Alphabetical
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January 21, 2005
Set:
I recently saw a great program by NFL Films about religion and football. It was a great 30-minute program that has the potential to produce many great discussions within your Huddles and team studies. One segment featured prayer. A former player, Deacon Jones, said that those who prayed before a game or during a game displayed a sign of weakness, and that perhaps they hadn't prepared well enough in the week leading up to the game. Wow, what a powerful statement. Prayer being a sign of weakness...
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December 19, 2009
Set:
Coaches often use signals in competition to tell players which play to run, which pitch to throw, where to attack or defend, and more. It’s the best way to remind a team what they need to do without letting the other team find out.
Not many know that a familiar Christmas carol was really a song of hidden messages. In the early 16th century, British Catholics were forbidden by law to practice their faith. Anyone caught speaking or writing of his or her faith was arrested or executed. In a time of persecution, similar to the Christians in Rome, Catholics in England went underground. They met and studied secretly and had signs to share their faith.
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July 07, 2013
Set:
Henry Ford used to dress incognito and walk throughout his factories, randomly giving $100 bills to those working hard and staying on task, even though their managers were far out of sight. As word spread about this “mystery money man,” production sales skyrocketed. By 1914, Ford held roughly 48% of the automobile industry.
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January 25, 2013
Set:
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.
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January 30, 2012
Set:
What does it mean to be sitting on the sidelines? It means we’re not in the game. In sports, there’s a limited amount of athletes who can be in a game at one time, and there are many reasons why certain ones have to sit out: they are injured, they aren’t starters, they’re lower on the depth chart, they don’t quite have the skills, or they’re just fans.
But what about those times when we are healthy, skilled and highly capable enough to be in the game, but we still choose not to go in? This is rare, but it does happen. Maybe we’re afraid, not comfortable with a situation, or that we’re losing and don’t want to be blamed for it.
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November 01, 2008
Set:
A recent study reports that only 6 percent of teens today believe that moral truth is absolute. I knew it wouldn’t be high, but that’s really low. Not good. Young people today are basically saying that life is a sliding scale. Truth has become relative because it all depends on the situation.
In the world of athletics, there are many truths that cannot be relative, such as wins and losses. Imagine if every athlete defined winning differently—one by score, one by hustle, one by the best fans, and so on. It would be chaos! Fortunately—or unfortunately—winning is defined by the scoreboard. Life without truths, absolutes and boundaries leads to chaos.
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October 02, 2010
Set:
David was a leader with great skills and a pure heart, qualities that make for a great leader, whether he or she is a monarch, a coach, or a teammate. David was both skillful and full of integrity. The world is full of skillful leaders, but they often have hearts full of compromise and mixed motives. It is the rare leader who has purity of heart, uncompromised by self-interest or divided loyalties.
We must be leaders like David. We must work diligently to develop our skills and guard our hearts in order to maintain integrity. Beware of those who would have us violate our players’ trust. Watch out for the crouching lions of division and strife that would disrupt the unity of our teams. We need to shepherd our teams with skillful hands and integrity of heart.
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March 31, 2013
Set:
People can be in many loving relationships throughout their lifetime and never realize that true love is an action outside of emotion. Love takes skill, and like any skill it takes practice and attention to develop. In junior high I was enrolled in Tae Kwon Do for about three years. I loved it. I loved the discipline and skill involved. We learned all kinds of moves, refined them, then later put them to use in sparring.
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May 01, 2014
Set:
Most of the time as coaches we push, push, push! Our players know we are serious about getting better as a team. We even yell and scream to get the point across because we know that sometimes a nice calm, controlled request just doesn’t get the result we are looking for. Or we might hold an extended practice to work on a specific problem so we are better prepared. But how often do we push, push, push our own selves to get better? What do we do to improve?
If you watch ants, you can see that they work tirelessly. An ant knows its job and performs it with expertise, discipline, and focus—for the good of the whole colony. What are we doing that models this approach?
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June 03, 2004
Set:
Tiger Woods doesn't win a tournament in a month. Barry Bonds doesn't homer in a week. Jeff Gordon doesn't win a race for a month. All of these are recent happenings. Sportswriters love this type of reporting because they get to go for the jugular. They break out the big "S" word — SLUMP. Sports fans and writers get used to the sports heroes performing day in and day out. When reality hits that these athletes aren't perfect, they feel like they have to make an excuse or that something must be terribly wrong with them. For the three examples above, I'm not sure if the word "slump" is right, but we all go through tough times in life and in sport.
