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.
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The Focus of the Eyes

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.
Luke 6:27

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.
Coaching with Zeal

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.
Going, Going... Gone

Horsepower

There had not been an undefeated Kentucky Derby winner since Seattle Slew did it in 1977. Fans watching the 2004 Kentucky Derby saw a Pennsylvania-bred horse named Smarty Jones, with a trainer and a jockey who were both rookies, end the 27-year drought by winning the race, running the horse’s record to 7–0. Jockey Stewart Elliott later said:
"It is just unbelievable. We bunched up a bit on the first turn but things turned out great. It was a good trip. I crossed the wire and I can’t explain it; there aren’t words to describe it. At the three-eighths pole, I knew I had a loaded gun underneath me. I was just going to sit until he straightened up and switched leads. He really went to running."
Spiritual Twinkies

Light It Up

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.
No "I" in Team

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.”
Six Percent

A recent study reports that only 6 percent of teens today believe that moral truth is absolute. I knew it wouldn’t be high, but that’s really low. Not good. Young people today are basically saying that life is a sliding scale. Truth has become relative because it all depends on the situation.
In the world of athletics, there are many truths that cannot be relative, such as wins and losses. Imagine if every athlete defined winning differently—one by score, one by hustle, one by the best fans, and so on. It would be chaos! Fortunately—or unfortunately—winning is defined by the scoreboard. Life without truths, absolutes and boundaries leads to chaos.
Drew Brees Study Series - Part 2

This weekend, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will lead his team onto the field to take on the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. In a recent interview with FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine, Brees talked about faith lessons from the field.
Today, the Daily Impact Play will feature part two of Sharing the Victory’s four-part video study series based on the interview. Click the video link below to watch the clip and then answer the questions. Finish by reading the related Scripture and asking God to work in your heart as a result of what you’ve learned.
Watch the video
Luke 6:31

Hockey Chat: Knowing what to count on from your line mates also helps them to know what to count on from you. You’ve probably seen guys that work great together and always seem to be in the right place. That’s because the treat their linemate as an extension of themselves by being where they are needed and making the play happen knowing that others will be there too.
One Life

The life of a young person today is much different than it was 10-20 years ago. But as our campers share this week with their Huddle Leaders, it is obvious that the same problems are still there and are big as ever. Trying to figure out what life to live proves to be troublesome for many of them.
Pray "Right" Now!

2 Timothy 1:7

Hockey Chat: There is a term in hockey known as being “back on your heels”. It means to be playing lazily and timidly. Hockey is not a game for the weak hearted because it takes desire to want the puck, strength to work and win board battles, and clear mindedness to know the right plays to make.
Fatherless

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].”
The Real Head Coach

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.
Success
In today’s world it seems like every one defines success in numbers of wins and losses. Not everyone is going to win all the time so it is not a very good measure of success. With all the pressure put on players and coaches to put up the big win numbers we are all losing sight of why we really play the game.
John Wooden defines success as, “the peace of mind that is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming”. How many times have you seen people wanting success but not wanting to put the work in to achieving it? I like to work out on the stationary bike and treadmill.
Matthew 9:16

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.
Get Focused!

When I was 9 years old, I got a new pair of shoes and immediately wanted to race everyone in my neighborhood because I thought they would help me run faster. On one particular day, I dusted everyone who dared to step to the starting line, except one person . . . my own mother! “On your marks…Get set…Go!” I ran as fast as I could, and I even had a small lead. But when I decided to turn back and smile at my friends, my mom blew right past me! Can you imagine how embarrassed I was to get beat in a foot race by my own mom? That was also the day I found out Mom had run track in college at the University of the Pacific. (I joke that she should’ve been disqualified for having an unfair advantage!)
Throwing the Bomb

During this past off season NFL quarterback Brett Favre found himself in the middle of a sports controversy. As the events played out regarding Farve and the personnel of the Green Bay Packers, it became apparent that Favre harbored some hurt feelings and resentment toward his former team.
Sometimes we can be offended by what someone asks us to do or by what they say to us. How are we to respond in times like these? Well, as I watched Brett Favre hurl a bomb downfield to a speeding receiver this weekend, I gained a little more understanding of what God wants us to do in these situations.
The Needs of the Team

It’s been a while since I was in high school, but I still vividly recall one day during my junior year. It was the day my coach called me into his office and told me he was moving me from fullback to tackle. As a sophomore, I had weighed 200 pounds and was pretty fast. I gained 35 pounds over the summer and was a little slower at that weight. The coach told me I was too good of a player to sit on the bench, but that I was now too slow to be a running back. He asked me to make a personal sacrifice and move to a new position on the line so that I could help the team have a chance at the conference title.
2 Peter 1:5

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.
God’s Playbook

Do Unto Others

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