The Value of a Simple Note

I learned the value of a simple note from former faculty member, Head of Upper School and Director of Special Projects Bill Arnold ’86 (now back on campus serving as a sixth grade long-term substitute) and some other mentors and friends. I have a sticky note on my desk to remind me to write a note every day. It might be a birthday card to a colleague or a thank you to a student for representing our school in ways that make me proud. Usually, I want those notes to be hard copy and sent in an envelope with a stamp.  

Sometimes, the note is a simple email. Emails like the one I received from the Middle School Baseball Coach at St. Mark’s in Dallas last week can be powerful enough that I like to print them and post them on our refrigerator at home or even on my wall at school. 

The note below was particularly impactful because it congratulates some of our Middle School boys for their sportsmanship, and sportsmanship, I believe, says so much about the individual, their coach and their school. I made sure I talked directly to Chase Hatfield ’28 and Carrick McPadden ’29 (I love that the St. Mark’s Coach made sure he knew their names), and I also wrote those two boys handwritten notes on FWCD stationery … notes that hopefully they will keep to be reminded of the great impression they made. 

Only after I talked to the boys did I learn that their sportsmanship had come in a game we Falcons were losing pretty badly. That made the good sportsmanship all the more impressive. It can be easy to be gracious when you’re winning. It can be hard when you’re getting beaten handily. The entire Middle School baseball “A” team can be proud of the respect they showed for their sport and their opponents, and the entire community of Fort Worth Country Day can be proud of our team.

Email from Coach Josh Friesen 

Eric, Leigh, and James,

I wanted to go on record and let you all know that your Middle School “A” baseball team was about as classy of a group as I have observed in a long time. Coach Trent is a very nice guy and is always fun to chat with prior to the games. When the game started, I observed the catcher (Carrick), who is a great player, complimenting SM players for a nice hit and when one batter got hit by a pitch, he checked on him and dabbed him on his way to 1st. The starting 3rd baseman (Chase), helped me out when I had wrongly announced how many outs we had and I also saw him say “nice hit” to a player who had hit a triple. I focused 90% of my postgame talk on how refreshing it is to play against a group of young men who treat the other team with respect. And while still competing hard, have the ability to recognize their opponent’s nice plays. After I mentioned my aforementioned observations about the catcher and 3rd baseman, my team also said that when they crossed paths with the Country Day 1st and 2nd basemen and shortstop, that they were all nice guys as well. 

Y’all are doing something great over there and I just wanted to pass this note along to make sure your coach and team know that it does not go unnoticed. Best of luck this spring!