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After a tough loss on Sunday, I really didn’t feel like being very positive. It took me awhile to get out of the locker room because I didn’t want to talk to anybody, let alone face people who would inevitably ask that question, “Did you win?” I shut myself up in my room and didn’t move for a few hours, feeling like not only was I a failure, but also the whole day was as well.
The closer you get to the fast food door, the more likely you’ll indulge…and gain weight.
I have noticed an alarming trend in sports over the last several years. The leaders have disappeared. I see it when watching both high school and college teams. Many of the teams with which I’m familiar seem leaderless, and their coaches are pulling their hair out.
For decades the world of sports has been an incubator for leadership skills, and both players and coaches have used it for training and development. That seemed rather natural for a long time, but no more. No longer do the strongest competitors and most powerful personalities become a team’s leaders. Too often they simply blend into the background and defer leadership to the coaching staff.
Last week I got to go to Austin, Texas, to interview Colt McCoy for the December issue of Sharing the Victory magazine and our online video ministry. In my line of work, I get to sit down with Christian athletes and coaches on a regular basis and talk about their faith. It’s a dream job, of course, and one that I thank God for every day.
In all of these interviews, I meet a lot of different personality types. There are hard-nosed, intense guys who convey that in their passion for the Lord. Some are more reserved and shy, yet incredibly sincere. Others are just straight-forward, no-nonsense athletes who tell you like it is. It’s such a unique opportunity to see how God’s body has many different parts that function as a whole unit for His glory.
In high school, a few of my football teammates shared a pre-game ritual. Before each game they would sit down in the locker room. The first guy would wrap his left wrist with a roll of tape and hand it to the second guy. The second guy would wrap both of his wrists (left first) then hand back the roll. The first guy would then finish his wrap on his right wrist, and hand back the roll again. He would then get up, move to the other side of his taping partner and toss the roll to a third guy. This guy would then put the roll in his locker until the following week . . .to do it all again. These guys swore by this ritual. Did it work? We went undefeated in the regular season, so the ritual must have worked, right? But in the playoffs, we went down in flames. What good was it then?
You walk through the gate, eyes cast down onto the field, bag slung over your shoulder. You mentally walk through each of your fears, again and again. A nearby ball is cascading excitedly across the wet grass, throwing beads of water onto your bare shins. You make it to the bleachers, nervous as ever, and equip your shins and feet with cleats, socks and shin-guards... What's going to happen next? A grueling tryout. Everything you do will be watched; every mistake and every success. You just hope your mistakes aren't too many.
Have each player number off. An option is to have more than one person per number.
After everyone has a number, have each player group together in a bunch.
One person starts with a ball in the center of the group
The person with the ball throws the ball up while yelling a number.
Everyone runs in all different directions away from the bunch except for the person(s) whose number is called.
The person(s) whose number is called catches the ball and yells "Spud!" As soon as this is yelled, everyone has to freeze.
The person with the ball is allowed to take 3 giant steps toward any player.
Form groups of 6-12 people
Have players create events and write them down on small sheets of paper. Be sure that they don't share these ideas aloud with anyone
Creativity is a MUST for this game :)
Here are some examples of events:
Being attacked by a shark while you're fishing
Hitting a home run that wins the World Series
Winning the lottery
Going on a first date
After everyone is done writing, collect all of the papers and put them in a hat.
Whithin each group, choose 3-4 people to act for each round.
Players will randomly draw from the hat
Everyone gets a partner and hooks elbows. The pairs spread out around the designated playing area. Two individuals are chosen to be it. One will be the chaser, the other being chased. The person being chased may hook elbows with any pair at any time. The member of the pair at the opposite end of where the chase hooks is now being chased. If the chaser catches the chase, the chase spins around three times an
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