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God created food for our bodies to give us energy, sustain life, prevent disease and facilitate healing. Our food choices will affect our mood, mental focus, physical performance, weight, immune system function, decision-making and appearance. Athletes today have access to more information with respect to eating for peak performance than ever before. In order to compete at our best, we must know exactly what to eat and when to eat it!
March Madness has arrived. How did these 64 teams and 64 head coaches arrive in the tournament? Some teams had it easy, some had a tough road, and still others charted new territory as they brought their team to the tournament for the first time in years. Early in the season, many coaches had to decide if they were going to dance to the madness or become miserable as their hopes were dashed by defeat after defeat. One such Coach took the road from misery to March Madness to ministry. Lorenzo Romar, head coach of the Washington Huskies, found the right road to take.
I still remember being a 12-year-old aspiring basketball player and hearing NBA Hall-of-Famer Adrian Dantley teach about basketball’s “triple threat.” I learned that when you first receive the ball, you are in a great position with three potential options: dribble, shoot or pass. I wouldn’t soon forget the power of the triple threat. It changed the way I played basketball, and it even helped me beat my older brother in one-on-one a few times.
As followers of Christ, we also have a “triple threat.” Our opponent, Satan, wants to defeat us and take us out. He doesn’t want us to win and is working overtime to make sure you and I are discouraged and overwhelmed. We start believing that the goal in life is to just survive—just get through one more day.
In the 24th mile of the 2009 New York City Marathon, as the lead pack entered Central Park, Meb Keflezighi pulled away from four-time Boston Marathon champion Robert Cheruiyot. He floated over the final two miles, and, as he neared the finish, the crowd roared in approval. Meb pointed to the U.S.A. on his singlet, crossed the line, crossed his chest, kissed the ground and pointed to the sky. His time was a personal best 2:09:15, and he became the first American to win the race since Alberto Salazar in 1982. The next night, Meb appeared on Letterman and delivered “The Late Show’s” Top Ten.
Tiger Woods doesn't win a tournament in a month. Barry Bonds doesn't homer in a week. Jeff Gordon doesn't win a race for a month. All of these are recent happenings. Sportswriters love this type of reporting because they get to go for the jugular. They break out the big "S" word — SLUMP. Sports fans and writers get used to the sports heroes performing day in and day out. When reality hits that these athletes aren't perfect, they feel like they have to make an excuse or that something must be terribly wrong with them. For the three examples above, I'm not sure if the word "slump" is right, but we all go through tough times in life and in sport.
Nike sold a lot of shoes with their slogan “Just Do It.” Now, I’m not a Bible scholar or professional minister, but I think Nike should give some church somewhere a little compensation because I think they were probably the ones who came up with the phrase.
Last night, in the NCAA women’s national championship game, the Texas A&M Aggies took that quote to heart in their victory over Notre Dame. According to the post-game interviews, their coach had to “coach hard” during the game in order for the team to be successful. And the women responded well, topping the Irish 76-70.
In many cases, the University of Texas (and they wouldn’t mind us mentioning this) is larger than life. After all, isn’t everything bigger in Texas?
And really, it’s tough to disagree. The Greater Austin metro area has a population of 1.6 million people. UT’s 350-acre main campus employs 21,000 faculty and staff while serving as the educational grounds for nearly 50,000 students, many of whom are members of one or more of the 900 registered student organizations.
Impacting the campus and community for Christ sounds like a great vision, but where do you begin?
It has become a regular occurrence in professional sports today to see athletes look up toward Heaven and point their finger. The Chicago Tribune published an article (01/22/2004) on the trend attempting to determine why different athletes look to Heaven and point. Philadelphia Eagles' receiver James Thrash looks toward Heaven and points after nearly every catch. He says this is, "just a reminder to everyone that I'm in it for the Lord."
I'm not naive enough to think that all athletes who look up to Heaven and point are showing their love for God. However, I think this is an opportunity for Christians to remember to look to God in all situations.
Sometimes I wonder why it is so difficult for coaches to be still and listen. We have no problem knowing how to lead, direct others or give commands. But to whom do we look when we need direction? Who helps us make tough decisions?
We don’t have to look far in Scripture to find a leader with similar challenges. Joshua was a brilliant military leader and had a strong spiritual influence, but his success came because he had learned whom to go to when he faced difficult choices. Joshua knew that unless he first submitted to God, he would never accomplish what he’d been given to do. So when God spoke, Joshua listened and obeyed.
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Matt Capps, former college football coach Brian McNeely & FCA President Les Steckel.
Very few people know what it’s like to play in the NFL. Even fewer know what it’s like to play in a Super Bowl. Only one knows what it is like to be the starting quarterback in four consecutive.
His name is Jim Kelly, and he is a football legend. From 1986 to 1996, as the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, Kelly led his team to four consecutive Super Bowls, was selected to five Pro Bowls and passed for more than 35,000 career yards. Years before he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, his poster graced the bedroom walls of kids nationwide, and his football cards were placed carefully into thousands of collectors’ albums.
As a coach it can be easy to get caught up in the details of our sport. We can spend more time with our coaching staff and student athletes than our own family, and we find ourselves weighed down with worry and becoming overworked in effort to keep our jobs. Some coaches are famous for the number of hours that they put in to secure a position. But in Matthew 6, Jesus gives us specific instructions not to worry about the details of life. This got my attention. Worrying about our jobs is like worrying about what we will eat or wear; they are all provided by God.
Coaches come with all types of personalities; some tend to yell more than others, while some favor a more laid-back approach. No matter their coaching technique, all have the same desire for attentive athletes.
Listening is vital in sports. If you don't listen, you don't learn. If you don't learn, you will never improve. The same is true in our walk with God. But how do you listen to a God whom few have ever heard speak?
Maintaining integrity these days is one of the hardest jobs for us as Christians. You just look at the moral standing of our world and the stuff that you see on TV and all the things that young people are exposed to today. It was hard when I was in middle school and high school to stand firm on my principles. I can only imagine how much harder it is now. Christian values and Christian morals are getting increasingly further away from the norm in society. That’s why you have to cling to God and cling to the things that you know to be true in terms of the Word. You’ve got to find something like FCA to get involved with and try to find people who are like-minded with you.
Imagine playing your sport without a ball when one is needed. You walk 18 holes swinging a club aimlessly without once striking a golf ball. You shoot baskets without feeling the ball release from your fingertips. You drop back to throw a 50-yard bomb to a wide open receiver for a game-winning touchdown, but there’s nothing in your hand. Yes, it sounds ludicrous to do these things. It would eliminate the game itself. Most sports require a ball in order to fulfill the goals and objectives of the game. Simply put, a game without a ball is not even a game at all.
According to society’s standards, a coach’s status is based on his or her win-loss record. Unfortunately, a coach’s personal worth is often tied into this same evaluation. The scoreboard is a clear-cut way to determine playoff selections, but it is a dangerous barometer for a coach to use as the measure of personal success.
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