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Hockey Chat: When a player gets double teamed up against the boards they know their in trouble. As they battle for the puck, they’ll often hear a familiar voice of someone on their team calling out instructions on a safe place to pass it. They would stay in trouble and lose the puck if someone didn’t call out to them.
Every team has them, and every team needs them—warriors. They display it on their faces—they’re ready to play! Their game faces are on, and they take the field ready for battle.
Zephaniah encouraged the people of his day to gather and pray. What great advice. I recently had the opportunity to see FCA warriors in action at a staff retreat. These warriors met early in the morning, some on their knees, some standing, most in chairs. They were prayer warriors—mighty men and women of God who truly knew what it meant to gather and pray.
Teresa was one of those athletes who was all spirit, gifted with more determination than natural talent. But her Christian faith and love for soccer had a powerful effect on my other public high school players. If I needed a surge of enthusiasm to flow through my team, I looked to Teresa.
On a difficult practice one day, Teresa struggled to finish a long distance run. As I jogged to the end of the line to encourage her, she glanced upward and shouted, “Take me now, Lord Jesus, take me now so I don’t have to finish!” We both laughed so hard we were through running in no time!
How do you feel when someone wrongly criticizes you or says something false about you to another? In Nehemiah 6 we read how the rumor mill got started by a group of people who wanted to slander and intimidate Nehemiah. A man named Tobiah wrote a public letter stating that the reason Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall was for his own benefit, so that he could become king and lead Israel into a revolt against the reigning powers of the day. However, Nehemiah had received God-given guidance for his actions, so when he was confronted by adversaries, he trusted God for further wisdom. God will give us wisdom if we seek Him when we are faced with slanderous attacks and false accusations.
Coaching involves serving, teaching, encouraging, and leading. If you are in a coaching position right now, you have tremendous power to influence the lives of not only the athletes you coach, but also anyone in your circle of influence. What an awesome responsibility.
Anyone who knows sports knows that turnovers and missed opportunities, especially in the game of basketball, spell disaster. This was never more apparent than in the championship game of our holiday tournament, when our starting point guard had 11 turnovers before halftime, and our team faced a 12-point deficit. The message for her was simple at halftime: “What could you do with 11 more possessions? Could you score the 12 points we need? Perhaps dish out 6 assists to overcome the deficit?”
The college baseball season is in full swing, and I am spending many hours on a bus and away from my family. Unfortunately, my daily devotionals usually take a hit during this time of the year.
One night in the spring of 2008, God called me on it. I relish the opportunity to read to my daughters. My wife and I make it a priority to read at least one Bible story to them each night. One evening, as we finished reading, my oldest daughter noticed me closing the Bible and setting it on the night stand next to her bed. She asked why I closed the Bible, and I told her that we were done reading for the night and that it was time to go to bed. She said, “Daddy, I know but I would like the Bible to stay open. Please don’t close it.”
Three empty crosses lay grotesquely across Golgotha’s barren and desolate knoll. The sun-dried blood, the convulsed earth, the litter of a mob all told the gruesome story of crucifixion. They had deserted Him, later found His tomb empty, and were now cowering in a house with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. In this house Jesus appeared to them.
You have to admit that the TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” has a fantastic concept. The show should be called “Extreme Transformation” because they identify a huge need and then, not only fill the need, but also go way beyond it. When they finally tell the driver to move the bus no one ever casually says, “That is exactly what I thought it would be. Thanks for meeting my expectations. Not bad work.” No, their expression tells it all. They are blown away. And, it’s hard for those of us watching not to tear up a little when we see their responses.
Hockey Chat: Oh the skates! A premium fitted boot with a sharp blade can have you moving across the ice with fancy footwork. Try a loose boot with a dull blade. You’re better off playing barefoot. Having a fitted skate gives you peace of mind knowing that you can get where you want to go confidently. If you tell your feet to move, you’ll dig in the ice and make the play.
January 16, 2004, is a date that may have significantly impacted the sports world for many years to come. Two 14-year-old athletes made a big splash in their respective sports. Michelle Wie played in the Sony Open on the PGA tour and missed the cut by one stroke, tying two men who had won major championships the previous year. Freddy Adu, in a move that shocked no one, was chosen as the top pick in the Major League Soccer draft by D.C. United.
