In college, I committed myself to basketball. Track was the last thing on my mind, but somehow I became a triple jumper. Basketball became a struggle; basketball was life, but it killed me. My senior year, I was a failed basketball player. I spent most of my career with nagging injuries and egotistical coaches. I played division 1, division 2 and then I dropped down to the lowest level of college sports- the NAIA. It was a brutal blow to my ego.
At this new school, I stopped practicing. We didn't have a strength or conditioning coach, there were no 5ams, and no individuals, it was amateur, to say the least. I had no love for the game anymore; I hated basketball with a passion, the coached sucked the life from basketball. In high school, basketball was my thing. I got letters, invites, etc. I was no Maya Moore, but I could score the basket. I was a pg in high school, in college they put me as small forward.
I wanted to be like Candace Parker, I had the drive but the depression killed it. My last coach called me “the worst player on the team, even worse than the walk-ons.” He crushed my spirit, because I knew how good I used to be. Thank God for the track gods, my misery and defeat were short-lived. Can somebody say “But God.” After a lousy game, Coach Kelly, the head track coach came up to me and offered me a spot on the track team. He changed my life for the better. This letter is for him.
Dear Coach Kelly,
I’m so grateful that you believe in second chances. You gave me a chance when I was a washed up college basketball player. You saw something in me that no one else saw, you saw me beyond potential and outside my athletic ability. As a total stranger, you saw me as a champion. You took a wounded athlete under your care, not too many coaches would do that. I didn’t want to represent the athletic program.
But you, Coach Kelly, changed my mind. I am smiling as I write this. I never encountered a coach like you, someone who cared about me. You showed me what it is like to have a coach that has your back.
A coach that will lead you in the right direction is a role model. You were the coach that didn’t care about business you cared about college kids. You cared about PR- improving my times and distance. I’ll never forget when you bought me my first pair of Brooks and my funky colored Asics .
You didn’t know know how good I would be! I was shocked like the rest of the team of my success. I wish I had another year with you. You believed in me! Coach Kelly do you know how much of an inspiration you are!? You encourage this young woman to do an event that I never done in my life. I was exceptional at it (I wish I ran track my whole life). You picked me from a crowd and said, “I want you.”
You treated me like a human, not some freak of nature athlete that could help you win medals. During the conference meet, when I was the favorite to win both long and triple jump; I didn’t compete, I failed. I let you down and I let the team down. Mentally, I was in a dark place, but you didn’t scold me. Instead, you told me to root for my teammates, then you said you said "let’s get ready for Nationals."
How did you believe that I could make it to Nationals when it was my first time jumping? I punished myself and you uplifted me. Your impatience with me was during practice, when I jumped further at training than at the meets. I’m sorry I came up short. I was the new girl competing with girls that had been jumping their whole lives.
It was you who instilled the confidence to be Southern, to be a black female athlete, and to be proud of my “slim thick” body. You gave me my passion to purse professional basketball. Thank you Coach Kelly for everything.