An old letter:

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Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
I think some of you know that this is my last year as a teacher and maybe a coach. I am cleaning out some of my stuff since we are at the end of our first semester. In doing so, I came across a letter my wife and I were asked to write to our daughter in college. Coach Levin was/is such a great coach. BB was so fortunate to get to play for him. Coach knew that the girls were having a rough time and so, he asked all of the parents to write a letter to their child for Christmas and create something that would help their child make it through the dog days before the season was to begin. We were to mail or email these to Coach and he would hand them out in a Christmas Party that the team was having before they all went home for Christmas.

At the time, I knew BB was having it tough. This was her final season and she wanted a national title so much. She worked so hard. I wanted to include just a little from that letter.

"We know that you still have goals to reach and that you know that tears, blisters, sweat and some heartache will be involved in reaching your dreams. Would you want it any other way? BB, nothing in life is free. If you want free, you'll sit back and have to take what others give you. Instead, you have committed yourself to being the best player you can be. ... You know that winning involves a team and regardless of how well an individual does, it is the team that wins. Do your best to be a good teammate regardless of circumstances. Do your best to be a leader. Prepare for victory. Know that others make excuses for failure. Give yourself reasons for victory. ... When you grew up, you were constantly reminded that you were, "Butler's kid." Now, we are, "Brianna's parents." We are so proud of you. Brianna, mom and I could have given you everything you ever wanted. We didn't. It is the work ethic that you have that will serve you well in life. That, besides our love is the best gift we could have given you. Mom mentioned the other night that your grades are a direct result of that work ethic. Besides being a great player, you are an outstanding student. Like with ball, we told you that it didn't matter what the grades were if you knew that they were the result of your best effort. True to form, you have produced because you only accept the best results. You and your work ethic have stood the test of time. It will always stand the test of time even when Mom and I aren't here. We love you so much. Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad.

I'd ask some of you to consider doing the same. I included pictures from the time when BB was very very young to some from college. In the everyday rush of things, I had forgotten this letter. I am so glad that I found this today.
 
Dec 6, 2016
70
18
Cannonball...Is this the same Coach Levin that coaches at Belmont? If so, my daughter just committed to play for him and it's exciting to know you think he is a great coach.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Cannonball...Is this the same Coach Levin that coaches at Belmont? If so, my daughter just committed to play for him and it's exciting to know you think he is a great coach.

Yes! My daughter, Brianna, played for him at UMSL. To her, Coach Levin is like a second dad. You will hear how tough he is. He is! You will hear how he is driven. He is. What you won't hear as much about are the other things he does. My daughter would go in to talk to him about every subject under the sun. She felt like he listened and as importantly cared. He was hard on my kid. He had high expectations of her. She produced because she knew exactly where she stood and that he was a straight shooter. For the Butler's, Coach is another member of our family. Congratulations to you and your daughter. If you get to travel to Edwardsville, we just might be there. We try to go watch Belmont play when they are in town.

Edited to add:

When Coach left, at UMSL the Alumni still showed up to some games. One of the new players who did not play with my dd made the mistake of calling Coach, "Brian." BB got up in her face and said, "It is either Coach or Coach Levin but you won't ever call him Brian again around me." My dd can't hurt a fly so that should tell you about how she feels about Coach.
 
Last edited:
May 22, 2015
410
28
Illinois
Wow...that is good stuff Cannonball! The more you post things about BB the more similarities I see between her & my kid.

I don't think I knew that this would be your last year teaching. Best of luck to you in retirement! I hope this doesn't mean you are done with hitting lessons. I don't think DD would be too happy trying to find another as good as you are with her.

Congrats to your daughter sbdad03! I have heard great things about Coach Levin and his program. My DD has played quite a bit of ball with his niece over the years.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Wow...that is good stuff Cannonball! The more you post things about BB the more similarities I see between her & my kid.

I don't think I knew that this would be your last year teaching. Best of luck to you in retirement! I hope this doesn't mean you are done with hitting lessons. I don't think DD would be too happy trying to find another as good as you are with her.

Congrats to your daughter sbdad03! I have heard great things about Coach Levin and his program. My DD has played quite a bit of ball with his niece over the years.

Your dd is very much like BB! She has that "it" that so many talk about but few rarely see.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Tonight, I attended the first of two retirement dinners. This morning, I received a phone call from a school district in Missouri (I live in Illinois and am retiring from an Illinois high school.) and was hired to teach at their high school. In two weeks, I am to go in and talk about their plans for me. As hard as this will be, this really might be my last year coaching.
 

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