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Adjusting to college is never easy. Experiencing life in a new town with new friends, freedoms and expectations. It can be overwhelming for the typical 18-year-old. But imagine adding "new continent" to the equation. Nothing is familiar. You are immersed in a culture of people who don't think, act or talk like you, and you are forced to try a new cuisine at each meal.
That's the story of Elna de Villiers. One she has lived every day for the last four years.
This is an agonizing time of the year for college football coaches and fans. Star high school athletes are making decisions that will determine where they will spend the next four years of their lives. They are taking official visits to college campuses around the country and are being given the royal treatment. Each school hopes that the recruit will commit to signing with them, and many do long before the official signing date. Even with commitments declared, college coaches continue to pursue these athletes, causing some to change their minds and sign with other schools. Recruits can state that they are a "soft" commitment to a school and continue to make visits to other campuses.
“Commitment” is a big buzz word in sports today. Coaches are asking for commitment, players want to be committed, and schools are looking for a four-year commitment. But commitment is a word that is used very loosely today. (I personally believe that we need more athletes who are committed to their academic success before their athletic careers, but I’m old school on that one.)
When it comes to commitment, Jesus Christ wants us to be committed as well. He desires our commitment. When is the last time you said, “Lord, I am committing this to You!”
Back when I was a coach, I would always have a pre-season meeting where I would write out my season goals and what I expected of my players. One year while coaching in Oklahoma, my ladies team told me, "Coach, we are so committed to winning and becoming the best team you have ever coached. " I appreciated their comments, but only time would tell if that commitment would come true. Commitment always takes giving. . .
As a former semi-pro hockey player who has been out of the game for more than a decade, I still like to look back at my career and reflect on the life lessons that my high school hockey coach taught us. One of my favorites was from a speech that went something like this: “Don’t worry about what the other team is doing. Concentrate on what makes you great. Get to the rink early and visualize shooting the puck and passing the puck. Visualize winning the little battles in the corner and coming out with the puck. We can only control our actions and our attitudes. Hockey is a game of mistakes, and if we make fewer mistakes than the other team, we will come up with a win.”
When a lanky quarterback turned defensive back from the University of Minnesota named Tony Dungy arrived in Pittsburgh for the Steelers training camp, no one would have blamed him for being a little overwhelmed. After all, that team featured 10 future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees: Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Mike Webster, “Mean” Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Mel Blount and Head Coach Chuck Noll provided the nucleus of a team that would claim four Super Bowl titles.
Alliesha Easley's story reads similarly to those that often appear in the pages of STV: An athlete grows up in a Christian home, excels at a specific sport, faces hardship, and then must rely on a relationship with Christ that began long ago — a relationship that has been fostered and cared for by FCA. In the end, the athlete comes out of the struggle a stronger person, Christian, teammate, friend and witness. Those, after all, are the stories from which we want our readers to draw inspiration and, ultimately, use to witness to others.
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