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February 19, 2010
Set:
Olympic speed-skater Chad Hedrick was part of a two-medal finish in the 1,000-meter finals Wednesday night, winning a bronze medal. After winning gold in the 2006 Olympics, Hedrick is one of the most prominent figures in Olympic speed-skating today. Yesterday, Hedrick was featured on the radio broadcast of Haven Today with the key line of the intro, “Chad Hedrick is not the same Chad Hedrick of four years ago.”
During this interview, Hedrick discussed his recent conversion experience. He admitted that most people knew him as a guy who worked hard and played hard. In describing his commitment to Christ, he said, “Now I find myself…really living a godly life now. I feel like I’m going in the right direction.”
May 15, 2007
Set:
In football it's important to wear a mouthguard. This protects a player's mouth from injury. Those who don't wear mouthguards sometimes end up with missing teeth!
In life, some of us need to wear "heavenly mouthguards" to guard our words. The unkind words we say can hurt others. God is not pleased when His children say things that hurt or anger others. The Bible says that the tongue is like a wild animal that cannot be tamed by man (James 3). Only God can tame our tongues. We need His help. If we ask Him, He will help us to honor and bless others with the words we say. When we are angry, God can help us to not say damaging or unwholesome words. He also can guard our mouths when we are tempted to say untrue things about others.
October 07, 2008
Set:
When I decided to set my goal of being the first person with multiple sclerosis to compete in an NPC bodybuilding competition, I knew I would need help, but I never knew how generous and selfless so many people would be.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: You can score a lot of goals playing hockey without an opposing team skating against you. Nobody to knock you down either. When you get into a game you find that goal is not just to get the puck in the back of the net, but to get past your opponents first and foremost. It is then that you realize what the game is really about.
December 01, 2006
Set:
On Tuesday, November 20, five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe retired from competitive swimming at the age of 24. He said that breaking records "wasn't as inspiring as it should have been." As a teenager, Thorpe splashed into the swimming scene and swam to 13 world records between 1999 and 2002, and he became an international star after dominating at the Sydney Olympics.
February 26, 2008
Set:
Ok, so you’re an athlete. You’ve probably read or heard this verse before. But when was the last time you stopped and thought about it? What was Paul trying to say? Is the athlete the metaphor, or how the athlete trains? My take on this passage is that every Christian is an athlete; so, that leaves the training in this verse to be the focus.
February 09, 2010
Set:
We all have times when we feel unmotivated to do our work. It’s not that we don’t love coaching, or the athletes, or the sport, but we do get discouraged by what often seems like a fruitless and tedious process. We feel burdened by the monotony of working, and this detracts from the joy that Jesus Christ gave us.
January 26, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: The chest protectors that goalies wear are essential to protecting them. They allow for 100+ miles per hour vulcanized rubber biscuits to bounce off them with no pain to the goaltender. That keeps him confidently in the game.
May 14, 2009
Set:
Every week athletes and coaches around the country come to chapels and Huddles looking for something from the Lord in relation to their walk with Christ and their sport. Many come looking for a word from the Lord to encourage or inspire them before their contest. Some come for fellowship, some for worship, some for truth to purify their walk with the holy and righteous One (2 Tim 1:9).
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Lesson: In our recreational games, sometimes we’re on the receiving end of a stinging wack or some harsh words. You have two choices. First forget that you came there to play hockey, let rage overtake reason, and go after the guy. Or second, remember all the wacks and words that you’ve dished out in the past and got away with, and play on. The choice of what to do is totally yours, but the reactions for your actions (fighting, getting hurt much worse, ejected from the game) are not.
July 22, 2010
Set:
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.”
December 28, 2006
Set:
I dialed a number and got the following message: "I am not available right now, but thank you for caring enough to call. I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes."
February 06, 2008
Set:
As Christians, our ultimate purpose on earth is twofold: to bring honor and glory to our Lord and Savior, and to share His goodness and love with others. So often we forget that people are watching us and that God has commanded that we be a light to a lost and dying world. When I think of “letting my light shine,” I think of three ways that, as a coach and Christian man, I try to do that every day.
March 10, 2010
Set:
After an All-American college basketball career at Kansas State University, Shalee Lehning experienced a breakout rookie season in the WNBA as a guard for the Atlanta Dream. Not only did she help the team set a franchise record in wins, but also ranked individually among the top 10 in the WNBA in total assists. Now between pro seasons, Lehning is serving as an assistant coach at her alma mater under Coach Deb Patterson.
