David is the coach that every player needs, whether it's before, during, or after a game. I can tell his spirit was full of sportsmanship and competitiveness - a perfect balance. I was lucky to have a coach like that. I play Varsity Girls' Tennis at my high school, Central Bucks High School West, and our season this year wasn’t great. Our record didn’t last for more than a day. On a day where the energy was low and our confidence was declining, we were versing a team that, by the looks of their bags and shoes, was good. That’s how we all judge them. Before we even look into their eyes or see the mud on their tennis skirts, if their bags have two compartments and their shoes are ‘court’ shoes with a hard TAP sound when they walk on the court, by our standards, they’re good. I was playing the 3rd singles position that day and the girl I was playing against wasn’t showcasing a friendly attitude. Regardless, I tried to shake it off, focusing on the game ahead and ways to approach it. After every point she missed, she would smash her racket against the court and yell out: “Why me?!”. Her coach didn’t utter a word to her. After the first set, I was winning 6-2, and the girl and I went to our respective sides to talk with our coaches about how to approach the next set. “You’re going strong, Alex,” Coach would say. “Don’t think about it too much. Look at how she hits her backhand, too hard and it goes out.” He would give me these pointers and some of them I noticed, some I didn't. You can tell when someone tells you something just for the lack of saying something or because they actually mean it. My coach - he meant it. He meant his next words: “Go show her what you can do.” Usually, inspirational quotes have to sit with me for a while to fully come into effect and show their true meaning. However, what my coach just said had seeped into my brain and activated a switch I didn’t know I had. Back on the court, I played my hardest, making my coach's words count. I didn’t want to win it for me, but for the coach and the team. We all deserved this. Unfortunately, the game had a different plan. I ended up losing the second set, 6-4. Close. But not enough. We were headed into the tiebreaker. My opponent glared at me from the other side of the court. I looked over at her coach pointing down to the ground, then to the bus parked outside, with his brows furrowed together and teeth ground against each other. My coach kept his spirits up. "Listen, I know this isn't the outcome you were hoping for. But listen, you do have it in you. Go back out there and show her what you can do." Again, those last words: show her what you can do. And show her I did. The tie-breaker win went to CB West: 10-3. On that day, I wasn't the only winner from my team: all of the West girls were winning. I owed it to Coach. I got off the court and he was ecstatic. His energy radiated and infected my teammates. We felt unstoppable and all because of a simple string of words that resonated deeper than I thought: go show her what you can do. And show her we did.