The first thing I want to thank you. When I stepped on the field for the first day of practice I was nervous. Most of us barely knew each other. Maybe we’d seen each other in classes or around campus, some of us had mutual friends, but we all had never connected as a team before. We didn’t know what was going to happen in the upcoming months but we knew we wanted to work hard.

As the weeks went by it was obvious how much we were growing. Instead of being too nervous to say hi to each other, now we were exchanging Snapchats and Instagrams and getting closer. Our chemistry was improving and so were our skills. No longer were we the girls that first stepped onto the field that first day, we were better, faster, and stronger.

So thank you for being a support system. Thanks for always being there when I needed you. Whether it was on the field, off the field, or any other time, I knew that if there were any people I could count on it was my team. No one was there to judge each other. Our team gave advice, and when we had questions about the sport, what to wear, what the weather was like, or what time practice was we all helped each other.

Thank you for getting me through the semester. Spending time in the library, encouraging one another, and studying together are all part of the reasons why this semester seemed to be a lot easier. Having you all behind me to encourage me to work harder pushed me to study just a little bit longer and do better.

Thank you for teaching me. You’ve taught me how to improve my skills. I can’t say thank you enough for the extra time you’ve all spent during and after practice to help me learn new things or build up my confidence. You’ve taught me how to work hard and believe in myself. You’ve cheered me on and even on my bad days made me realize that I am worth it.

But if there is one thing I need to thank you for, it’s the memories. From running in the snow and rain to playing all day in the sun and looking like lobsters, I can never forget the time we spent together. All the time we spent team bonding and laughing during practices to dancing when Coach wasn’t looking, dancing when Coach was looking, making our warm up cd, celebrating when we did well and working harder together when we didn’t do so well. These memories will last me a lifetime. To the group of girls who I’ll call my family forever, thank you.

So in closing, thank you guys for teaching me that there are no better people in the world than your team. I love ya.