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Luke Ridnour credits his father for providing the earliest lessons about teamwork. Rob Ridnour coached high school basketball (including his son's team) before taking over as the head coach of the International Basketball League's Bellingham Slam. It was the elder Ridnour who instilled in his son some of those fundamental concepts about teamwork, such as sharing the ball and looking out for one another.
Despite not possessing any superb physical attributes, I discovered the Lord can still allow everyone to pursue their own path toward success. Not all men have been blessed with strong athletic physiques and growing up as a thin kid living on a cattle farm in western South Dakota, the odds were against me achieving any athletic success. However, the Lord had other plans for me!
In sports we put our bodies through the wringer. We study game film, review game plans, and tax ourselves mentally. All of it is done so that on game day, we are prepared to win. To achieve victory, we battle our way over virtual mountains, following our dreams—to get to the pot of gold.
Do we follow the same routine in our faith? We rigidly “train” by reading our Bibles, praying, witnessing, and attending church. We compete in “games” when we face setbacks, difficulties, and temptations. And we often do it with a militant attitude of struggling to get to the final pot of gold—heaven.
Needing just one win to secure a national championship, Oklahoma softball player Brianna Turang and her Sooner teammates devastatingly lost the final two games of the 2012 Women’s College World Series. Rather than dwelling on the past, the two-sport standout senior (also a member of OU’s soccer team) has committed to helping her team complete the mission this season while modeling her faith in her final year on OU’s campus.
See the international influence FCA is making in the Philippines
Football players come to camp and are handed a binder filled with plays, formations, and adjustments built to withstand any opponent during the season. A lot of work, foresight, and detail went into putting together what could be a championship playbook. However great a playbook may be, though, it is useless without memorization and proper execution.
One of a coach’s toughest jobs is telling athletes what they are doing wrong. Most coaches try to do it constructively, but even then many athletes will choose to ignore the instruction or make excuses, blaming everyone else for the problems they themselves have caused.
At the 70-mile mark I started to cramp up in my calves. I began to “super-hydrate,” attempting to prevent the inevitable. At about that point, there was a “bail out” where riders could take a short-cut to the finish line but not complete the full 105 miles. Determined to press on and complete the ride, I passed it.
This form enables coaches to write down a couple of prayer requests for which one of their staff teammates may pray during the coming week. The sheets are exchanged during the meeting and each participant has one person for which to pray and to encourage.
Part I
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e0027e7f3a2176389f7b
Obsession and Idolatry
FCA Softball grows through the influence of Jennie Finch, Dot Richardson, Leah O'Brien-Amico and Patty Gasso.
Goal
To show students that, much like having a workout partner who spots us while lifting weights and pushes us to do our best, we also need a partner who will help us to stick with our commitment to play drug free. Accountability will help them stick to their commitment.
Key Scriptures
Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 27:6, 17; 2 Timothy 4:2
Warm Up
In a small group, discuss or list things that normally do not need accountability to complete (like eating, sleeping) and discuss or list things that do need accountability (homework, working out). Have the groups report their findings to the entire group and explain why there is a difference between the two lists.
Someone starts out giving a testimony and everyone thinks it is for real. One by one people stand up in the crowd to correct him and his testimony. One says that praise and worship is the only way, another says tithing, another says legalism, another humility, etc. Before long you will have seven to eight people all arguing their perspective of Christ. Christ walks out and one by one acts out footwashing. As each one gets their feet washed, they stop arguing, drop their head and become silent. It ends with the original person still trying to give his testimony. He steps down after Christ washes his feet.
Dear Derek,
Today is the day you leave for college. As I pen this letter, I am confident that you are still asleep. I’m up early again, as usual, but my thoughts are on you, and I felt led to write them down.
As you take this next step on your journey I wanted to share some insights that might assist you along the way. I’ve heard it said that life is to be learned backwards and lived forward. My goal is to be transparent and share what I’ve learned through both my successes and failures. It is the desire of my heart, son, that you realize all your dreams as you live life forward.
I have been coaching for more than 20 years. After spending 17 of those coaching at the collegiate level, I decided to step down and enter the “slower paced” high school environment. To my surprise, I found out quickly that teaching and coaching at the high school level was just as challenging, time-consuming and hectic as coaching in college. In some ways, it is even more stressful, as I found myself running ragged trying to get everything done.
Much like “Frisbee Rugby.” In a large room that’s easy to clean, two teams each try to advance the banana over the opposite goal line. The banana can be advanced only by passing it. Players may take only 2 or 3 steps before throwing the banana. A team loses possession of the banana if a member takes more than the acceptable number of steps before throwing or if a throw becomes an incomplete pass. Have plenty of bananas on hand; they’re reduced to mush quickly. And spiking the banana after a score is not recommended.
From the little leagues to the professional ranks, success in sports is almost exclusively defined by wins and losses. Perhaps legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi summed it up best when he said, “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” In some respects, you could make a strong case for that belief. Winning often opens the doors to life-changing opportunity. On the other hand, the all-or-nothing attitude that is prevalent in today’s sports community has the potential to bring undeserved disappointment to those on the outside looking in.
Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.–Romans 12:21
Ready
Becky was the best player on her team. Every one wanted to play like Becky. She was a hard worker, but there was more to her than what people could see. On a road trip, the last freshman selected for the team that year broke her foot during a practice before a game. When they arrived at the hotel that night, Becky carried her teammate's bags to her room and asked her to stay with her. For the rest of the trip, Becky helped this little freshman with everything she needed.
The focus of this day is to understand that in order to GET a Mission in life, you must understand what truth is and where you can find it.
Fill out the following “Press Guide” with the top five things that are true about you (height, weight, position, favorite sport, favorite food, year in school, hobbies, number in family, etc.)
Share these things with a partner and discuss how you know the statements are true.
Walking Without Fear
Watch the video, then walk through the following questions:
Key Verse: Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand. –Isaiah 41:10
Spiritually speaking, there wasn’t much happening for most of my childhood until I was a freshman in high school. That’s when one of my dad's wrestling friends, the WWE’s Nikita Koloff, gave him a Christian book that began to stir his heart.
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