Our integrity is revealed when we’re faced with a decision to do what we know is right, even if it conflicts with what we want. We are called to act according to God’s will instead of our own.

It was a beautiful spring day in 1980 in northwestern New York State, a great day for a lacrosse game. The Watertown Cyclones, a powerhouse team, was visiting their cross-town rivals, the General Brown Lions. Though underdogs, the Lions were a gritty blue-collar team, and they had home field advantage. If all their starters played at 100 percent, they had a chance to upset the Cyclones. It was exciting!

If you run around the soccer field for 90 minutes, you tend to sweat a lot. When you sweat excessively, your body loses much of its natural salt. Without salt in your body, you cannot stay hydrated. Being “salty” is an important part of being able to compete at a high level.

In the same respect, without a relationship with Jesus, you cannot absorb and learn from His Word. Learning God’s ways by reading the Bible will impact your approach to competition, but not until you give your life fully to God and accept what His Son did for you on the cross.

As athletes and coaches, we have a tendency to dream big. We dream of championships and of finding success on the field or court. But sometimes we forget that we are already champions in Christ, and that God has big dreams for us of His own! Just what are some of those dreams?

As a young athlete, I thought winning was everything. The competitive juices would always flow through me. I wanted to win every time I competed. Whether it was a big high school game against our rivals or just a pick-up basketball game against my brothers, I wanted to win. For me, there was nothing more important than a good win! One of the greatest NFL coaches of all time, Vincent Lombardi, once said, "Winning isn't everything. Wanting to win is." As an athlete, I had a lot of wanting, even though I didn't win every time.

As athletes, we workout to better ourselves for competition. We hit the weights to gain strength, speed and size. But have you ever had one of those days in which your strength wasn't where you wanted it to be or you just didn't feel strong? If you compete long enough, you’re bound to have those days occasionally.

Have you ever had one of those days in life where you were feeling the same way spiritually? Like you just weren’t strong in your faith at all? In those times, we have to remember that it is not about us, it's about Jesus Christ. He is the One who gives us strength. It says in Psalm 33:16: "A king is not saved by a large army; a warrior will not be delivered by great strength."

A couple summers ago I was fortunate to travel to Manchester, England, as a coach for a lacrosse tour. The tour was a wonderful success and both the players and coaches made some awesome lifelong connections. For me, however, it went much deeper.