You Are Here > Popular content
In volleyball, or in any sport, running a timed mile is not unusual. The other day I had butterflies in my stomach wondering if I could make it in the eight-minute time frame. If I didn't, I wouldn't even be considered for the team. I was praying for strength and quickness. When the coach said, "Go," and we all began, the words "strive, stretch, strain, succeed" began running repeatedly through my head.
Chapel – Breakthrough
1 – Games with this opponent have been ones where our team has made breakthroughs over the last few years. What will it be today?
• Breakthrough victory story 1 – Commitment to teammates
• Breakthrough victory story 2 – Commitment to winning
• Breakthrough victory story 3 – Commitment to being champions
• What will it be this year? Our breakthrough will be determined by our commitments.
Game day is here. Have I lifted enough? Have I practiced enough? Have I worked hard enough to be ready to compete tonight? These are all questions that run through our minds before we take the field of play. As we sit in the locker room readying for battle, the question we have to answer is, “Am I game ready?”
Into the first 10 years of my pro golf career, my spiritual life could be described as “just going through the motions.” I went to church growing up and knew all the right things to say, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. That all changed in 1985.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my life to be a lie. If we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ but live “in darkness,” the Holy Spirit—through the apostle John—tells us we are liars. The other option is to “walk in the light,” as Jesus did when He was on the earth. If we are faithful in doing so, two things are granted to us: fellowship with other believers and continual cleansing from sin.
Sharing life with others who know Jesus is important; God did not create us to be alone! When we “walk in the light,” the dark parts of our lives are revealed, giving us the opportunity to correct them, repent, and move forward, and allowing us to grow closer to our Father along the way.
It's absolutely crazy what athletes go through in the NFL Scouting Combine. A few days of testing that will most likely determine if they are drafted or have a future in the NFL.
There are training facilities across the country that help those NFL hopefuls prepare for Combine's physically challenging events including the vertical jump, 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill and bench press among others.
In addition to the drill work, these facilities do a number of tests including putting athletes in a "bod pod," to test the body's fat count, as well as doing electromagnetic testing of the nerves and joints. There are nutritionists, orthopedic surgeons and even interview coaches.
They were highly recruited freshmen on the UCLA volleyball team when they first met — one a shy high-school standout, who quietly went about her business; the other a gregarious, fun-loving star, who quickly made friends with everyone she met.
Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan had never talked before their time as teammates at UCLA, but they certainly knew of each other.
1 – Many people misunderstand our purpose in conducting a chapel for our team.
2 – Joshua 5:13-15 sheds some light on such questions (read the text aloud).
Florida State University sophomore Caroline Smith made an immediate splash with the Seminole swimming team when, as a freshman, she set the school record in the 500-yard freestyle. Even more impressive was the fact that she did so while turning in a stellar classroom performance, earning ACC Honor Roll honors and a 4.0 GPA. Still, as member of FSU’s FCA leadership team, Smith knows the records and honors are blessings from the Lord, whom she joyfully worships both in and out of the pool.
Cal Ripken Jr., who broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive-game record (Gehrig’s 2,130 to Ripken’s 2,632 straight games in the lineup), credits his father, Cal Ripken Sr. for the mentoring, coaching, and example to break the record. Junior remembers that his father had many mottoes and pronouncements. One of his favorite sayings was: “Do two million little things right, and the big things take care of themselves.” His point was to take pride in the fundamentals.
All of us face the game of life each day with its tests and temptations. Being a Christian doesn’t guarantee that we will never have problems. But as Christians, we have biblical guidelines and fundamentals to help us have victory over our trials.
Our lives are made up of choices. Should I go out for this team? Should I go to practice? Should I play that sport? Should I go to class? From the time the day begins and we decide to get out of bed, everything is a choice. For some of us that choice is easier than for others. Some of our dads make getting out of bed and going to class an easy choice. The thing we often overlook as athletes is that our success is largely our personal choice. No one can make it for us.
University of Oklahoma Women's Basketball Coach Sherri Coale tells how being a part of her team is bigger than just the player's role on the court.
Georgia FCA’s Joey Potter believes in a simple philosophy: Build a church and send a missionary, and a hundred people might come. But build a sports field and put a coach or pastor on it, and you can attract thousands.
Competition is an obvious part of the coaching life, resulting in either winning or losing. But God’s Word reminds us not to get so caught up in the results that we forget to take care of the flock—the athletes—who have been put under our watch.
