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After a tough loss on Sunday, I really didn’t feel like being very positive. It took me awhile to get out of the locker room because I didn’t want to talk to anybody, let alone face people who would inevitably ask that question, “Did you win?” I shut myself up in my room and didn’t move for a few hours, feeling like not only was I a failure, but also the whole day was as well.
The closer you get to the fast food door, the more likely you’ll indulge…and gain weight.
I have noticed an alarming trend in sports over the last several years. The leaders have disappeared. I see it when watching both high school and college teams. Many of the teams with which I’m familiar seem leaderless, and their coaches are pulling their hair out.
For decades the world of sports has been an incubator for leadership skills, and both players and coaches have used it for training and development. That seemed rather natural for a long time, but no more. No longer do the strongest competitors and most powerful personalities become a team’s leaders. Too often they simply blend into the background and defer leadership to the coaching staff.
Last week I got to go to Austin, Texas, to interview Colt McCoy for the December issue of Sharing the Victory magazine and our online video ministry. In my line of work, I get to sit down with Christian athletes and coaches on a regular basis and talk about their faith. It’s a dream job, of course, and one that I thank God for every day.
In all of these interviews, I meet a lot of different personality types. There are hard-nosed, intense guys who convey that in their passion for the Lord. Some are more reserved and shy, yet incredibly sincere. Others are just straight-forward, no-nonsense athletes who tell you like it is. It’s such a unique opportunity to see how God’s body has many different parts that function as a whole unit for His glory.
In high school, a few of my football teammates shared a pre-game ritual. Before each game they would sit down in the locker room. The first guy would wrap his left wrist with a roll of tape and hand it to the second guy. The second guy would wrap both of his wrists (left first) then hand back the roll. The first guy would then finish his wrap on his right wrist, and hand back the roll again. He would then get up, move to the other side of his taping partner and toss the roll to a third guy. This guy would then put the roll in his locker until the following week . . .to do it all again. These guys swore by this ritual. Did it work? We went undefeated in the regular season, so the ritual must have worked, right? But in the playoffs, we went down in flames. What good was it then?
You walk through the gate, eyes cast down onto the field, bag slung over your shoulder. You mentally walk through each of your fears, again and again. A nearby ball is cascading excitedly across the wet grass, throwing beads of water onto your bare shins. You make it to the bleachers, nervous as ever, and equip your shins and feet with cleats, socks and shin-guards... What's going to happen next? A grueling tryout. Everything you do will be watched; every mistake and every success. You just hope your mistakes aren't too many.
Have each player number off. An option is to have more than one person per number.
After everyone has a number, have each player group together in a bunch.
One person starts with a ball in the center of the group
The person with the ball throws the ball up while yelling a number.
Everyone runs in all different directions away from the bunch except for the person(s) whose number is called.
The person(s) whose number is called catches the ball and yells "Spud!" As soon as this is yelled, everyone has to freeze.
The person with the ball is allowed to take 3 giant steps toward any player.
Form groups of 6-12 people
Have players create events and write them down on small sheets of paper. Be sure that they don't share these ideas aloud with anyone
Creativity is a MUST for this game :)
Here are some examples of events:
Being attacked by a shark while you're fishing
Hitting a home run that wins the World Series
Winning the lottery
Going on a first date
After everyone is done writing, collect all of the papers and put them in a hat.
Whithin each group, choose 3-4 people to act for each round.
Players will randomly draw from the hat
Everyone gets a partner and hooks elbows. The pairs spread out around the designated playing area. Two individuals are chosen to be it. One will be the chaser, the other being chased. The person being chased may hook elbows with any pair at any time. The member of the pair at the opposite end of where the chase hooks is now being chased. If the chaser catches the chase, the chase spins around three times an
One player is the “hunter” and the others are “birds.” The hunter throws a ball at the birds, who may run freely about within the boundaries determined by the players before the start of the game. When the birds are hit with the ball, they become dogs and help the hunter by recovering and throwing the ball to the hunter. The hunter is the only one that may hit the birds. The last bird to be hit becomes the hunter for the next game. HI
In a sitting position in a circle, designate one person to be “it.” Go around the circle and tap each person on the head and say “bacon” each time. When the person who's “it” says, “eggs,” that person that got tapped must get up and run in the opposite direction. When the two meet together, they must stop; shake hands and say, “Good morning. How are you?” Both continue around the circle and sit down in the empty spot bef
The group will start in a circle. Every group member will turn placing their left leg towards the inside of the circle. Everyone will take one giant step into the middle of the circle to create a tight circle. With hands on the person’s shoulders in fron
Every group member must find a partner of approximately equal height and weight, if possible. The partners will lock arms with their backs to one another. With arms remaining locked at all times, the partners will sit down on the ground, kick their legs out straight, and try to stand back up. Then groups of four will try the same thing. Then groups of eight, sixteen, and eventually, the entire group together. This is the perfect activity to begin a tr
Have group comfortably sit in a circle. Give each participant a sheet of paper and ask them to write their name on the top of the paper. Place all of the papers in the center of the circle. Have each participant draw a sheet from the center (not their own) and ask them to write one (or a sentence) positive word about that person at the bottom of the sheet. They then fold the paper up to cover up the word. Have them pl
The group starts out in one or two tight circles. Everyone in the group reaches across the circle with their right hand to grab another group member’s right hand (do not grab hands with the person next to you). The group then reaches in with their left hand to grab a different group member’s left hand. The object is to untangle the group without letting go of hands until a circle is formed. If the group is having extreme difficulty, you can administer “knot first-aid&
I was thinking overnight about some of the qualities that enable sports chaplains and sports mentors to be most effective in their work with coaches and competitors. One of those is empathy. Empathy is the ability to see situations from another’s point of view, to even feel what the other is feeling. Empathy shapes our attitudes and aligns our hearts and emotions to be most effective at communicating God’s heart in any given situation.
Let’s think for a moment about the various ways we have traveled to and from competitions across our lives in sport. Low rent or first class, those who play their hearts out find joy in the journey.
I remember traveling to high school wrestling meets in school buses. I remember teammates spitting in paper cups to lose the last fractions of a pound to make weight. I remember the smell of oranges being peeled and snacks from mothers being shared among teammates. I remember the raucous rides home after victories and the deathly quiet following painful losses.
When you walk onto a court to play a game, do you immediately think that you’re going to lose or that you’re going to win? Do you stare at your opponents while they warm up and begin to wonder why you even laced up your Nikes, or do you focus on giving your all? Do you see obstacles, or do you see opportunities?
In Numbers 13, the spies were sent into Canaan to check out the land. God had already given them great victories in battle and rescued them from tough situations. During the 40 days that they were evaluating the land, they could have seen a great opportunity, but they didn’t.
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The Huddle Meeting Agenda Form is a great resource to plan each individual huddle meeting. It is available in Word or PDF.
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