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As coaches, our jobs do not end with the final game of the season. Even out of season we are recruiting, reviewing game films, and developing a plan for the next year. We set goals and requirements for our athletes—all to prepare them for competition.
God instructed Moses to receive the Ten Commandments, “Cut two stone tablets…be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before Me on the mountaintop” (Ex 34:1). Throughout the Old Testament, God gave instructions on preparing sacrifices, being prepared for battle, preparing food, and preparing to build the temple.
Baseball immortal Ty Cobb, one of the greatest hitters of all time, was also a base- stealing “demon” during his playing days. In his autobiography, My Life in Baseball, the True Record, Cobb admitted that often he would use trickery to fool his opponents and steal a base.
For years social psychologists have been studying “crowd” or “mob” psychology in which they study how a group’s mentality differs from that of the individuals within the group. One theory that has emerged is the idea that people react differently in a group than when they are on their own. For instance, during criminal incidents, research shows that if there is a large number of people around, men and women will be less likely to intervene because they think someone else will assist. People take their cues from others in the area and think, “If they are not getting involved, neither am I.” And that kind of group thinking takes place every day.
We need people in our lives to push us to make us better. If we surround ourselves with people who don't require us to give our best, we are being cheated. Going one-on-one with the worst player on the team won't help you get ready for the big game, and it's the same in life. Surround yourself with people who will challenge you and who will require you to be honest, trustworthy and faithful. Do the same for them.
I have been coaching for more than 20 years. After spending 17 of those coaching at the collegiate level, I decided to step down and enter the “slower paced” high school environment. To my surprise, I found out quickly that teaching and coaching at the high school level was just as challenging, time-consuming and hectic as coaching in college. In some ways, it is even more stressful, as I found myself running ragged trying to get everything done.
The Israelites had just lost their leader Moses. It had fallen to his second-in-command to take over. Joshua had led before, but never had he been THE man. And on top of that, he was replacing a legendary figure. The expectations would be enormous. Joshua had to have been terrified.
Sometimes we find ourselves in over our heads. Fresh out of seminary, I applied for my first campus ministry position expecting to be an associate campus minister. Well into the interviewing process, I was informed that I had been misinformed. If I were hired, I would be THE campus minister. With no real experience and no other offers looming, I accepted the position. I was terrified. Yet, I remained in that position for over 20 years.
In today’s world many people seem to have forgotten about this wonderful word "thankful." Some of us are thankful when times are good, but as soon as anything bad creeps into our lives, this word tends to be thrown to the curb.
There are many things in life that just do not go the way we think they will, but we must remember that this is God’s path for us. I know that when the going gets tough it’s hard to be thankful, but God says to give thanks in all circumstances.
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