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The time-out. What a great tool! When you realize that your athletes are becoming unnerved, out of breath and in need of a break, a time-out is a great way to stop, reenergize, refocus, reward and reassure them. Something as simple as a water break time-out to reenergize your team is all it takes to get them going again. In the same way, our “thirst” for God requires that we take time-outs in our lives in order to be reenergized by our Coach, Jesus Christ.
Why is asking so hard for some of us? Whether it’s for a ride to the airport, a few dollars for lunch, or (better yet) financial support to take some athletes to FCA camp, many of us avoid asking like the plague.
Of course, there are times when even the most self-sufficient among us is willing to swallow all pride and plead before the “throne of grace.” I have personally witnessed the amazing transformation of coaches, players and fans whose circumstances turned them into fervent prayer warriors. This phenomenon typically occurs during a game when their team is down by a point with a few ticks left on the clock and the least-talented shooter is on the free-throw line. Who among us hasn’t uttered a prayer in times such as these?
There are two sayings that I have heard hundreds of times in my life. One is “You can’t tell a book by its cover,” and the other is an advertising statement that assures us “It’s what’s up front that counts.” I would like to take a little liberty with those two statements and apply them to the world of sports. I think that anyone who has played baseball can attest to the fact that “You can’t tell a baseball by its cover” and “It’s what’s inside that counts.”
Whoever said life is a roller coaster must have been a coach. It seems that on a daily basis, the coaching profession can send us rocketing toward glorious, adrenaline-boosted highs. But it can also throw us into a downward spiral with exasperating emotional lows.
I’ll never forget standing in the locker room with my Division 1 field hockey players and listening to their postgame chatter. I was their new assistant coach, we had just lost our first game, and I was anxious to see how they were doing.
When David wrote this instructive psalm, he was in trouble. He was most likely cowering in a hole dug deeply into a hill, hiding from enemies that were pursuing him. He was lonely, desperate and in need of help. As he hid from his adversaries, he felt out of control and uncertain of the future. So David implored the Lord for guidance, acknowledging in this time of distress that his trust and confidence had to come from God.
At the beginning of every football season, Coach Tom Landry would give his players his priorities: God, family and football, in that order. By keeping these priorities, he avoided the madness and chaos that often consume a coach’s life.
In our pregame talks, we tell our players to “play with heart!” and encourage them to perform their best. The more our players develop such a vision, the deeper their commitment to the sport becomes. This is exactly what Jesus wants from us. He wants to develop a heart in us that will commit to knowing Him in a deeper, more intimate way. As David said in Psalm 51:10, “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” As we develop this kind of heart, others will notice.
When most sport seasons end, numbers get crunched. As coaches, it’s easy for us to get caught up in this number crunching, especially as the media highlights our career wins, the titles we’ve won and the number of “Coach of the Year” awards we’ve received.
But any true coach knows that records are not what are important. Having the opportunity to work with athletes and make a difference in their lives is what is important. Coaches, like players, make a lot of sacrifices to develop winning teams, but most will tell you those sacrifices and successes are for the athletes—for the joy of watching players mature and grow.
Homecoming week can strike fear into the heart of a coach. There’s the dance, the pep assembly, the class competitions and, of course, the game, which is often the last to be mentioned. Although our players know better, all the festivities can distract them. It’s a challenge to help them stay focused and arrive at the game ready to play. I admit, some seasons it causes me not to see straight.
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