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The 1996–97 season was both victorious and sorrowful for the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. In this triumphant year, the team had won hockey’s greatest prize—the Stanley Cup. But joy quickly turned into tragedy as a car accident claimed the career of a leading player on their team.
You don’t see it much anymore, but when sports teams used to be really bad, fans would wear paper bags over their heads during games. They were at the game, but ashamed of their team and didn’t want anyone to know who they were.
Jesus did many miracles and amazed people daily. No one saw this more than His disciples. They were front-row fans, so to speak. One day, Jesus told them that if they truly believed who He was, they would not be ashamed of Him and His message. Like the fans of old, one of His disciples, Peter, became ashamed of Jesus to the point of publicly denying Him—not once, but three times!
In the parable of the talents, the ruler blessed three of his servants with different talents, and they were to do something with them. One buried his and didn’t do anything with it and the ruler came back and basically said, “Wicked man. You didn’t do what you were supposed to do.” Of the other two—one multiplied his talent a little bit and the other maximized his to the fullest. That’s where I feel like I sit.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
My story began in Tampa, Fla., where my mother, Wanda, raised my older brother, Ray, and I by herself. Like most boys, Ray and I both loved sports, especially football, basketball and baseball. He was four years older than me, and, being typical brothers, we were always competing with each other. While he won most of our driveway basketball games, he was no match for me on the Super Nintendo.
I sat with a coach whom I had known for years, discussing how to help someone in the midst of crisis. He desperately wanted to help, but, almost in tears, he revealed he could not because of his own finances. He was enslaved to debt. I wish I could say his story is the exception to the rule, but sadly it is not today. We live in an age of credit. An entire industry is built on encouraging us to incur large amounts of debt. Many companies earn more from interest than from the products they sell. Debt service takes a huge part of people’s income. Proverbs 22:7 clearly warns us about debt: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender.” Debt causes us to shift our allegiance to those we owe and away from God.
“When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to get well?’” – John 5:6
I have to be honest. As Americans, most of us are like stagnant ponds: We don’t move very much, and our health stinks.
It’s sad, but true, and it’s a lifestyle that goes against the one God intended for us. Instead of putrid ponds, I believe He created us to resemble lively, running rivers.
As a young coach I had a sign on my office door: “Rules for Our Program. Rule 1. The Coach is always right. Rule 2. If you think the coach is wrong, see Rule 1.” My players always thought that was funny and, remarkably, true most days. Throughout athletics, rules govern the game. Our lives are no different.
I love college football and everything about it. I love watching a good offense, but there is nothing like a strong front line on the defensive side. There is nothing more intimidating to me than having a great front four that doesn’t let anyone advance down the field. They are the rock of their defense — a mighty fortress, so to speak. Nothing can penetrate them when the offense tries to advance. They stand firm. What an awesome sight it is to see nothing cross the line of defense.
Ben King remembers tasting nothing but salt. No surprise there. It’s normal when sweat pours out of an athlete’s body as he burns through energy like a wildfire consuming a forest.
Anyone who has ever sat in the painfully uncomfortable job applicant’s seat knows there are a few simple rules that accompany a successful interview: be on time, dress the part, research the employer, ask questions and avoid taking a combative approach.
When Jill McCormick found herself interviewing at Santa Rosa Junior College (Calif.) for a job that included the head coaching position of the women’s water polo team and both the men’s and women’s swimming teams, she followed all of the typical interview protocols to a tee—except maybe that last one.
Hockey Chat: You don’t hear of penalties given for blocking the goalies view even though they hate when someone stands in front of them “screening” and then a puck trickles in unseen. There is no rule in the rule book about that therefore it’s an OK tactic. The goalie would like to make up that rule but if everyone got to write up their own rules for the book the game would be a mess.
Wisdom for a Young Head Coach
Week 13
Discussion Questions:
My story actually began in the projects of Brooklyn, N.Y., where I lived with my mother, older brother and younger sister until we were placed into foster care when I was 6. We lived with several different families, the three of us always together, until our mother died of AIDS when I was 9.
