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October 20, 2010
Set:
When I was in college, our FCA leaders were called the “God Squad.” We represented most sports and held each other accountable for our actions as ambassadors for Christ on the court and field. I remember after one game in which I got into a fight on the basketball court defending my point guard. My fellow squad members prayed for me that it would not negatively impact my testimony. I realized then for the first time that my life was either all godly, or all compromise. I apologized publicly at the next meeting for not representing Christ in public.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: There are some games that I go away from the ice not knowing the score but confident that I tried with all my heart, stayed in it through all the bumps, and skated hard until it was over. To me I felt like I had won. I did everything I could and did my best. You know those games. You go away a winner, not caring about the final score.
May 09, 2010
Set:
In 1998 I started a long journey that I had dreamed about for most of my life—running a marathon. I made the commitment to run by registering for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. I was set to go but did not start running for a month. Crazy? I had a plan, my own plan. I began reading everything I could about running, or surviving, a marathon. I had never been to Washington, D.C., so I printed the course layout and studied every mile. I visually had a mental picture of each hill and the battles and challenges that were ahead. I started running on May 1 for the October marathon. I mapped out a plan for running, including weekly long runs, proper diet, and rest.
March 30, 2010
Set:
Does the word “wait” cause the hair on the back of your neck to rise like it does mine? As an endurance athlete, a lot of my training can last for several hours. An example would be during one of my former marathon trainings. One week I had a 20-mile run scheduled. Before the first mile was completed I was already thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if this was mile 19 and I only had one mile to go?” I was wishing that I could fast-forward through my run and just see the end results.
December 13, 2007
Set:
I was recently at the state volleyball tournament in Yakima, Wash., for the 1A state title game. I traveled on a "rooter bus" with some of the students from the school. They had been such a supportive crowd all year, getting dressed up in crazy outfits and always being loud and supportive to our girls' team, which finished 4th in state. The volleyball team thinks that the fans had a lot to do about their success. That day, as I was watching our student body, who were dressed in crazy costumes and face paint, cheering as one, I got an image in my mind. What if. . . What if that was how we were to worship God and spread the Good News about what He has done?
September 14, 2006
Set:
In my opinion, basketball is the best sport in the world. I love the rush of playing it. Now, I'm a post player, so I'm not exactly the smallest person in the world, and the whole conditioning aspect of things during practice is not my favorite. There would be days when coach would say, "Everybody to the baseline," and I would slug over to the line dreading what we were going to have to run.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: There are many players who are great in there own mind. They lead the team in ice time because they won’t line change. They lead the team in goals but have zero assists. They don’t have any penalty minutes because they never bother to play defense.
July 31, 2009
Set:
Water is important. Throughout the ages, it has been a vital part of human culture. Look at the most ancient civilizations, like Egypt, and they are guaranteed to be built around water.
Now look at your life as an athlete. More than likely, you also have to build your athletic program in some way around water so that you won't get thirsty or dehydrated. It may not be a river, or a pool, but I'm sure there's at least a water bottle involved.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: We’ve all had the dreams of playing in the big leagues at sometime in our lives. For most of us, we’ve taken a different road in life but we are still grateful to be skating. So what if we never made it. We still love the game and enjoy playing it.
September 20, 2006
Set:
Detroit Lions wide receiver, Roy Williams wasn't the first person to "guarantee" a victory, nor will he be the last, when he assured that his Lions would emerge victorious against the Chicago Bears in week two of the 2006 season. Unfortunately for Williams, his comments ignited an already high-powered Bears defense to lead the way to a 34-7 thrashing of the Lions.
Peter was also known for being a little hasty with his words. When Jesus told the disciples that they would all turn their backs on Him Peter replied boastfully, "Even if all fall away, I will not" (Mark 14:29). The fact is that Peter not only disowned Jesus once, but three times that very night.
October 09, 2008
Set:
For nearly 30 years, Betsy King spent the majority of her time on the golf course. In most people’s opinion—whether sports analysts or average fans—she did some pretty significant things in a career that resulted in 34 LPGA Tour event titles, 6 major championships, and inductions into the World Golf Hall of Fame (1995) and the LPGA Hall of Fame (2000).
Yet while King was racking up every accolade available within the realm of professional women’s golf, a nagging doubt lingered about the importance of her role as an athlete and what life after sports might look like. Those thoughts were intensified after she read the book Half Time: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance by Bob Buford.
December 27, 2010
Set:
As a coach have you ever had a bad day, bad week, or bad year? Many of us would answer “yes.” At one point, Moses could have said he was having a “bad life.” Most of his life had been a lie. He committed murder, Pharaoh tried to kill him, and, in fear, he ran from his problems to the desert. Then came his defining moment in life—the burning bush.
November 29, 2006
Set:
The word "awesome" is used to describe so much in sports today. "Did you see that awesome catch?" "Did you see his awesome dunk?" "That home run was awesome!" And let's not forget the words of the modern-day philosopher Tommy Boy, "That was awesome." I looked this word up in the Urban Dictionary. It defines awesome as being "totally cool." It is what is called a "sticking plaster" word, which is something used by Americans to cover over the huge gaps in our vocabulary. It is one of the three words that make up most American sentences. And in sports today, that is definitely the case. Everything great is awesome.
