An open letter to all of my former team members ...

Dear former team member,

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that I will no longer be involved in your development. I coached my last session recently and I am sitting on my couch, keyboard in my lap, quietly reminiscing about the millions of fond memories created over the past 30 years. Where there was once boundless energy and passion, there is now satisfaction and contentment with the knowledge that I have passed the torch to the next set of like-minded youth in a "Circle of Life" transition.

I want you to know that you made my life a wonderful experience! You allowed me into your lives, tentatively at first, and slowly opened your hearts and minds to the messages I was trying so hard to convey. For that trust, I am forever grateful. Through our shared energies, we achieved things that neither of us could have dreamed of solo. Through our shared vision, we molded ourselves into a unified force that literally "moved mountains" in our dogged pursuit of the goals we co-scripted. I want you to be aware how deep my gratitude extends for sharing those incredible situations with my own children since I was "that dad" who willingly tested those tortured waters of extending parenting past the walls of home to the pool, court, pitch or what have you. You didn't know it at the time, but your acceptance of them, trusting that I would treat everyone the same, was the greatest gift you could have given.

I want you to understand that I have lived a blessed life through sport. I was blessed with incredible coaches during my playing days, people that I now know were in it for the pure love of sport and the betterment of youth. It left such an indelible mark that it was hard wired into me to "pay it forward" to you. I was blessed with so many opportunities so how could I not do the same for those that came after me? The greatest thing you could do to honour those years would be to "step up to the plate" and  pay it forward yourself.

I want you to know that while you were mostly self-motivated to improve, I also know that you did so because I was so passionately imploring you to. I know that there was a little bit of all the sweat and discomfort shouldered for my sake. I pray that one day, it will dawn on you that altruism was the thing that made all the difference, and that it will spur you to replace me as the "Giver" to the new band of "Getters".

I sometimes go to my personal Wall of Fame to mentally relive the memories enshrined in the photos, medals and trophies and I smile reflexively as I ponder what you're all doing, how your lives have progressed, with whom are you sharing it with. Social media helps keep those memories in the readily accessible files of my brain but it pales in comparison to the times we actually get to talk, face to face, smile to smile, eye to eye and feel those precious bonds of humanity. You made it all possible and the only gift I have is my most treasured ... I gift myself, my friendship, my bond for as long as we both can remember each other.

To those like-minded co-coaches whom I shared these amazing times, I am not a smart enough man to verbalize my gratitude effectively. You have allowed me to speak when you saw that I needed to; you listened to me when I felt I had something to contribute; I learned so, so many things while I watched you ply your trade from the "best seat in the house". The saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child." and I now know the sheer truth at the core of that wisdom ... We are all children to somebody and the village never really stops trying to teach us, regardless of our age.

I don't wish any of you to allow sadness to creep its way into your heart. These are not sad times ... quite the opposite, really. Much like the mixed emotions of high school graduation, or post-secondary graduation, or leaving a familiar situation, I am filled to the brim with the bitter sweet emotions of leaving something behind while looking longingly towards a destination. Even the smallest chick must eventually leave the nest ... I'm more of an ostrich, mind you, but it's the same thing. I will still be there to support all that you do, but this time, it will be from the fan side of the court/pitch/pool, with my trusty camera in tow, ready to cheer till I'm hoarse in support of your new challenges, memories and accomplishments. To be brutally honest, I really can't wait.

With gratitude from the bottom of my heart,
Coach P