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April 05, 2011
Set:
Last night, at the age of 68, University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun became the oldest basketball coach to ever win an NCAA men’s basketball championship. In his team’s 53-41 win over the Butler Bulldogs, Calhoun earned his third title in his 39-year coaching career.
Calhoun’s milestone reminded me this morning about a man in Scripture whose age also made history. His name was Abraham, and, at the age of 100, he and his wife, Sarah, who was only 10 years younger, gave birth to their son, Isaac. While Abraham and Sarah had known for many years that God promised them a child, they couldn’t see how that would happen in their old ages.
August 21, 2006
Set:
This is quite possibly my favorite time of year for sports. The baseball season is heading toward its peak, the football season is beginning anew, basketball is on the horizon, and my favorite, high school cross country, is taking off, as well.
My family has been looking forward to this cross country season with much excitement and anticipation. This is the year our two sons, Joel and James, get to run on the same team. (Joel is a senior, and James is a freshman.) So far, Joel has had considerable success in his high school career having qualified for the state meets in both cross country and track a total of five times.
April 18, 2009
Set:
I remember playing football on the playground as an 8 year old. When I was quarterback, I only had one play—the “Hail Mary.” I would tell everyone, “Go long!” My friends would try to tell me they were open short, but I wouldn’t hear them. I wanted to go long on every play. Of course, going long back then was about 10 yards, maybe 15 if you had a good arm like mine. I would drop back to pass, fling the football as far as I could, and hope one of my teammates would come down with it. I thought any play that didn’t result in a touchdown was a failure. I didn’t care about field position or time of possession; I just wanted to score as fast as possible. Obviously, that wasn’t the best strategy for success.
January 25, 2010
Set:
Sports are a big thing for me. My whole year pretty much is revolved around sports. The time I do have between seasons, it's usually really busy with working and such, but you also have to have time for friends and family too. I got to thinking the other day, if I prayed, and asked for God as much as I played sports, where would I be? I am pretty sure that my relationship would be 10X stronger, even stronger then it is now. I am sure a lot of people think the same way though.
December 01, 2008
Set:
Depending on to whom you’re talking at the time, conversations about the King will likely invoke numerous topics. When it comes to rock and roll, there’s no doubt that immortalized crooner Elvis Presley fits the bill. Then you have the King of Pop, a nickname commonly given to iconic entertainer Michael Jackson.
History has also provided us with numerous real-life kings, including such notable biblical leaders as King David and King Solomon and such well-known English rulers as King James I (known for his commissioning of the King James Version of the Bible) and King Henry VIII (infamously known for his many wives).
But within the world of sports, only one image comes to mind when that nickname is uttered: NASCAR legend Richard Petty.
January 29, 2010
Set:
When the weather finally breaks after a long winter, everyone gets busy fertilizing the lawns, dusting off the golf clubs, cleaning up the patio furniture, and lighting up the grill. There is a genuine excitement in the air! If we stay in the house too long or if winter stays too long, we get cabin fever. Cabin fever is a condition of increased anxiety, tension, and boredom caused by living for some time in a confined space or an isolated area, especially in winter.
December 01, 2008
Set:
To hear Ryan Hall nonchalantly describe his winding journey as a long-distance runner isn’t much different from watching him glide with apparent ease through treacherous hills and valleys en route to the finish line. But just because he makes it look effortless doesn’t mean his path to competitive greatness has been without a fair number of trials and tribulations.
“I’ve had a really rocky journey,” Hall says. “The hardest thing is picking yourself up after a shattered dream or an injury or when you know you didn’t give your best.”
July 06, 2006
Set:
"I'd die for this. This is what we live for," said Pat Hurst. Any idea what she was talking about? Golf. Hurst made the comment after she and Annika Sorenstam were deadlocked after 72-holes at the 2006 U.S. Women's Open, forcing an 18-hole playoff the following day. Sorenstam won the playoff, and her 3rd Open title, by four strokes over Hurst.
Have you ever heard the saying, "Until you find something worth dying for, you're not really living"? Paul certainly understood that. Throughout the New Testament we see examples of the fact that his life was not only lived for Jesus Christ, but he ultimately died for Him, as well.
