It is never fun or fulfilling being a part of a team where the coach simply treats it like a job. He or she may be sitting on the sidelines texting, grading papers or even watching the clock marking his/her departure time. I’m not saying this is the norm or your typical coach, but I, unfortunately, have encountered one just like that.

I was also lucky enough, however, when that coach was replaced with one who had the most incredible impact on my life, who I can sincerely thank for so much. So Scal (sorry, not changing that), just a quick thank you.

To my most influential coach:

You knew this one was coming, so here it is, and expect the unexpected.

Throughout my sophomore year of high school, there weren’t many people who looked at Hewlett Cheer without a sneer or a laugh at how dismal we looked on the sidelines. We were barely acknowledged during football season and seemed like a nuisance to the basketball players when we squeezed on the sidelines, over their bench, in an effort to cheer them on.

When word spread that cheerleading was getting a new coach the following season, I was definitely excited for a change, yet petrified and somewhat embarrassed as to what this new coach was going to think of our program that needed a complete revamping.

You came to Hewlett Cheer with an attitude that permeated through the cheerleaders. You understood the sport and had so much respect for it, there was no way you were going to take on the program “as is.”

You taught our team new and innovative cheers the very first day and incorporated new and challenging stunts we never imagined we’d be able to execute. Your heart and soul were invested day one!

You came to every practice with creative ideas and exciting sequences for us to conquer, knowing that with enough practice and dedication we would accomplish them. Even outside of practice you were always thinking of the team and brainstorming what you can do to expand and enhance the program.

Our conversations throughout practice and outside will be forever valued and cherished and your dedication to us is something I will always remember and carry along my career paths. You always had our very best interests at heart and were always concerned how you could help us become a better team!

You prepared us for my last two competition seasons feeling prepared and proud to represent Hewlett Cheerleading, and although we still weren’t at the level of some other nationally ranked schools we faced, we still felt that we could pose as some real competition, thanks to your encouragement and confidence.

I never thought that as a Hewlett Cheerleader, my team would be executing switch ups and twist downs, executing full on tumbling sequences within the routine, and having a legitimate competitive cheer that wasn’t a song. Those were things we did at competitive recreational cheer, not at Hewlett, until you came along, Scal.

For the first time, we actually had a coach who was fully vested in our team and fought for some simple things we weren’t able to arrange with prior coaches.

Wearing uniforms that mirrored the style from the 1980’s was just not ok. You took our fight to the Athletic Director and brought us current with all new uniforms!

Having to practice at the Elementary School always made us feel inferior to the teams that practiced in the High School Gym, but we were ok with that. However, having to practice on mats that clearly were not suitable or safe for our sport was overlooked for so many years. Again Scal, you worked it out and negotiated all-new practice mats that were so essential for our growth.

Ice packs - something so mundane and expected at any sports team practice was another challenge Hewlett Cheerleaders faced. Yes, you even got us ice packs (which definitely helps when a flyer falls from 6 feet down or a base gets banged in the eye or nose from a flyer’s foot or arm).

You have defended our sport and at the same time encouraged us to believe in ourselves individually, trust one another as a team and respect the program we so wanted to be a part of but were sometimes embarrassed to admit we were.

When we faced our peers who mocked us that cheerleading was not a “real sport,” you didn’t care who you were up against, you defended us to the max.

Now to me, you were so much more than a coach, and I will be forever grateful for our relationship.

I think you know more about me than my parents and best friends do. You have and still are always there for me any time of any day. You have been my therapist throughout high school, my personal advisor on so many levels, and one of the very first people I text when something good, bad or indifferent happens.

I apologize for my often dramatic nonsense I plague you with but thank you for your unwavering guidance and for always being “real” with me.

Not many coaches sit on panels for their athletes when they present topics they are uncomfortable speaking about.

Not many coaches allow their athletes to sit in their office when they’re having a bad day.

Not many coaches allow for their athletes to talk to them all the time about silly things like TV shows (aka Big Brother and HTGAWM).

The most important thing I think I was able to take away from you is the importance of having a positive outlook on life.

You have truly made me believe what it means for the cup to be half filled, not half empty. I will forever remember the conversations we have had and will always follow the lessons you taught me throughout our years together at Hewlett.

I hope one day I can be half the mentor to someone as you have been to me because there is no better way to describe you than being a genuine role model. You have more than succeeded in your desire to have made a positive impact on at least one person’s life. You have done that for me tenfold and I can never thank you enough for that and more.

I love you more than the rolling eye emoji, and once again, thank you my forever friend.

Love,

Linds