That graphic I made—The Thomas Player Tree—is the proof everyone always asks for. It shows the players I’ve coached who’ve gone on to achieve great things.

But the list that keeps me up some nights is the one you don’t see: the players who could have worked with me, but didn’t. That list is five times as long as the list of success stories—and it’s full of kids who had the talent to match or surpass the ones who did make it, but missed their opportunity.

That list weighs on me—the kids who sold their talent down the river for a t-shirt, a commitment graphic, empty words and fake loyalty. The ones who didn’t understand their own power or self-worth. The ones where my vision was bigger than the vision they had for themselves. That list haunts me, although I can only imagine how much heavier it sits on them.