As a coach, it’s hard to make athletes understand that improvement takes place in the off-season. I would always get the same excuse about needing time off after a hard season. Work ethic is a big deal to a coach. Athletes who put in the work are always better off in the end.

We can all recall a time when we’ve competed to the point of total exhaustion, our bodies, minds, and souls fully spent in pursuit of a victory. How does one continue to compete at the point of physical breakdown and total collapse?

The writer of this psalm knew what it was for his flesh and heart to fail. He had totally exhausted the capacity of his body to fight, but had lived on. He had been to the very end of his heart’s ability to love, but found renewed strength of soul.

At the end of a body’s natural ability to compete, God is a limitless source of strength. When our hearts are poured out like much water, God is a river of life to the soul.

Christian coaches are called to use their gifts for the glory of God and His kingdom. When we are generous with our talent and work to set an example of faithful stewardship, we allow our team to witness God at work in our lives. As coaches it is important that we make a point of guiding our teams away from the turmoil that comes through envy and selfish ambition.

In lacrosse, there are many essential pieces of equipment: gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads and, most important, helmets.

After mentally preparing myself for my final collegiate game, I started getting ready physically. I put on my game shorts, then my shoulder and arm pads. I laced up my cleats. All that was left was my helmet. I reached into my bag and found gloves, some tape, socks, a few lacrosse balls, but no helmet. I looked around thinking someone might be playing a prank on me, but this was no joke. I had left the most important piece of equipment three hours west in my locker.

NBA Player, Chauncey Billups, said, “To be a good leader, at some point you have to be a good follower. I was always a good follower. I always followed the right people and listened to the right things.
Those helped shape me as a leader.” So, are you a good follower?

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “Are you a leader or a follower?” when I was growing up. A subtle principle was communicated through that question: “be a leader not a follower!”

This can’t be happening, I thought. Not with only three and a half weeks to go! But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t deny the worsening pain in my right shin. As soon as I got home from my 12-mile run, I collapsed into a chair and cried. Three months of marathon training were headed down the drain.

Following the advice of my running peers, I didn’t run for two days. I was going crazy. A friend noticed my distress and offered a challenge. She encouraged me to pray during the time I would have been running. “Don’t get out of the daily training habit, just train a different way,” she said.

“That’s never been done here before.” “We’ve never been to the state playoffs.” “We’ve never beaten them before.” How many times have athletes looked at past seasons as the standard for the current season? The past can be a great thing when kept in perspective.