Devotional
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October 07, 2005
Set:
I love baseball! It is an individual sport that relies on a team for a successful outcome. It also is the only American sport in which, during a stoppage in play, a manager or coach can approach an umpire to dispute a rule or argue a call. Unfortunately, we’ve all seen a manager throwing a tantrum, kicking dirt on the plate or verbally abusing an umpire. And we’ve also seen the umpire retaliating in anger and, sometimes, losing control. It’s hard to have someone yell at us or challenge our character in any setting, but especially in front of peers and spectators in a stadium.
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October 07, 2005
Set:
In 2003, LPGA golfer Annika Sorenstam became the first woman in 58 years to compete with men in a PGA tournament. Although she missed the cut by four shots, she had a respectable tournament and finished as well as or better than several of her competitors. “I tested myself from start to finish,” she said afterward. “That’s why I was here.” Sorenstam put herself to the test to find out just how good she was.
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June 23, 2005
Set:
Coaches want to be able to tell athletes exactly what they want done, and they want to have the confidence in their players that the job will get done. Coaches want to know that they can tell an athlete to do something and then know that it will be done.
Athletes want coaches to be direct. They want to know what play to run. Athletes want to know what the coach wants, they don't want surprises. Knowing exactly what is expected of them is how an athlete is able to focus on what they have to do.
David gave Solomon this kind of direction in 1 Kings. David knew his time on earth was almost up. He knew that Solomon would need to focus in order to prepare for what was coming. David gave Solomon very direct expectations for his life.
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June 21, 2005
Set:
All coaches want to make that perfect play call. That play that will be a guaranteed score. The play that there is just no stopping. And every athlete wants to be the one who runs the perfect play.
As athletes, your coach may tell you to visualize running every play perfectly. You might spend those pre-game moments alone in a quiet area just watching the game play out in your mind. And every one of us sees the same game play through our heads. . . The game is tied, and it is up to us to make the winning shot. We have the ball at the end of the game, and only the perfect play will win it all. Well, we all know that there is no perfect play. Things come up. Things usually don't go exactly how we planned.
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June 17, 2005
Set:
Have you ever had a day when the internet just isn't working well? When the internet is slow, it really gets on my nerves. And do you ever want to go to a site, and the site says "Page can not be displayed"? The internet isn't always reliable.
Ever have a day when your shot isn't falling? When your muscles are sore and won't work properly? Have you ever sprained an ankle or torn an ACL? Our bodies aren't always reliable.
Ever had a teammate turn their back on you? Have you ever been disappointed by a friend? Have you ever let someone down yourself? People aren't always reliable.
So what's my point?
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June 09, 2005
Set:
Life is like a roller coaster ride. There are ups and downs, fast parts and slow parts, twists and turns, fear and excitement. In our sports we ride this same roller coaster. One play we are up, the next we are down. One game we win, the next we lose. It is one crazy ride.
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June 01, 2005
Set:
Ever forget anything? Lately I have been very forgetful. I once heard the story of a man who used to tie a string around his finger to remember important things. However, once he had 10 strings on his hand, he couldn't remember what each string meant! I guess it's a little silly what people will do to try to remember things, but the point is that these things are important to them.
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May 26, 2005
Set:
When I was a coach, one of the hardest things was getting my athletes to understand that improvement took place in the off-season. I would always get the same song and dance about their working hard during the season and needing the time off. Let me tell you something. Work ethic is a big deal to a coach. Athletes who put in the work are always better off in the end.
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May 25, 2005
Set:
In working with a college Huddle, I hear many struggles and things that the athletes are going through. The pressures of athletic competition are tough, and many athletes turn to the wrong things. They hide their struggles in various places--the internet, a bottle or other things much worse. But they need to know that there is hope!
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May 24, 2005
Set:
There are great responsibilities that go along with the great privileges of being a champion. NASCAR driver Kurt Busch had a less-than-stellar image prior to winning the series championship in 2004--something he had worked hard to repair in the early part of the 2005 season. However, heading into the Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge, after a couple of relapses by Busch, NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said, "Kurt has a responsibility to the sport and must conduct himself like a champion."
