To all my old coaches,
From softball to soccer to basketball to golf to track, thank you. Thank you for teaching me to love the game. Thank you for those days when I left practice feeling like my legs might fall off. Thank you for constantly pushing me to be a better athlete, and ultimately, thank you for pushing me to be a better person.
I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Teammates and coaches come and go, yet sometimes the right people leave a lasting impact. There have been good coaches and there have been bad coaches, but either way, I have learned so much from each of you.
To my soccer coach (aka my dad): Thank you for introducing me to the inevitability of failure from such a young age. Losing sucked. It still sucks. It sucked a little more when I was a small, pretentious grade school kid who knew no boundaries. Thanks for telling me to get over it and thanks for still telling me to get over it to this day.
To my golf coach: I'm sorry. I never did, nor will I ever, understand how to swing that dang club. But aside from that, I am eternally grateful for your ability to teach me patience. That was a tough one.
To my basketball coach: You taught me how to handle being yelled at for goofing off too much at practice. From that I learned the importance of keeping my head in the game. (High School Musical also helped).
To my track coaches: I learned that success and improvement are only apparent through hard work. Despite how many times I tried to run home instead of go to practice, you always made sure that I showed up anyway.
Everyone has that one sport that resonates a little deeper than all the others. Mine is softball. Even though I didn't realize it in high school, I am grateful for all the highs and lows that I experienced because it helped me to grow as a person. To my softball coach, you introduced me to my first love in second grade and you witnessed me ball my eyes out as I left the field for the last time. Thank you for helping me understand that getting to practice at exactly 5:00 is actually late and getting there 15 minutes early is on time. You taught me how to be a leader to my teammates, a role-model to younger athletes, and amiable to the other team. In college, it has assured me that I can be a leader in my community, a role-model to future students, and amiable to all people I meet. Without knowing it, you instilled in me the ability to stand up for my own beliefs, even with things as little as picking 2000s throwback music instead of country at practice. While some moments haven't been so positive, I'm thankful that I can learn from your mistakes for when I coach my own team in the future.
Sports have always been there for me, regardless of the vast array of coaches I've had throughout my life. I wish I hadn't taken so much of your wisdom for granted and I hope other athletes take the opportunity to value your principles as well, because one day you'll be sitting in your room in college surrounded by new friends and new experiences and you'll realize that sports aren't your life anymore.
"Sports were a big part of my life, and it truly shaped me and the values and morals I have from that,...it's a good tribute to what I took away from high school sports." - Brad Duke
