Local Teacher, Coach Addresses Parents and Community

Dear Sidney,

I hope this letter finds you all well. I am Scot Anderson, I teach Social Studies at the high school and do a little coaching on the side. For those of you who may not know me, I am not originally from Sidney. I am from Nebraska - but about as far east from here as possible. In fact, I had never been to Sidney before I accepted a job and drove out here. I am sure you get tired of hearing this, but Cabela’s was the only thing I even knew about the place. Oh, and that it was the opposite turnoff on the way to Denver. The reason I am writing to you all today is to say thank you.

I love football. Well, I love pretty much any sport that involves a ball. But football and I have had a 28-year love affair and I don’t think it’s going to let me go anytime soon. So whenever football season ends, I tend to look back and get reflective and a little “in my feels”. I know the importance of gratitude and often want to share some around this time of year. However, for someone who teaches all day, spoken word often defeats me, good thing my mom taught me the power of the written word. Now my students love to point out my typos and grammar mistakes so if you see any send me an email… I offer extra credit.

As someone who coaches three sports here in town, I am around parents and community members often. I get a lot of thank yous and I know the other coaches do too. I want to turn that around and thank you, the community. Your support and backing of Sidney Sports is amazing and, dare I say, unrivaled across the state. From a football perspective, the passion and love you had for these great young men was easy to see. I know it had a positive impact on them. I promise you it is not like this in every town in Nebraska. From an inside perspective, it is often hard to see, but, trust me, from a true outsider’s perspective, Sidney truly is a special place. That is because of all of you. The people here in Sidney are some of the best! So this is a long-winded way for me to tell you thank you for your support this year. It did not go unnoticed or underappreciated. I chased a girl out west five years ago and found Sidney was the real jewel all along. You all are amazing. It’s a great day to be a Red Raider.

Sincerely,

Scot