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January 30, 2009
Set:
“Commitment” is a big buzz word in sports today. Coaches are asking for commitment, players want to be committed, and schools are looking for a four-year commitment. But commitment is a word that is used very loosely today. (I personally believe that we need more athletes who are committed to their academic success before their athletic careers, but I’m old school on that one.)
When it comes to commitment, Jesus Christ wants us to be committed as well. He desires our commitment. When is the last time you said, “Lord, I am committing this to You!”
July 26, 2010
Set:
One of the greatest things I have experienced as an athlete and now as a coach is the development of a team by the groups that have truly understood this concept. A true team does not happen simply because a group of players are organized into a unit. The true team consists of individuals who take ownership of their responsibility to work together and strive for the same goals. In this situation, individuals place the team above their individual aspirations.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: There are some games that I go away from the ice not knowing the score but confident that I tried with all my heart, stayed in it through all the bumps, and skated hard until it was over. To me I felt like I had won. I did everything I could and did my best. You know those games. You go away a winner, not caring about the final score.
April 11, 2006
Set:
I don’t know about your neighborhood, but when I was younger we had the “do over.” Remember? You took a swing and your foot went out from under you. You mis-kicked the ball in a kickball game because you slipped on some wet grass. What were the first words to come out of your mouth? “Do over!!”
Did you know that God gave us a “do over”? Paul wrote the church in Corinth that when they accepted Christ they became a new creation. Well, thousands of years later, the same is still true for us. When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we become a new creation.
March 30, 2010
Set:
Does the word “wait” cause the hair on the back of your neck to rise like it does mine? As an endurance athlete, a lot of my training can last for several hours. An example would be during one of my former marathon trainings. One week I had a 20-mile run scheduled. Before the first mile was completed I was already thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if this was mile 19 and I only had one mile to go?” I was wishing that I could fast-forward through my run and just see the end results.
June 30, 2006
Set:
Bethany Hamilton was once ranked as the best amateur teen surfer in Hawaii. In October 2003, however, she lost one of her arms to a tiger shark while surfing. The story of a beautiful and talented teenager losing an arm to a shark made national news. As the world watched the story unfold it saw Bethany display something that kept her from being depressed and sinking into a life of self-pity. She had a relationship with Jesus Christ, and that transcended the tragedy she experienced.
August 02, 2010
Set:
The Gospels indicate that Jesus was flogged, mocked, and spit upon. His wrists were nailed to the cross, crushing and severing nerves and producing excruciating bolts of pain in both arms. Jesus’ feet were probably fastened with one iron spike driven through both feet. This type of crucifixion greatly interfered with normal breathing, especially exhaling. Adequate exhalation required lifting the body by pushing up on the feet and flexing the elbows. This put all the weight of the body on the foot wounds which caused even more pain. Each breath became more agonizing until; finally, he cried out in a loud voice, “It is finished!”
March 25, 2008
Set:
The NFL Draft is coming up in April. This year, the experts say that the number one pick will be either Arkansas' Darren McFadden or LSU’s Glenn Dorsey. Could you imagine being the number one pick? Well, surprise… You are!
You are a top recruit! God is recruiting you for His team, but the enemy is trying his best to keep you from joining "TEAM JESUS." Psalm 51:5 says that we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity (or evil). That means that we have to make a decision to join God's team. If we leave this world without accepting Christ, we cannot enter His Kingdom.
November 03, 2010
Set:
It’s the time of the year when winter sports teams are taking shape and seasons are hitting full-swing. I can’t help but think back to my days as a hockey player looking forward to team tryouts. I was an eighth grader looking forward to playing hockey and basketball. I was so excited! But, as things unfolded, the first tryouts for hockey came and went, and I didn’t make the team. I was crushed, but I still had high hopes for basketball tryouts. Well, I was cut from that, too. It was tough for me to think that I wasn’t good enough to make either of the teams I wanted so desperately to play for.
April 06, 2009
Set:
This weekend Michigan State University’s men’s basketball team pulled off an upset of the UCONN Huskies to advance to tonight’s NCAA national championship game against North Carolina. Now, I don’t know if you saw the game or not, but it certainly seemed to me that there was a lot of green in the stands in support of the Spartans. With the Final Four being held in Detroit, which is only about 90 miles from MSU’s campus, it would be safe to say that the Spartans were at a great advantage. And I have no doubt that it helped them keep momentum as they went on to victory on Saturday night.
May 06, 2010
Set:
Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Ben Zobrist wasn’t drafted by Major League Baseball out of high school. In fact, he wasn’t even offered a baseball scholarship to play in college. Yet, after attending a skills showcase the summer after his senior year, one college coach saw potential in Zobrist and offered him a position on the team.
Now one of the brightest young infielders in the game, Zobrist has experienced a divine path to success—both on the field and off. Just before the start of the 2010 season, Zobrist sat down with FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine to talk about that career, his family and, most importantly, his faith in Jesus Christ.
July 19, 2007
Set:
One of the easiest things to do in sports is to make excuses for a bad performance. Usually, the officials get blamed for our poor performance or lack of execution. Making excuses is an easy way for us to not take responsibility for our actions.
In the same way, as Christians we sometimes make excuses for the sins we commit. It is easier for us to blame others instead of taking responsibility for our actions. Let's look at some common excuses Christians make and what we should do instead of making excuses.
(a) "I won't get caught."
August 06, 2009
Set:
It was a beautiful day in the Windy City. A hot dog, a Pepsi and a ballgame at Wrigley Field. . . What could be better? The game was going just as I wanted it to go. My team was scoring run after run, but the crowd was turning ugly. People were getting upset and starting to leave. Finally, after he'd had just about enough, the little boy sitting next to me pulled on my sleeve and asked, "Mister, who are you cheering for anyway?" You see, I am Reds fan, and the Reds handled the Cubs that day pretty easily. I left the game a happy fan.