One of the earliest lessons I learned in competition was that no one came to our home field and defeated our team in front of our family and friends. It was always motivating to deny the visiting team victory on our turf. There’s something special about being the home team. Teams now have slogans like “Not in our house!” and “Not in our backyard!” There is a responsibility to secure and protect home-field advantage.
Seven to 8 million Americans hold multiple jobs. That’s nothing special. But how many of those millions can say that they suit up in NFL pads to clock in for their first job and in scrubs for their second? Probably only one: Samkon Gado.
Every competitive athlete is looking for an edge: a way to get faster—shave seconds off his/her time, get stronger, or jump higher. We know our performance depends on it.
In training, athletes often wear a weighted vest as they go through their drills, helping them push beyond their normal limits. The additional stress to their body in a controlled environment prepares them for the intense demands of competition. When the vest comes off, these athletes feel invincible. They are faster, stronger, and more agile. It is like a prisoner has been freed.
My brother, Stu, was a wrestler in high school. His junior year he won 14 and lost 10, which is not bad, but he wasn’t happy with the results. So, he decided to spend one summer at various camps to get better.
Stu knew one of his weaknesses was wrestling in the standing position. He was terrible at takedowns. When he went on the offensive, he usually ended up on the bottom. His defensive strategy usually yielded the same results. At the camps he worked hard to overcome these weaknesses. He sought good coaching, made tremendous efforts, and then implemented the new strategy. The next year Stu ended up with 24 wins and only six losses!
I once heard of a pitcher who was nervous about starting a play-off game. The position players were steering clear of him, and the pitching coach was at his wits end over the pitcher’s behavior. The head coach finally got wind of what was going on and marched down to the clubhouse to talk to the pitcher. He looked the pitcher in the eye and said, “Son, either change your behavior, or change out of your uniform!”
An imprint is permanent mark. It means to engrave, etch, impress or inscribe. I remember as an eight-year-old, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride my older brother's motorcycle. I wanted to show him how "big" I was, so I took off with reckless abandonment! Around 100 yards down the dirt road, my front tire hit a hole that I never saw. As I flew through the air, my life passed before my eyes. I landed in a ditch, and the motorcycle landed on my back! Ouch! Thankfully, as a result of being in the ditch, the only part of the motorcycle that was touching my back was the muffler. As the muffler burned through my shirt and my flesh, I experienced a world of hurt. My brother rescued me and I was forbidden to ride his bike again.
Last summer I was blessed with the experience of going to FCA Captain’s Camp at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Ga. I had been involved in FCA since middle school, but I had never been to any sort of camp, so I had no idea what the experience would hold.
Hockey Chat: Good hockey teams win as a team and lose as a team. They are protective of each other on the ice, sometimes getting in scuffles that they never started. They celebrate together after a goal, whoever scored it. It’s that comradely that keeps the team strong.
There is a general rule in coaching circles that states, "There are two kinds of coaches in the world: those who have been fired, and those who will be fired."
If you are a coach, are related to a coach or simply know a coach, this article is for you. Coaching isn't easy, and sooner or later, if the rule rings true, you're going to have to face an uncertain professional future. In order to help you handle this situation, we asked several coaches to share some tips they picked up from their own unemployment experiences. Let their words help you or someone you know find God in the middle of one of life's most difficult situations.
It’s called the “sweet spot.” Every batter in baseball knows where it is. They dream about the sound the bat makes when they find it. From 5-year-old T-ball players to 25-year-old Major League All-Stars, every one of them wants to find the sweet spot. But it’s not just for baseball. Have you ever seen the look on a basketball player’s face when they know their shot is going in? Watch highlights of Michael Jordan from back in the day or of LeBron James now, and you’ll see what I mean.
A special tree grows each year in every sport. It’s called the coaching tree. Throughout the history of sports, wesee a list of coaches who have been trained by other great coaches, who, in turn, continue the legacy to form an incredible tree. Bob Knight, Pat Summitt, Knute Rockne, Tommy Lasorda—all have great coaching trees because at one time or another, they committed themselves to being taught and they gained the knowledge they needed to pass along to others. Basketball coach Dean Smith is an example. His coaching had many branches that stemmed out to high school, college, and professional ranks and included coaches who had been and still are following in his footsteps.
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