I was thinking overnight about some of the qualities that enable sports chaplains and sports mentors to be most effective in their work with coaches and competitors. One of those is empathy. Empathy is the ability to see situations from another’s point of view, to even feel what the other is feeling.  Empathy shapes our attitudes and aligns our hearts and emotions to be most effective at communicating God’s heart in any given situation.

According to Sports Illustrated, 70% of kids drop out of sports by the age of 13. Why? Because adults, particularly parents, have turned games into negative experiences through their behavior, criticism and constant pressure.

FCA area rep Bill Stutz has held many roles in the sporting world. He’s been a player, a coach and an official. Now, as a sports parent, Stutz is doing what he can to reverse this trend. Prior to taking his current position with FCA, Stutz founded the organization Enjoy the Game® — an educational program designed to restore civility back to the sports environment.

Luke Ridnour credits his father for providing the earliest lessons about teamwork. Rob Ridnour coached high school basketball (including his son's team) before taking over as the head coach of the International Basketball League's Bellingham Slam. It was the elder Ridnour who instilled in his son some of those fundamental concepts about teamwork, such as sharing the ball and looking out for one another.

He can still feel it when it storms. The occasional tingling in the right side of his face whenever the thunder rolls through Atlanta. That’s where the 95 mph fastball smashed into his cheekbone as he was squaring around to bunt in what should have been his final at-bat for the Class-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Jeff Francoeur won’t forget that day.