All Archive - April 2014
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April 30, 2014
Set:
Have you ever experienced a critical game situation in which your coach said, “We are going to win the game on this possession.” Maybe your basketball coach saw a mismatch in the post or your football coach was confident that a post pattern would score a touchdown. And, sure enough, your team runs the play, and the coach’s call works exactly as planned.
Most likely, your coach knew that the play was going to work for that moment. It wasn’t for later in the game or even later in the season, but for that exact time and situation. Each player left the huddle with the utmost belief that it was going to work. According to the coach, the timing was perfect. They think, “Coach said it’s going to work, so it HAS to work.”
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April 29, 2014
Set:
Back when I was a track athlete, I was blessed to have great coaches who taught me about the need for perseverance and patience throughout the track season. My high school coach used to tell me in meets early in the season, “Right now, you are racing against the clock. Try to be a step faster, and you’re winning. Remember, the race that matters most is the final in League Championships.” My coach understood the big picture and our goals for the season. He sought to build that same sense into me as well so that I could continue progressing, improving each day to reach the ultimate goal. Now that I’m a coach myself (women’s volleyball), I have reflected on this lesson often.
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April 28, 2014
Set:
As athletes and coaches, we spend a lot of time at practice. As an endurance athlete, when I’d train for marathons, I’d spend a minimum of two hours a day training for it. While that may seem like a lot, I remember back to my college days when we’d spend up to six hours a day training for football. As part of a team, though, I wasn’t alone for all those hours. I was on the field, in the meeting room, in the weight room and in school with nearly 100 other guys.
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April 27, 2014
Set:
Legendary University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball coach Pat Summitt was diagnosed with early onset dementia. The 59-year-old, winningest college basketball coach of all time, made the announcement and would attempt to continue coaching as long as she could.
It was a shocking announcement not only to UT fans, but to sports fans in general. Summitt had always seemed so indestructible. But even the strongest of men and women still face challenges in life that are common to everyone.
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April 26, 2014
Set:
Everyone has one at least one favorite game-changing sports moment. It’s that one play during a game that changes everything. In a single moment, momentum shifts, and it alters the outcome of the game. Sometimes, the play not only changes the game, but also an athlete’s entire career.
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April 25, 2014
Set:
"Whatever" has been a popular word, particularly among teens, for years. But did you know that this word is also found 173 times in Scripture? My personal favorite use of this word—and a use that has become important for my team—is in Philippians 1:27. Here, Paul instructs us that “whatever” happens, we should conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Wow. That makes the over-used word "whatever" seem a lot more serious.
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April 24, 2014
Set:
This past winter I was having the best wrestling season of my life. I was physically and mentally strong, and I was able to fight hard. In my excitement about wrestling, I started watching tons of wrestling videos and quite dramatically stopped reading my Bible and doing devotions every morning before school. My life flipped completely from God being No. 1 to wrestling being the only thing I cared about.
Over a period of 2.5 months, I wrestled every day, not missing any practice. Then, God started trying to wake me up to see what I was doing. I got really sick, and then I permanently hurt my back. Still, I wouldn't listen to God; I kept right on ignoring Him.
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April 23, 2014
Set:
The Major League Baseball season is in full swing. Already, some ballplayers have started off with extremely high batting averages, and others have started off rather slowly. Only time will tell whether those hot hitters will taper off or if the slow starters will elevate their averages as the season progresses, but either way, it is likely that at some point during the season, they all will experience a slump.
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April 22, 2014
Set:
This was our time. My college basketball team had been in the middle of a rough losing streak, but now we found ourselves in a close game with a rival team on their court. This was our time.
After a series of tough foul calls, we were still within reach--down by three with one minute to go. During the timeout, all my coach asked of me was to get open on the wing and skip it to my teammate coming off of a fade screen. No way could I mess this up for my team.
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April 21, 2014
Set:
Have you ever been nervous before a big game? Have you ever felt like quitting an event before you even got started? The first time I competed in the Boston Marathon, I didn’t think I belonged in the race. As I sat on the starting line, in my mind I was yelling at my coach, I don’t belong in this race! I’m not strong enough!
However, one of the most amazing things happened to me that day. Although on the starting line I doubted my ability to even finish the famous Boston Marathon, 26 miles later I had won the race and broken the world record by almost seven minutes! I was stronger than I thought I was!
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April 20, 2014
Set:
One of the worst feelings in sports is losing after having a big lead. Most of us have been a part of a game in which we got ahead early and then watched a victory slip away. We never see it coming because we become so comfortable with the position we’ve gained that we assume we’re not vulnerable and we slack off. Maybe we play around with the ball in the backfield, or we slow our pace. We might even quit completely or forget some of the fundamentals of the game because of how blind we’ve become.
