It was a beautiful day in the Windy City. A hot dog, a Pepsi and a ballgame at Wrigley Field. . . What could be better? The game was going just as I wanted it to go. My team was scoring run after run, but the crowd was turning ugly. People were getting upset and starting to leave. Finally, after he'd had just about enough, the little boy sitting next to me pulled on my sleeve and asked, "Mister, who are you cheering for anyway?" You see, I am Reds fan, and the Reds handled the Cubs that day pretty easily. I left the game a happy fan.

As a coach, you’ve probably tried to learn from the best in your profession through clinics, articles, visits, and the informal conversations that happen when coaches get together. The knowledge we gain is often priceless, but sometimes it’s costly. Costly not so much in the areas of strategy and fundamentals, but in regard to the way we relate to players, coaches, and parents. This is not to suggest that advice in these areas is always negative, but any counsel we receive regarding the “life-related” issues of coaching, family, finances, etc. is potentially harmful if not filtered through God’s Word. Regarding God’s Word, the psalmist writes, “Your decrees are my delight and my counselors” (Ps 119:24).

Football is a physical game and requires self-control by coaches and players. We know there are consequences when someone loses the ability to control himself or herself. When a coach or a player loses the ability to control his or her emotions, everybody loses. Not only is the one who lost control penalized, but so is the team.

As coaches, we are to be examples of self-control for our players and fellow coaches. It is very easy to allow our emotions to get the best of us at practice or during a game. The situation that causes us to lose it could be a controversial call by a referee, a blown assignment by a player, or something that we have absolutely no control over. The situation is not the important thing; it is how we respond.

I heard a story about a busy intern who worked in the emergency room. An elderly man came in one morning to have stitches removed. He was in a hurry to be treated so he wouldn’t be late for breakfast with his wife. The doctors could not attend to him for at least another hour, so the intern decided to take the stitches out herself. While they were talking, the elderly man explained that his wife suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and had not recognized him for the past five years. When asked why he still visited her every day, he replied, “She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.”