Write a Letter
by Ryan Krzykowski
Like most things in 2020, fall Coaching Life Groups got off to a delayed start this year, but about a month ago we began meeting with coaches on early weekday mornings. Having created some new material for these groups over the summer, our team was eager to get started and begin finding out how that content would be received. So far, so good, as the Coaching With Purpose lessons we’ve written have provided a foundation for encouraging conversation. There’s a whole lot going on in the world and in coaches’ lives these days, so having a group to gather with and share ideas comes in really handy sometimes.
In an early lesson in the new book, CFC’s Alec Lemmon shares a personal story about a handwritten letter he received in high school, and goes on to encourage coaches to write three letters as part of that week’s assignment:
- Write a letter to a coach you need to thank (you might even want to send it)
- Write a letter to a coach you need to forgive (most likely don’t send that one, unless you’re sure it’s a good idea)
- Write a letter you’d hope to receive from a player about the impact you’ve had on them
After writing my letters and going through that lesson with a couple groups last week, I decided to go ahead and send the first one. I thought of a great coach who worked with me in high school that I had completely lost touch with. So I went ahead and sent him my note (although I did it by email for the sake of time), and while nothing earth-shattering came of it, we’ve written back and forth a couple times now and it was really good to reconnect. No downside to that, and it only took a few minutes. I’d encourage you to do something similar.
If you’ve got a little time, I’d also encourage you to check out a podcast interview Alec recorded last month with a group called “The Coaches Network”. Among other things, Alec provides some insight into the exercise of writing these types of letters, and does a great job sharing stories from his life that have impacted the work he does in youth soccer and with CFC. Check it out.
From everyone at CFC to all of you — a very Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe and let’s Coach With Purpose.