In our lives we have many people that will inspire us and teach us many different lessons that we may not have known at the time; however, looking back, I have realized that I owe you a thank you for so many of the things that you have taught me.
You have taught me that there is more out there than just what we see in our lives right now. No matter what we were stuck on at that point in our lives, you always found a way to seek out our strengths on the field and show us how to use them in the real world.
You have also taught me how sometimes, a dream that you have planned for all of your life just may not be a dream that you are able to achieve, and that it will be OK because you have more than what is currently in your life, and everyone will have their place no matter how long it takes you to find it. You always allowed us to find the place that we belonged on the field and allowed us to grow the courage and confidence to play there.
You never gave up on me which, in turn, allowed me to never give up on myself. You taught me how to be resilient and tenacious, not just on the field but in my life and school work too. This allowed me to grow and be less careless with myself, which helped me grow and become more confident.
You taught me that you will never get anywhere in life without trying and that your spot on the field is not given but earned. Every day when we went to practice, it was a competition to get a starting spot on the field and everyone knew it. You made most of the drills a competition and always made sure that whoever lost would have to have a bad punishment of running or burpees, and nobody wanted to lose. This is also what helped lead us to an undefeated season and to be ranked number one in our league.
You taught us that we were all a part of a team and that if we wanted to win then we would have to work as a team and not 22 individuals just trying to play the game. That would never work. When you want to win, you are better off going along with someone as you are stronger together than you are apart, and that was another important lesson that you taught us. That you will never have to be in this world alone, you would always have someone to carry you when you cannot walk or someone that will pick you up when you fall and sometimes even laugh before you do because you slipped at practice and made a fool of yourself.
You always found a way to make the team a safe place but yet still a competitive place. You always found ways to teach us lessons, sometimes the hard way, but always in a good manner, and you always made sure that we knew that we were welcome and loved what we were doing.
Thank you for all that you have taught me that I currently know and thank you for all of the lessons that you have taught me that I have yet to figure out.
