What most parents are finding out is that 70% of kids are dropping out of sports by the age of 13, and do you know why? According to Sports Illustrated it’s because the adults who are involved, particularly their own parents, have turned the playing of games into a joyless, negative experience. Shame on us! The things that I learned about life after age 13 by playing sports is extremely invaluable.
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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.
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”.
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.
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.
SH! When’s Your Birthday?

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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
What Matters to Matt
Matt Hasselbeck is famous for a lot of reasons. Most people know him as a three-time Pro Bowl selection and the Super Bowl XL quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. Some associate him with his father, Don, who played nine seasons in the NFL. The less-football-savvy crowd knows him for his TV star sister-in-law, Elisabeth, from ABC’s “The View.” And a growing number of people are getting to know him for his dancing skills. (Thank you, Reebok!)
Regardless of what category you place him in, however, there’s one thing about Matt Hasselbeck that can’t be separated from his inner athlete, son, dancer or field general: his faith in Jesus Christ.
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?
An Expensive Mistake
The 2010 Winter Olympics provided many wonderful, heart-warming stories about overcoming obstacles and having great perseverance. Sadly, we also were given a few painful life lessons as well. One of them involved the Netherlands’ Sven Kramer, arguably the greatest long-distance speed skater in the world.
Last Tuesday, as he was on his way to setting a world record in the 10,000-meters, something went wrong. It seemed he had skated eight laps in the wrong lane. The video replay revealed a confused Kramer being told by his coach to change lanes, which he eventually did. However, his coach had been mistaken; Kramer was in the correct lane at the time. The mistake cost him a gold medal and a world record performance.
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.
Portland Impact

Watch how God is using FCA to make His name great in the least-churched city in America, Portland Oregon.
Don’t Miss Them

I wonder sometimes if we coaches miss opportunities to really know our athletes. The stars quite naturally stand out, but are we missing something about the remainder of the team? Do we often overlook the athlete who works hard every day just to be noticed by us? When we think about it, we had a great example of a person who took great care to bring individuals to himself. Christ’s life on earth serves as the ideal of how we are to treat every individual on our team, and focusing on Him is crucial because we are prone to forget that an athletic team is made up of more than the stars. Each member is important.
2013 Camp Powerpoint Template
What does this contain? It contains the main slide and multiple color schemes. You must have Microsoft Powerpoint or software that can open a .PPT file.
The file comes with:
- Relentless Title Slides
- Blank Relentless Slides
In Powerpoint, use "Ctrl + D" to duplicate a slide or press the "delete" key to remove unwanted slides.
Maximum Effort

High school football season is in full swing, so it’s a good time for me as a coach to do some evaluating by asking what kind of effort we are giving in order to make our team successful. As I’ve been examining the effort of our team, I’ve thought a lot about spiritual matters, as well.
Many coaches and athletes will give maximum effort in order to be a winning team. There is great satisfaction in giving your all and having it pay off. And when November arrives, some of these teams will have secured playoff berths and won championships. They will feel rewarded for their efforts.
Where Does Your Strength Come From?

As athletes, we workout to better ourselves for competition. We hit the weights to gain strength, speed and size. But have you ever had one of those days in which your strength wasn't where you wanted it to be or you just didn't feel strong? If you compete long enough, you’re bound to have those days occasionally.
Have you ever had one of those days in life where you were feeling the same way spiritually? Like you just weren’t strong in your faith at all? In those times, we have to remember that it is not about us, it's about Jesus Christ. He is the One who gives us strength. It says in Psalm 33:16: "A king is not saved by a large army; a warrior will not be delivered by great strength."
Salty

If you run around the soccer field for 90 minutes, you tend to sweat a lot. When you sweat excessively, your body loses much of its natural salt. Without salt in your body, you cannot stay hydrated. Being “salty” is an important part of being able to compete at a high level.
In the same respect, without a relationship with Jesus, you cannot absorb and learn from His Word. Learning God’s ways by reading the Bible will impact your approach to competition, but not until you give your life fully to God and accept what His Son did for you on the cross.
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