Paul “Bear” Bryant, born on September 11, 1913, once said, “It’s not the will to win that matters; everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” September 11, 2001, will forever be remembered as one of our country’s worst tragedies; however, on September 11, 1983, I experienced my own tragedy. On that day, I suffered a spinal cord injury during a football game. I dislocated three vertebrae in my neck, and was told I would never walk again and could be permanently paralyzed from the neck down. Today, twenty-two years later, I am confined to a wheelchair.

Coach Smith was aware that one of his players was smoking pot. There was good evidence that he had even smoked on a team trip, which was clearly a violation of team rules. But Coach Smith did not take any action or even talk with the player.

At the end of the season, the school principal called Coach Smith for a meeting and told him that there was verifiable evidence the player had consistently violated team rules. The principal also had clear evidence that the coach knew about it; consequently, he was asked to resign.

When I came to the Pittsburgh Steelers, I was a rookie and came in during the heyday when they were in the process of winning four Super Bowls in six years. You think of all the star players and the Hall of Fame guys and you think, well that’s why they’re so good. But it really wasn’t. As I got there, I saw how it operated. It was the practices. It was everybody working together. I think it’s still possible to achieve that today. The good teams have that. Even though you have star players, they understand that it’s not 11 individuals who are going to go out there and have things run smoothly enough to win.

Often times we are faced with adversity or obstacles in our path in life. Everyone’s trials, although similar in many ways, are unique to that person. We can never look at someone else’s suffering and how he or she handles it and lay judgment of the strength of their faith. Each one of us deals with our challenges in our own distinctive way as God deals with us in His unique manner.

It takes heart to play sports. Coaches fire up their teams by saying, “Go out there and play with all your heart!” While skills and talent are important, playing with heart separates the good from the great. When my daughter plays basketball and looks toward me, I pound my hand on my heart. It is my sign to encourage her to play with heart. Playing with heart is about drive, passion, and desire.

Which of our athletic gifts are most important to us as competitors? Perhaps it is strength or speed. Or maybe it is hand-eye coordination or a competitive nature. Regardless of the gift, do we know the One who gave it to us? Peter mentioned giftedness in 1 Peter 4:10. Here we read that Peter knew that we are all gifted. There is likely no group on the planet who understands this more than an athletic team. The issue for us is not whether or not we are gifted, but rather who it is that gives us the gifts, and how we shall respond to Him?

Our gifts are described as being part of the manifold grace of God. In other words, God’s grace has been distributed to each of us in unique ways. Our best response to a gracious Giver is to use our giftedness to serve those around us.

When I played little league football for the Sharks, we had an undefeated season. We were so good that not a single team even scored against us. Not bad for eight-year-olds!

Needless to say, teams feared the Sharks. After our games, Coach Buckley would hand out the coveted “110%” helmet stickers to players who had played with all their heart and had given that extra effort on the field.

As competitors, we can sometimes be tempted to hold back what is God’s for our own pleasure. But God wants us to give Him what is right, not what’s left. In Luke 6:38, Jesus says: