Last weekend I attended a three-day coaching clinic. It's always exciting, rejuvenating, and enlightening to listen to accomplished coaches explain their football "x's and o's." I always leave with more knowledge than when I arrived.

The day after the clinic I heard a sermon about bearing fruit and how the Lord expects us to grow spiritually. We all have to age physically, but growth and spiritual maturity are optional. In my life, I see such parallels between coaching and our spiritual walk, and between this clinic and the sermon.

In sports we put our bodies through the wringer. We study game film, review game plans, and tax ourselves mentally. All of it is done so that on game day, we are prepared to win. To achieve victory, we battle our way over virtual mountains, following our dreams—to get to the pot of gold.

Do we follow the same routine in our faith? We rigidly “train” by reading our Bibles, praying, witnessing, and attending church. We compete in “games” when we face setbacks, difficulties, and temptations. And we often do it with a militant attitude of struggling to get to the final pot of gold—heaven.

Eric was a finely tuned football player who went to battle for his team every Friday night. He was ready to do what his coach asked him to do for the sake of his team. Then came the big game against their conference rivals. The quarterback on the other team was having a great season. The coach pulled Eric aside and told him that when he had the chance, he must take the QB out of the game, however he needed to do it. Eric, an FCA member and believer in Christ, had a decision to make.

Playing softball was like breathing.

Effortless, natural, a piece of me woven so tightly inside it sunk into my soul and became a source of life. It was born in my veins and tethered in my family’s history, a part of my destiny.

I love rubber bands. They are one of the greatest inventions ever! They are simple, practical, and useful. And, while there are many uses for them, one of the most basic functions of rubber bands is to hold a group of objects together.

I always keep a rubber band around my wrist. You never know when you might need one! But my habit took on new meaning this past year when my friend and FCA teammate, Donnie Dee, who also wears one around his wrist, offered me a challenge. When I asked him why he wore his rubber band, he said that it was a constant reminder that God wanted to stretch him daily. I was converted on the spot!

 No matter what sport we play or coach, each one of us has been given specific gifts. Whether we compete at the middle school, high school, college or professional level, each one of us has been given gifts. When we put those gifts to use according to God’s purpose for them, great things happen.

God is the giver of every good thing. No matter where we are at in our athletic life, God gave us what we are using. He is the reason we can run, jump and throw. He is the reason we can swing a racquet, club or bat. There are even some world-class athletes who don’t run, but still use God’s gifts of athleticism. For instance, did you know that this year’s Boston Marathon was covered in less than two hours by an amazing athlete in a wheelchair?

It was August 1984, at Alamo Heights High School. I burst into the middle of the locker room and yelled, “Who are we going to beat this week?” The room erupted and players and coaches celebrated like we had just won the championship, before we had even played a game! During that excitement my life changed direction. Louie Reiniger, one of our players, got in my face and yelled, “Coach, will you come to FCA tonight?”