There are no materials needed for this icebreaker. Just have everyone stand up and arrange themselves in order of their birthdays from earliest birthday to latest (month and day only). The trick is, no one can talk. They can only use gestures. Give them a time limit.
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Slacker? Me?

Most of the time as coaches we push, push, push! Our players know we are serious about getting better as a team. We even yell and scream to get the point across because we know that sometimes a nice calm, controlled request just doesn’t get the result we are looking for. Or we might hold an extended practice to work on a specific problem so we are better prepared. But how often do we push, push, push our own selves to get better? What do we do to improve?
If you watch ants, you can see that they work tirelessly. An ant knows its job and performs it with expertise, discipline, and focus—for the good of the whole colony. What are we doing that models this approach?
Pro Perspectives - Case Keenum Video Study

Winning for Christ
Watch the video and walk through the questions below.
Key Verse: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus— Philippians 2:5 (NIV)
- Can you think of anyone that you know who has a winning-for-Christ attitude? Are you one of these people?
- How can you demonstrate winning for Christ as you play your sport?
- When you walk off the court or field, what will people say about you?
- Read Philippians 2:5. How are we supposed to act in relationships with one another?
- What would have happened if Case hadn’t acted with the mindset of Jesus Christ?
The Five F’s
Hopefully at some point in our lives, we have had the blessing of receiving a powerful and lasting message from God when we least expect it. Mine happened over a series of four key events in a single year.
January 3rd - My wonderful wife, Vickie, and I had just returned from a trip with our football team at Northern Illinois University to the International Bowl. By the end of the trip, I felt sluggish and stepped on our bathroom scale to discover I was heavier than I had ever been. It was definitely time to do something about that.
Waking the Lions
It was as good as done the moment the Lions signed free agent quarterbacks Jon Kitna and Josh McCown. The path back to Christ was illuminated long before Dan Orlovsky could see it for himself. No one who would be spending so much time with two such evangelists could escape the Holy Spirit.
No, Orlovsky had no shot.
Blindfold Marco Polo Dodgeball

Blindfold half of the leaders and give them a dodgeball. Have them stand in the middle of the play area. Assign a second person to each blindfolded leader to be a ball fetcher. The blindfolded leader then calls out “Marco” to which every student must respond “Polo!” The blindfolded leader tries to throw the ball at the students. If they hit one, the assistant leader removes them to a designated area and then gets the ball. The last student remaining is the winner.
Rules:
If a student doesn’t respond “Polo” he or she is automatically out. If a student ever touches or is hit by a ball he or she is out.
Patience

In our culture, patience is becoming less and less common. We’re an instant gratification society, so when things don’t go according to our timetable or plans, we get frustrated and sometimes angry. How many times have coaches lost their tempers when athletes failed to make the right plays or the right decisions?
I Love This Game

My son’s “fifteen and under” AAU basketball team scrimmaged a “seventeen and under” team and were losing badly. Although it was painful to watch, I noticed two distinct styles of play that greatly affected the outcome.
Our team’s guards repeatedly dribbled through obvious traps in the opponent’s defense. Our coach switched players, changed the offense, and diagramed simple plays to run, but often the player with the ball tried to dribble into oncoming pressure. Each player had different mechanical problems. One dribbled with his head down and another wouldn’t use both hands. Our coach spent all his time trying to correct mistakes.
Facing The Coach!

Coach: Tweet! Okay Murphy! Okay Brian! Get in here—pronto. Now the Big Game is comin' up. This is our Super Bowl and we have a chance to win it all. You know the drills. We've gone through it hundreds of times. Let's get to work. Now I have to go watch some important footage…
Brian: Hey Coach! You gonna watch films scoutin' out the other team's secret play?
Murphy: Yeah Coach!?
Coach: No, Oprah's on today with “How to make low cal banana splits.” Now back to work! I don't want any benchwarmers!
(Brian immediately starts stretching and Murphy pulls out his shades and sunscreen.)
Murphy: Hey, Brian! Brian!
Brian: What?
Rebound!