Of course, we all want to win. Yet if we forget that we’re really working toward an “imperishable crown” (as Paul writes in 1 Co 9:25), we’ve lost perspective of why we’re coaching in the first place. In other words, just as we live our lives to please the Great Shepherd, so, too, do we coach our players with the same goal. In the process, we’ll serve as examples to the sheep.
What if there was one thing would improve your team in incredible ways? What if One Word could mean the difference between failure and victory? It’s time to focus and motivate your team with just One Word.
At the beginning of every season, thousands of coaches, athletes and teams gather to discuss their goals. Goals and plans are passionately shared and written down with anticipation and excitement. It’s an experience filled with energy, hope and optimism.
Throughout my WNBA career, I’ve been known as a highly competitive player. I use every inch or margin within the rules of the game to my advantage. It used to really bother me when I was accused of being a dirty player. I sought out wise counsel from people close to me like my husband and my mother. I also had some in-depth conversations with fellow believer and WNBA legend Lisa Leslie and our team chaplain.
I had many favorite sayings as a coach. Here a some of them:
-- Rule 1: The coach is right.
-- Rule 2: If you think Coach is wrong, see Rule 1.
-- Whether you can or can't, you are right.
-- Don't tell me. Show me.
The last one may have been my favorite. Athletes have a hard time backing up what they say. They talk a good game, but many times today's athlete can't back it up. All in all, talk is cheap.
Wisdom for a Young Head Coach
Week 6
Read the text aloud.
Discussion Questions:
My family competed at everything—football, basketball, lacrosse—even dinner as we inhaled our food to finish first. We called my dad Captain Intensity because he did everything at 110 percent. I remember hearing of his lacrosse days at the U.S. Naval Academy, and when he played against Jim Brown (football and lacrosse player at Syracuse and one of the greatest NFL running backs of all time). My dad had a hit on Brown that changed the course of the game. It was a breakthrough play for my dad, who then started every game after that.
Breakthrough is a great word used in sports. Any play that changes the course of a game is usually called a breakthrough play. A breakthrough game changes the course of a team’s season.
Baseball is a great team sport. Players work together to make their team successful. One of my favorite plays is when players give up their at bat for a possible victory in the end. This is an important play. The home-run hitters get all the glory, but these role players do just as much to help the team win.
Jesus knew He had a role to carry out for His team (His followers) and lived His life accordingly, preparing to take one for His team. Christ knew the plan for ultimate victory. He knew He was to be the sacrifice for our sin, that we might enjoy eternity with Him. Now that is a glory-filled event.
Sometimes people want to say something to a friend, but chicken out at the last minute because they think it might be silly or embarrassing. Often, they later regret not saying it. What does God think about such situations?
Proverbs 25:11 states: “A word spoken at the right time is like golden apples on a silver tray.” We all know the value of gold and silver, even if we can’t afford them. We also know how sweet to the taste apples are. How valuable and how sweet to our souls would apples of gold be? Certainly they would have great value, especially when served to us on fine silver.
Emotions are never in short supply during open-mic time. Although not many people knew this particular couple's past when the man grabbed the microphone, during the brief minutes that followed, they became part of a story they would never forget.
With tears in his eyes and a quiver in his voice, the man explained to the crowd at the 2007 FCA Couples Getaway at The Cove that he and the woman next to him didn't really know how they got there.
Sandi could tell you that your balance follows your gaze. He’d stopped his mountain bike just above a trail intersection. I was waiting for him on the trail below him and to his right. Being new to the kind of pedals that held his feet captive in metal clips, he focused on getting his left foot out before he lost all of his forward momentum. Proud of his success, he turned his gaze to the right to meet mine — and his weight followed his eyes. In slow motion he keeled over down the slope toward me, still unable to free his right foot from the pedal. He tumbled unhurt into an avalanche of late-autumn leaves, branches and his own bike.
There are many things in this life that can poison your heart. In college, it might be alcohol, drugs or toxic relationships. As a professional athlete, those temptations are often in the form of material possessions and money. But when I committed my life to Christ during my playing days at the University of Nebraska, I allowed Him to fill the void in my heart that worldly things could never satisfy. I was finally at peace.
No matter how long you have been serving the Lord, the enemy of your soul is going to tempt you to walk away from the straight and narrow path. Thankfully, when I began playing for the Buffalo Bills, I had a group of like-minded individuals to help me stay the course. I also became actively involved in Bible studies and grew in my knowledge of His Word.
No featured resources found
Ministry
Sport
Book of the Bible
FCA Bible Topic