Dear Coach,
I didn't walk away from the sport because I had to, I walked away because you mentally drained me and push me down. I enjoy the sport that I chose to play my sophomore year. In fact, I practiced every day during the summer.
Do you remember the nights when I would stay at the bowling alley until nine 10 o'clock the point where my dad would have to come in and practically drag me out of the bowling alley? All because I enjoyed it that much. Nowadays it seems nothing like that.
I realized my junior year season that you weren't the coach that I thought you were going to be, in fact at first I looked up to you as a role model. I took in everything you had to tell me about making my spare. You continuously let my own teammates belittle me as you stood and watched it take place. I’ll never be able to erase the conversation of when the situation was brought to your attention how you blew it off and told my mother that the competition is good. From that day forward I dreaded going to practice. I realized that I wasn't doing it for my team or for my coaches, I was doing it for myself.As little piece inside me told me that what matters the most is that I'm proving to myself that I can do anything matter what you tell me. I found the inner happiness when I was at the State competition that year.I made it to qualifying considering the year before I fell short by one spot. But this time I was in the top 20 and this was my chance to keep striving for the top. As I looked around I watched two of my other teammates lose, by then I was the only one left. I realized during qualifying there was one thing missing; the coach that had once taught me everything I knew and gave me so much to look forward to was nowhere to be found. When I realized, I made it past qualifying something inside me told me that this was going to be one of the greatest days of my life and something that nobody could ever take away from me.
I moved on past qualifying and round three of five to done take fifth at states out of 352 girls in my division. When I made the last shot of my ball at around three I realized that something wasn't right I didn't have a team that encouraged me I don't have a coach that believed in me only ones who are there for me were my parents and the little thing inside of me that was telling me I can do anything. So, I want to thank you for being a bad coach because within that I've realized that I can do anything if I can find it in myself to do it. That's what matters the most is if you're willing and knowing you can do it then you can do anything in life.
Sincerely,
A broken athlete
