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I was driving in a hurry to get to a tournament. Although I was going the speed limit, the truck in front of me was not. It was blocking my way, slowing me down, and making me late. I remember similar feelings in athletics. We don’t like it when someone is blocking our path to the end zone, the basket, the goal, or victory. Similarly, I believe there are times when the enemy of our souls, Satan, tries to block our way and cause disruptions and problems in life.
This year I turned 50 years old. It’s amazing to see how God has stood by my side through a half century of life. Has it been easy? Is a life with Multiple Sclerosis, like the one I lead, a life without challenges? Is training for bodybuilding competitions, something that is virtually impossible with MS, a walk in the park? Is God prepared for victory even as I face a battle that man says cannot be won? The answers are NO, NO, NO and YES!
Training with a debilitating disease is certainly challenging. MS has left my extremities with numbness and lack of coordination. I sometimes wonder why God has chosen me to do what I am doing, but I always come back to the same conclusion. He has His purpose, and I am just a vessel for His work.
As a baseball coach for twenty years, I often had to maximize the skills of my players and play “small ball” since my teams were not always blessed with great power. Consequently, the sacrificial bunt was an important part of our offensive arsenal.
Amazingly, the sacrificial bunt, which should be one of baseball’s easiest skills to master, was for some players the most difficult. Most of the players could square around, get the bat out over the plate, and with a relatively loose grip, let the ball hit the bat. But some failed because the player was not willing to “sacrifice” himself and give himself up to move his teammate forward.
January 16, 2004, is a date that may have significantly impacted the sports world for many years to come. Two 14-year-old athletes made a big splash in their respective sports. Michelle Wie played in the Sony Open on the PGA tour and missed the cut by one stroke, tying two men who had won major championships the previous year. Freddy Adu, in a move that shocked no one, was chosen as the top pick in the Major League Soccer draft by D.C. United.
Coaching involves serving, teaching, encouraging, and leading. If you are in a coaching position right now, you have tremendous power to influence the lives of not only the athletes you coach, but also anyone in your circle of influence. What an awesome responsibility.
It seems like only yesterday that I was in my high school weight room pumping weights with the music cranked.
I have no doubt that the thousands of hours I spent in the weight room as a high school, college, and professional
athlete paid off. As a young man I wanted not only to get big, but also to excel in my sport. Lifting weights built
me up and strengthened me to be the best athlete I could. The muscle that I added helped me perform better and
kept me from injury. Too bad my mom didn’t like the fact that my clothes weren’t fitting anymore.
Paul wrote that we need to be “rooted and built up” in Christ. The Lord desires for us to develop spiritual
I’ve come a long way in my life. I’ve been blessed all along this road I’ve been down. I’ve prayed a lot. I have a praying family and I have a lot of praying friends. I do believe that God is the Father. You trust in Him. He’s whom you answer to. He’s who knows you. I know that all the ability in the world wouldn’t amount to anything if I didn’t acknowledge that God gave it all to me. I pray about everything and it’s helped me get through a lot of situations.
Hockey Chat: There are the guys on the team that wear the “C” on their sweater representing that they are the Captain. They’ve given their best at putting forth the qualities of a leader. The management of the team sees those actions and gives this prestigious reward to the top man who has earned it. It’s an honor given to them because of what they gave to the team.
Hockey Chat: A few years back, the Chicago Blackhawks started a post game tradition at home. When they won they would gather at center ice, raise their sticks, and wave to the fans as a salute to those who supported them. It was their way of giving acknowledgement and thanks back to the those who cheered them on throughout the game.
Hockey Chat: When Martin Brodeur first started playing goalie in a game when he was six years old, he didn’t know what he was in for. He moved in ways he hadn’t had to move when he was playing forward. Skaters charged him like never before, and at that age they don’t all have the stopping thing down to good.
Three empty crosses lay grotesquely across Golgotha’s barren and desolate knoll. The sun-dried blood, the convulsed earth, the litter of a mob all told the gruesome story of crucifixion. They had deserted Him, later found His tomb empty, and were now cowering in a house with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. In this house Jesus appeared to them.
How bad does it hurt to be rejected? We’ve all been there. We’ve all been rejected by teammates, family members, boyfriends/girlfriends, co-workers and bosses. And when it happens, it hurts!
I was reading in John 10 this morning, coming fresh off a rejection myself, and it struck me just how important it is for us to understand Jesus’ role as our shepherd during these times. In John 10:12, Jesus talks about a hired hand who doesn’t stick by the sheep through tough times. He abandons them because they aren’t his own, and he’s not committed to them. Why would he stick around to get eaten by a wolf himself when he’s not the true owner of the sheep? So, he flees the scene, leaving the sheep abandoned and vulnerable.
