school I didn't know what I wanted to do as far as extracurricular activities and like anything, joining a new sports team was nerve-wracking, to say the least. I can remember my first volleyball practice looking at all the girls who I was going to be spending hours upon hours with getting to know and love; when I look back I never thought that I would become so close to you guys as I did. Each and every one of you taught me a different lesson and you all taught me things about myself that I didn't know. You taught me how nice it is to have a community not only on the court but in the hallways during school, after school and on the weekends. The friendships I formed through sports are so different from those that I made elsewhere; you really get to know a person when you see them happy, excited, angry and aggressive all within a matter of minutes. I would like to thank you for all of your patience shown to not only me but everyone on the team. Anyone who has played a sport knows how frustrating it can be when your team is down a couple of points and mistakes continue to be made- as a team it is your job to work together to pick each other up and put smiles on each other's faces again to finish the game strong; and you all did just that, and that is something that does not stop once the game is over. You all took the time to genuinely get to know me, know when I am upset and know what it takes to pick me back up again. This still makes me smile to know that the bonds that we created over the blood, sweat and tears shed will remain strong and I will always have you all. Although I know that there is so much more I could thank you all for, I want to most importantly thank you for all the memories made; from pre-game pump up jams to team sleepovers the memories that I have with my fellow athletes are some of my favorites to look back on when I think about high school.

Now that I am graduated I know things are going to be so much different. There will be new people helping you to learn the sport, new teammates to be there to pick you up and soon some of the times we spent together will become distant, fond memories as you continue to make new ones in the coming seasons. I want to tell you guys (even though you've read or heard it from other graduates a million times) that high school sports will not last forever and to enjoy them while they are still yours to enjoy. Weather this is your first year playing, or your last, play every single game like you are never going to play again. Shake off the mistakes and learn from them. Nobody ever remembers the game that you lost, it's all about the positive, happy memories. Listen to what your coaches and older, more experienced players tell you because believe it or not, they do actually know what they're talking about. I know with high school there is also drama, the sooner you learn to leave it at the door of the gym the sooner your game is going to improve. Once you are on your final stretch of high school sports, getting ready to finish up your high school career you're going to want to look back and be able to appreciate all the fun times you had together; not all the drama. And mostly; let your teammates be your best friends because nobody will know you better than they do.

I will bring this all to a close by saying a final thank you for the memories, laughs and inside jokes. I wish you all the best of luck in your upcoming seasons and that you would all enjoy them to the fullest. I love you guys.

Love,

Your Old Team Mate.