Wisdom for a Young Head Coach
Week 25
II Timothy 4:1-8
Discussion Questions:
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I love baseball. This is a sport that relies on a team for a successful outcome. Baseball is also the only American sport where, during a stoppage in play, a manager or coach can approach an umpire to dispute a rule or argue a call. Unfortunately, we’ve all watched a manager throwing a tantrum, kicking dirt on the plate, or verbally abusing an umpire. We’ve also seen the umpire retaliating in anger and sometimes losing control. It’s hard to have someone yell at us or challenge our character in any setting, but especially in front of peers and spectators in a stadium.
In Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, he talks about the character quality of fight, which is a determined effort. He calls it “intensity under control.” A player with fight has a contained fire burning in his or her belly, which ought to emerge as focused passion.
Los Angeles has so many potential distractions and pitfalls for young kids growing up there. But, in my own life, because God had blessed me with a solid faith in Him through the instruction of my mother, I was able to avoid most of them.
The circle on the Morehouse College football field spanned from the 10 yard-line to midfield. Locked arm-in-arm were football players, cheerleaders, coaches, administrators and volunteers from both sides of the rivalry.
Morehouse and Clark Atlanta. They’re two of Georgia’s 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities and, even more specifically, two of the four undergraduate colleges seated on a single 200-acre lot on the west end of downtown Atlanta.
In today’s society, students and student athletes need role models more than ever, and as Christian coaches we are called to fulfill that position. We need men and women to embrace the fact that God has placed us in such a valuable role
in a child’s life.
It was 2:20 p.m. I was late for practice. I ran into the locker room, grabbed my equipment, and headed to the training room to be taped. It was a great tape job, taking under four minutes. I ran to the field and greeted my assistant coach, “Sorry, I’m late.” He chuckled, “Well, we better get moving it’s 2:35 p.m. and the rest of the team will be here in about an hour. There is much work to be done.”
As my foot touched the line for what seemed like the 1,000th time that practice my mind sank into a deep misery. “Why are we doing this?” I thought. “My legs feel like rocks! This is torture!” Whether you’re an athlete who knows this battle or a coach who knows how frustrating it can be to motivate your players, I think we’ve all forgotten the “why” at times when enduring the hardships of athletics.
Former Brooklyn Dodger Carl Erskine, FCA Skateboarding, FCA President Les Steckel
1 – On this day we begin this team’s third season.
2 – Suddenly at game time today, the rest of the season doesn’t count.
3 – I see a similar idea at Philippians 3:12b-14.
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What is your most powerful athletic tool? Is it the strength of your bench press, the drive from your leg squats, or your speed and agility? These are all important, but I think the most powerful tool is simply the ball. Think about it. Who is the most dangerous person in basketball? The man with the ball. The ball is needed to score—to win! Without the ball, Tiger Woods is just Eldrick; Michael Vick, just Mike; and Rocket Clemens, just Roger. It is what’s done with the ball that makes champions.
When I commit to the TeamFCA Competitor's Creed, I realize that "I am made to strive, to strain, to stretch and to succeed in the arena of competition." That is a bold and intentional statement. But I think all competitors truly understand what it takes to strive, to strain, to stretch and to succeed. We must stay hungry to grow and to learn in our sports. That hunger to know the game allows us to compete at new levels. In order to be a hungry competitor we must look at the physical, the mental and the spiritual. A well-balanced athlete or coach knows that it is critical to balance all three areas.
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As athletes, we know we have to train hard to be any good. Everyone is more capable in one area of their sport than others. Most of sport is taken up in training, where one assesses and develops skills. We may know people whose talent seems to come effortlessly; but to be at the top, we need to exert a lot of effort. Great athletes measure their skills and work hard to improve both their strengths and weaknesses. Maybe we are strong but slow, have great hand-eye coordination but are too cautious. We have good upper-body strength but are prone to leg injuries. Athletes push themselves meticulously because they have a goal and desire to accomplish it.
Often it seems like life itself is a race—a rat race that sucks away time while I grasp at minutes in desperation. I’m an endurance athlete; I train for hours to shave seconds off my race time. I’m a busy American. Another paycheck will come, but each moment, once past, is gone forever. Time is my best friend and my fiercest enemy; it is my greatest challenge. At least it was until my husband re-worded his financial motto from “It ain’t our money,” to “It ain’t our time.”
The single most foundational truth of the Christian faith is what the Bible refers to as the gospel; that is the good news of Jesus Christ. It is quite possibly the most overlooked part of our relationship to God, or lack there of, yet is absolutely the most essential aspect of knowing and connecting with Him.
Without the good news of Jesus the Bible has no validity. Without the good news of Jesus our faith is worthless. Without the good news of Jesus we have absolutely no hope of ever entering God's kingdom, learning His ways, knowing Him, going to heaven, or enjoying the life God intends for us to have. (1 Corinthians 15:12-28; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12).
I remember as a child, my school bus would arrive at an early time. Once I saw the bus coming, I would walk to the end of our lane and get on it. I didn’t have to wave my arms or plead for the driver to stop. I didn’t have to beg the driver, make payment, or qualify to get on that bus. I just walked up three steps, went to the back, and sat down. I never worried about the ability of the bus to transport me, nor was I concerned about finding a seat. I didn’t think about the bus being mechanically safe or the driver being certified. All I had to do was get on. If the bus driver asked me to sit down or stop throwing things, I did. He knew what was best for me, was concerned about my safety, and was determined to help me reach my destination.
Ever since I was a little kid, I always wondered what it takes to be an Olympian. What type of characteristics does it take? What kind of person do you have to be? Now that I am one, I’m very humbled because it’s not like I feel like I’m so great or that I’ve done anything that special to deserve to get to the Olympics. I feel like the thing I’ve done best is I’ve just gotten back up from all of the lickings I’ve taken, both physically and spiritually. I’m a pretty black-and-white person. I’ll try to live the best I can, then I’ll mess up and fall, and I’ll get all down and upset with myself.
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