A Letter to the Coach that Almost Ruined What I Loved:

To the coach that thought you might have been helping me, just know you did not. Just know I went home and debated on quitting almost every day. Know that you almost ruined my love of the sport that had truly made me happy. You almost ruined the only thing that kept me running. But you did not, so I actually thank you.

Thank you for making me stronger and better than ever before. Thank you for giving me tough skin. Thank you for making me realize that what people say does not always hold up, and most importantly, thank you for introducing me to not only the real world, but to the real you. The tough skin came from having to pack my bag and take it to school every day, no matter how much I dreaded going to practice. It came from sucking it up for multiple years and not telling a higher authority about how amazing you were as a coach. This all came from you because you gave me that outer layer that could be picked on, but I would not let that stop me from my love of the game. Thank you so much for giving me an essential piece of who I am.

Thank you for showing me that words are not always true. Thank you for not always being honest and not always holding true to your word. This made me not be able to rely on someone's word for a number of months, but now I can again, and it is all because you no longer play mind games with me. You made me realize that you cannot always hold people to their words; that is okay because I live in the real world, and I know it is true. I just never thought someone that I would have to trust and think did the best for me would rather lie to me. This made me come to the realization that there is no need to lie, fib, or whatever you want to call it. Just know that your lying only made me so much stronger in ways you thought would only hurt me.

You showed me what it was like to live in the real world at a younger age than I should have had to. For this, I thank you yet again. You showed me what it was like to make it seem like someone had cared, but in reality, they did not. Thank you for showing me the true meaning of being stabbed in the back. Thank you for showing me that in the real world, people will tell you what they want you to hear rather than what should be said. Thank you for trying to make me such a strong individual. All the lying to my face seemed bad at the time, but looking at it now, it was nothing but a positive learning experience.

For everyone that reads this that may think, "wow, he is really a monster," (well, at least that is what I thought during this time period.) But honestly, you were just the thunderstorm helping me bloom into the plant I am today. Thank you for the lightening, the thunder, and the winds; most of all, thank you for being the best worst person you could have been to me. I can never thank you enough for the horrible times you had put me through.

With Thanks,

The Athlete Who You Almost Ruined