And did you get a chance to thank that coach?

I grew up in a family that was passionate about sports, and my older brother was like Wally Cleaver on “Leave it to Beaver”—a natural all-around athlete whom I looked up to and whose games I enjoyed watching.  But, when it came to sports, I was closer to the Beav in terms of my athletic abilities.

In 8th grade in junior high I tried out for the first time for a varsity school team—our 8th/9th grade soccer team.  I was tiny for my age and I was not exactly fast, but I had developed some skills perhaps above my age level playing around in the backyard with my older brother.

What turned out to be a fantastic thing for me—and I did not know this going into the preseason practices—was that the coach had a no-cut policy.  This was in the 1960s and was highly unusual for its time.

Basically, we were competing in practice for not only who would start or get real playing time off the bench, but who would earn the right to wear a varsity uniform at games since there was a limited number of those.

I had no realistic shot of making it into that elite group.  But the coach promised us scrubs that, if we worked our butts off at practice every day, we would have a bona fide shot at moving up the ladder the following season; and he would get us into at least one game that season.  (We had a very strong team and he knew there would be some garbage time.)

Well, thanks to Coach Jack Finn, I really developed and improved as a player in practices that season—competing against superior teammates in various drills and scrimmages—and, even though I was wearing only a town phys-ed T-shirt in the team photo, you can see me smiling because I was so happy and proud to be part of that team.

The following season, in 9th grade, I did earn a spot in the starting lineup as I developed more physically—and I went on to play varsity soccer in high school and college.  Would that have happened without the opportunity and encouragement Coach Finn gave me in 8th grade?  Maybe—and then again, maybe not.  But I know I was in a much better place as a soccer player at the end of that 8th-grade season.

Coach Finn is long gone and I never did get to express my gratitude for the opportunity he provided.  But, thankfully, I was able to express how grateful I was to coaches I had at the high school and college level for special things I felt they did for me.

The bottom line: if there is a coach—or regular school teacher for that matter—who had a real impact on you, don’t be shy about expressing your thanks.