August 23, 2006
Set:
As athletes we really don't like losing, do we? And we love winning. We always strive for a winning season or perfect record, no matter what it may take: pain, blood, sweat and maybe even tears.
This is sort of like life. There will be winners and there will be losers. But as Christians who stand up for God and are saved through the shed blood of Jesus Christ we will end up having the overall victory. We will defeat Satan and all his demons and live eternally in heaven.
August 30, 2006
Set:
"I worked very hard. I felt I could play the game. The only thing that could stop me was myself. . ." This kind of quote has been said by many athletes over the years. This one in particular was said by former MLB pitcher Jim Abbott.
Abbott was/is an incredible athlete. He played three sports in high school and went on to the University of Michigan to play baseball. He eventually ended up in the majors and even pitched a no-hitter. But what is truly amazing about Jim Abbott is that he did all of this with only one hand. He knew he had the ability, but his own weakness was the only thing holding him back.
December 28, 2010
Set:
I was the youngest varsity basketball coach in Indiana. I studied older coaches to gain knowledge, but one area to which I never paid enough attention was when to talk and when to keep quiet. I learned the hard way: by my second year of coaching, I’d received more than ten technical fouls, not for bad language, but for opening my mouth at the wrong time. These failures made me wonder if I’d ever master control over my tongue.
Solomon knew that there is a time for speaking and a time to guard our mouths, and many of us would do well to learn his lesson. All too often our lips keep moving when we should be listening. We fall too easily into traps made by our own speech; we forget that if our mouth doesn’t open, we will not be creating a trap to fall into.
May 28, 2009
Set:
This summer, many coaches and athletes will come to know Christ through the camp ministry of FCA. Every year, there is a new theme for FCA Camp, and this year it is “GET FOCUSED.” As coaches and athletes we often prepare for competition by getting focused in different ways. We may read Scripture, listen to music, talk to ourselves or do other pre-game rituals.
April 07, 2008
Set:
Josh Davis is thankful for a lot of things. He’s accomplished greatness as a world-class swimmer, winning a combined five Olympic medals (including three gold medals) and breaking American and world records. As a family man, he is a devoted husband and proud father of five children. Davis is also thankful to have a nice house and a big car that’s spacious enough for the entire bunch. He even has had a building named after him—the Josh Davis Natatorium—in his hometown of San Antonio.
It certainly sounds great, but Davis will be the first to admit that everything on that list and more doesn’t mean much without one key ingredient.
November 09, 2007
Set:
Last weekend, at FCA's "Weekend of Champions," Pastor Nick Orduna spoke to almost 600 Nebraska high school students about God's amazing grace. He explained how God's grace is marked by His goodness, mercy and never-ending love for us, even though we deserve nothing but judgment and condemnation. How are we fortunate enough to receive God's grace?
Romans 3:23-24 says that we all have fallen short of God's glory, but only by God's grace through the redemption of Jesus Christ can we be saved. It is often easy for us to lose sight of how amazing God's grace really is. We take forgiveness and mercy for granted, and don't even realize the love that God shows through His grace. Can you fully grasp the true meaning of grace?
November 12, 2010
Set:
This was my first year ever as a football coach. I was unsure of what to expect, but I went into the season with one goal: being satisfied not with producing a winning record, but with producing winning athletes.
Billy Graham once stated that one coach would influence more people in one year than the average person would in a lifetime. This was an idea I took to heart. At the beginning of the season, I had no idea who my players were or what their backgrounds were like, but I did know one thing: while they were on my team they were going to learn not only about football, but about life and God.
April 22, 2010
Set:
Glen is a high school football coach. He's not much different than other coaches. He's driven, tough, motivated and strong-willed. However, like many coaches, Glen developed two different lifestyles: a good coaching lifestyle and that of a struggling alcoholic. As these two lifestyles ran their courses, they eventually came crashing together. He continued to coach, but the drinking took its toll. Several DWIs mounted up, and eventually the alcoholism caused more issues. Glen came to the end of his rope.
August 14, 2009
Set:
This summer I was helping out a summer program with a series of outdoor trips. On one of the trips, we went whitewater rafting in the morning and then whitewater kayaking in the afternoon. Oh, and the river was a scorching 52 degrees. One of the other leaders and I wanted to go down the major rapid at the end while holding a sign in hopes of getting our picture on the display board.
December 11, 2006
Set:
Championships, money, grades, trophies, recognition. These are all things we are pursuing these days. On the surface, these things are not inherently bad, but are we consumed by these pursuits? I see nothing wrong with wanting good grades, to be good in sports and ultimately to win a championship, but those should not be our end-all pursuits.
October 09, 2008
Set:
For nearly 30 years, Betsy King spent the majority of her time on the golf course. In most people’s opinion—whether sports analysts or average fans—she did some pretty significant things in a career that resulted in 34 LPGA Tour event titles, 6 major championships, and inductions into the World Golf Hall of Fame (1995) and the LPGA Hall of Fame (2000).
Yet while King was racking up every accolade available within the realm of professional women’s golf, a nagging doubt lingered about the importance of her role as an athlete and what life after sports might look like. Those thoughts were intensified after she read the book Half Time: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance by Bob Buford.
September 03, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Goalie Andrew Raycroft was picked up by the Boston Bruins 135th overall in the 1998 Entry Draft. Although he didn’t get drafted onto the team in the top picks, the coaching staff had faith in him and worked with him through the early years as he played in the minor leagues in order to get him ready for the NHL. He was brought up in the fall of 2003 and won the 2004 Calder Trophy (Most Valuable Rookie of the NHL).
