Hockey Chat:  Having 5 guys on the ice makes a team.  Having 5 guys on the ice that are working together and covering each other makes a winning team.  When we say that our position is just on Offense or someone else is a Defenseman, we are cutting away that we are all a team.  Whichever color jerseys have the puck determines whether we are all on offense or defense. It’s when we complain or argue that “it’s not my position so it’s not my fault” we all fall down.

So much in sports is related to the eyes. A ball is dropped because a player takes her eyes off the ball at the last minute. A batter misses the pitch because he fails to keep his eye on the ball. As a coach you’ve likely cautioned your players, “Keep your head up,” so that an athlete will look at the right thing in order to avoid injury and be most effective.

It’s the start of practice. Everyone has high hopes, goals, and expectations for the upcoming season. As Christians, the biggest goals are the ones God has for us as coaches and the athletes He has entrusted to our care.

God has created each one of our team members, the coaching staff, parents, and all those connected with our programs. Twice in the verses above we are reminded of Jesus’ work in creating all things. In fact, today’s passage tells us that all things were created not only by Him, but also for Him. He also promises to hold thing—all things—together. This may not mean victory, or lack of challenges, but things will be  held together to accomplish His perfect plan and will in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

During our football season, whenever we were down by a lot at halftime our coach would tell us, "You're getting outwanted. They have more will to win than you do."

Any competitor wants to win. But our coach did have a point in that some want it more than others. They tend to play harder because of their will to win. One reason desire is so important is that it motivates us in everything we do. A player can try and try to force himself to give outstanding effort, but he won't be able to keep it up for long unless the final goal of winning motivates him.

Coach Scott was a great offensive line football coach. As a 10-year-old aspiring right guard, I learned from him the basics to being a great blocker: elbows up and out with hands tucked in. It was the “old school” way to block, which didn’t involve the use of hands—just stick your elbows way out so the defensive player couldn’t get by. For me, a good game required making sure no one ever got around me and never got a tackle. Not exactly a simple job. It took an incredible amount of work and effort to keep others from advancing toward the ball.

In sixteen years as the coach of the Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach guided his team to nine NBA championships. He retired after the 1966 season as the winningest coach in NBA history with 938 wins. While his teams had some great players, they were characterized more by their team play, which included a new concept of using role players. According to Auerback, a role player is one who “willingly undertakes the thankless job that has to be done in order to make the whole package fly.”