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How can we show proper respect for our teammates, coaches, opponents, and even the officials? Why should we even care about that? Peter understood the value of showing proper honor and respect to people and he wrote about it in this Scripture. Take a moment to read it again, this time out loud.
In athletics we do a good job of misusing the verb need. We need a win. We need new uniforms. We need this player to play well. We need to raise this much with our fund-raiser. We need to have everyone at workouts.
The only problem is we are not looking at the verb need right. When we use need, we use it to mean something we would like to have. All of the situations above are things any coach or athlete would like to have. Who would not like new uniforms every season? We should use need a little differently.
We know them well—athletes who, at first, worked hard and gave the credit to God for their success. But then as success increased, giving God the glory decreased. It happens all the time—the once humble athlete asks for more of the world and less of God. Pride takes over!
King Uzziah was one of these men. Under the spiritual influence of Zechariah, Uzziah sought the Lord and was blessed. But Uzziah started to focus more on himself and less on God. He became powerful quickly and quickly forgot who got him to that point. He became so proud and brash that he entered the temple and tried to do things only the priests were allowed to do.
John reminds us to focus on God, and not think highly of ourselves. I once spoke at an event for a large number of kids. Before me, another speaker fumbled through his words in a monotone voice. As I listened, my sinful side said, “Dude, those kids are going to love you compared to this guy.” I couldn’t believe what I was thinking. My pride rose up and I hadn’t even stepped on stage. I was soon reminded, it’s not about me. The host introduced me as a youth pastor—which I’m not; and in the closing prayer, thanked God for me—using the wrong name. I drove home laughing. Those kids had no idea who I was or where I worked.
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“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
A major league third-base coaching box is no place for the indecisive. For Tim Bogar—the man who holds the position for the Boston Red Sox—every split-second decision he makes carries tremendous weight not only for the team, but also for the die-hard fans at Fenway Park. But as a former player himself, Bogar isn’t intimidated by the situation. Instead, he draws on his faith in Christ and finds the strength to bravely face each day, each game and each play.
Referees have a tough assignment. They must keep the game going, uphold the rules, keep every participant safe, and make sure not to create an advantage for either side. It’s a monumental task, all the while facing unbelievable pressure from the stands. But, in the midst of all that goes on during a game, the primary job of a referee is to represent truth. Have you noticed that all referees make truth statements: “No catch…out of bounds…foul on you…off sides…touchdown…no good…time has expired.” They don’t have favorites, aren’t rooting for one team over the other, and are simply stating the truth as they see it. Once the whistle blows, one side likes the call while, inevitably, the other side doesn’t.
Game day is here. Have I lifted enough? Have I practiced enough? Have I worked hard enough to be ready to compete tonight? These are all questions that run through our minds before we take the field of play. As we sit in the locker room readying for battle, the question we have to answer is, “Am I game ready?”
Remember this line? “Do as I say, not as I do.” What a recipe for disaster! The athletic world is full of double standards. Some athletes get treated better than others. Freshmen don’t usually get the same privileges as seniors. Even coaches sometimes have double standards for their athletes. Many times a coach will say that players late for practice will be punished. How often is this enforced if the late player is one of the best on the team?
In volleyball, or in any sport, running a timed mile is not unusual. The other day I had butterflies in my stomach wondering if I could make it in the eight-minute time frame. If I didn't, I wouldn't even be considered for the team. I was praying for strength and quickness. When the coach said, "Go," and we all began, the words "strive, stretch, strain, succeed" began running repeatedly through my head.
Sandi could tell you that your balance follows your gaze. He’d stopped his mountain bike just above a trail intersection. I was waiting for him on the trail below him and to his right. Being new to the kind of pedals that held his feet captive in metal clips, he focused on getting his left foot out before he lost all of his forward momentum. Proud of his success, he turned his gaze to the right to meet mine — and his weight followed his eyes. In slow motion he keeled over down the slope toward me, still unable to free his right foot from the pedal. He tumbled unhurt into an avalanche of late-autumn leaves, branches and his own bike.
Cal Ripken Jr., who broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-game record (Gehrig’s 2,130 to Ripken’s 2,632 straight games in the lineup), credits his father, Cal Ripken Sr. for the mentoring, coaching, and example to break the record. Junior remembers that his father had many mottoes and pronouncements. One of his favorite sayings was: “Do two million little things right, and the big things take care of themselves.” His point was to take pride in the fundamentals.
