Every day, I run across the same busy bridge without sidewalks. Once, as I saw a car coming, I scooted to the guardrail, expecting they would slide toward the center lane. Nope. They stayed fully in their lane, flew past me, and nearly clipped off my arm! I whipped around shouting angrily. They didn’t hear me (a good thing).

Why hadn’t they moved over? I thought angrily. It’s not that difficult to see a runner coming straight toward you. Where’s the common courtesy? I always accommodate a runner on the road!

We know them well—athletes who, at first, worked hard and gave the credit to God for their success. But then as success increased, giving God the glory decreased. It happens all the time—the once humble athlete asks for more of the world and less of God. Pride takes over!

King Uzziah was one of these men. Under the spiritual influence of Zechariah, Uzziah sought the Lord and was blessed. But Uzziah started to focus more on himself and less on God. He became powerful quickly and quickly forgot who got him to that point. He became so proud and brash that he entered the temple and tried to do things only the priests were allowed to do.

In just his fourth full season in the Major Leagues, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has already become a household name. After winning the 2011 NL Cy Young Award, the then 23-year-old joined the ranks of all-time Dodger greats Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser, and he recently became just the fifth pitcher in franchise history to strike out more than 200 batters in three consecutive seasons.

John reminds us to focus on God, and not think highly of ourselves. I once spoke at an event for a large number of kids. Before me, another speaker fumbled through his words in a monotone voice. As I listened, my sinful side said, “Dude, those kids are going to love you compared to this guy.” I couldn’t believe what I was thinking. My pride rose up and I hadn’t even stepped on stage. I was soon reminded, it’s not about me. The host introduced me as a youth pastor—which I’m not; and in the closing prayer, thanked God for me—using the wrong name. I drove home laughing. Those kids had no idea who I was or where I worked.

As a young coach I was blessed with good players and quick success. Although people told me what a good coach I was, I considered the really great coach to be in the local junior high. Phil Hodson was the Wilbur Shooterfly (Hoosiers) of my day. He had an incredible knowledge of the game. One day after winning our seventh or eighth game in a row, he pulled me aside. I was expecting him to tell me I did a great job. Instead, he let me have it. He told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear.

There are two sayings that I have heard hundreds of times in my life. One is, “You can’t tell a book by its cover” and the second is an advertising statement, “It’s what’s up front that counts.” I would like to take a little liberty with those two statements, applying them to the world of sports. I think that anyone who has played baseball can attest to the fact that “you can’t tell a baseball by its cover” and “It’s what’s inside that counts.”

In athletics we do a good job of misusing the verb need. We need a win. We need new uniforms. We need this player to play well. We need to raise this much with our fund-raiser. We need to have everyone at workouts.

The only problem is we are not looking at the verb need right. When we use need, we use it to mean something we would like to have. All of the situations above are things any coach or athlete would like to have. Who would not like new uniforms every season? We should use need a little differently.

In volleyball, or in any sport, running a timed mile is not unusual. The other day I had butterflies in my stomach wondering if I could make it in the eight-minute time frame. If I didn't, I wouldn't even be considered for the team. I was praying for strength and quickness. When the coach said, "Go," and we all began, the words "strive, stretch, strain, succeed" began running repeatedly through my head.

Every day as coaches, we face many decisions that will affect our team. We need to deal with everything from what to do at practice, to who should be the starters in the next game. Some decisions are bigger than others, but they all have some bearing on our team. Every once in a while we may find ourselves in a position where we have no clue what decision to make or how to resolve an issue. It is at those times that we turn to assistant coaches, athletic directors, and others for help.