Dear Coach,
I was 16 when I played for you. That season was supposed to make me keep on playing, but luckily for you, I stopped playing my FAVORITE sport just because you did not believe in me. I started playing volleyball when I was in the 6th grade, and I remember coaches used to speak of the “sparkle” I had in my eyes when I played.
That all faded once you became my coach.
After all of the pointless drills that literally had no end result, and your lack of passion, I became mentally beaten and you were the perpetrator. The worst day was when you demoted me as captain, the exact moment when I realized that I was done with the sport. You took all of the fun out of volleyball. I dreaded going to practice; I dreaded what punishment we were going to have to do again, and again.
Practice was one thing, but games were a whole new can of worms. I do not think that you purposefully meant to make it seem that you did not prefer my playing style, but it was the way in which you watched from the sidelines that gave everything away. You NEVER smiled when we even made a good play, literally ever. Do you know what that does to your team? Clearly not, because if you did smile then you would have realized we would have felt the congratulations from your face, and probably played better. I was just hurt after every point, not physically, but mentally. You gave up on our team before we even had a chance to show you how much we could improve.
Because of you (I’ve been channeling my inner Kelly Clarkson while writing this and I just had to throw that line in there), I stopped playing the sport that gave me peace. I was going to be good, but you pushed me down, and I could not hold on any longer. Because of you, I might have stopped playing, but I did not quit the sport. In fact, I became a coach, and everything I did was the opposite of you. I made sure that my girls felt that I was excited about their successes; I made sure they still had fun while playing and learning. All of my girls had so much fun; they wanted to come back the next season. Guess what: only THREE members of our twelve-person team played the next season. I just cannot believe you were okay with how you treated us. I saw that you coached last season, but I really hope you learned from your mistakes, because it would be such a shame that you ended more girls’ careers.
To the coach that did not believe in me, I actually thank you.
Because of you, I was able to become a great volleyball coach, I showed young girls that volleyball is so much fun, and they should always play with a sparkle in their eye. That’s what kept me going, it was my pride and joy to see how happy these girls were when they did something new for the first time. Also, thank you for ending my volleyball career, it did actually open up something better.
Xoxo,
#10
I know that there are other girls, and even guys who have been in the same position as I was. One coach ended everything they had going for them. One coach belittled me so much, that I could not take it anymore. I know this may make me seem weak, because I could not stand up for myself against a coach, I let her win, and I am angry at myself for that. To the ones who are in the same position as I am, do not let them win. Try your best to find something else that makes you enjoy it more. If you exhaust all of your options, then it could be the end of the road.
