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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.
I did it again. I can’t believe I haven’t learned yet. I should know better, but it’s so hard not to do it. Everyone does it. I guess it’s considered just part of life, but I refuse to cave in and be like everyone else.
I walked into a room full of Division-I athletes, all on scholarship, who had been chosen to go to school at Mississippi State. I, on the other hand, had chosen to go to Mississippi State myself. I felt a lot like the Israelites did in Numbers 13. God had promised them the Promised Land, but they were going to have to conquer the land. Moses sent 12 leaders out, one from every tribe, to explore the land and come back with reports.
Hearing athletes and coaches pray before competition is always interesting. Many times pre-game prayers can be a “rah-rah” talk or desperate plea for a big win. As a true competitor, what is the correct way to pray before entering the heat of battle? The following prayer is fitting for a game, competition, workout, or even practice:
As an amateur cyclist (very amateur), I just love the Tour de France. For 21 Stages in just 23 days, 180 of the most highly conditioned athletes ride 2,200 miles through some of the most beautiful countryside and grueling mountains in the world. It’s considered the “Super Bowl” of cycling, and it’s arguably one of the most physically, mentally and spiritually demanding events in all of sports. The riders average over 100 miles each day and burn over 130,000 calories! And while most of us would find it hard to drive a car thru the Alps, just imagine trying to do it on a bike.
Get One Word for the new year…but be careful! It might change you.
Since 1999, we started the simple discipline of developing a One Word theme for the upcoming year. That is right—One Word. Not a phrase, not a statement, just a single word. To this point, it has been nothing short of life-changing.
Shaun Alexander has always known there was something different about him. Even as a young 10-year-old boy, he sensed that his life would be far from ordinary. He began showing signs of above-average athleticism as a teenager and would go on to be one of the most prolific high-school football players ever produced by the state of Kentucky. And from there, he would achieve All-American status at the University of Alabama before making a massive impact in the NFL as the star running back of the Seattle Seahawks.
But it was more than his uncanny ability to run wild with the pigskin and score touchdown after touchdown that made Alexander special. It was his unusual desire to help others and serve the needs of anyone who crossed his path.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
Splashing furiously, I tried desperately to outswim my younger sister. As I reached through the water with every ounce of strength in my 16-year-old body, my lungs and muscles burned. I looked up at the clock. She’d beaten me…again. I was crushed. The pain my body experienced couldn’t compare to the pain I felt inside—the jealousy and anger and failure. Nothing mattered except the reality that I had lost to my fiercest competitor.
In more than two decades of marriage, University of Georgia Head Football Coach Mark Richt and his wife, Katharyn, have learned valuable lessons about three very popular things in FCA: faith, family and football. Today, we’re concluding our four-part video devotion series based on the Richts’ recent interview with FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine.
To access the video, click the link below to watch or download the clip. After you’ve watched the short video, take time to answer the questions below. Finish by reading the related Scripture and asking God to work in your heart as a result of what you’ve learned.
VIDEO LINK:
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.
In our efforts to achieve high esteem, many of us try to wear the right clothes, drive the right cars, or have the right cell phones. We figure if we have all of the "right" stuff, we will finally feel good about ourselves. We think our teammates will begin to think we are cool.
The problem with having the right material items is that, in a month, week or even a day’s time, those will no longer be considered cool. That self-image we thought we could purchase will suddenly be gone.
At every stage of life, there are different temptations to staying true to the Lord. As a college student, I’ve noticed that temptations have increased drastically compared to high school. There are nightly parties, common alcohol and drugs use, and our faith is constantly challenged in the classroom and in dormitory life. We must constantly put on the armor of God to battle these temptations (Ephesians 6:12).
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.
I like to cook, and I like simple recipes. For example: open can; pour contents into pan; heat until hot; serve in bowl. Now that's my kind of recipe. Coach Lou Holtz gave the recipe of a winner when he said, "Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Ability,motivation and attitude are all ingredients of a winner, and they cannot be omitted or substituted.
Likewise, Peter gave us the recipe for effective Christian living. The two main ingredients the Lord provides are His power (2 Peter 1:3) and His promises (v. 4). As we mix His power and promises into our believing and living, He'll strengthen our ability, inspire our motivation and empower our attitude.
Think of a team that fires on all cylinders. Good performance and unity are inseparable. All teams work collectively and corporately. There is no “I” in team, but there is an “I” in win. Joshua knew from past failures how to motivate his army. A unified team develops commitment to a common purpose, momentum, and loyalty. The more united the team, the better they play. The better the team plays, the more the individuals feel a sense of accomplishment. Individuals are extensions of the team.
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.
"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.
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.
In more than two decades of marriage, University of Georgia Head Football Coach Mark Richt and his wife, Katharyn, have learned valuable lessons about three very popular things in FCA: faith, family and football. Today, we’re continuing our four-part video devotion series based on the Richts’ recent interview with FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine.
To access the video, click the link below to watch or download the clip. After you’ve watched the short video, take time to answer the questions below. Finish by reading the related Scripture and asking God to work in your heart as a result of what you’ve learned.
VIDEO LINK:
A wide receiver or running back must make crisp cuts when running a route or hitting the hole. A soccer player needs to make crisp cuts when passing or dribbling. Basketball players must make quick, sure, crisp cuts when running plays or making moves to the hoop.
The word “crisp” has been defined as “notably sharp and clean-cut.” Should these athletes round their cuts, they would lose the ability to apply a successful move on their opponent.
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