March 09, 2007
Set:
Injuries in sports happen, and players suffer. A common, human response is "Why me?" However, every once in awhile you will find an exception--an exceptional athlete who will not question why, but who will make the most of an experience to show his/her teammates that they can succeed even if they cannot compete. I was privileged to know a young man who did just that. Bryan was a promising walk-on player who earned a scholarship quickly. He was climbing up the depth chart rapidly and moved into the starting lineup. As his junior year approached, he was even predicted to be a pre-season All-Conference player. But then his career took a different turn.
August 30, 2010
Set:
I had to make a tough decision in my senior year of high school. Coming out of basketball season, I had to decide between playing baseball or running track. My junior year, I had played baseball because we didn't have enough boys to fill a track team. My senior year, however, presented a dilemma. If I ran track, there would be just enough to have team. If I didn't, there wouldn't be a track team that year. When I approached my baseball coach about it, he told me that I would never do anything in track and that his baseball team would probably be going to the state finals. My decision was simple after that. I chose track.
July 27, 2010
Set:
My youngest daughter and I recently ventured out on a three-day backpacking trip. Our biggest concern was finding water on our second day. We had a water-purifying pump with us, but if we didn't find any water, the pump would be useless.
Days before the trip, I had prayed that we would find enough water to get us through. When we made it to our camping area, we found a water hole that was 2'x1' with about eight inches of water in it. We had enough water for the evening, but we weren't sure we’d have enough for the next day. That night we were hit with a thunderstorm, and it rained through the night. The next morning, we found that our water hole had become a raging brook. We even had a hard time crossing it!
June 28, 2011
Set:
Every morning at the FCA National Support Center in Kansas City, we circle up in our Hall of Champions for a time of prayer at 8:30 a.m. We come together to pray over our FCA staff, athletes and coaches across the country; about events in the ministry; about things going on in the world; about personal requests—just whatever needs to be prayed for that day. During our time, we also read a Psalm of the week. What better way to kick off a time of prayer than by reading such real and authentic passages, many of which display raw emotions of every kind?
March 15, 2011
Set:
Are you busy? I bet you are! Games, practices, work, meetings and other important things consume our days. We get so busy we sometimes forget what is truly essential. Recently I have been reminded that there are two things I have been neglecting or forgetting to do for my family. And while I can build a great plan to succeed in life, if I'm not leading and caring for my family, emptiness will surely follow.
August 01, 2006
Set:
Time for some calisthenics. Stand up. (Seriously, get out of your chair!). Tuck your chin to your chest and jump as high as you can, keeping your chin there. Now, lift your head up, pick a point on a wall or something a couple feet above your head and jump again.
June 21, 2010
Set:
I had to laugh when I realized what I did. Thankfully nobody was around to see my boneheaded move. As a frequent traveler, I am in out of airports and hotels all the time, which means I’m also in and out of a ton of different restrooms. I began to run out of patience as I kept waving my hands back and forth to trigger the motion detector that should have turned on the water. After about 30 seconds of this, I thought the sink was broken. When I started to move to the next sink, though, I noticed a strange looking thing called a handle on top of the faucet. I was busted. With a simple turn of the handle, I had my water.
October 07, 2005
Set:
Competition is an obvious part of the coaching life, resulting in either winning or losing. But God’s Word reminds us not to get so caught up in the results that we forget to take care of the flock—the athletes—who have been put under our watch.
Of course, we all want to win. Yet if we forget that we’re really working toward an imperishable crown (as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:25), then we’ve lost sight of why we’re coaching in the first place. In other words, just as we live our lives to please the Good Shepherd, so too should we coach our players with the same goal. In the process, we’ll serve as examples to the sheep.
January 31, 2007
Set:
Tiger Woods began the 2007 golf season the same way he ended the last one -- victorious. Woods won the Buick Open for the third-straight year and extended his PGA Tour winning streak to seven consecutive tournaments. Only Byron Nelson, who won 11 straight, has more. "As far as how special seven is, you're in elite company," Woods said. "There's only one person ahead of you. He's one of the greatest legends in the history of the game."
