Dear Coach,

I know that this is a little late (I graduated high school over a year ago), but I have come to realize that I have a lot to thank you for. You put up with me for more than four whole years and saw me at my best and at my worst. That is the first thing that I am thankful for. Many high school athletes go through multiple different coaches for their sport throughout their years. They constantly have to get to know new styles of coaching and playing, and oftentimes, they do not get to build a good relationship with their coach because of this. It really helped that you stuck with it for my four years of high school and beyond.

Did you ever think that I would miss hearing your screaming voice on the sidelines of every cross country course that I raced? Well, I have to admit that sometimes I do. Yes, it was slightly scary at times, but it did keep me going and push me harder, so I thank you for yelling at me. On a less serious note, I would like to thank you for rewarding us during the tough summer training. I really miss getting to eat popsicles every Friday after a long week of running. Even though you would almost always buy whatever was on sale, anything cold and delicious was appreciated on those hot days (even the veggie pops that you made us try one time).

I cannot forget to thank you for being more than just a coach. You were (and still are) always willing to talk about anything and help with any problems that me and my teammates faced, sport-related or not. I remember coming into your classroom countless numbers of times after school to ask about running, talk about our feelings, and make “your mom” jokes. A lot of my best memories from high school involve running cross country, and you were one of the people that made it happen. In fact, I had so much fun that I still come back occasionally to run with the team. You will probably never get rid of me, so thank you for putting up with me, and thank you for helping me to improve throughout high school in my sport and for making it an enjoyable experience too.