"I just wanted to take a minute to express my gratitude to you all for such a wonderful week in Florida. By any measure the trip was a huge success, and on behalf of my team and coaching staff, I can't thank you enough.
There were so many positives that came out of the experience that I'm sure I'll forget to mention something, but here's an attempt to capture the highlights:
1. Player development - It was awesome to watch our kids get better every practice. The sheer number of hours spent on the field certainly helped, but more important was the undivided attention we had from our kids. They had nothing but lacrosse on their minds, so were completely dialed in to what we were teaching. Because there wasn't a lot of down time between sessions, we could easily incorporate into any practice the skills and concepts taught in previous sessions without much review. Everything was still fresh on the kid's minds.
2. Coaching assistance from 3D Lacrosse - I'm not sure how to quantify the value here, but this alone was worth every penny we paid. Your knowledge and willingness to help was priceless, and I feel very fortunate to have formed a partnership with your organization.
3. Logistics - Flawless! Sara and her team deserve a ton of credit. I realize how difficult it is to coordinate and execute an event like this, and your attention to detail and my team's well being was tremendous.
4. Culture and team identity - Since this is my first year as head coach, one of the primary goals for pre-season was to begin establishing the culture of Andover lacrosse and to form a team identity. We'll promote a learning environment to develop complete lacrosse players, a team first attitude, a yeoman-like work ethic, and fun. The setting you provided facilitated this. It was the perfect mix of player development, game time, and down time.
5. Camaraderie - It was terrific for our coaching staff and players to reconnect with old acquaintances and make lots of new friends. I'm certain that we'll stay in touch with many of the people we met.
At the end of the day, the best testament to the trip's success was all the smiling faces of my players. It was tremendous to see my new 9th graders hanging out with the 12th graders, and everyone having fun together. An added bonus is the numerous phone calls and emails I've received from parents, thanking me for providing the opportunity to their kids. I realize their calls during the season will probably have a very different tone, but I'll hang on to the positive as long as I can!
P.S. I don't remember Spencer's last name, so couldn't include him on this email. Please thank him for me though. He did great work with our goalies.
Thanks for everything guys"