August 31, 2009
Set:
“Touch the line!” is a phrase that athletes hear constantly, a call to run a sprint the right way. In my own personal experience this phrase has often been followed by the dreaded “that one didn’t count.” Needless to say, no one likes to run more than they have to.
Why would a coach make an athlete run again just for missing a line? I mean really, sometimes it’s only a matter of inches. The answer has to do with hard work and discipline. A coach never wants to see a player cut corners. He or she wants every player to realize their full potential, even if that means focusing on seemingly minor things. The same is true of our Heavenly Coach.
February 28, 2010
Set:
“Dad, maybe you will win next time.” These words have been spoken to me a few times from my kids after a tough loss, usually followed by a big hug. At five and seven years of age, they really don’t care if I win or lose. They just want a hug, and most of the time I need it more than they do. In coaching football, wrestling, and track, there is always a game or two each year that doesn’t turn out according to plan. And these words from my kids always seem to help the healing begin and it also puts “the game” in perspective. Wins and losses that matter to us coaches don’t really matter to our children. They are still trying to figure out the real game, “life.” They love us, no matter what, with unconditional love.
January 15, 2010
Set:
Hannah made the varsity tennis team as a sophomore, eventually beating Mindy, a senior, for the number two singles spot. Hannah became very arrogant in her new position of power, bossing her teammates around and telling them to do things for her. When Mindy did not budge, Hannah became angry. She would do anything to make Mindy look bad in front of the coaches. Mindy did not retaliate; she went about her business playing doubles in her final year. Hannah would not let up. Her dislike for Mindy turned into hate, and she tried to get Mindy kicked off the team. Does this sound familiar?
May 13, 2010
Set:
I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t breathe. It was the final moments of a close game and all of a sudden I began to hyperventilate. Many thoughts ran through my mind. One was of getting a bag and breathing into it; but how would
it look if the head coach were catching his breath with a bag around his head while the team tried to finish well. Finally our linebacker intercepted a pass and when he did, my breathing returned. It’s interesting that my panic subsided once I knew the outcome of the game.
July 05, 2006
Set:
As the final whistle blew in Ghana's 2-0 upset of the Czech Republic during the World Cup last month, John Mensah, a Ghanaian defender, got down on his knees and revealed a t-shirt with Jesus on it. In 2004, Brazilian midfielder Kaka' sported a t-shirt reading "I belong to Jesus" over the top of his jersey when his club team, AC Milan, won the Serie A title in Europe. There are countries in the world today where these athletes would be tortured, jailed or possibly even killed for their acts of faith. Both Mensah and Kaka' were able to do these things because they live in countries where they have the freedom to express their belief in God.
September 19, 2006
Set:
If you knew when your last practice, last game, last hoorah would be, how would it affect your situation? Many athletes have had to face this early in their blossoming careers. Men such as Bo Jackson, Darryl Stingley and many others. Would you do things differently as an athlete or coach? Brian is one such athlete who may have seen his last play. A standout safety, who walked on, earned a scholarship and now is a fifth-year senior. Last year he missed the entire season (except for the bowl game) because of ACL surgery, and he was counting on this year to be his best. On the Monday before they opened their season, Brian hurt his ankle. At first it looked like a sprain, but over time it has become much worse. Brian's football career may be over.
June 09, 2010
Set:
I must admit that one of my guilty pleasures is to watch MMa (mixed martial arts) fights, particularly fights in the UFC. Mixed Martial Arts is a hodge podge of wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, jui jitsu, and other fighting styles thrown into an 8-sided cage. Fighters battle for 15 minutes (25 minutes for championship bouts) until someone is knocked out, the referee stops the action, or a fighter “taps out”. The act of “tapping out” tells your opponent, the referee, and the millions watching on pay-per-view that you gave up because you are feeling immense pain brought on by your opponent.
June 29, 2006
Set:
Being a soccer player and longtime fan of the sport, I get excited every four years when the World Cup roles around. This year it seems that there are more people watching the competition. One of my teachers had the game on at school during the United States' crushing loss to the Czech Republic. For the rest of the day people kept coming up to me and commenting about the team's poor performance. It bothered me to see people who had never followed the sport making such judgmental comments after watching the team play only once. I didn't think that it was fair for them to pass judgment after watching a single competition.
