Dear Senior Athlete,

This is it. This is your senior season. Your chance to lead the team is finally here. For most of you, this is your last season ever. But for those of you lucky enough to pursue your love for the sport in college, I applaud you. It is one of the hardest, but most rewarding things there is. But it doesn't change the fact that this is the start of a bunch of 'last's." Last first day of practice, last homecoming game, last senior night, last game. Some of you may have been playing with the same group since you were little, and the moment you step off the court, field, or pool for the last time, it all becomes a memory. You see your teammates turned best friends walking off with tears in their eyes, then your eyes will start to fill up too. All of those team bonding dinners, the long roadtrips, the overnight tournaments, it's all over. And when it's gone, there's nothing left to do but smile because of the great memories you made. It's not going to be easy, so take my advice and enjoy every moment while you still can. Even those practices where all you do is crazy conditioning or your coach decides to make you run the whole practice. It doesn't matter if your team wins every game, or loses every game. Just don't take it for granted.

You might think to yourself, "How did I get to this point?" "How am I already a senior?" "Wasn't I just a freshmen?" And that is totally okay. Think back to your freshmen year. Do you remember the senior class that year? Do you remember how much you looked up to them? Because I do, and I'm a freshmen in college. I still remember every name of the senior class on my volleyball team and how much I looked up to each of them. Well that's how the "annoying freshmen" are looking at you right now. Some of them have never even played your sport before, make it a great first impression for them. I remember one senior my freshmen year, she took extra time to work with me on basic skills and we stayed an hour after practice a lot of the time, and I give her most of the credit for me falling in love with the game. Be that person to a freshmen. They look up to you more than you could ever imagine.

Most importantly, make sure to have fun. You only get this opportunity one more time.

Sincerely,

A college freshmen.