Not many people can say that their dad coached them in their sport for fourteen years. To be honest, not many people want to. Having your coach follow you home every night after practices and games can be both a blessing and a curse. Being the coach's daughter comes with a load of issues and responsibilities, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

First off, let me just put it out there that anyone throughout my athletic career who accused me of getting any kind of special treatment because I was the coach's daughter is sorely mistaken. I had to work just as hard, if not harder to appease the coach. Remember that while others got to go home after a bad practice, I didn't. I had to sit through the car ride conversation afterward. You thought he was mad at you for having a bad game? Imagine discussing all of your mistakes and inabilities every night at the dinner table. He may have pushed you hard, but to compensate for the fact that we were related, he had to push me even harder.

The ridicule and accusations that my dad and I received, mostly during high school, drove us both to the brink of quitting. We were constantly attacked by unhappy players and their parents to the point that I was ready to give up the sport altogether. It wasn't until we rediscovered our father-daughter relationship that we rediscovered our love for the sport. We stepped away from him being the coach and me being the player and started to enjoy the game again when I played for a club team that he didn't coach. He was able to remove himself from the team and appreciate the sport, and I was able to step out from under the microscope of being the coach's daughter and learn to just have fun again.

Having the break from our high school season together after my freshman year gave us a chance to figure out the difference in our relationship on and off the field. Now, it still wasn't great when we came back the next season, but we hunkered down and braved the storm created by high schoolers and their parents when they feel entitled.

While there were a lot of problems that came with being the coach's daughter, there were also many life lessons learned because of it. I grew a thicker skin for one; the weekly breakdowns I had my freshman and sophomore year were no more by the time I graduated. What can I say, haters gonna hate. My relationship with my dad grew so much stronger; going through four years of hell together bonds two people in a special way. I'm so grateful for my dad and everything he did-- not only to make me a better player but also a better person.

At the time, I was very self-centered with my pain. I blamed my dad for a lot of the things that happened, but looking back I now see how strong he had to be and how much he tried to make things better for me. I am so grateful for my dad, and for my coach, because they are two different people. They are two people that I love very much and am incredibly thankful for having in my life.

So for all you athletes out there with your mom or dad coaching you, don't give up. Don't be discouraged. You can do it.

Oh, and by the way, to the girl who told me I'd never play after high school because "daddy won't be able to help you anymore," please know that I am incredibly happy playing soccer at the collegiate level with a wonderful coach-- who is not related to me.