All of us face the game of life each day with its tests and temptations. Being a Christian doesn’t guarantee that we will never have problems. But as Christians, we have biblical guidelines and fundamentals to help us have victory over our trials.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my life to be a lie. If we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ but live “in darkness,” the Holy Spirit—through the apostle John—tells us we are liars. The other option is to “walk in the light,” as Jesus did when He was on the earth. If we are faithful in doing so, two things are granted to us: fellowship with other believers and continual cleansing from sin.
Sharing life with others who know Jesus is important; God did not create us to be alone! When we “walk in the light,” the dark parts of our lives are revealed, giving us the opportunity to correct them, repent, and move forward, and allowing us to grow closer to our Father along the way.
I was thinking overnight about some of the qualities that enable sports chaplains and sports mentors to be most effective in their work with coaches and competitors. One of those is empathy. Empathy is the ability to see situations from another’s point of view, to even feel what the other is feeling. Empathy shapes our attitudes and aligns our hearts and emotions to be most effective at communicating God’s heart in any given situation.
There are two sayings that I have heard hundreds of times in my life. One is, “You can’t tell a book by its cover” and the second is an advertising statement, “It’s what’s up front that counts.” I would like to take a little liberty with those two statements, applying them to the world of sports. I think that anyone who has played baseball can attest to the fact that “you can’t tell a baseball by its cover” and “It’s what’s inside that counts.”
What if there was one thing would improve your team in incredible ways? What if One Word could mean the difference between failure and victory? It’s time to focus and motivate your team with just One Word.
At the beginning of every season, thousands of coaches, athletes and teams gather to discuss their goals. Goals and plans are passionately shared and written down with anticipation and excitement. It’s an experience filled with energy, hope and optimism.
How many times, as athletes or coaches, have we been nervous before a big game? Maybe we were getting ready to play the big school rivalry game. Maybe it was a playoff game. Maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend was in the stands. Maybe we just get nervous in front of big crowds. We all handle these situations differently. Some of us get sick to our stomachs. Some cannot stop talking or moving around. Others come across as unfazed. These athletes seem to know the secret to remaining calm under pressure.
As a coach, my main objective is to communicate the game plan to my players. My next objective is to teach them to execute it on game days through hours of practice. During my pregame speech I may promise that if they execute the plan properly, they will have a chance to win. However, in the chaos of the game, the plan that I have mapped out may begin to unravel. If some of the players failed to study and learn it, the whole team will suffer. Are there similarities between this scenario and your own experiences?
Athletes must strive to get better every day. No matter how talented we are, there is always room for improvement. We may be the best in our school or sport, but if we get satisfied, we will not become all God wants us to be.
STV profiles D-I quarterbacks to watch this winter -- those who compete for more than the glory of the gridiron.
Included: Florida QB Tim Tebow, Texas QB Colt McCoy and Tennessee QB Erik Ainge.
Competition is an obvious part of the coaching life, resulting in either winning or losing. But God’s Word reminds us not to get so caught up in the results that we forget to take care of the flock—the athletes—who have been put under our watch.
Of course, we all want to win. Yet if we forget that we’re really working toward an “imperishable crown” (as Paul writes in 1 Co 9:25), we’ve lost perspective of why we’re coaching in the first place. In other words, just as we live our lives to please the Great Shepherd, so, too, do we coach our players with the same goal. In the process, we’ll serve as examples to the sheep.
Every day as coaches, we face many decisions that will affect our team. We need to deal with everything from what to do at practice, to who should be the starters in the next game. Some decisions are bigger than others, but they all have some bearing on our team. Every once in a while we may find ourselves in a position where we have no clue what decision to make or how to resolve an issue. It is at those times that we turn to assistant coaches, athletic directors, and others for help.
Our lives are made up of choices. Should I go out for this team? Should I go to practice? Should I play that sport? Should I go to class? From the time the day begins and we decide to get out of bed, everything is a choice. For some of us that choice is easier than for others. Some of our dads make getting out of bed and going to class an easy choice. The thing we often overlook as athletes is that our success is largely our personal choice. No one can make it for us.
Failure threatened to expose Coach Scott Glabb. He slumped against the door frame of the Santa Ana High School wrestling room and watched the last of his wrestlers exit the school after practice. But could he even call it a practice? He’d wasted the first 15 minutes searching for the keys to his office after his athletes had locked him out … again. And when he’d finally gotten to the wrestling room, he’d found that half of his team was missing. Of the few who had shown up, two were set to exchange blows over allegedly stolen wrestling shoes, and one appeared to be intoxicated.
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