All athletes need to go through this, but most would probably rather skip it if it were possible. It’s probably the part of sports that is the least fun. Yet this is also the part that separates average athletes from top athletes.

Have you figured it out yet? It’s training. Athletic training involves many different things. Proper eating, weight training and practicing are all necessary in order to get into top playing condition.

As Christians, we need to be training ourselves spiritually. This involves getting sin out of our lives and removing those things that may not be sin but are a hindrance in our respective walks with Christ. An example of this is when sports in your life begin to take away from time that you need to be devoting to God.

I so enjoy going to Huddles to share about Christ. Recently, I visited Northwestern University and spoke to their group. As I was praying and waiting to speak, a football player came in and sat down. Now, I used to attend many practices, and I had seen this player in competition. And I’m sorry to say, but I had thought only an act of God would bring this young man to the Lord. He had been a player who used foul language, seemed angry all the time and was the first to rumble when the occasion was presented. So I was surprised to see him at FCA, but thankful.

Sometimes athletes believe that rules are a part of the game in order to make sure that nobody cheats. Other times athletes think rules are against them, preventing them from doing what is seemingly necessary. They see officials as being out to get them. Neither of these is true.

What would sports be like if there were no rules? What would a basketball game be like if we didn’t have to dribble? What if there were no fouls? What would football look like if there were no out-of-bounds lines? What if runners did not have to stay in their lanes? It would be utter chaos.

This was the prayer of King Solomon as he was about to take office. Rather than ask for riches or power, he asked for wisdom and understanding. Solomon knew that the key characteristic for an effective leader was wisdom to make good decisions. His decisions often concerned life or death situations. Our decisions are more often about whether to pass or run, a fastball or curveball, inside or outside, man to man or zone.

Solomon also desired an understanding heart to judge the people. Solomon knew, and the best coaches know, that leadership is all about people, not systems. Coaches will be at their best when they are in tune with their players’ hearts.

Hockey Chat:  Some guys know just how to get under the skin of their opponent.   Sometimes it’s with a discrete cheap shot.  Maybe a whack of the stick.   All for the purpose of getting the guy to swing back.  With retaliation comes consequences.  Those couple minutes spent in the box might cost the team a goal.  All because they had to get ‘em back.

Hockey Chat:  Wayne Gretzky said it best when he was quoted, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take”.  To win those scoring titles he had to press on and take those shots, even though not all of them went in.  Continually pressing on makes winners

Hockey Chat:  Some of the greatest games began with a good ol’ locker room pep talk.  It was a talk by the coach or team captain.  It was the motivation to start the team off on the strong foot and carry them through the game.  Sure the team could’ve went out there and played the game without the words of wisdom, but the outcome may not have been the same.

As I approached the third hurdle, I knew that I was a little too far away to take it with my right leg. So in a split second, I decided to alternate and go over with my left foot leading. I had done this a thousand times in my career, but this time when I landed I felt my knee shift out of the socket. I had hyperextended my knee, and I knew my running days were over.

Surrounded by my teammates, I was faced with a choice. My team knew me as the person who had led them in Bible studies and professed Christ, and now they waited expectantly to see what was going to proceed out of my mouth. In a split second their anxious eyes received the answer when I screamed, “Hallelujah!” I yelled it from the sheer pain I was feeling.

Hockey Chat:  A regulation size hockey goal opening is 24 square feet.  A fully armored goalie covers approximately 18 square feet of that space leaving only 6 square feet of open net and that’s with the goalie standing still.  It takes practice and determination to get the puck into the mere 25% of the goal that is uncovered while that padded guy is hopping around in front to stop it.

Over the past several months, the U.S. has become endeared to its new distance running hero, 25-year-old phenom Ryan Hall. Ever since he smoked the elite competition at the U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials in New York last November and set a new Trials record in only his second marathon ever, the running community has pinned its hopes and expectations on Hall, predicting without hesitation that he will medal this year in Beijing.

No pressure, or anything.

Jesus chose to serve His disciples and followers rather than to be served. He displayed an example for them to follow and called them to a purpose beyond themselves. Servant leadership can be defined as guiding and directing through submission and acknowledging the value of others. A coach holds a position to lead and has an opportunity to teach players, through example, what it means to serve like Christ.

A pastor once told me about his job on a Navy ship in Europe—to stand night duty at port side. Sounds easy, right? But his job was to stand in the darkness from

midnight until 5:00 a.m. staring into the vast nothingness. His job was to watch for anything out of the ordinary. He would stand guard for hours in the black silence, watching for change.

Habakkuk stood guard. He was in turmoil over his land, so he decided to stand guard and wait for a voice from the Lord. He was looking for change. I wonder how long or how often Habakkuk stood guard, staring into the vast darkness, waiting on the Lord. I wonder what kind of determination it took to stand still in the midst of turmoil, waiting for a message from the Lord.