A Thank You Letter to Veteran Cheer Coaches from the Less Experienced

There is always that coach that was there long before you who took a chance on you. The one who started off where you were, and grew to be the guru they are today. Someone who started everything, and allowed you to be a part of their family (whether they had a say so, or not). The one who’s blood sweat and tears built the very thing you love; the one who was the guinea pig, and spent countless hours doing research on how to make the organization into what it is now. Making it all the greatness it is today through sacrifice, and lots of trial and error. The one who typically is behind the scenes, and goes unnoticed for all the years and hard work that they put in. Coaches who are still their own enemies even though we see everything do as just‚ flawless. Thank you. Thank you for taking us under your wings, and telling us what you found out the hard way. You make this road the smoothest possible, even though your road was bumpy. Thanks for dealing with our rookie confidence, and know-it-all attitudes because we THINK we can just do it without any help. For shaping us as coaches, and teaching us all of your valuable wisdom even though you really don’t have to. Thank you for being our shoulder to cry on when we finally come to terms with the fact we should have just listened. The shoulder when things don’t go right, or when our nerves get the absolute best of us. For the countless hours you came to our practice to help teach us proper technique; the countless ideas you gave us when we aren’t at practice; for picking up the slack when your vision just isn’t working out. Thank you for never letting us fall‚ always assuring us we are not alone in this! Fixing any mistake that we made. Contributing to a portion or most of a routine without wanting any thanks or credit at all. The one who is right there holding our hand while we’re waiting for awards, just as much as they were there at practices. Calming our nerves while we’re waiting for, well, everything‚ telling you it will be okay. The coaches that picked up our shattered dreams, and with plans on how to fix them. You are probably under-appreciated, very rarely told just how much you mean to us. You’re not thanked nearly as much as you should be. You most likely don’t even realize the significance that you play in our lives, because we don’t always know just how important you are. Then, one day, it all clicks. We realize we would be at rock bottom without you, your knowledge, your compassion, and your help. In case you aren’t told enough, we look up to you, we appreciate you, and we would be a complete disaster without you. So, thank you. Thank you for everything. Are you a cheer coach? Comment if you can relate!