I’ve been waiting all my life to find a role model. And when I came to Arrowhead High School, I found one. Coach Mayer, my freshman year lacrosse coach. He saw something in me that I couldn’t see. He brought me onto his varsity team as a freshman which I wasn't expecting. I was so nervous to start high school lacrosse but my nerves were at ease when I met Coach Mayer. Nobody had made such a big impact on my life until I met him. 

You hear about coaches being hard on their team but not Coach Mayer. It’s not only about the team winning, with this coach. He spends time getting to know each athlete individually, and works very hard building the self esteem of each player. He held Pow-Wows, which were little talks with the team, and would tell us uplifting stories about differences other people have made in his life. He always wants the very best for every single one of us. 

He has gone through so much hurt in his life, including losing somebody that meant most to him, but it made him so much stronger. The things he has gone through are incomparable to others but it made him who he is. I’ve never seen him without a smile on his face. He is happy and spreads his joy to the girls on his team and anybody around him. Everytime I see him I run over and give him a big hug. The smile on his face that I caused, makes my whole day change. If I’m having the worst day,I can always count on Coach Mayer to change that. 

I told him all about my obsession with Justin Bieber. Guess what he did? He purchased the album on iTunes to play for me at practice. He wanted me to be happy and he wanted me to know he cared. He made me feel like I meant something to him rather than just to the team. I believe he could see the hurt I have been through and wanted to change the way I saw things. He wanted me to spread my kindness to the world as he does by doing small acts of kindness, like even just a smile at somebody or a compliment. He is also religious which helped my faith grow. Talking to him about faith is something I enjoyed.

It was lacrosse season of my sophomore year, I moved up to a higher team which meant I didn’t have Coach Mayer anymore. I didn’t get to see him as much but our team had a game on a sunny and hot Saturday. Coach Mayer came to watch. He didn’t have to, but he wanted to, which made me feel unbelievably happy. My new coach, who I enjoy being around as well, he said something I misinterpreted. I was hurt and began to cry. Coach Mayer saw me crying, and came to make me feel better. 

He asked, “Kylie, are you okay?” 

I looked at him and began to smile as I continued to cry. I knew Coach Mayer was there for me—no matter the reason. He wanted to make me feel better. He came up to me again after the game and told me he was so proud of me. He wanted me to know it was going to be okay and that I shouldn’t let other people's anger get to me. At that moment, I’ve never felt so much care from a coach. None of my coaches have cared about me as much as he did—and still does. He taught me to be kind to others because everybody is going through something. 

Coach Mayer has impacted my life so much. I hope to someday, become more like him. He is kind-hearted no matter what. Coach Mayer is the most important influence I’ve ever had. I would come home from practice or a game and tell my parents about the nice thing he did AGAIN. It was the simple things he would do, like a kind word or telling me how good I did that day at practice or in a game. His kindness became so repetitive, as well as the encouraging things he would say or do for me and the team. He would do random acts of kindness for all of us. One time he even gave us roses to show us how much he cares. The impact of his acts inspires me to do this for other people. I always say how I want to be more like Coach Mayer. 

Coach Mayer, I could never thank you enough for shaping me into the person I am. Not only did you make me a better lacrosse player, but you also made me a better person overall. You have made me see how there are good people in the world afterall. I believe God put you in my life to influence me to be more like you. Thank you Coach Mayer for everything you have done for me and shaping me into the person I am today.