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January 01, 2009
Set:
If you’ve never heard of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, don’t feel too badly. Even National Basketball Association (NBA) point guard Luke Ridnour, the town’s most famous product, wouldn’t expect many people to know much (if anything) about his birthplace.
Even though its population is anything but tiny (as of the 2006 census, there were a little over 41,000 inhabitants), only those living in the northwestern United States tend to know much about the city that sits along the edge of the scenic Coeur d’Alene National Forest. And it was in Coeur d’Alene that Ridnour first fell in love with the game of basketball. He lived there until he was seven years old and recalls attending a Christian school where his mother was a teacher.
May 25, 2005
Set:
In working with a college Huddle, I hear many struggles and things that the athletes are going through. The pressures of athletic competition are tough, and many athletes turn to the wrong things. They hide their struggles in various places--the internet, a bottle or other things much worse. But they need to know that there is hope!
January 13, 2010
Set:
Coach Sleepy Thompson was one of those coaches that everyone wanted to play for. He not only knew how to win football games, but also how to develop young men. As my high school football coach, I remember him as an encourager—a coach that instilled life into his players. We walked a little taller as a result of his living out one of his favorite sayings, “Accentuate the positive.” A day would not go by without Coach Thompson reminding us of that principle. It was short and sweet and yielded powerful results. He stressed accentuating the positive at every practice and made it an essential characteristic of our team. He focused on the good in players instead of the bad; the future instead of the past. His words gave us purpose and meaning.
March 21, 2010
Set:
Lo-debar was a frontier town east of Jordan that controlled a crucial plateau. Although a remote place, Lo-debar was an important route to the interior of the Bashan-Giliad area. Lo-debar was strategically located but not a desirable place to live. It was a town belonging to the tribe of Gad, a tribe that was committed to aiding the king of Israel whenever he needed help. Lo-debar was the town where the Philistines killed King Saul and his son Jonathan, and it became a Philistine stronghold. Later it became the headquarters of King David during the rebellion of his son Absalom. All things considered, it was not the most desirable place to live.
March 27, 2012
Set:
As athletes, what we put into our bodies is very important. The pregame meal may be the most important meal we eat during the day. We have to make sure we get enough energy to last through the entire competition. This is our last chance to get the fuel we need.
In John, Jesus talks about a different kind of fuel. He tells us of work that will actually GIVE us energy instead of using it. Doing God's work will give us the fuel we need in order to succeed in the game of life. But just what is this work that we should be doing? In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells us very plainly: We are to go out among the nations and build His Kingdom.
October 02, 2006
Set:
After 12 straight losing seasons, Detroit Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski hired Jim Leyland to manage the team in 2006. Even thought the Tigers limped through the last week of the season, losing their last five games and getting swept by the Kansas City Royals, not only did they still have a winning season, but they also secured a spot in the playoffs -- something that had not happened since 1987. While Leyland was quick to deflect the credit toward the players, Dombrowski said of him, "He's just a great manager. He's just what we needed."
May 24, 2010
Set:
My first college football coach had three rules. 1: Walk on the sidewalk. He said if we were supposed to walk on the grass, God would not have created concrete for us to walk on. 2: Don’t wear your hat inside. Wearing a hat inside will make you lose your hair. 3: Do whatever Coach tells you to do. Rule #3 pretty much covered everything else in our lives.
Like every set of rules, there were both good and bad consequences depending on whether or not we followed them. One positive consequence was that a young man could end up with an NFL contract after playing football for Coach. One negative consequence was that a young man could find his scholarship taken away the third time he broke the team rules—any of them.
February 14, 2012
Set:
Coaches like having things done their way. They will let their assistants teach some, but with the important things, the head coach will usually take the lead. Coaches teach young athletes and pound their game plan into their heads over and over again until it becomes second nature. It’s just what they do.
As coaches and athletes, when it comes to sharing Christ with our team, why do we leave it up to the youth pastor or chaplain or someone else? Moses was given a game plan by the Lord to teach the Israelites. The Lord told Moses, “I am giving you the words to teach them.” It was on the shoulders of Moses to pass God’s Word on to generations to come. Moses knew he had to succeed for the Lord.
February 29, 2012
Set:
Today we get to experience an event that only comes around once every four years. We are receiving one precious extra day in honor of Leap Year. A few days ago, I found myself talking with co-workers about what I would do with the extra day. They all know me pretty well and assumed I would fill it with triathlon training. Either that or take a day and let my body rest from all the abuse I put it through with swimming, cycling and running.
February 15, 2011
Set:
As an athlete, I get hungry after a workout. We all do! If we don't eat, it affects everything we do. We get lazy and don't want to do anything. An average human needs to eat at least every four to five hours.
The same mindset we have for eating actual food should also be the mindset we have for taking in God's Word. His Word has to be honey to our lips and water to our souls. If we go too long without eating spiritual food we will turn to desires of the flesh to satisfy those internal needs.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: When a hockey player pulls that jersey over his head, he takes on a different identity. He may be a great guy and friend to all, but to the opponent he is now the enemy and they have to stop him. He can’t be in the game, play on his team, and be loved by the other team. He has an identity with the team he is on and that stirs adversity with the opposition.
