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How do we pray about our sports lives? Do we regularly talk with God about each situation or just when things seem out of control? Which kind of prayer does God hear well? My answer may be surprising. It’s exciting to me that God doesn’t discriminate between my weakest prayers of panic and my most serene prayers of thanksgiving.
In 1998, the Ohio State Buckeyes beat Northwestern 36–10, but personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct tainted the win. OSU’s coach at the time, John Cooper, made a point to his number-one ranked team, emphasizing that there is no place in football for trash talking and taunting and that it can be a distraction more than a help. Guard Rob Murphy said, “He got his point across.”
Discussing the numerous flags that were thrown during the game, Cooper demanded that the trash-talk behavior stop. Again Murphy said, “I agree. We need to play more and talk less.”
One of the earliest lessons I learned in competition was that no one came to our home field and defeated our team in front of our family and friends. It was always motivating to deny the visiting team victory on our turf. There’s something special about being the home team. Teams now have slogans like “Not in our house!” and “Not in our backyard!” There is a responsibility to secure and protect home-field advantage.
I’ll never forget attending my first professional basketball game. I sat two rows from the top of the stadium in the “nosebleed” section. Before the game, I went courtside to see the players up close. It was an awesome feeling standing there looking up. I could only imagine what it would be like during the game when those seats were full and the fans were cheering.
The word “clouds” in ancient Greek times referred to the highest seats in a stadium. If you had a ticket for one of those seats, the usher might have said, “Your seat is in the clouds today.”
Sacrifice is something most people never even consider, let alone complete. Let’s consider what it is to be a living sacrifice.
At the time of this writing by Paul, sacrifices were usually killed and laid upon an altar to be burned. The problem with “living sacrifices” is that they tend to crawl off the altar when it gets a little hot. We start with good intentions of making a sacrifice for our teammates, our family, or career, but when it gets uncomfortable we often snatch the sacrifice from the altar and lose the reward that comes from faithfulness.
This verse is part of Christ’s Great Commission. As followers of Christ, this is an awesome commandment and responsibility we all share. My question is, how often do we go, but only halfway?
As athletes, we are constantly around teammates, competitors, and others who don’t know Christ. We go to practices, competitions, and social events where we are surrounded by people in need of a Savior, yet end up only going halfway—showing up, but not engaging them in what is most important to us: Jesus Christ. What stops us from going the whole way? Sometimes it’s simple forgetfulness or distractions, sometimes it’s fear, and sometimes it’s a lack of confidence or willingness to be different.
As athletes, most of us have experienced victory on the playing field, in the gym, on the road, etc., whether on a team or as an individual. Although we may not remember all the victories, we can probably recall how we felt during that time of victory. It was overwhelmingly satisfying, wasn’t it?
As athletes, most of us have also experienced defeat—maybe even more than victory. And just as we can remember the feelings of triumph, we also remember those of loss—the sadness, disappointment and remorse. Just plain defeated.
Isn’t it funny how when something good or bad happens to us unexpectedly and we’re surprised by the news, we want to tell somebody? “You’re not going to believe what just happened!” Or, “I can’t believe this!” Whatever the situation may be, whether in life or in sports, most of us have a few people who we call immediately.
Now, take note of that word “immediately.” This is not a situation that calls for a text message and then waiting for a response. We want quick feedback! But, what happens when you can’t get ahold of any of those people to share your news? It’s kind of a devastating feeling, isn’t it? You feel like the situation is of such importance and that it is about ready to burst out of you, and not being able to connect with someone can leave you feeling empty.
I love college football and everything about it. I love watching a good offense, but there is nothing like a strong front line on the defensive side. There is nothing more intimidating to me than having a great front four that doesn’t let anyone advance down the field. They are the rock of their defense — a mighty fortress, so to speak. Nothing can penetrate them when the offense tries to advance. They stand firm. What an awesome sight it is to see nothing cross the line of defense.
It had been a long day of doing things for my summer job, and it had thrown my schedule out of whack. The time I had put aside to do my lifting and running for football also got messed up. And if having my day split into pieces wasn’t bad enough, the aches and pains from the grind of summer workouts was beginning to wear down on me. That’s when the clouds rolled in and the rain started to fall.
In the parable of the talents, the ruler blessed three of his servants with different talents, and they were to do something with them. One buried his and didn’t do anything with it and the ruler came back and basically said, “Wicked man. You didn’t do what you were supposed to do.” Of the other two—one multiplied his talent a little bit and the other maximized his to the fullest. That’s where I feel like I sit.
A successful gymnast has rhythm, confidence, and a strong body—but most vitally, power and control. With power, a gymnast can whip her body around a bar to gain momentum for a dismount. She can vault herself high enough over an apparatus to flip and twist her body in the air. She can leap off the ground and complete numerous harrowing tumbling passes during a floor routine. Power is important to these young athletes.
Coaches want to tell their athletes exactly what needs to be dsone and have confidence they’ll do it. Athletes want coaches to be direct. They want to know exactly what play to run. They don’t want surprises. Knowing exactly what is expected is how athletes focus on what they have to do.
