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?

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.

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.

As long as we are involved in athletics, we are going to encounter adversity on a daily basis. An athlete will come face to face with failure, mistakes, and errors. As coaches, we will come face to face with pressures to win, compliance issues, ineligible players, and recruiting battles. As people we are tested on and off the field by sin and Satan. In almost all sports, there is a certain degree of defense needed in order to win the game. How do we as Christian coaches defend against Satan to become a champion in heaven?

History always repeats itself because man fails to learn from his failures. Therefore, we do well to remember historical events such as the Holocaust, the Civil War, and the Israelites’ forty-year wilderness wandering. The Bible tells us why the world is like it is: sin. The Bible has much to say about the blessings that come as a result of obeying and the curses, or consequences, that occur as a result of sin. We find these truths from Genesis to Revelation. God certainly forgives the sin of those who belong to Him through Jesus Christ; however, there are still consequences to be faced. Are God’s people today settling down comfortably in the society in which we live, casting out our distinctive Christian focus?

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.

When we avail ourselves to God, He manifests more of His character in us, making the extraordinary become the ordinary, as in the story of Daniel. Success often follows obedience and trust in God. As a result of Daniel’s obedience, he prospered in his position and caused the hearts of the people to be turned toward God.

Available hands reflect an available heart. When we are prepared to let God use us, He is prepared to do remarkable things through us. God’s presence and help is available to us every moment and everywhere. He is always with us, listens to us, and pursues us with His love.

French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “The human race is governed by its imagination.” For Bonaparte, considered a military genius, imagination enabled him to conquer most of western and central Europe. As leaders of this world through our joint inheritance with Christ, we too face many seemingly insurmountable foes. Fourth and long, down by three with four seconds left on the clock, an away match against the state champion—these obstacles pale in comparison to the matchless superiority of our Lord’s power.

Man, I am a workout-aholic. Can I get an amen from anyone else out there? Ever since I was in high school I’ve lived by a motto I read on a t-shirt: “Somewhere, someone is working out. And when you meet her in head-to-head competition, she will beat you.” I think somewhere along the line I adopted that as my personal mantra (especially when I started running), and I have been a gym rat ever since.

Hockey Chat:  Passing is a key in the game.  Have you ever seen someone try to go end-to-end around 5 attackers only to get stripped before he’s able to get a shot off.  Players that try to do it all to get the glory usually lose it all and are left empty.  What’s all that hard work for if it gained nothing?