Dear Coaches, Thank You for Your Dedication | Enjoy The Doing (2024)

Two weeks ago I shared a post that focused on high school coaches, which pointed out some less-than-stellar examples of coaching: Dear Coaches, High Schoolers Are Not Paid Athletes. I got to thinking about that post and the thought occurred to me that I should really write a related post focused on positive coaching.

As I mentioned in that post, our kids have been fortunate to have several good coaches over the years, so I want to give those coaches, along with every other positive coach out there, a big thank you. This is Little League Baseball-oriented, but it could easily apply to coaches of any sport. So here goes:

Dear, Coaches:

Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. Thank you for spending hours of your own free time working with kids and never giving up on them; even those kids who look like they’re NEVER going to get it. Thank you for showing up for every practice, game, and team party ready to teach and help.

Thank you for sending emails and texts to constantly keep us updated because life is busy with so many other things. Thank you for responding to our questions even though you already sent the same information in your update.

Thank you for being willing to stand in the rain and get soaked for two hours so your players can get better. Thank you for working as hard as you possibly can to get the field dry so you can somehow still play the game.

Thank you for being patient when parents don’t get their kids to practice on time. Thank you for not losing it when you’re expecting them to be there an hour before game time and there’s still no sign of them with just 30 minutes to spare.

Thank you for driving them SAFELY all over town because their parents are busy driving their siblings all over town. Thank you for waiting patiently after practice because their parents are running late to pick them up.

Thank you for buying them dinner when you’re traveling home late from a far away location. Thank you for handing down equipment, uniforms, and other sporting apparel and gear without asking anything in return.

Thank you for picking up the tab for batting cage sessions, and for optional uniforms so one kid doesn’t feel left out. Thank you for buying their first pair of metal spikes because their parents couldn’t afford to.

Thank you for showing up an hour before practice, or staying an hour after, to work with our kids one-on-one and give them that little extra time and help they really need.

Thank you for being there for them when they strike out, make an error, commit a turnover or make a major mistake. Thank you for encouraging them even when they have given up on themselves.

Thank you for focusing on the positive even when their parents might be too focused on the negative. Thank you for turning failures into teaching moments and for using successes as building blocks.

Thank you for making them smile when they don’t feel like smiling. Thank you for being their friend. Thank you for pushing them just hard enough without knocking them down. And thank you for building them back up when they do get down.

Thank you for staying after the game to clean up the field and for making sure all the equipment is put away. Thank you for teaching them that there are more important things than winning. Thank you for setting a good example and remembering that they are watching you.

Thank you for letting those less-talented kids have a chance to shine, too. Thank you for not yelling or punishing when kids make mistakes. Thank you for recognizing when kids are giving everything they’ve got and doing the absolute best they can.

Thank you for recognizing and pointing out when kids do something right, when they make improvements, or when the light bulb finally goes off about something you’ve been preaching for weeks. And thank you for celebrating with them when they achieve success.

Thank you for being a positive influence in their life.

Thank you for sticking with that kid that no matter how hard you worked with him just couldn’t hit the ball, because he finally did in the last game of the year, and it was amazing.

Thank you for teaching kids to be good sports, to be good people and to treat others with respect.

It’s not your job to raise these kids, but thank you for reinforcing the good lessons that their parents are trying to teach them.

Most of all, thank you for loving our kids, because that is what being a patient, kind, and positive coach is really all about.

So to all good coaches everywhere, I say thank you. Thank you for giving everything you have to make kids sports better, and even more importantly for helping make these kids better.

Great work, coach!

Sincerely,

Parents Everywhere

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