#2: DEVIN GRIMES

Dear Mrs. Morris,

I’m writing this letter to thank you for your contribution in helping me reach this point. The best thing that you did for me was helping me love reading. I remember that one of your biggest goals was making us love reading, so I bet you’re glad that it at least worked on me. The other thing you did for me is help me find motivation. I never really cared about trying my best until you helped me realize that I couldn’t get by with just minimum effort.

I carried this love of reading and newfound work ethic throughout my school career, and when you once again became my teacher my sophomore year of high school you taught me another lesson. That lesson was to be confident in myself. I know these lessons will help me out later on in life as I move on to the next phases of my life, and I’m glad that you were there to teach me these valuable lessons. So, from the bottom of my heart I will once again say thank you for being my teacher.

Sincerely,

Abbye Ray

Coach Wright,

One of the things that Coach Wright hates the most is attention. This is one of the reasons I chose to speak about her today. There’s no person that is more humble than her and she deserves so much recognition for my success even if she won’t admit it. Throughout my basketball career, she has encouraged, praised, and, thankfully, corrected me. The best thing is that she has the best attitude when doing this. There wasn’t a time that she ever made me feel incapable or less than. She is the reason for a lot of my success in basketball and my life.

I still remember the first time I met Coach Wright. I was wildly intimidated by her. She played at Baylor, Florida State, and even overseas in the WNBA. What was she doing in the small town of Winnsboro? I originally expected her to be strict, harsh, and maybe even a little disappointed at the lack of skill our team had but I couldn’t have been more wrong. She was so modest and never acted like we were amateurs (even though we obviously were compared to her), but instead treated us like we each had the potential to go pro. She gave us the confidence our team was lacking and showed us we were very much capable of winning a state championship.

During my freshman and sophomore year is when I spent most of my time with Coach Wright because she was the Junior Varsity coach. During that time she taught me the valuable lessons of hard work, perseverance, and opportunity. There was nothing more I wanted during this time than to be on varsity. She understood my goal and made it hers. Every day she would encourage me to play harder and praise me when I did something right. I am so self-critical of myself and just having someone tell me that I was doing something right meant the world to me. She has no idea but each day I looked forward to seeing her and listening to the valuable lesson she had for me. By my junior and senior years, she had helped me climb to varsity. No feeling of fear compares to the one you feel your first year on Varsity Lady Raider Basketball. She mentored me through this time and during the times I would completely break down and cry, she would be there sitting next to me calming me down. One instance I remember was during a playoff game this year. I had some personal issues come up in my life and it caused me to have a breakdown in the middle of the game. At halftime, she pulled me over and talked me through it without making me feel ashamed. She reminded me of everything I’ve overcame and assured me that whatever this problem was it would pass. She was right and it was because of her that I somehow managed to finish that game.

I truly believe that Coach Wright does not know the massive influence that she’s had on me these past few years. She was more of a friend than a coach and a lot of times I needed that. She has the ability to make someone feel special even when they’re not in the WNBA. I will never forget her and her kindness throughout my life. I will try and take on the qualities she has as an adult and influence someone’s life as she did mine.

Jewelisa Duffer