The number of high school athletes dropping like flies are increasing around the country and around the world. What is the cause of this trend? Contrary to popular belief, loss of interest may not be solely to blame.

Just like good teachers are needed every day in the classroom, good coaches are needed every day on the field. The impact and influence that a coach leaves on a player is vastly underestimated, meaning that a negative experience may have a lot of consequences.

I once had a coach who held their power through intimidation, harsh punishment, negative comments, and unfair treatment. The emotional abuse that not only I, but other girls on the team, faced was at a level that no one should ever reach. I learned a lot while playing for this person, and while I personally never quit and came out on the other side, there are many that do not.

It hurts my heart to see so many kids and young adults with a love and a passion for a game only to see it ruined by a negative coach. Some take the mental abuse and just fight through it to play their sport, but others just quit rather than deal with the consequences — and I don't blame them in the slightest.

Now, I'm not talking about coaches that use conditioning as an incentive or yell to get their point across. Unless it becomes extremely excessive or inappropriate, yelling and punishment are sometimes needed in order to teach discipline and improve a player's game.

I'm talking about the coaches that have never given their players encouragement and often use words like "pathetic" and "embarrassing" to describe their performance.

The coaches who don't communicate with their players when they have a problem, or use an immense punishment for a bad day or a bad game.

The coaches who treat some players like they own the world, and others like they don't deserve to even be spoken to.

The coaches who always find something wrong with a player's performance, no matter if they made a mistake or not, and exploits it in every way they can.

Since when did it become OK for coaches to treat their players poorly?

Since when did it start becoming acceptable for coaches to demean you and destroy your confidence?

Since when did winning one game become more important than lifelong dreams?

In my opinion, coaches like mine all have one thing in common — they don't see value in an athlete past or what they put on the field at any given moment. They have no concern for the impact their harsh words may have. They don't care that their players are working hard and trying their best, so they only focus on their mistakes.

SEE ALSO: The Coach That Killed My Passion

I have recently graduated high school, and while many have told me that my sports career is over, I smile and beg to differ. I could never get enough of the sports that I love, and even if I may not play it anymore, I have decided to help coach and hold practices for some of the younger girls at my former high school. I have never been more happy with a decision that I made, and I plan on coaching for a long time.

When I look around at all the little faces that I am coaching, watching them enjoy themselves and seeing how eager they are to learn, I just hope that no one ever takes that love away from them or discourages them from playing this beautiful game. And that is why I, a former player who knows what a bad coach looks like, will do all I can to make sure that I am guiding them and helping them not only with their skills, but with life lessons.

I value each and every one of them as not only players, but as kids with aspirations and dreams and feelings. As a coach, I know that I have the power to impact these kids positively and help shape them into what they will become, and I take that job very seriously.

The bottom line is, every kid deserves to have a coach that not only supports them and helps improve their game, but also helps to show them that there are more important things in life than playing sports.

So, stand up to those abusive coaches in your life or in the life of someone you love, and maybe even consider coaching yourself. Set a higher standard for the ones who have such an enormous impact on the lives of the younger generations, and maybe we can remind ourselves of the beauty, growth, and life lessons that come from playing sports that we are passionate about.