September 03, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: With each earnest effort on the ice, we get better. Skating gets you down the ice. Stick handling helps you get the puck down the ice. Shooting helps you get the puck in the goal. One builds on the other. A good work ethic in each area will build you up for the next skill to keep you playing good all around.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Have you ever seen a guy who looked like the puck glued was to his stick. It may have looked like it from his puck handling. Those guys frustrate every defenseman. They have such control of the puck that it’s nearly impossible to take away. A poor puck handler will leave the puck behind every time.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Have you ever tried to skate with your hockey pants around your ankles. It doesn’t work. It’s happened before to Marc Savard when during a game in Calgary when his belt broke. When your belt fails, the essential protection in your hockey pants doesn’t do much good slipping down your legs will you’re trying to skate. Little strap of fabric has a very important purpose.
March 28, 2007
Set:
For the first time ever, NASCAR rolled out its "Car of Tomorrow" in a race, the 2007 Food City 500 in Bristol, Tenn. One of the biggest critics of the car, Kyle Busch, took home the checkered flag thanks to the courteous driving by second-place finisher, Jeff Burton. "My mother always told me to do unto other people the way you want them to do you," Burton said. "I could have used the bumper to move him out of the way and win the race, but I didn't want to. If you can't pass him without knocking him out of the way, do the best you can."
March 15, 2007
Set:
When I played high school basketball there was always one girl from another team that I hated to guard. Not because I was scared of getting beat or scared of doing my best, but because I knew she would push me to my limits. I would be asked to give everything I had in order to help my team win. I had to be sharp.
We need people in our lives to push us to make us better. If we surround ourselves with people who don't require us to give our best, we are being cheated. Going one-on-one with the worst player on the team won't help you get ready for the big game, and it's the same in life. Surround yourself with people who will challenge you and who will require you to be honest, trustworthy and faithful. Do the same for them.
October 27, 2009
Set:
Most sports have a playbook or a set of rules to follow for their program. This book tells how things will be done on and off the field for success in the system. A player, if he or she follows these guidelines, should have success in the system. I recently heard one coach refer to his playbook as his “bible.” Obviously, he highly values the book.
January 09, 2007
Set:
It's a struggle--competing and living for the Lord. The world is constantly trying to buy our attention, and Satan is readily attacking us with temptation. He longs to see us fail in life and in sports. His alluring nature and tempting spirit are hard to fight off, unless we are properly equipped. In Ephesians it says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (6:10-12, NIV).
January 29, 2008
Set:
Team Hoyt has completed 216 triathlons, 65 marathons, 718.6 milers and 81 half marathons. The team consists of a father and a son, Rick and Dick Hoyt. For 25 years, Dick (age 65) has been racing with his son Rick (age 45). People do this stuff all the time though right? What makes their story so amazing?
Rick Hoyt was born with his umbilical cord caught around his neck, causing the oxygen supply to his brain to be blocked. At eight months, Rick was labeled as a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Doctors told Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt that their son would never live a normal life; but they were determined to prove them wrong.
May 13, 2009
Set:
Following a sports legend is tough. Who could ever fill the shoes of Walter Payton, Magic Johnson, Nolan Ryan or Mia Hamm? Someone always has to. Who were the men and women who stepped in after the great ones were gone? I’m sure some of you sports buffs our there could tell us, but the point is that someone did take their place. Not without a little fear, though, I would imagine.
March 23, 2010
Set:
Is it possible that one man could have changed Mike Tyson’s problem-filled boxing career? Tyson believes his former trainer, mentor, and legal guardian Cus D’Amato, who died before he won the title in 1986, would have changed things. Tyson said, “It would have been totally different. Cus once told me, ‘You’re the kind of person who has to get hurt to learn.’ I didn’t understand he was talking about life…in the fight of life I am a pug, a palooka [a second-rate prize fighter].”
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: The game of hockey takes both aggressive work and smooth moves. To be too aggressive all the time will get you in the penalty box. Trying to be too smooth and passive all the time will just plain land you on your backside when you get into a battle. There are plays that call for the moves and plays that take extra hustle. It’s important to be ready for both.