October 07, 2005
Set:
The time-out. What a great tool! When you realize that your athletes are becoming unnerved, out of breath and in need of a break, a time-out is a great way to stop, reenergize, refocus, reward and reassure them. Something as simple as a water break time-out to reenergize your team is all it takes to get them going again. In the same way, our “thirst” for God requires that we take time-outs in our lives in order to be reenergized by our Coach, Jesus Christ.
December 23, 2010
Set:
Several years ago, I was given a North Face-brand fleece and coat as a Christmas gift. Most people are familiar with the North Face brand and know that it’s top-of-the-line and made to last a lifetime. In fact, the company backs up its products with a guarantee to make repairs or replace the item at no cost.
September 02, 2009
Set:
As a defensive player in soccer, I often hear the phrase: "When in doubt, kick it out." In soccer, if you mess around with the ball in the back, it can result in a point for the opposing team. And that is bad! So, when a ball comes to those of us on defense and we are unsure whether or not we have time to pass it, we kick it out.
In life, we sometimes have things that we think might be impure, but we are not really sure, so we keep them in our lives. Keeping impure things in our lives, however, separates us from God and hurts our witness.
July 25, 2011
Set:
Alcatraz. The very name conjures up thoughts of hopelessness. This prison sits on an island in the middle of the frigid San Francisco Bay, covered in fog and mystique. It's a foreboding place to visit, but a great place from which to escape.
A few summers ago, a group of FCA Endurance athletes joined about 1,800 others in the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon. We were taken on a boat to the island, and after they dropped anchor, they opened the side doors and yelled, “Go!” We spilled out like paratroopers into the black, choppy, 55-degree water and swam as fast as we could across the 1.5 mile channel. After that tiring swim, we then biked 18 miles of hills and finished off with an 8-mile trail run. It was an absolutely intense experience.
April 26, 2012
Set:
Imagine running a race with your jeans hanging low or while wearing bagging sweat pants. You'll either wind up tripping or waddling like a penguin. Regardless, you are sure to lose the race. However, if you are serious about winning, you will do all that you can to keep yourself from tripping or being slowed down.
Second Timothy 2:4 says, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” The Greek word “empleko” refers to a person who is tangled up in his or her garments or caught in some type of vine. This word was used to describe someone who was running and got his clothes entangled in his legs.
October 09, 2008
Set:
There’s something about purpose, something about buying into the concept of destiny that inherently evens the odds.
Nowhere will you find more examples of this principle than in the Bible, where unlikely heroes saved entire nations. Moses was a self-conscious exile with a speech problem, yet God used him to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. David was an undersized shepherd boy living under the shadow of his strong, able-bodied older brothers; still he was empowered to kill the mammoth Philistine warrior Goliath and rescue his people from certain defeat. Mary was a teenage girl from a nondescript lineage, but God called her to be the mother of Jesus, the Savior of the world.
September 01, 2006
Set:
Our school's football team began a voluntary conditioning program three weeks before the official start of the season. The program ran four days a week and saw nearly every returning player and many trying out for the first time attend every session--not because they were told they had to, but because they wanted to be there.
October 07, 2005
Set:
In 1982, the Miami Dolphins football team faced the New England Patriots at Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Snow began to fall during the game, and by the fourth quarter the wintry conditions had contributed to a scoreless tie. But late in the game, the Patriots drove down the field and came within field-goal range, where a successful kick would likely win the game. The New England coach ordered a snowplow to clear a spot for the kicking team, enabling the kicker to set his foot firmly on the turf. As a result, he kicked the game-winning field goal.
October 09, 2008
Set:
When sports fans think about hockey—and in particular the NHL—there’s no telling what imagery might come to mind.
For some, hockey is all about the pinpoint passing skills. For others, it’s the forceful nature of the slap shot. Some might even reference the catlike prowess of the ever-alert goalkeepers, and their distinctive protective gear and colorful masks. Of course, most can’t talk about hockey without mentioning the bone-crushing cross-checks into the boards or those legendary (if not mandatory) nightly brawls.
December 01, 2008
Set:
By most accounts, Kay Yow shouldn’t be one of the greatest women’s basketball coaches of all time. History alone presents many reasons why her rise to legendary status was improbable at best.
December 03, 2012
Set:
I think there are two kinds of athletes, the humble and those who will be humbled. While an athlete needs to see the correlation between preparation and achievement, one must acknowledge, “every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). This is why coaches may be more nervous coming off a big win than a tough loss. Athletes have a tendency to get an inflated view of themselves.
October 07, 2005
Set:
We’ve all said it: The secret to success is practice, practice, practice. Sometimes we’ll put the word “perfect” in front of all of those “practices” to nail down an even more effective plan. We all know that without practice we’ll never reach the level of play that we desire.
When I was in high school, I trusted my coaches completely, so I practiced whatever they told me to. I desired success, which helped me to listen to them and heed their advice. In the same way, when we read that Paul urges us to “do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,” we would be wise to heed his advice. A quick scan of the context reveals some of what Paul would want us to put into practice:
August 31, 2006
Set:
Competitive toughness is something all athletes strive for. Tennis legend Chris Evert once said, "Competitive toughness is an acquired skill, not an inherited gift." The ability to be tough mentally and physically in sports today is something that athletes have to work for daily. For example, just because your parents may have been great athletes does not mean it will come to you, as well. You have to work on it.
August 26, 2010
Set:
Even though it’s bad thinking, we do it all the time. We see someone succeed in the athletic world, and we automatically jump to the conclusion that they are successful for two main reasons: natural talent and hard work.
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