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.
Hockey Chat: Nobody can say they are a great player just because they know the rulebook. The rulebook helps to make great players by setting up a fair and just playing field for the game. The rulebook makes us aware of how to avoid penalties. But it takes playing by those rules to make a great player.
At some point, we have all lost our keys or our wallet. It can be very frustrating. After a while, we begin to make a strong effort to find what is lost. I have spent hours or days searching for something that was missing. I go into “search and rescue” mode, thinking, Those things are valuable to my life and I’ve got to find them!
Hockey Chat: I imagine the first invention of hockey must’ve been pretty boring. One guy sort of figuring things out. But when he got his buddies together and got a game going, it was a good time. Hockey is definitely not an individual sport. If you’ve ever been out skating alone you know the excitement when someone else shows up to play. It’s that kind of dynamic game.
As a Christian, I understand the meaning of Philippians 1:21, but the events of 1999 gave me a new perspective on the verse. God had blessed me with wonderful, caring parents despite the fact that my father did not walk in the light. My mother, on the other hand, had my two siblings and myself in church every time the doors were open. Many nights I would awaken to her praying and weeping for my father’s salvation. My father was a provider who loved his family more than anything and worked long, hard hours at a factory to demonstrate that love. He gave us material things, but all I wanted was for him to be happy and walk in God’s victorious peace.
David was known as "A man after God's own heart". He made plenty of mistakes in his life, however, he always searched for truth and the truth was in the Lord. He was known as a man of integrity.
This past week, my integrity was put to test. I grew up playing baseball and continued to play into my college years. Ever since I was in high school I have wanted to become a head baseball coach at either the high school or college level. Many years later, that continuous prayer has not been answered. It is all about God's time not mine.
One of my players committed a costly turnover during a basketball game, and I screamed, “How could he be so stupid?” I had officially hit rock bottom as a coach. Winning games had become so important to me that I publicly demeaned a player. My will as a coach needed to be broken and conformed to God’s will. So I spent some time with God and asked Him, “Should I still be coaching?” God graciously provided the answer in Jeremiah 7:3, “Correct your ways and your deeds, and I will allow you to live in this place.” When I knew that God wanted me to coach, I needed to ask “Why do I coach?” Was it for the wins or my personal glory? Or was it to have an impact for Christ?
Discipline is the responsibility of a coach to his team. A well-disciplined team is more than likely to be a successful team. However, the way in which a coach disciplines is crucially important. Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden knew discipline was vital, but he also knew there is a fine line between discipline and punishment.
Sitting in a job interview I was asked by the president of the school, “Do you think you’re smart?” I had never been asked that in a job interview. Not knowing how to respond, I quickly said, "My mother thinks I am!" After the laughter stopped (and I got the job), he explained to me what he had meant. He told me the job would require great depth of knowledge, and the person hired would have to understand on how to attack the position effectively. The job required a great deal of discipline and dedication.
True satisfaction—people search for it every day. Some people spend a lifetime acquiring DVDs, MP3s, video games, clothes, cars, and relationships—hoping that more of this world will satisfy them. As coaches and athletes, we often try to find satisfaction in practices, competitions, and victories. None of these things bring fulfillment. Christ should be our first priority. He should be the reason we wake up, the reason we breathe, and the reason we coach, practice, and play. This is a tremendous challenge. We have relationships, commitments, and schedules that pull us in different directions. We must refocus and get back to the basics—spending time daily in prayer, reading the Word, and being accountable to a fellow believer.
John the Baptist was the man! He was the herald prophesied by Isaiah — the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He was the great baptizer of the people, the one who drew crowds everywhere he went. Yet he knew a time would come when his “star status” would diminish.
Fast-forward to 2009. Tyler Hansbrough, the reigning NCAA Player of the Year, had to make a choice for the sake of his team. In order to help his team attain their goal of a national championship, he would need to take a "back seat" to Ty Lawson. His scoring average fell, and he graciously passed the mantle of leadership to Lawson. When asked about the shift in his role, Hansbrough repeatedly said, “I'll do whatever it takes to help this team get to the championship."
Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you were going to be honored, but the honor was given to someone else? Have you ever taken someone else’s seat and been asked to move? It’s embarrassing, to say the least.
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