Momentum is the one thing that can turn a game completely around. This game-changing element can happen in any sport, but the one that comes to mind immediately is basketball. How often, while watching a game on television, do you hear the announcers start screaming, “Coach so-and-so better call a timeout soon”? They realize that if coach so-and-so doesn’t stop the game and allow the team to regroup, things will soon go from bad to worse. The same can happen to us as coaches when situations catch us by surprise, making a timeout needed. What’s a surprise situation? It’s one of those situations where nothing is going the way we’d like and our emotions get the better of us, causing us to react in a way we later regret. It might be in a practice or in a game. It might involve a situation with a player, a parent, or any situation where momentum is working against us. That’s when a timeout is needed. A timeout can be to ask God for wisdom on how to respond, or a specific request. Scripture says, “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him” (Jms 1:5).

Finally, the verses above reveal that wisdom cries out from places that are loud, noisy, and chaotic – just like the coaching world at times. God reaches out to us in a variety of places: on the field, the court, the track, the classroom, and the locker room. So be encouraged! God will never put us in a situation without His grace to assist us (1 Co 10:13). A key timeout is a wise strategy for regaining control and obtaining a little divine momentum.