Coach Ribble, 

When I came into track as a freshman, I was clueless about what I wanted to do. I decided to try pole vault because I wasn’t that fast and it might be a good fit for me. It was a long and frustrating start but you helped me. You were not the type of coach who would only pay attention to the varsity athletes. You spent more time with the kids who struggled rather than the kids that were already vaulting high. This meant a lot to me. Before this, I had never had a coach that cared about their athletes as much as you did. You gave me help freshman year and encouraged me to go out and try to get better at the sport. I tried all summer, running to get in better shape for the track season.

 The next season I was faster and I think that It helped me with vaulting. I also would like to say thanks for spending so much time and committing to our time to our team. You drive from Milwaukee and make it to every practice and every meet, every time. I would also like to thank you for the snacks or food and all the times you offered to take us out to pizza.

 I also appreciate that you spent time teaching us the basics and making sure that we get every step down perfectly. All of the pole drills and even the time we spent in the pool doing different drills taught us and helped us vault higher. 

Last season was hard for me. I had problems with my vault and my progress was slow. You helped me and gave me encouragement through the season and you were patient and did not give up.  This gave me a push of support to not give up during the season. 

Another thing that you did for me when I needed help the time I got hurt the day before the Myhrum. You gave me encouragement to stay in the game and not to get discouraged. You were not mad and supported me when I needed time to recover. This meant a lot to me because this was a low for me and I thought I was done for the season. 

Coach, you have not only taught me about track but you taught me how to be a good leader as well. I plan on using the lessons I have learned from you in the future. You are a great coach and you inspired me to continue to vault in college.