David gave Solomon this kind of direction in 1 Kings. David knew his time on earth was almost up. He knew Solomon would need to focus in order to prepare for what was coming. David gave Solomon very direct expectations for his life.
We can take these same directions and apply them to our lives today. When we take “Coach” David’s to-do list and apply it to our lives, we will have the focus we need to succeed in the game of life.
How does strength and flexibility training improve one’s game? In what ways is a team better because of that training?
Hebrews 12:12-13 states, “strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but healed instead.”
Certainly each player is able to compete at a higher level when he or she is stronger and more able to withstand injury. Thus, we hear the admonition to strengthen our “tired hands” and “weakened knees.”
Much like Paul, I also felt at times that I was the worst of sinners. I wondered how God could forgive me, how He could use me. I didn’t measure up. As a young football coach, I modeled myself after several older, rough and rugged, salty coaches who were known to be profane to the extreme and who had a “take no prisoners” attitude. It had worked for them; maybe it would work for me. Using these questionable techniques, I, too, became successful—as in wins and losses. I gained the respect of my peers and won trophies and accolades, but for what? There was still a major hole that needed to be filled—a Jesus hole.
My brother, Stu, was a wrestler in high school. His junior year he won 14 and lost 10, which is not bad, but he wasn’t happy with the results. So, he decided to spend one summer at various camps to get better.
Stu knew one of his weaknesses was wrestling in the standing position. He was terrible at takedowns. When he went on the offensive, he usually ended up on the bottom. His defensive strategy usually yielded the same results. At the camps he worked hard to overcome these weaknesses. He sought good coaching, made tremendous efforts, and then implemented the new strategy. The next year Stu ended up with 24 wins and only six losses!
I’ll admit it . . . I love to watch NASCAR. I am fascinated by the speed of the cars and the drivers who work all week to prepare for a race every Sunday. What would happen if they just came to the track on Sunday without doing anything to their cars all week? Or what if they let some other carmaker try to use outside parts on their car? They would do poorly and probably wouldn’t finish the race. These cars are high-maintenance, bought and conditioned as finely-tuned machines to perform at peak abilities when it is time to go.
My dad loved to engage God daily and passionately challenged others to do so as well. It had not always been that way. Eighteen years ago he was an overcommitted businessman who would squeeze in a two-minute devotion in his car before running into his office. That changed when Brad Curl saw that my dad, who was on many ministry boards, was skimming with his devotions. To get his attention, Brad grabbed my dad and said, “Ed, stop playing with God. You are a Christian leader. Start diving into God’s Word and get serious! No more giving God leftovers!” That day marked my dad. No more two-minute devos! My dad’s life transformed as he feasted on God’s Word first thing every morning.
We have all seen the shirts that say “Football is life, the rest is just details.” I used to own one of those shirts a long time ago. And football wasn’t the only sport they made into these shirts. I have seen basketball, golf, fishing and so on.
As a Christians and athletes, our shirts should say “Jesus is life, the rest is just details.” In Matthew 24:35, He says that Heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not. This means EVERYTHING: massive stadiums, gyms, buildings, earth, etc. Jesus and His Kingdom are the only things that will remain.
As a University of Kansas Jayhawk, it’s hard for me to admit this. But this morning I was totally proud of Missouri men’s basketball coach Frank Haith. With the big KU-MU rivalry game coming up this weekend, there’s a lot of trash-talking going on between the schools, and in one of the most brutal rivalries in the country, it can get pretty nasty.
With the game being hosted at Missouri, Coach Haith issued a charge to the Mizzou fans to, instead of jeering KU, focus on cheering FOR Mizzou. In essence, don’t worry about trashing the opponent; concentrate on cheering for and supporting your home team. Now that was a classy move.
Sometimes I have this dream about a big game. I’m prepared, ready, yet something’s missing. It could be I forgot my shoes, have the wrong uniform, or something is preventing me from getting into the game. The familiar dream began after a career-ending injury. You never know what the next day may bring, so play each day for the Lord. Adversity comes in various ways. Injuries are an area most athletes have to deal with at one point or another. Many are lucky and with God’s help play through an injury. However, it is hard to suffer an injury that requires rehabilitation or may take us out for the season. Satan brings thoughts of, Why me? Why give me this talent and take it away? Thoughts of quitting creep in.
Many high school graduates are beginning to experience the end of their sports in one way or another. Their seasons are coming to an end, and, for some, life will never be the same.
In my case, as a thrower in track and field, I don’t have much opportunity to throw after high school. You don’t just randomly start throwing a shot put in your backyard or a discus at your local park. For the most part, you’re done with that part of your life. And, for me, it has been a huge part of my life. Throwing has become a passion, and now it feels a little like I’m losing a part of myself.
My first year of coaching was with a football program at a small Christian school. I believe there were only 20-22 players on the team. We were lacking size and had average speed. With only so few players, most of the starters played "iron man" football. A few players played the whole game on defense, offense, kick off and kick return. Would you be willing to bet those players were both physically and mentally spent by half time, much less the end of the game?
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