An Open Letter to My High School Teammates,
Everyone always said to treasure my time in high school sports because it would be over before I knew it. They also said to enjoy every second with the people you are lucky enough to call your friends and teammates because before you know it you'll be headed off on different paths. And boy were they right.
Thank you to my high school teammates for being more than teammates. Thank you for being my family. There were some days that we didn't know how we were going to get through tryouts, how we were going to walk up the stairs because we were so sore, or how we were going to last through a two hour practice. But we did it for each other. I never expected that I would grow so close to the girls standing next to me in that circle on my first day as a nervous freshman. It didn't matter if you were a freshman or a senior because we became a family the moment we entered the gym. Those moments we shared between the lines are the moments I will treasure with me for a lifetime and ones I plan to tell my own kids about one day. You are the people I learned to trust in such a short period of time and who I knew I could count on, even as the clock was winding down. You were the ones I cheered for even when I wasn't at my best. You were the ones I always wanted to see succeed. Thank you for always accepting me, believing in me, and never giving up on me.
We had seen it all: injuries, success, failure, rivalry. We made some pretty unforgettable memories along the way too. Those Dunkin Donuts runs and quick stops at the bagel store before practice, the foul shot drill where we crossed our fingers the whole time because the person on the line was the only thing that could end practice, and the pasta parties that gave us an excuse to hangout after practice and eat all our parent's home cooked meals are all moments I find myself wishing I could experience one more time. You never know how lucky you are to be surrounded by a group of people who you love every single day. Thank you for being part of some of my greatest high school memories.
The years flew by and before I knew it I wasn't a nervous freshman anymore. I was a senior leader, and it was my turn to take the freshman under my wing.Thanks to the seniors and juniors when I was a freshman, I knew what to do. I knew how to lead on the court and from the sideline. I knew how to get through to my teammates and how to push them to the max. I knew how to gain their trust and help them gain mine. But most of all, I knew how to keep us together.
Thank you for sharing the most amazing four years of my life with me. If you were an upperclassman, thank you for teaching me how to be a leader and for being the best role models I could ever have imagined. If you were my freshman, thank you for making my senior year one of the most incredible journeys of my life. Watching you grow and take on leadership roles has been amazing and so rewarding. And of course, thanks to my fellow seniors. I couldn't have imagined my senior season without the two of you, no matter what the circumstances. There is nobody else I would have rather played with in front of sold out crowds. Nobody else I would have wanted to wake up the day after Thanksgiving to run endless sprints with. Nobody else I would have rather spent everyday with. While success was always the objective, not a day went by that I didn't enjoy every second of it. High school athletics would never have been the same without any you, including our coaches, and my life would never have been so great if we hadn't walked in to that gym as friends and left as family.
Love,
A girl who came for the sport but left with a family
