For thousands of high school football seniors, December marks the end of their careers. Most will never play another snap. But the idea of team doesn’t end when their career is over. The lessons learned, relationships forged, and memories will impact them for the rest of their lives as they join other teams in life, such as work, family, and community. The moment they stop playing is the moment team lives on forever.

Russell Athletic used this truth as the inspiration behind “Dear Seniors, Dear Coach” - a film that pays homage to the relationship between players and coach. The film highlights the lessons that guide former athletes their entire lives and was created from actual letters between an Indiana high school football coach and one of his graduating seniors.

“Dear Seniors, Dear Coach” gave an intimate look at player and coach, and the lessons learned at a small Indiana high school. Narrated by the actual coach and player whose letters became the script for the piece, the story chronicled the demands, respect, and love developed over the course of four years of high school.

Robert Clark, renowned photographer behind the original Friday Night Lights, brought the film to life in his directorial debut. The piece uses a combination of filmed footage and photography captured by Clark and the team’s student photographer. The film was captured in black and white to convey the pure honesty and raw emotion of the story.

Russell released the piece on social media in December at the end of the high school football season, along with a month-long social media campaign featuring real letters from high school coaches to their players.

The piece struck a powerful chord with anyone who had ever been on a team. This highly personal film took on a life of its own, as thousands of coaches and players began tagging each other with the content using it as a personal thank you. The brand gained newfound relevance with coaches, players and former athletes.

With a minimal social media budget, the awareness-building effort captured national media attention receiving 140 million earned media impressions.