Guests include Florida State’s head football coach Bobby Bowden, FCA’s director of FCA Health and Fitness Jimmy Page,former U.S. Congressman J.C. Watts and FCA’s President Les Steckel
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Focus
Set:
When I was in high school, I ran the 110-meter hurdles. I remember it like it was yesterday—being in the starting blocks, looking down the track through the tunnel of hurdles toward the finish line. Hurdlers and sprinters have a major advantage over longer distance runners in that they can see the finish line from the starting blocks. I see that same dynamic in today’s Scripture.
In the letter to the Hebrews we read, “Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.”
Victory in Christ
Set:
Everyone wants to win. As coaches, we are probably more conscious of winning than most. After all, many times our livelihood rides on winning and losing. But we must be careful that our desire to win does not become our only emphasis with our athletes. We cannot push our players to win “at all costs.” The great coach John Wooden once said, “I don’t know whether always winning is good. It breeds envy and distrust in others and overconfidence and lack of appreciation very often in those who enjoy it.” How important it is for coaches to walk that fine line between wanting their teams to succeed, and acting as though winning is the only thing.
Hall of Faith
The life of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews has been epitomized by resilience and perseverance, stability and strength. The stats he produced as a fixture on the Houston-turned-Tennessee offensive line are legendary, and his name is a consistent example for line coaches who seek to inspire greatness in their athletes. And if those athletes never had the opportunity to see Matthews play, a quick reading of his accomplishments makes their jaws drop in awe.
The Will
Set:
Young people today are commonly confused by discipline, seeing it as punishment rather than a virtue needed to train effectively. The will or discipline of a competitor can be seen in how he/she perseveres through tough times.
Going the Distance...and Beyond
Set:
Former Dallas Cowboys fullback Ron Springs, who played from 1979 to 1985, had suffered from Type 2 diabetes for 16 years and had spent three on a waiting list for a kidney transplant. To say the least, things were not looking very good until teammate Everson Walls decided to donate one of his kidneys to Springs. After a successful transplant, Springs no longer needed dialysis for the first time in many years.
Lone Star Leader
For the three Witten brothers, family life was once enjoyable. Growing up in Vienna, Va., a bustling suburb of Washington, D.C., their childhoods were filled with rambunctiousness and athletics. Their father, Ed, was a huge sports fan, so he signed up Ryan, Shawn and Jason for two football leagues — a city league in Vienna and a Fairfax County league. He put them in two basketball leagues, too. He taught the boys to run, throw, catch and dribble. It was a warm slice of Americana. But, over time, the Hallmark moments were less and less frequent. Ed and his wife, Kim, hit financial straits. Alcohol and drugs added to a charged atmosphere.
Attitude of Gratitude
Set:
Athletes of all levels feel a sense of entitlement. Since leaving coaching, I have noticed a lack of daily gratefulness in athletes. I see managers serve water to athletes who turn around and drop the bottles on the ground instead of handing it back to the manager standing right there! I see Little League players disregard instructions from coaches and umpires because they know better. What has happened to the attitude of gratitude—of having a thankful heart for those who serve or care enough to help?
In Psalm 136, the author makes a very clear point. It states 26 times that we should give thanks to the Lord. The trouble is that we treat the Lord the same as some athletes treat those who try to help them.
New Opportunities, New Realities
Set:
As the coach of a college fall sport, for me, this time of year is a time of looking forward and planning ahead. We've finished reflecting on the past season, we've completed our exit interviews and we've laid out the plans for spring training. Now our attention turns to filling open positions with future recruits and envisioning what the future team will look like. Veterans return from Christmas break ready to embrace the challenge of becoming smarter, better and stronger. New recruits sign on with the hopes of becoming an important part of the future of the program.
In every new season, we are presented with new opportunities, new challenges, new relationships and new realities.
Student Rights and the Public Schools
This 32 page pamphlet which is produced by the American Center for Law and Justice describes the constitutional rights of students in public schools.
Suffering and Success
1 – This is the sort of situation a competitor dreams about.
- We’re playing for a championship.
- All the events of this season and our combined character have lead us to this day.
2 – Suffering and success – they go together.
The Unexpected
Set:
As much as we can predict and plan for life, we never know how things are going to play out. We see this all the time in sports. That’s probably one of the reasons that sports are so great—they’re completely unpredictable.
