Although she’s been coaching for more than 30 years, Olivet Nazarene Volleyball Coach Brenda Williams says her approach to the game and her athletes is always a work in progress. Another thing under continual development? Her walk with Christ, who, as she explains, has transformed her from a young coach just hungry for wins into a veteran coach also hungry for spiritual impact.

It was 54 years ago this month. A young, small-college basketball coach in Oklahoma realized his dream of providing major sports stars the opportunity to influence their fans to follow the only true Hero we can ever know—Jesus Christ. It marked the official beginning of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

That coach, Don McClanen, was overjoyed.

I have noticed an alarming trend in sports over the last several years. The leaders have disappeared. I see it when watching both high school and college teams. Many of the teams with which I’m familiar seem leaderless, and their coaches are pulling their hair out.

For decades the world of sports has been an incubator for leadership skills, and both players and coaches have used it for training and development. That seemed rather natural for a long time, but no more. No longer do the strongest competitors and most powerful personalities become a team’s leaders. Too often they simply blend into the background and defer leadership to the coaching staff.

Her elementary school classmates used to mock her for her skinny “chicken legs” when she ran. But that all changed when she joined the track team in ninth grade.
 
Allyson Felix is still listed at only 5-foot-6 and 125 pounds, but she isn’t teased by those who watch her run anymore. Not since she became the fastest woman in the world.

Champ Bailey didn’t see it coming. Nobody did — except maybe Ken Watson. “Where is Benjamin?” Ken asked his wife as the two-inch Bailey sprinted across their television screen and down the length of INVESCO Field. It was the third quarter of the 2005 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos; Bailey had just picked off New England quarterback Tom Brady’s pass in the end zone — a throw meant for Troy Brown — and he was now sprinting the 100 yards toward the Pats’ end zone. “I know he’s going to be there!”

The Conner High School band strikes up the fight song and the Cougars take the field. You can’t put your finger on it immediately, but something looks a bit out of the ordinary for a Friday night game in Kentucky.