In our culture, sports figures are elevated to star status and placed on lofty pedestals. Coaches feel great pressure to compile winning records. Yet, in spite of this trend, I believe God calls us as Christian coaches to focus on matters of the heart such as the spiritual lives of our players and fellow staff members. With every interaction, we have the opportunity to be a witness for Christ.

It’s the time of the year when winter sports teams are taking shape and seasons are hitting full-swing. I can’t help but think back to my days as a hockey player looking forward to team tryouts. I was an eighth grader looking forward to playing hockey and basketball. I was so excited! But, as things unfolded, the first tryouts for hockey came and went, and I didn’t make the team. I was crushed, but I still had high hopes for basketball tryouts. Well, I was cut from that, too. It was tough for me to think that I wasn’t good enough to make either of the teams I wanted so desperately to play for.

When I set out to be the first person with Multiple Sclerosis to compete in National Physique Committee bodybuilding contests, I knew that I was going into battle. In my case the “enemy” was the disease I was diagnosed with in 2006 at the age of 47. My competitions would start when I was 50 years old, which is usually a time in life to begin relaxing and looking back on your accomplishments. For me, my 50th birthday was the beginning of my road to victory.