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Rafer Johnson’s dream of a good life hinged on his athletic ability, even though he’d been told that a birth defect would prevent him from participating in athletics. He chose to deal with the defect as a simple setback rather than as a deal breaker. With the help of coaches and family, he not only won his battle but was declared the world’s greatest athlete when he won the 1960 Olympic decathlon.
A recent response to the gospel illustrates how coaching in the inner city blesses me. While waiting with my junior varsity basketball team for an evening game, I sat on a shiny gym floor and leaned against its closed wooden bleachers. A girl from the track team, who had been attending our Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings, came and sat next me.
All my friends and I are turning 16 this year and, let me tell you, that’s a big one. I always know who’s just had a birthday, not because their school locker is decorated or because of that faint scent of butter cream frosting on their breath, but because of something far more significant: that shiny new driver’s license burning a hole in their wallet! Hey, that is a milestone in a kid’s life. And that little piece of plastic pretty much tells it all. I mean, it tells your height, your weight, your eye color—everything you’d need to know about a person. But, if you ask me, even with all that information, a lot of kids in my generation are having a serious identity crisis!
Humility and competition, especially today, seem to be a contradiction in terms. As human beings, we believe that if we demonstrate humility, we will be walked over, pushed aside, neglected, or even abused. So instinctively we reject humility, maybe not as an idea, but in our everyday actions toward others.
Although Christ’s purpose was not that of competition, we can certainly agree that Christ had a purpose and goal and was successful in achieving it. In this vein, let’s consider our own goals as coaches. Where does humility play a part? Paul, speaking to the church at Philippi, reminded us that Christ recognized His humanity and this resulted in a humility that inspired obedience.
I recently had the "pleasure" of running my 3rd 5K. A good friend of mine was also running the race, and at the beginning, I decided I was going to try and keep her pace since we have similar times. I soon realized her pace was a bit faster than mine, so I then decided I would make sure to keep her in my sights. This worked out great for a while and I kept pushing along, making good time (for me, at least). We then got to a weird turn and suddenly I didn't see her anymore. My pusher had disappeared, and it made me feel a little lost and like I wasn't going to be able to finish.
Have you ever had a change of plans? This week I was at a friend’s house planning to eat dinner and watch a movie and just relax. It had been a busy work day after a busy weekend, and I still had another conference the next morning. We wanted to just sit and relax for an evening, but God had other plans. My friend had forgotten that he had committed us to speak at another church opportunity. So, off we went.
God’s Word is very clear that when we have the opportunity to bring the Good Word, we are to seize the moment. Second Timothy 4 tells us to preach the Word whether now or later. When opportunity knocks, we are to speak out for Christ whether to a group of two or 200. We must take the chance to share about God with those who are willing to listen.
All athletes have experienced it. The day after a hard work out, we roll out of bed barely able to move. Aching pains shoot like firecrackers through our bodies, making us feel 100 years old. The fact is, during those hours spent in the gym, running, or at practice, we were literally pulling our muscles apart. The resistance of weights and movement caused the muscles to tear and the soreness felt is the body struggling to rebuild those fibers, stronger than before. Isn’t it crazy the pain we endure for a desired physical result—that six pack of abs and a set of pythons to make the Rock jealous? But what are we willing to suffer to be conditioned spiritually?
A recent study reports that only six percent of teens today believe that moral truth is absolute. Not good. Young people basically see life as a sliding scale. Truth has become relative, depending on the situation. In athletics, there are many truths that cannot be relative. Imagine if every athlete defined winning differently—one by score, one by hustle, one by the best fans, and so on. It would be chaos! Fortunately, or unfortunately, winning is defined by the scoreboard. Life without absolutes and boundaries leads to chaos.
King Josiah was just eight years old when he began to change his world. Even at such a young age he decided to live in the ways of the Lord and do what was right in His eyes. I wonder if we are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord at our age.
God asks us to change our lives—our worlds. If we think about it, our personal lives are pretty much our world. We feel like the world is falling apart when we are having difficulties. We do have the power to change a world—our world—when we rely on Christ, “not turn[ing] to the right or to the left.” And I believe that we can have an impact on others as well when we do “what is right in the Lord’s sight.” Don’t just read it!
As I stood in the phone booth, tears came to my eyes. I had just called my parents to let them know that I would be flying home that night to Los Angeles. The Cleveland Cavaliers had become the third straight NBA team that I had failed to make.
How could this happen? I had such high hopes of realizing my dream to play in the NBA when I was drafted out of the University of Iowa, but it was becoming clear to me that dreams don’t always come true.
As the tears ran down my face, I thought that my days as a basketball player were over. I had lost my identity. Basketball was my life. What would the future hold now? I should have known that my future was in the hands of Someone bigger than myself. Yes, God was still in control, even if I was not aware of it.