Carly was a tenacious defender, but couldn’t shoot well. One thing I loved about Carly was if the basketball was available, she would get it. Because most of her shots didn’t go in, she learned what most players don’t: stop pouting and go get the ball! Carly was queen of the court in our 11-man break drill. In it, whoever got the rebound continued playing in the drill. Carly stayed in one day for 11 trips up and down the floor. She got 11 straight rebounds. Not bad for only being 5’6”.
The Armor of God

In ancient times, a soldier was only as good as the equipment he had. His only source of protection was his armor and his sword. In ancient warfare, there wasn’t the option to carry out attacks from miles away like we can today. It was always up-close, in a large crowd with hand-to-hand combat, and you needed armor that could protect you from every side.
Portland Impact

Watch how God is using FCA to make His name great in the least-churched city in America, Portland Oregon.
Game Day

Take a deep breath … Can you smell it? The air puts a special swagger in your step … Can you feel it? Today is not any other day. It is GAME DAY! Game day is a special day. Thoughts and feelings rush through your mind as you wait for the game to arrive. I can still feel, hear and see the home crowd at our season opener in basketball as if it was just yesterday. The songs played by the band, the smell of popcorn in the air, the sounds of people moving around, anxiously awaiting for what this year's team will give the crowd. Every player and coach works for one thing: game day. Game day is about preparation mentally and physically for the battle ahead. Game day is here now. Let the game begin!
Lasting Integrity

Our integrity is revealed when we’re faced with a decision to do what we know is right, even if it conflicts with what we want. We are called to act according to God’s will instead of our own.
It was a beautiful spring day in 1980 in northwestern New York State, a great day for a lacrosse game. The Watertown Cyclones, a powerhouse team, was visiting their cross-town rivals, the General Brown Lions. Though underdogs, the Lions were a gritty blue-collar team, and they had home field advantage. If all their starters played at 100 percent, they had a chance to upset the Cyclones. It was exciting!
Thanksgiving Power

The power of Thanksgiving is in the action.
After every practice and every game, Jessie would approach me before leaving the field and utter one small but powerful sentence: “Thank you, coach!” During the entire two years she played on our high school girl’s lacrosse team, she never missed a single day of saying those three powerful words. Jessie understood the value of gratitude, and she wanted to make sure I knew that she did not take a single practice or game for granted. Jessie not only had an attitude of thanksgiving, but she also put it into action.
Be the one.
Is Your Stomach Growling?

Have you ever gone to a restaurant that serves bread before the meal and, when the bread got to your table you just stared at it? Say you have just worked out and you are incredibly hungry. Everyone in the restaurant can hear your stomach growling, but all you do is just sit and stare at the bread. People around you start talking to each other and asking questions like, “Why are you just staring at the bread? Eat it!” But you just sit and stare, wondering why you aren’t satisfied.
OW2P Study - Just Say "Know" (Part 10)

Goal
To help students understand God’s view of drugs, alcohol and tobacco; to help students realize that the use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco has negative consequences; and to motivate students to live a life that honors God.
Key Scriptures
2 Timothy 2:5; Psalm 119:9-11
Warm Up
Break up into small groups. Assign each group a scripture from the list of Bible references on the dangers of drinking. (See end of lesson for list of Scripture references.) Have each group determine a lesson to learn from its Scripture and how it relates to their lives. Ask two or three groups to share with everyone.
Watch
External Perspective

It is easy to praise and worship the Lord when our team is scoring touchdowns, making three-pointers and scoring goals. But often we find ourselves in positions where things are not working out quite the way we would like. It is during the tough times that we have the greatest opportunity to reflect God’s light and love.
Hurricane Season
The name of any sports team says something about the nature of the game being played. It's revealing to note, then, that the NHL has more teams named after natural disasters than any other pro sport: the Flames, the Lightning, the Avalanche, and perhaps most indicative, the Carolina Hurricanes. These names alert fans that they're watching, not a game of slow precision or deliberate grit, but of collective fury and fast-paced skill.
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