January 31, 2005

I wrote the following piece in 2001, hoping that it might work in the "My Turn" section of Newsweek. The Rejection letter they sent was very nice as far as form letters go, and I still have it some place.

At about the same time, I started to receive The NISCA Journal, a journal for swimming coaches. I sent it there, and they published it. I got a couple of very nice responses from some fellow swimming and water polo coaches, which I also kept. It was nice to know that someone reads my stuff. I ended up writing water polo articles for them for the next year, but nothing else I wrote got the response (or any response, for that matter), that this piece did.

I'm still pretty proud of this piece, and I'm bummed that it didn't find a wider audience. Hopefully more people will read it here. Thanks.

Letters of Recommendation, reprinted with permission from ME!

At the end of my first year of coaching water polo and swimming, two of my athletes asked for letters of recommendation for college. I¹d never written any recommendations during my previous nine years of teaching, (before I coached) and I was thrilled. Now, as I approach the end of my fourth year of coaching, several of my athletes asked for letters of recommendation. The first group of athletes I¹ve had from freshman to senior year, I am very much honored to spend hours at my computer producing a group of good letters.

Whether it¹s for college entrance, scholarships, the military or a job, I really enjoy writing letters for my players. I like to brag about what they have done, and it makes me feel good that they would ask me.

Many of the letters that I¹ve written over the years are for students that have high grade point averages, and are active in many areas besides sports. They could, and do, get fine letters from others. Still, they want to put what I have to say in the company of school administrators, community leaders and others of importance. I¹m always excited that they would want a letter from me, their coach.

I guess it shouldn¹t be a surprise. During our seasons, I might see a kid up to six hours a day, five days a week. Throw in a few weekend tournaments, and I might see a group of players 40 or more hours a week for weeks on end. I¹m also one of the few teachers that they¹ll likely have all four years of high school. I see my players at 6 A.M. for morning practice, after school, and throughout the summer during summer leagues. I drive them in my car, ride with them on the bus, and talk to them while I wait for their parents to pick them up after games and meets. I really do see my players in situations and circumstances that the rest of their teachers can only imagine.

Because I¹m not in the classroom, my players see me differently than most of their other teachers. My players are much more likely to meet my wife and son, and have more of an idea about who I am outside of school. My players act differently around the pool. I see my players so much that very few things about them get by me. I know how they are doing in classes, who they are dating, and other things that are going on in their lives. I¹m sometimes surprised when I hear my colleagues talk about a kid that gives me no problems on the pool deck, and what a terror they are in the classroom. Unlike other school subjects, no student is required to play a sport, meaning that a kid is giving up his or her time willfully, creating a much different attitude in the student.

I realize that what I do is important, and I hope that my influence will extend beyond the four years of high school sports. I hope that the lessons in discipline, goal setting, and sportsmanship translate into other areas of my player¹s lives.

But my athlete¹s regard for my opinions is not really hammered home for me until a player asks for that letter of recommendation. I take that to mean that one of my players- one of my kids- thinks that I will best represent him or her to some future place. It means that my opinion is respected enough by my player that he or she wants everyone to know what I have to say.

So I take each letter seriously. I take time, go through several drafts, and do my very best writing. I dig out my good computer paper, have my wife check each letter for errors, and try to get it back to the player with enough time for him or her to review it and suggest changes or correct mistakes. I want to make sure they like what I have to say, and I want them to read and know the heartfelt things that I write about them.

I¹d like to think my letters must be okay. My players never ask for changes beyond the occasional typo, and generally get the scholarships that they applied for or into the colleges that they want. I know also that my letters probably have very little to do with my students future acceptance beyond high school. Water polo and swimming are minor sports in the world of high school athletics, and because of that my players tend to have more self-discipline than most of the students that I see. My players know that there are no professional ranks for water polo and swimming, and know that there is a definite end to their competitive athletic career. They are aware of the need to excel in other areas.

I hope that my players are aware of the effort that I put into their letters. It¹s a fair trade for the amount of sacrifice that is involved in their athletic achievement. A letter of recommendation is the least I can do for my athletes before sending them off into their future.

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