I accepted the Lord at thirteen years old and had no problem sharing my faith with friends in junior high and high school. Not only was I a Christian, but a wrestler too. Wrestling gave me an audience to spread the Word, so I made a T-shirt that would show evidence of my faith.

The ministry of FCA is about many things, but one specific thing is influence. In athletics today, we all are influenced. Athletically, athletes are influenced by teammates and coaches by other coaches, but where is the spiritual influence coming from? One athlete recently told me that when it comes to athletic excellence he could help any teammate get to the next level, but when it came to growing in Christ he was not the man! An honest and compelling commentary for sure.

“If the rush gets close, fall down and act like you were hit. We get an automatic first down if we draw a roughing-the-punter penalty.” If the referees are not calling holding for offensive linemen, have we ever instructed our athletes to hang on just a little? Do we influence the referees by showing our players how to have “hinged heels” when drawing an offensive foul in basketball? Ever silently wished that the best player would miss just this one game so we don’t have to play against the best of the best? Do we coach gamesmanship, win-at-all-costs attitudes with manipulation of the rules? Is winning more important than teaching character in sport and life?

Everybody knows that WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do.” A couple of years ago the saying swept across America like wildfire, becoming so popular that this witnessing tool also became a fashion statement, even to unbelievers. However, most athletes and coaches, men and women, young and old wore it to share their love for Christ. Even though WWJD is not new, the message is still powerful.

The last thing we need is another acronym, but GGTG is a great reminder for athletes and coaches. It should be the reason why we compete. As competitors, it helps us to focus on the main thing. The message is plain—it is not about us, but about Christ. So what does GGTG stand for? It stands for “Give God The Glory.”

A soccer player falls in the penalty box after being tackled. She gets back up, walks to the referee who is pointing to the penalty spot, and explains that she just dove to avoid the tackle and there should not be any foul called on the play.

After signing his scorecard, a golfer notices an error, reports it to the officials and gets automatically disqualified after winning the tournament.

Even though her first serve was called inbound, a tennis player, knowing that her ball was out, overrules the line judge’s call and gets ready to second serve.

A baseball centerfielder admits that he caught the ball just after it touched the ground and tells the umpire that the batter should now be on first base, not out.

“Too small…too short…can’t play…can’t survive…can’t make it in the NFL.” Who were the so-called experts talking about? It was Buffalo Bills quarterback, Doug Flute. He was too small in the estimation of many NFL scouts. Yet, in the Canadian Football League, Doug Flute is considered to be the best player in CFL history, winner of six Most Outstanding Player awards in eight years, quarterback of three Gray Cup champions, holder of most of the league’s passing records (41,355 career passing yards and 270 passing touchdowns).