As a coach it can be easy to get caught up in the details of our sport. We can spend more time with our coaching staff and student athletes than our own family, and we find ourselves weighed down with worry and becoming overworked in effort to keep our jobs. Some coaches are famous for the number of hours that they put in to secure a position. But in Matthew 6, Jesus gives us specific instructions not to worry about the details of life. This got my attention. Worrying about our jobs is like worrying about what we will eat or wear; they are all provided by God.

Despite not possessing any superb physical attributes, I discovered the Lord can still allow everyone to pursue their own path toward success. Not all men have been blessed with strong athletic physiques and growing up as a thin kid living on a cattle farm in western South Dakota, the odds were against me achieving any athletic success. However, the Lord had other plans for me!

A wide receiver or running back must make crisp cuts when running a route or hitting the hole. A soccer player needs to make crisp cuts when passing or dribbling. Basketball players must make quick, sure, crisp cuts when running plays or making moves to the hoop.

The word “crisp” has been defined as “notably sharp and clean-cut.” Should these athletes round their cuts, they would lose the ability to apply a successful move on their opponent.

Every day it sits on my desk as a powerful reminder. It tugs on my soul with a convicting message that seems to say, “Be careful. Do not let your life be like this.” The object is a gorgeous leather Bible with all the extras, including gold tipped pages. It’s real nice. But the reason I don’t want my life to be like this Bible is that when you crack open the pages, you discover that the pages are blank. Yup—not a single word or letter. It appears to be the Bible of all Bibles on the outside, but it contains nothing of God’s message on the inside. The fake Bible had actually been a sample sent to me by a publisher so that we could get an idea of a cover we wanted for a future FCA Bible. The sample just needed blank pages to fill the inside.

In my first year as a football coach, I was unsure of what to expect. But I went into the season with one goal: being satisfied not with producing a winning record, but with producing winning athletes.

Billy Graham once stated that one coach would influence more people in one year than the average person would in a lifetime. This was an idea I took to heart. At the beginning of the season, I had no idea who my players were or what their backgrounds were like, but I did know one thing: while they were on my team they were going to learn not only about football, but about life and God.

My daughter likely receives more scrutiny playing sports than some other children do. As a parent, I tried to motivate her to be more aggressive and to play harder and use many tactics to do so. I tried having heart-to-heart conversations and even tried bribing her with a steak and shrimp dinner. I thought I had tried everything, but then I came up with another great idea. I would put her on a “Hustle Contract.”

The purpose of the Hustle Contract was to set some expectations for her effort. In my heart, I knew God was saying that He had a different, better way to do this. But I didn’t listen. I went ahead with the Hustle Contract anyway.

On a recent run I was confronted by the two things I hate most in my training – wind and hills. The run started with a strong wind in my face, but the course was flat. Although I don’t like wind, I learned to accept it because it makes me stronger. My second challenge was just ahead – a 7/10 of a mile incline with a gradual elevation of about 110 feet. Not too bad in itself, but with the headwind and going for time, I needed all of my energy.

During my ascent, I thought about life and how we all have “hills” and “headwinds.” I thought about how I deal with them, how I can make improvements, and how I can be a better example to others when faced with difficulties. I also thought about whether or not I invite God into my life when I encounter these situations.

"Not Too Young." It’s the theme we pull from this verse in 1 Timothy in which Paul speaks to young Timothy. Do you know that it is a lie we sometimes buy into that we are too young to make a difference? But we need to realize that many young people in the Bible did amazing things for God. Little David defeated Goliath. King Josiah, at the age of 7, made a difference in Israel. And don't forget about the young boy who had two fish and five loaves.
 
The young man with the fish and bread in particular gives an interesting example. This boy who had very little made a huge impact when he gave what he had to Jesus. He didn't have much, but Jesus took what he had and fed 5,000 people with it!
 

In 1964, Nepalese fighters known as Gurkhas were asked if they would jump from airplanes into combat against the Indonesians. Although the Gurkhas did not completely understand what they were being asked, they agreed to jump from the airplanes into battle. They asked that the planes fly slowly over a swampy area, no higher than 100 feet. When told their parachutes would not have time to open at that height, the Gurkhas replied, “You didn’t mention we would have parachutes.” Incredibly, they were willing to jump without parachutes! They were willing to pay the price and do it with passion.