Dear Annie:

Thank you for printing the recent letters about coaching. Your perspective was spot on and reminded me how much coaching has shaped my own life and family.

I spent 10 seasons as a high school volleyball coach, finishing with a record of 98 wins and 9 losses and seeing eight of my players go on to earn Division I scholarships. I stepped away at age 30, but coaching soon found me again. My daughter came home in fourth grade and announced that her school was starting a basketball team—and that I was the coach. That grew into softball as well, and those little teams never lost.

My approach was always the same: Give your best and finish satisfied. I believed my role as coach was to instill confidence, to help players believe they were capable of more than they imagined. Winning w

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