October 29, 2008
Set:
The night before a football game, our team has a gathering at the house of one of the seniors. His parents supply the food, and we have had these team dinners since before I can remember.
May 23, 2007
Set:
Recently, while preparing for a Sunday School class, I was reading a lesson on Jesus calling the tax collector into service. I was reminded of my high school baseball days. I remembered those games when we were tied 0-0 into the later innings and then the opposing team would score a run. As we ran into the dugout after the third out my coach would say, "That's alright. We had to score one to win, anyway." In a situation which many people would lose heart, our coach would offer us a different perspective to give us hope.
Let me say this: sin has a purpose.
May 13, 2010
Set:
If you had to guess, what would you say is the hardest thing to do in sports? Win a national championship? Go undefeated for a season? Maybe just winning your conference if the competition is tough. Or, you could say it is an individual action like sinking a hole-in-one or hitting a 90-mph fastball. To be honest, though, I would have to say that none of these is the hardest thing to do in sports. I personally think the toughest thing we can do is to play and coach like Jesus.
Now, hopefully we all understand that competing for and like Christ doesn’t involve being a doormat. The Bible I read doesn’t tell me to be a pushover for the competition. If we look at the verses from Philippians 2:1-4, we see a description of how we are to compete for His glory.
November 01, 2008
Set:
I was at home one morning, just minding my own business, when I heard a proclamation coming from outside of my house. It was loud. It was proud. It was my four-year-old son singing at the top of his voice, “I’m in the Lord’s Army. Yes, sir!” He was sitting against the door with his light saber in hand, singing his praise to the General of the heavenly Host.
When you play sports, you enter into battle. Sides are chosen, boundaries are drawn, and the battle begins. No matter what the sport, you choose whom you will compete for and against. This is no different from your walk with Christ.
October 25, 2009
Set:
Everyone has a bad day once in awhile. Even the greatest athletes struggle from day to day. A common phrase in baseball is "pick-me-up." This is said when a particular player needs a boost in spirit. And, truth be told, we all need a "pick-me-up" occasionally.
August 06, 2009
Set:
It was a beautiful day in the Windy City. A hot dog, a Pepsi and a ballgame at Wrigley Field. . . What could be better? The game was going just as I wanted it to go. My team was scoring run after run, but the crowd was turning ugly. People were getting upset and starting to leave. Finally, after he'd had just about enough, the little boy sitting next to me pulled on my sleeve and asked, "Mister, who are you cheering for anyway?" You see, I am Reds fan, and the Reds handled the Cubs that day pretty easily. I left the game a happy fan.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Coach Jack Parker of the Boston University has helped to lift players to new heights and ultimately to the NHL. As Chris Drury, the Captain of the Bufalo Sabers said, “He is so revered. His name carries a lot of weight. He teaches things I still carry today.”
May 08, 2009
Set:
Thirty-three years later there is still evidence that my front tooth took a chunk of wood out of my mom’s furniture. When my two older brothers and I were kids, we invented a game called “Walkie-Talkie.” I know a walkie-talkie is a portable, handheld communication device, but we hijacked the name because it perfectly fit our game. When I think back on it, I’m pretty sure it was really just a game that allowed my brothers to inflict bodily harm on me, but I wasn’t smart enough to figure that out. I was just thankful they wanted to do something with their youngest brother. (Do I hear an “Amen!” from all the youngest kids out there?)
December 28, 2009
Set:
If you have been on a team, chances are you’ve heard the phrases “Be a leader,” and “This team needs leadership!” Statements like those constantly remind us as players to work hard, demonstrate integrity, and display a model of intensity for other players.
November 01, 2008
Set:
Upon arriving in Atlanta for the National Wheelchair Championships, the stewardess informed me that they had forgotten my manual wheelchair in Minneapolis when I had changed planes. Fortunately, they had remembered to load my racing chair, but it arrived with a huge crack in the back wheel frame. I knew that there was no way I’d be racing with that!
As I sat in the claims office, filing reports on these two wheelchairs, I thought back to some verses that I had memorized from Psalm 56:3-4:
When I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
These verses calmed my heart. I didn’t know if I’d be racing, but I knew that God was in control of everything.
August 11, 2009
Set:
Almost every week this summer, I have been working with junior high boys trying to help them improve their basketball skills. The range of ability between sixth and eighth graders is pretty wide, and their physical size can be an even bigger gap. But we have one boy, Max, who doesn’t let his size bother him at all. In every drill and scrimmage, he uses what the Lord has given him to the best of his ability and tries to improve. It is such a joy to watch him play because he wears out his opponents with his speed and quickness. As an athlete, Max refuses to let what he can’t do get in the way of what he can do.
August 11, 2006
Set:
As a child, many of us had one athlete we always loved to watch. Whether it was football, basketball, soccer, baseball or something else, there was one person we would watch closely in order to go out later and try to copy their moves or plays. For me, personally, it was and still is Steve Nash. This under-sized point guard always seems to make the pass that somehow gets through the three defenders in front of him. As I walked out onto the court the other day, I tried to imitate his shot and put myself in the mindset of someone who was a professional.
