One coach saying “I need you out there” can carry a kid further than a trophy.

Being wanted does something that winning does not. A trophy says you were good on one particular day; being told your presence matters tells you something about who you are to other people, and that version stays. Most adults can still quote the exact sentence somebody said to them at fourteen.

If you are ever the one who needs somebody, tell them plainly rather than hoping they can sense it. Say what you need them for. And if a coach or a teacher once said something like that to you, it is not too late to tell them it mattered.