One of the perks of being a college student is a three month summer break from school, but as a collegiate volleyball player, summer isn’t a time to take it easy. The spring offseason is an opportunity to build muscle, run faster and increase verticals, but all that hard work is for nothing if I chose to be lazy all summer. When August rolls around I have to report for two-a-days, and my work over the summer will be evaluated by a stopwatch, measuring stick and bench press bar. I have to set goals to accomplish and improve over the summer, otherwise I will lose motivation and not perform at my highest level.

Every season, coaches and players alike try to figure out the “secret formula” for winning a championship. Throughout my years as a player and coach, I’ve learned that every championship team has one thing in common. That one thing is not talent, it’s not size and it’s not intelligence. Time and time again, the common denominator of a championship team is a servant heart. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to believers. Even Jesus, the King of Kings, spent His entire life serving others. Sometimes He served others by listening to them. Sometimes He encouraged them. Sometimes He washed their feet. Ultimately, He served us all by dying on the cross.

During the 2012 Summer Olympics, the world watched as US athlete Gabby Douglas claimed gold in the all-around portion of the gymnastics competition after anchoring the team’s run to a gold medal two nights before. When interviewed immediately after the competition, Douglas flashed her trademark smile, then displayed a depth of maturity rarely seen: "I give all the glory to God. It's kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to Him, and the blessings fall down on me."

As the quarterback drops back and throws, the receiver hesitantly extends his arms toward to the ball. Sensing a defensive player closing in, he’s not eager to complete the catch. His focus is more on protecting himself from the defense’s attack. In situations like this, when a receiver demonstrates partial effort in catching a ball, it can be said he has “alligator arms.” And likewise, our faith can be like having “alligator arms.” At times, we fail to take full advantage of our opportunities to grow in our relationship with Christ or share our faith with others because we are afraid of what the costs may be. We let fear of circumstances control us, because we prefer to stay safe in our “comfort zone” rather than stretching ourselves and trusting in God.

The runners slipped past me one by one. When I looked behind me, I didn’t see anyone left. Denial set in. I couldn’t possibly be in last place, could I? It had felt like I was running right on pace!

I cranked my neck around—something our coach had told us never to do—and, in a panic, again, I saw no one. I couldn’t reconcile myself to the thought of finishing in last place. No runner who competes at state their freshman year could possibly finish last at the district meet in their sophomore year.

I knew I had to make the decision whether or not to finish the race. The thought crossed my mind that if I dropped out, I wouldn’t finish last, but something in my heart told me that that’s not what was supposed to happen.

On a brisk Saturday morning a while ago, I hit the running trail with my FCA Endurance teammates for an 18-mile training run. The trail was desolate, and over time my fatigued mind began to drift back to my warm car waiting in the parking lot. We were more than 15 miles into the run, and the thought of less than a 5K left begged me to push harder and finish strong, but still I just didn’t feel like giving it my all.

It was about that time that I heard a sound—one that meant more to me than it did to my running buddies. It was the sound of an approaching train, and its noise drowned out the heavy breathing of our tiring pack.

I have been coaching for more than 20 years. After spending 17 of those coaching at the collegiate level, I decided to step down and enter the “slower paced” high school environment. To my surprise, I found out quickly that teaching and coaching at the high school level was just as challenging, time-consuming and hectic as coaching in college. In some ways, it is even more stressful, as I found myself running ragged trying to get everything done.

At every stage of life, there are different temptations to staying true to the Lord. As a college student, I’ve noticed that temptations have increased drastically compared to high school. There are nightly parties, common alcohol and drugs use, and our faith is constantly challenged in the classroom and in dormitory life. We must constantly put on the armor of God to battle these temptations (Ephesians 6:12).

I was in the gym training for a competition when I heard a few guys talking about how they were going to compete in a bodybuilding contest one day. “Hmmm,” I thought to myself. “How many times have I heard people TALK about what they were going to do ‘one day’?”

How often do we talk about things we are going to do, want to do or dream of doing and then never do? All too often. I personally have made it a goal not to fall into that category. In my life, I have learned that, when I talk about accomplishing a task, the Lord expects me to follow through.

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.

A while ago I had the incredible opportunity to go on a cross-country trip with my family. We spent some time driving through Arches National Park in Utah, and at one point decided to take a break to get out and stretch our legs.

The park itself includes thousands of acres of desolate land with countless geographic features to hike and explore. We didn’t have a whole lot of time, but we decided to see the arch aptly named “Delicate Arch.” Because of our schedule, we set out to explore the arch from the more distant, lower view. From the parking lot to the viewing area was about a half a mile on an uphill, rocky, dusty trail. Mixed with the elevation and heat, it wasn't a simple walk to the overlook. You had to really want to see it.