Alphabetical
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April 18, 2009
Set:
I remember playing football on the playground as an 8 year old. When I was quarterback, I only had one play—the “Hail Mary.” I would tell everyone, “Go long!” My friends would try to tell me they were open short, but I wouldn’t hear them. I wanted to go long on every play. Of course, going long back then was about 10 yards, maybe 15 if you had a good arm like mine. I would drop back to pass, fling the football as far as I could, and hope one of my teammates would come down with it. I thought any play that didn’t result in a touchdown was a failure. I didn’t care about field position or time of possession; I just wanted to score as fast as possible. Obviously, that wasn’t the best strategy for success.
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March 01, 2014
Set:
Ready. What does it take to be ready for your season to start? It takes physical training—a lot of it. But it also takes an extensive amount of mental training. What will you do when you step up to the line or into the box? The mental part seems trivial sometimes because we mostly like to trust what we can see and feel, which is the physical part of the game. But when it comes down to the wire and the game is on the line, it’s the battle 6 inches between our ears that either says, “I’m done; I can’t,”, or “I’m strong enough. Bring it on.”
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May 13, 2011
Set:
Competing is about performance. We prepare hard and we quickly learn there are two outcomes: perform or perish! As competitors, we step onto the field or court, set everything aside and perform our best! Regardless of what is going on inside, we are expected to play well. We train ourselves to not let the inside struggles affect the outside performance. We are still expected to compete at a high level.
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August 31, 2010
Set:
There are many “reality” shows on television today, and nearly all of them delve into areas that are indeed outlandish. One show in particular that caught my attention involved an experienced foreign nanny who came to rescue a family who had lost control of their children. The parents were depicted as a hapless pair who were desperate and frustrated with their lives.
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April 12, 2014
Set:
The joy of the Lord is our strength. How many times have we heard that? I feel like I say it but don’t always put my full effort into believing it.
In this passage, Nehemiah is talking to the people about the law of God. The people are weeping because they know they have disappointed God, but I believe this response from Nehemiah shows God’s heart: “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
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December 15, 2004
Set:
Carly was a good basketball player. She was a tenacious defender, but she couldn't shoot the ball very well. But one thing I loved about Carly was that if the ball was available, she was going to get it. Carly understood the game quite well. Most of her shots weren't going in, so she learned what most players today do not — stop pouting about your miss and go get the ball! We had one drill in which Carly was the queen of the court. It was our 11 man break drill. In it, whoever got the rebound got to continue playing in the drill. Carly stayed in this drill one day for 11 trips up and down the floor. That's right. She got 11 straight rebounds to stay in the drill. She took great pride in knowing that when most of her shots were not going in she did what she did best: got the ball.
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March 03, 2014
Set:
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”.
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September 06, 2010
Set:
Our small town high school football team had a record-breaking season last year. We finished 11–1, and ranked eighth in the state. This year our record is 0–6.
As coaches, we have all had the dreaded “rebuilding” season, the one where the most you hope to gain is respect for your efforts and sportsmanship. Even the best programs have rebuilding years. The best teams experience slumps. As coaches, we find this is a frustrating time. We get angry. We do not understand how we can do well one year and so poorly the next. We vent our frustrations on the players, our assistants, and even our families.We say and do things we later regret.
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October 07, 2005
Set:
As the head women’s basketball coach at the same institution for 26 years, I had just completed a rewarding season. We had a great group of athletes who played their hearts out, got along well and won games. There were many magical moments during the season, and no one wanted it to be over. But all good things must come to an end.
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July 11, 2013
Set:
Following God even when you are in doubt is difficult. Oftentimes we get caught up in the uncertainty of our future forgetting who is ultimately in charge. After Moses died Joshua was immediately made Commander in Chief of all the Israelites. A responsibility that required leading God's chosen people to the Promised Land.
When Joshua takes his new position God immediately instructs him three times to "Be strong and courageous," as he leads God's people into battle. Joshua must blindly follow God despite the uncertainty of his future. Not only must Joshua remain unwavering in his faith as the Israelites fight their adversaries, but also he must stay diligent in conquering the temptations that come along the way--after-all he is looked upon as their leader.
