Dear Mr.

Greene,

I am writing this letter as a form of saying thank you for all you have done for me throughout my
middle school and high school years. You have made such a big impact on my life and I never got the
chance to express how grateful I am for you, so I would like to do it now.

Thank you for crossing the boundary between being just a baseball coach and being a genuine
friend. Every day, practice, and game, you made sure to push me to be the best I possibly could be on
and off the field. Thank you for guiding me and teaching me your experience of the game so that I can
compete at my highest potential. Thank you for yelling at me from the dugout and making me run laps
around the field when I made an error. Although I thought you were an asshole at the time, I now know
that you were doing it for a reason, to strengthen and build my character. I am glad that we got to know
each other better through cracking jokes at practice, picking on each other around school, and having
talks in private. I am grateful that my middle school P.E. teacher became my baseball coach, best friend,
and mentor.

Outside of baseball, I would like to express my gratitude of your place in my personal life. Our
relationship grew into something more personal my freshman year of high school and it still crosses my
mind to this day. You stepped into my life when I was at my lowest: when I needed help. I was struggling
with the death of my cousin as well as my own depression and suicidal thoughts. Thank you for initiating
our first conversation about the subject. Thank you for pulling me out of class to check on how I was
doing. Thank you for going on walks with me to clear my mind. Thank you for talking about your
experiences with depression and making me not feel alone. Thank you for taking me to the school
counselor and ultimately persuading me to go to therapy. Thank you for never leaving my side and being
someone I could go to when I wasn’t okay. Thank you for taking hours out of your day to sit down at talk
about life with me. I still apply the advice you gave me, and I am starting to see a difference in the way I
view and walk through life. Thank you for being a role model to me and showing me what a good man
looks like. Thank you for all you have done to make me into the best version of myself. I can’t express
how fortunate I was and am to have someone like you in my life. I don’t know where I would be without
you.

Finally, I want to thank you for all you have done after we crossed paths. Although we text here
and there, we don’t see each other face to face very often. Just the other day, I was thinking about my
high school memories and the one that stuck out the most was when you came to my graduation
without telling me. I smile remembering walking across the stage and seeing you in the front row after
not seeing you for a year. It brought tears to my eyes seeing the look on your face of how proud you
were of me and how far I’ve come over the years. I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but in the
moment, I knew that you would be by my side for life. I knew that all the hard moments we went
through actually meant something. In that moment I had peace. So, I just wanted to say from the
bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for always being there. Thank you for being a part of my life,
story, and success. Thank you for encouraging me, pushing me, and guiding me. I am truly blessed to call
you my friend.

Sincerely,

Mitchell