For awhile, my passion for the sport I loved slowly started to die away. I had a coach who did not push me, who did not seem to care, and who was more of a friend than a coach to a large majority of the team. That coach was the coach that killed my passion. On top of that, the team no longer felt like a team. Many of us did not get along and it showed. And that was hard. The sport I once loved so much no longer mattered to me and I had no desire to be a part of it any longer. Soon a different coach came along though- and that was when things started to change. I slowly began to fall back in love with the sport that I enjoyed so much. This article is for that coach.

To the coach who brought back my love for the sport, thank you. You did more for me than you could probably ever imagine. At one point I dreaded coming to practice each day. The drills were no longer helping, I was not becoming a better player, and I felt as though no matter how hard I tried I would not be able to push myself to that next level and earn the varsity jersey I wanted so badly. But maybe that's just because, to be honest, I wasn't totally sure I wanted it anymore. However, I started to remember why I loved the game as soon as you stepped in. Instead of messing around the entire practice, I felt as though I was starting to learn new things again. For the first time in a long time, I felt as though I was getting better.

You understood what we were going through. Instead of tearing us down, not giving us drills that helped and constantly focusing on our record you decided to stay positive. Even with a terrible losing record you remained positive throughout the entire game. I am not sure that the team ever heard you get upset with us once- because you knew that we were trying, even if the result wasn't there. Thank you for always bringing us up instead of tearing us down. It made us closer, knowing that we were always there to support each other and you would be right there bringing us up the entire time. That helped bring my passion for the game back.

I am glad that I stuck the sport out and didn't let myself give up. Had I let myself do that, I would have never realized that I could gain my passion for the sport back. I am thankful every day that I had a coach who cared so much not only about the game but also about the players. It was obvious in practice that the only goal was not to make the team better at the sport- it was also to make us great people and to help us improve in life. Our school work was always first priority to you and you made sure that we knew that. The community of the team was important, too, and it really started to feel like we were a family. You also pushed us to honor all of our commitments and you constantly pushed us to be better people, no matter what.

Thank you for making the sport fun for me again. That is something that I was not sure would ever happen once I realized I had lost my passion for the game. But you brought the team back up, and with it you brought me back up. I may no longer play competitively now that I am out of high school, but I love to play pick-up games every now and then, because the sport is once again enjoyable. I finally have great memories beyond elementary school that link with the sport I truly love, and that is because of you. Thanks to you, I have my love back for the sport.