After playing in and coaching thousands of games, I have found that I struggle with one main issue: Whose team is God on—my team or the other team? How can God pick sides? If He does pick sides, how does He decide which side to be on? If there are Christians on both teams, then how can God be on both teams? These questions challenge us as athletes and coaches.

As athletes and coaches we know a lot about disciplining our bodies, but there is one muscle we often neglect to discipline: our tongues. Our gifts and skills may allow us to achieve athletic success, but our ability to maintain that success and honor God with it has much to do with how we use our words.

Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created..." How did He create? By speaking. Throughout the next few verses of the chapter, it is revealed that God did not simply act, He used words to establish creation. “And God said…” This gives us the earliest demonstration of the power of words. Later, when "the Word became flesh" and Jesus came to live among us (John 1:14), we read that He used words to fight the temptations of Satan by declaring the Word of God (Matthew 4).

David experienced some very low times in his life. During one of these times, Absalom, his son, had taken over the capitol city, and David had to run to the hills for his life. During his hasty retreat, David encountered a man named Shimei, who was walking on a hillside. From where he stood, Shimei began to curse David and throw stones and dirt at him. David was flanked on the right and left by loyal members of his administration, and they were getting hit with stones as well.

Athletes must know their purpose on the team. For example, the purpose of an offensive lineman is to protect the quarterback and create space for the running back. The purpose of a pitcher is to prevent a batter from getting a hit. On the soccer field a goalkeeper’s purpose is to keep the ball from landing in the net.

Just as athletes have a purpose, each coach has a specific purpose as well. An assistant coach may be in charge of one aspect of the team, such as serving as an offensive coordinator. Perhaps his job is to lead the team in prepractice stretches. Head coaches have a responsibility beyond atheletic training; they are called upon to mold and shape the lives of young people.

Recently while I was fasting for a major FCA event we were hosting, I came to the realization that fasting was much like carbohydrate loading. As a marathon runner, I have used various forms of this tactic before my races. One way to “carbo load” is to deplete your body of energy-producing carbohydrates (sugars) for a few days, and then on the day before the activity, consume primarily carbohydrates. The idea is to use your maximized energy sources when you need them for your competition.

I’ve been blessed to accomplish some amazing feats that only a handful of female basketball players have achieved. During my career, I’ve been honored to play on an NCAA National Championship team, a WNBA Championship team and an Olympic gold medal team. At Notre Dame, I hit the game-winning shot and was voted the 2001 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. With the Detroit Shock, I was named the 2003 WNBA Finals MVP.