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April 19, 2014
Set:
There are times in coaching when we doubt our abilities to handle a specific match, tournament, or season. Doubt can come up from behind and tackle us after a string of bad games or hit us as after a single loss. We have seen potential in our players and ourselves, but we are unable to explain why the season is going the way it is. This is particularly difficult when we have a strong and personal relationship with our players. We begin to question our abilities to coach and lead our teams. Once we get to this point of self-doubt, it is hard to climb out, and that is exactly where God wants to get us so we will have faith in him rather than in ourselves.
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April 18, 2014
Set:
As athletes, it’s easy for us to find ourselves in situations that we never played out in our minds. Down by 10 in the fourth quarter against a team that didn’t stand a chance against us. Gripping our knee after tearing an ACL right before our senior season started. Left off the roster of the team we thought we deserved to be on. The list goes on and on. But it's how we handle these “speed bumps” of life that set us apart as Christians.
Recently, I was faced with an unexpected speed bump myself as I found myself working on my second round of rehab from knee surgery. (My knee had decided it didn't want to comply to the demands of my coach and the sport I loved.) But having Christ at the center of my life was key in this situation.
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April 16, 2014
Set:
Do you remember the first time you scored in sports? Maybe it was a touchdown, a basket, a kill, a home run or a match point. For a lot of us, once it happened, we could hardly resist telling everyone about it.
As we get older, the stakes seem to get higher—the significance greater. Game-winning goals, last-second stops on the goal-line, blocked shots, fourth-quarter buzzer-beaters, walk-off home runs…We’re not playing t-ball anymore. The plays we make as we age can win or lose games and even championships. And if we’re involved in successfully making those plays, it’s often hard to contain our pride. We want to ask people, “Did you hear about what I did?” or, “Did you see my [fill in the blank] play?” It’s so easy to bask in the glory of our own self-righteousness.
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April 15, 2014
Set:
It was my first trail race. I had run many road races, all on smoothly paved roads, but this was going to be different. The trail I would be running was notorious for its uneven terrain, rocks, downed trees, protruding roots and mud holes. Say to any trail runner, “Potowatami,” and immediately they start spewing advice.
Before the race, a running friend of mine suggested that I get a road bracelet. You know, the ones where you can have all of your emergency info engraved on a wrist band. “Great idea,” I thought. “Not only will I have my emergency info, but I can also include a Scripture verse to encourage me!”
Not sure of which verse to choose, I asked my pastor to suggest one. He immediately responded with Philippians 4:13. It was perfect!
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April 14, 2014
Set:
Playing the final round of The Masters yesterday was very fitting for golfer Bubba Watson. For him it was an opportunity to win The Masters for the second time in two years, while playing for his Master, Jesus Christ. Watson defeated Jordan Spieth and Jonas Blixt to win his second major championship. After his first win in 2012, he thanked his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and admitted he didn’t know what to say because as he put it, “I never got this far in my dreams.”
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April 13, 2014
Set:
Find a sporting event and you’re guaranteed to find its most common companion—the second-guesser. Coach long enough, and you’re bound to make somebody unhappy. The coaching profession, though highly rewarding, can be extremely stressful. The quicker a coach learns that you can’t please everyone, the better. This is often easier said than done. So is there a secret?
Many would advise to “get thicker skin.” Thick skin is fine, but in order to avoid a smug and even arrogant attitude toward the “Monday morning quarterbacks,” let’s examine some spiritual principles to help us.
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April 12, 2014
Set:
The joy of the Lord is our strength. How many times have we heard that? I feel like I say it but don’t always put my full effort into believing it.
In this passage, Nehemiah is talking to the people about the law of God. The people are weeping because they know they have disappointed God, but I believe this response from Nehemiah shows God’s heart: “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
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April 11, 2014
Set:
In any sport, when a team has the upper hand whether through having better players or a big lead in the score, their coach will often encourage them by saying, “We play to win.” So often, teams that have the upper hand will play down to the level of their competition. Instead of playing to win, they start playing to not lose. In those times, they will often let the competition come back and, many times, beat them.
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April 10, 2014
Set:
As a cross-country skier, I have to train all year. Since we have not had much snow in the last couple of years, we have had to do dry-land training so that when the snow comes we are ready. Skiing is both a team and an individual sport, and we train for endurance, technique and strength. And although we have a team behind us encouraging us along the way to keep us going and making us want to succeed, it is still up to us as individuals how much we put into the sport.
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April 09, 2014
Set:
Have you ever disagreed with your coach’s game strategy or played with a teammate with whom you didn’t see eye to eye? Have you ever competed against an opponent who made you really angry? As athletes, we come into contact with a lot of people: coaches, teammates, opponents, referees, and fans; and we’re not always going to agree with them.
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April 08, 2014
Set:
I used to love going to airports when I was in college. My teammates, coaches and I would proudly sport our team sweats as we went through security, grabbed coffee and waited for the plane. As a bunch of women all dressed the same we were definitely noticed and we were never alone; we experienced the trip together. I just loved being a part of a team.