What a great metaphor for life, too. It’s the same way. How many times are we taken by surprise in a day? From little things like unexpected phone calls or traffic jams, to big, life-altering bombshells like deaths and natural disasters. We just never know what’s coming.
Role Reversal
Failure threatened to expose Coach Scott Glabb. He slumped against the door frame of the Santa Ana High School wrestling room and watched the last of his wrestlers exit the school after practice. But could he even call it a practice? He’d wasted the first 15 minutes searching for the keys to his office after his athletes had locked him out … again. And when he’d finally gotten to the wrestling room, he’d found that half of his team was missing. Of the few who had shown up, two were set to exchange blows over allegedly stolen wrestling shoes, and one appeared to be intoxicated.
#12 - StVRP - Kay Yow, Danny Buggs and Fisher DeBerry
Guests include North Carolina State’s head women’s basketball coach, Kay Yow,former NFL player and current FCA staff member Danny Buggs, former Air Force head football coach Fisher DeBerry and FCA’s President Les Steckel
God Uses Second Chances
Set:
God gives second chances. Actually, God gives us more than just second chances; He gives us millions of chances, because despite our endless mistakes and sins God still loves us. I don’t know about you, but I mess up a lot. Whether it is by having pride, judging others, denying God’s will in my life or giving into temptation, I just cannot seem to stop feeling like I am failing God. After seeming to let God down so many times it is hard to understand that God still has a plan to use me to do His will. But, boy, does He have a plan.
Devotion: A Way of Life
Set:
In the ancient Middle East, there were three ways to obtain water. Digging a well was one way; carving out a cistern was another. Both required hard work and human energy. The third way came naturally, up through the earth, when a spring of water bubbled to the surface. We find in Scripture that such a spring became a picture of God’s grace and provision. Jesus told the woman at the well, “The water I will give him will become like a well of water springing up within him for eternal life” (John 4:14b).
Comparisons - Chapel
Chapel – Comparisons
1 – Do you watch web sites for the weekly team power rankings?
• Do you pay attention to the state or national rankings of teams in our sport?
• Do you read the paper to see who beat whom?
• Do you make comparisons between teams and players?
• Sometimes, such comparisons could be misleading and lead you to a poor performance and with it a disappointing loss.
It’s Not About You
Set:
As competitors, we want to be the best in everything. Being good is good, but being best is better. We want to go from good to great in every aspect of life. We have to be #1—on and off the field. Nobody remembers the loser. Second place? Seriously? We engage in the relentless pursuit of excellence!
Heart of a Coach: Tim Bogar
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
A major league third-base coaching box is no place for the indecisive. For Tim Bogar—the man who holds the position for the Boston Red Sox—every split-second decision he makes carries tremendous weight not only for the team, but also for the die-hard fans at Fenway Park. But as a former player himself, Bogar isn’t intimidated by the situation. Instead, he draws on his faith in Christ and finds the strength to bravely face each day, each game and each play.
Restored
Have you ever fallen into the pit of despair, landing in a pool of your toxic mistakes and filthy sin? There in the depths you gaze in doubt at the slippery walls of consequence that rise 20 feet above you on all sides. “I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold,” describes the psalmist in 69:2 (NIV).
We’ve all been down there—we’ve all experienced deep anguish. But, if you read further, you find that the psalmist escapes. “Praise the Lord, O my soul,” he shouts, “who redeems your life from the pit!” (103:2-4, NIV).
The story told in the Psalms is familiar to Mississippi State senior Alexandria Hagler.
The Maine Thing
On a recent Monday evening, 5’9” University of Maine guard Amanda Tewksbury stood before the school’s entire men’s hockey team and shared her faith in Jesus Christ. Her powerful stance belied her diminutive frame as she boldly shared about FCA, about God and about how He has worked in her life.
“Maybe not physically, but spiritually, Amanda Tewksbury is as tough as any football player out there,” Maine FCA Area Representative Bob McClure said. “She’s not afraid of sharing her faith. As she approaches other athletes and coaches on campus, she’s not afraid to show who she is.”
Preparing for the Game
Set:
A college coach once said, “The will to succeed is important, but what’s more important is the will to prepare.” As coaches, we do everything we can to make sure our teams are prepared for the game. We give them training, exercise, motivation, uniforms, and equipment. We want them to succeed and win when they face the opponent. Nothing would be worse than to show up to face an opponent without being prepared.
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