If you've ever played a sport, chances are you've had a coach like mine. A coach that was always more than a coach in the best way possible. A coach that was not only a teacher but a mentor. Not just a leader, but a friend. Someone who saw you at your worst, but still loved you as if you were at your best. And chances are, it made all the difference.

Dear Coach,

As I reflect on my four years as a college athlete, I am certain of one thing: I'll never be the same because of you.

You saw potential in me that I didn't even know was there and you poured everything into helping me reach it. From the phone call the summer before my freshman year inviting me to work out with the team to encouraging me to join the cross country team my sophomore year, to choosing me as a leader my junior year, to watching me walk across the stage my senior year, you were always there for me.

I could always count on you to answer my calls (even when they were silly), to listen to my complaints (even when they were stupid), and to workout with me (even when you were busy). You never made me feel like I was a burden or a waste a time. You were always there. You poured hours into developing me, not only as a player, but as a leader and as an person. You invested more time in me than I ever imagined someone would and it made my college experience the best one ever.

Your passion for not only our sport, but our team, was evident in everything you did and said. You never failed to remind us that we were the reason you were coaching. You never failed to remind us that we (each and every one of us) were an important part of the team and that you cared about us as more than just players, but as people. Your words were always uplifting, always encouraging, always inspiring. You taught us that 'nobody is a whole team, we need each other' and it carried us on and off the court.

Thank you for not quitting on us.

Even after spending our first three seasons with losing records, you kept coming back with more and more of a desire to be a better coach and to make us a better team. From the four minute conditioning sets, to 'win the game', you put your heart and soul into carefully planning practice every single day because you believed we were worth it. You sacrificed your time to analyze game film so that we could be prepared for any situation. You sacrificed your sleep so that we could practice when it fit our schedule (even when it meant waking up early for a 6 a.m. practice or staying up past your bed time for a nine p.m. practice). You sacrificed your comfort so that we could travel to different places (even when it meant spending 19 hours on a bus to Florida and 26 hours on a bus to Oklahoma). You were willing to do whatever it took to make us better at whatever cost came with it. You gave 100 percent every day and you made us all want to do the same.

No matter what the scoreboard looked like, no matter what our record looked like, you never gave up on us and you never let us give up on ourselves.

Thank you for never letting us walk away from a practice without getting better (even when it meant spending an extra hour making foul shots or repeating the same drill seven times). Thank you for always reminding us at half-time that the score was zero-to-zero and we still had time to win the game (even when we were down by a lot). Thank you for always believing that our five was better than any five we faced and coaching us that way. Thank you for turning everything (wins, losses, life) into a lesson. Thank you for always pushing us, even when we hated you for it. Thank you for not walking away when it seemed like it wasn't working. Thank you for pushing through it with a smile on your face the entire time.

Thank you for never letting us settle for anything less than our best.

You instilled a level of confidence in us that made us unstoppable. Because of you we don't let anything or anyone hold us down; we always get back up and fight a little harder. We're stronger, tougher, and more relentless and it's all because of you.

Thank you for choosing us to be your team.

Sincerely,

A player forever changed