To all my coaches, Thank You

When I was 8 years old and my friends talked me into swimming, I never knew what impact the sport and my coaches would have on me.

To my first coaches of my summer league, thank you. Thanks for waking up early in the summer to share your love for the sport with me. You taught me the simple fundamentals of the sport that carried me all the way through high school. You were some of my biggest role models at the time; I wanted to be like you. With a lot of hard work and dedication I now coach that same team. I look at the kids and see myself. I see how annoying I once was, and wonder how you put up with me every morning. I see how you believed in me, and gave me the best pep talks when I was crying before my races. I see the way I looked up to you, and how I wanted to watch your every move. Thank you for showing me how to be such a great role model. I can only hope that I'm half the coach to the kids on my team, that you were to me and my teammates.

To my club coaches, thank you. You always wanted to move me to a more competitive group, but I didn't want to. I was scared, intimated by the girls that had put years into club swimming. Thank you for not forcing me into something I didn't want to do. Because you let me stay, I found some of my best friends. I re – fell in love with swimming; I often think of those days and laugh. I think of all the inside jokes we had, the ones you knew about and the ones about you. I cherish those memories. I had some of my best swims when you coached me, because you taught me how important the details are. I try to coach my younger club swimmers the way you coached us. I want them to realize how important the fundamentals are, but I want them to have fun. If it wasn't for you, I don't know if I would've swam throughout high school. Thank you for showing me how to have fun while swimming, something that is often forgotten about.

To my high school coaches, thank you. You saw more potential in me than I did. You pushed me to my limit, and then a little more. When I didn't want to swim another lap, you knew just what to say to make me change my mind. You taught me more about myself than anyone else could have. You were there when I failed, but you wouldn't let me give up because there is always tomorrow. You were also there when I succeeded, and showed me that all my hard work paid off. I wasn't the best swimmer on the team, or the hardest worker, and I gave you a lot of crap, but you didn't give up on me or forget about me. Thank you for that. I considered you family, and you will always have a special place in my heart.

You have taught me that there is more to life than just winning and losing. You have all shaped me into who I am today. You have taught me how important the details are, but to still look at the big picture. You have showed me how to live humbly and be thankful for all the opportunities that I am given. You have put in me a passion to inspire others, like you have inspired me.

Thank you, for doing what can be a thankless job, with such love and passion.