Recently I sat in on a home school history session with my wife and three kids. The subject was Europe's transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance period of history, and focused on the huge impact that Gutenberg's movable type printing press had on civilization. For those who are not aware of the history, Johannes Gutenberg created the first movable type printing press in 1456. Prior to that, all books were painstakingly written by hand - one by one - including Bibles.
As a coach, you’ve probably tried to learn from the best in your profession through clinics, articles, visits, and the informal conversations that happen when coaches get together. The knowledge we gain is often priceless, but sometimes it’s costly. Costly not so much in the areas of strategy and fundamentals, but in regard to the way we relate to players, coaches, and parents. This is not to suggest that advice in these areas is always negative, but any counsel we receive regarding the “life-related” issues of coaching, family, finances, etc. is potentially harmful if not filtered through God’s Word. Regarding God’s Word, the psalmist writes, “Your decrees are my delight and my counselors” (Ps 119:24).
A man named Guy Dowd was once given the National Teacher of the Year award. One of the turning points in his career came, he said, when he was frustrated and couldn’t seem to reach his students. God impressed upon him that he should pray more for them. Each morning Guy would arrive early to pray with his students, sitting down with different ones each day. Over time Guy began to notice a difference not only in the way the students responded to him, but also in the way he taught and responded to the students. Prayer changes our attitudes and helps us see people as God sees them. When we can see people through God’s eyes, it makes all the difference.
I read a newspaper article last year about a professional baseball player who couldn’t seem to make the necessary adjustments needed in his approach to hitting. The player contended that his hitting was fine, but many of his current and former coaches disagreed. They pointed to the fact that his batting average had continued to decline and that he was striking out at an alarming rate.
In one game, the player might have 3 hits, but in the next 4 games he wouldn’t get a hit, striking out 9 times. It’s not that the player didn’t have good coaching—one of his previous coaches was a former batting champion. The problem was that he wasn’t doing what the coaches were asking. James 1:22-24 says:
Hockey Chat: “That’s how the Cup changes everything.” This was the marketing message for 2008 year from the NHL, being repeated over and over about how everything in the game is elevated because of the quest for the Cup. It’s gone from just playing hockey to playing for the Stanley Cup.
Hockey Chat: Yup, that new guy on your team just blew the play. And guess what, you probably will be in the wrong place at the wrong time and make the wrong move too. Don’t criticize your teammates for the same things that you do…. making mistakes. Just watch an NHL game and you could play arm chair coach all night. It’s easy to say in hind sight what they should’ve done but much harder to actually be there doing it.
On the second Sunday of every March, you will hear teams all over the country proclaiming how they should be invited to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. More than 30 teams get automatic bids through conference tournament championships, but 34 other teams have to be invited. These teams boast of the great things they have done—and how they deserve to be in the tournament.
The fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel is all about love, the nitty-gritty of life, and faith. In this chapter Jesus teaches that He is the vine and that we, His people, are the branches, and that by being united to Him, we will bear fruit. Coaches are responsible for recruiting athletes; Christians are responsible to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. God delights to use Christian coaches to recruit players and then open to them the truths of Christianity. He often uses us to plant the seed of faith and to expose the lost to Christ.
Hockey Chat: Carlton "Mac" McDiarmid, a long-time goal judge at the Montreal Forum, recalls one of his first NHL games in the early 1970s. When a Toronto Maple Leaf player wound up to take a slap shot at his net, he excitedly, and prematurely, signaled a goal. The puck was stopped by the net minder. Referee Andy Van Hellemond came up to him between periods to offer him some sound goal-judge advice. "He said, 'Look, Mac, it's better to be a second late than a second early.' "
Hockey Chat: Wood, aluminum, carbon composite, fiberglass. Hockey sticks are made up of all kinds of different materials. It takes time and practice, but once you find YOUR stick, you know it and use it with confidence. You puck handle and shoot the best you can with your stick. Have you ever broke a stick and had to grab a different one quickly. Right off the bat you know it’s not going to work well. Your not use to it. It’s not yours. You have to play with it before you get comfortable using it regularly.
In 1979, as a Christian follower for fourteen years, I awoke to find my world crumbling. I had tried to be a good coach, a good provider, a sharing Christian, a church deacon, and a well-conditioned athlete. But I learned a great lesson that day. Sometimes I can be doing God’s work and not God’s will! I had been trying to do God’s work, but His will was for me to love my wife more.
I turned to my Bible and immediately turned to the verse above, 2 Timothy 3:1–5. I knew this was written for me. Immediately I read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in order to know Jesus and His words. I said, “If I was an apostle with Jesus in His time—what would I have thought?”
As coaches, we are supposed to teach our players about the game and about life lessons. Sometimes, the reverse happens and our players teach us a valuable lesson. The day before my first home football game of the season, my senior quarterback boldly stood up in front of the entire team and coaches and quoted the above Scripture.
Over the past fourteen years, I have been a defensive coach in our high school football program. Specifically, I coach linebackers. In order to play linebacker successfully at our level, a player must make a total commitment to the expectations placed upon him. It requires an unwavering self-discipline.
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