Our lives are strengthened when we focus on that which gives us strength. As a pitching coach, three words often come out of my mouth: use your eyes. The theory is that our eyes tell our body where to release the ball. Thus, by focusing on a target, we are more likely to hit it. There is much to think about and many distractions as a pitcher, just as in our daily lives. However, like a pitcher, if we put our whole focus on our target, we no longer have any room to focus on distractions.
Less than six months after he was hired to take over the University of Alabama football program, coach Mike Price was fired because his behavior failed to coincide with university policies. While Price admitted to “making mistakes and at times inappropriate behavior,” he did not agree with the firing, saying, “I don’t think the punishment fits the crime.” When we make poor choices in life we (and sometimes those around us) will have to pay the price for our actions. It may not always be as big as losing our job, but rest assured there is a price to pay. So how can we honor God with our behavior?
Hockey Chat: There are some great stories of come behind games. Times when teams were down and out but worked their way back to score goals and win. Sometimes its after they come out of the locker room and just play like a new team. Sometimes it’s putting aside the fact that you just lost 3 straight games in a best of seven series. In the final playoff series of the 1942 NHL season, the Toronto Maple Leafs did just that and went on to beat the Detroit Redwings the next 4 games and hoist the Cup.
Coaches work hard to get the job done for their programs, but the head coach spends even more time in preparation for his or her meetings. It’s not just the season preparations that need to be done, but also pre-season, postseason, and summer workouts to consider. The head coach must think of everyone in the program and blend every person together for the success of the next year.
As a Christian, I understand the meaning of Philippians 1:21, but the events of 1999 gave me a new perspective on the verse. God had blessed me with wonderful, caring parents despite the fact that my father did not walk in the light. My mother, on the other hand, had my two siblings and myself in church every time the doors were open. Many nights I would awaken to her praying and weeping for my father’s salvation. My father was a provider who loved his family more than anything and worked long, hard hours at a factory to demonstrate that love. He gave us material things, but all I wanted was for him to be happy and walk in God’s victorious peace.
One of my players committed a costly turnover during a basketball game, and I screamed, “How could he be so stupid?” I had officially hit rock bottom as a coach. Winning games had become so important to me that I publicly demeaned a player. My will as a coach needed to be broken and conformed to God’s will. So I spent some time with God and asked Him, “Should I still be coaching?” God graciously provided the answer in Jeremiah 7:3, “Correct your ways and your deeds, and I will allow you to live in this place.” When I knew that God wanted me to coach, I needed to ask “Why do I coach?” Was it for the wins or my personal glory? Or was it to have an impact for Christ?
It appears that our hearts are the repositories for both confidence and fear. When we feel overmatched by a seemingly superior opponent, it’s our heart that keeps us from fearing him. When it seems like everything is going badly, when all the momentum has swung to the other team’s bench, it’s our heart that brims with confidence in spite of it all. A coach’s heart is the key that enables his or her team to compete strongly.
Hockey Chat: Nobody can say they are a great player just because they know the rulebook. The rulebook helps to make great players by setting up a fair and just playing field for the game. The rulebook makes us aware of how to avoid penalties. But it takes playing by those rules to make a great player.
Every year I look at my team’s schedule of games during preseason and start to calculate wins and losses. One game I’m certain we’ll win, another we probably won’t, and still another will be a toss-up. Though each season is filled with uncertainty and challenges, the majority of coaches still dream about championships and most valuable player awards. What’s exciting to me is that God can do immeasurably more than all of those expectations combined.
Hockey Chat: Have you ever seen a guy who looked like the puck glued was to his stick. It may have looked like it from his puck handling. Those guys frustrate every defenseman. They have such control of the puck that it’s nearly impossible to take away. A poor puck handler will leave the puck behind every time.
One of my favorite baseball movies is A League of Their Own starring Tom Hanks. In one famous scene Hank’s character tells one of his female baseball players to stop crying. The reason behind his command is that in baseball there is no crying. There may be a few emotional Cubs fans who disagree! Handling emotions can be quite difficult for coaches. We want our team to be on edge and ready for a big game, but when athletes or coaches cry or display personal weakness, they are often looked down upon. Does this mean that in sports and in other areas of life it is acceptable to exhibit only tough-guy emotions? No, because Jesus was not afraid to express emotion.
The first thing anyone asks a coach is, “How are things with your team?” When someone meets me and finds out that I am a coach, he usually asks, “Is your team good?” When I walk down the street after a game, people stop me to say, “Great win coach!” I always have a quick response, sharing all of the positive things that are going on in our program and painting our team in the best light.
Hockey Chat: When you’re on defense, one of the worst things you can do is let your opponent stand in front of your net waiting to tip the puck, get a rebound, or just screen your goal tender. Detroit scored buckets of goals against Colorado in 07 doing just that and swept them right out of the playoffs. You cannot let that guy stake his position there. It takes work to get him away but if you let him stick around, he’s bound to cause trouble.
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