I don't think you hear it enough or realize how big of an impact you have on the students you coach. Thank you for believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself. Thank you for all of the encouragement when I was down. Thank you for the yelling at and correcting me because that was how I grew. Thank you for pushing me to be the best that I could be in whatever I happened to be competing in.
To my volleyball coaches:
Thank you for helping to foster my first love for a sport. I never knew, until I played volleyball, that I could love something (that was such hard work and often painful) so much. Thank you for igniting and fanning the passion that grew with each year I played. Yes, I liked volleyball in middle school, but I loved it in high school and part of that was because of you. I could see your passion and love for the game in each practice, game, tournament, team get together, and interaction I had with each of you. You may have yelled at us and made us do countless "go-sixes," but it was only because you loved us and wanted us to get better. While we may not have had the most wins in the scorebook, you never let that stop you from helping us work to improve. You showed me what leadership was and guided me to start becoming a leader both on and off the court. You helped show me and develop the determination that I would need later in life to get through tough times.
To my speech coaches:
I don't even know where to start. Thank you for helping take "shy little Jackie" and turn her into someone who can talk in front of large crowds (although it may not be her favorite thing to do). Thank you for taking a genuine interest in each of us students as people, not just as one of "your students" - for truly making us YOUR students and making us feel like family. Not only did your caring and kind nature make each of us feel special, but you also worked to develop a TEAM attitude - acknowledging that we could not function with just individuals (except for maybe in individual competition, but even then, we were encouraged to watch & help one another). Thank you for allowing each of us to help choose our piece(s) which not only made them so much more meaningful, but gave us a sense of responsibility. Thank you for helping us find pieces that were relatable, yet challenging. You gently prodded us to become the best that we could be whether that was in the group or individual competitions. Thank you for helping me develop my confidence which was a struggle for me in my high school years, but has been so helpful since then and will be in my future. Thank you for being amazing!
To my track coaches:
What you don't know is that in 6th grade I told my mom that I didn't like soccer because it was too much running. Why I decided to try track in 7th grade, I'll never know, but thank you for believing that I could make a valuable contribution to the team. I'll be the first to admit that I knew nothing about running when I started track in 7th grade. In my 7th and 8th grade seasons I learned how the sport of track and field worked; I learned the order of the races and how to compete, but what I didn't learn was how to run. You guys took a very awkward freshman (in more than just my running form) and turned her into a runner. I'll never forget the times during warm-ups that you made me run with a penny pinched between my index finger and thumb to stop me from clenching my fists. And when I had that mastered, you told me to pass the penny from finger to finger without dropping it. While this lesson was mostly about correcting my running form, I learned that the small things really do make a difference (in life too, not just running). Then there were the times you told me (over and over again) to run on my toes (for those of you that don't know, I was a sprinter). I'm sure I looked like some kind of weird animal when I first started that, but it worked. And eventually, running without my fists clenched and on my toes became natural. Thank you for helping me do something I never thought I could (and for making it fun too!). Thank you for fostering such a team atmosphere in a sport that could be classified as an individual one. You made each and every one of us feel like an important cog in the wheel of the team while making sure that nothing ever went to our heads. Thank you for really pushing me and reminding me never to give up. Thank you for helping to show me that hard work and dedication really do pay off because I'm certain that if you asked 7th grade Jackie if she would ever run at the state meet, she would have laughed at you. Thank you for reminding (and showing) me how to not take life so seriously (I'm pretty sure there are countless things that came out of your mouth that made us double over in laughter, but I won't post those here). While it was mostly about the running and competing, I learned so much from you about life.
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