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She was ready to leave the locker room when a couple of friends called her over. "Try these," they said, as they offered her some small pills. "They give you energy and help you play better." Would she take the pills or turn them away?
Sound familiar? This is happening in our locker rooms, schools and hang-outs all over our communities. Student-athletes are fighting the social battles to get ahead and fit in. Many give in to the dare of this peer pressure.
My daughter likely receives more scrutiny playing sports than some other children do. As a parent, I tried to motivate her to be more aggressive and to play harder and use many tactics to do so. I tried having heart-to-heart conversations and even tried bribing her with a steak and shrimp dinner. I thought I had tried everything, but then I came up with another great idea. I would put her on a “Hustle Contract.”
The purpose of the Hustle Contract was to set some expectations for her effort. In my heart, I knew God was saying that He had a different, better way to do this. But I didn’t listen. I went ahead with the Hustle Contract anyway.
This PowerPoint presentation communicates the FCA Vision, Mission and Values and describes the ministries of FCA: Coaches, Campus, Camp, Community.
Plot of Skit:
Each person has an occupation that they would be if they weren't huddle leaders.
This is just a funny skit that gives all the huddle leaders a chance to be up front.
All of them sing the song with just one person at a time singing the last part…”a
farmer I would be. Give, Bessie, give. My baby's got to live.” Then they all do
their individual lines before repeating and adding another person.
Characters: As many as you want
Listed below is the song and some examples for you to use.
If I weren't a huddle leader, I'll tell you what I'd be.
If I weren't a huddle leader, a ________ I would be.
In every sport, coaches teach their athletes what they need to do and how they need to do it in order to have success. As believers in Christ, this is what God does for us, as well through His Word, the Bible.
A coach is never happier than when an athlete experiences success by performing in a game what they were taught to do in practice. You've seen how excited the defensive line coaches get in football—jumping up and down, head slapping, chest bumping, high-fiving his athletes the moment after they made a big sack.
As I write these devotions, I always try to challenge the readers with the questions at the end. I find myself beginning my final questions with "start today" or "today, how can you start…" In a society that is so goal-oriented, we sure procrastinate a lot. Why do something today that can wait until tomorrow? We say, "It can wait," or "I will have time later to get to it." Is it because we are self-serving, or because we simply aren't willing to do what it takes TODAY to make necessary changes in our lives?
As a player, some of my worst games came on the heels of a good game, a game where I performed either up to or beyond expectations. I guess that’s why, as a coach, I was always wary of the game following a big win. Would the team still keep their edge, or would they approach the next game with a little less urgency? Confidence is good, but overconfidence can make a team vulnerable.
God warns us of becoming overconfident spiritually. Through Christ we have everything we need to live the Christian life, but often we’re the most vulnerable to temptation when we appear at our strongest. That’s when we often let down our guard, relying on our own strength instead of on Christ.
Goal
To help students gain a better understanding of true repentance and God’s forgiveness; and to help students get back on track if they have broken their commitment to saying “no” to alcohol, drugs or tobacco.
Key Scriptures
Luke 22:54-61; Acts 3:19
Warm Up
As the group comes in, ask each person to find one person and share his/her most embarrassing moment in sports. (i.e. dropping a pass in the playoffs, shooting a game-losing airball, etc.).
Watch
Show the Week 9 video — “Failure”
Workout
I grew up in Slidell, La., about 30 miles away from New Orleans and the area's famed Bayou Country. My paternal grandfather was a minister who preached faith in God and a strong work ethic. He instilled those values in my father, Gene, who faithfully passed them on to my older brother, Bryan, and me.
As kids, Bryan and I really benefited from our dad's wisdom. Our family attended church every week at Hartzell Mount Zion Church in Slidell, and that was where I placed my faith in Christ when I was 15 years old.
It was the biggest decision of my life: What was I going to be when I grew up? I was a junior in high school, and I felt like I had to decide what college to attend and what my major would be. And to those pressure-packed questions I added the anxiety of getting a high score on my ACTs. I remember thinking, "How can I make such big decisions? There are so many choices! How will I know what to choose?"
Texas A&M forward Adaora Elonu may have been born and raised in Houston, but her childhood was also influenced by more than just the Texas culture—specifically, her family’s Nigerian roots and her parents’ desire to raise their five children as Christ-followers. Now a senior with the defending NCAA National Champion Aggies, Elonu is working to establish a legacy of her own—one of both basketball brilliance and spiritual impact.
As a basketball coach, I’ve always put a big emphasis on communication among our team during practice on the court because, without it, players seem lost. It’s frustrating as a coach to watch mistakes occur when all it takes is a little talking to one another to get things corrected. I sometimes stop practice and ask the kids why they can get in trouble for talking in class, or how they can talk for hours on their cell phones, but when it comes to communicating on the court, they just won’t do it.
Coach Jeremy Williams led his Greenville High School Patriots to an undefeated regular season in football this year—an accomplishment in and of itself that deserved recognition—but this wasn’t about his win-loss record. The reason Williams was named the West Central Georgia FCA Coach of the Year was because of his unyielding, unending desire to share Christ’s love with others, even as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) slowly and methodically destroyed his body.
There is a lot of information to be digested in this lesson. Take your time to discuss the points where needed. Let the Spirit of God speak to your heart. Practically, it may be best to read the chapter first. Then, use the bullet points for clarification and discussion.
God Provides an Answer to the Vision
Read Daniel 11:2-12:13. The prophecy in this chapter is very detailed about events in the future. The accuracy and fulfillment of these events have led many skeptics to believe that this portion of Daniel was written by someone else after all the events occurred, but I am not a skeptic!
Here are some thoughts on the historical fulfillment of this vision:
One of my favorite aspects of the game of basketball is the pivot. Although it is a simple concept, it allows for a big impact on the offensive end. One foot must stay grounded, and the other can be extended a bit out in front or to the side and move around to create good passes, space, effective jabs and fakes, and give you an ability to slow down and see what’s open. Without pivoting, it’s difficult to make much happen.
Provide your Huddle members with a deck of playing cards or note cards. Tell them they must create a card house with at least two levels to it. (They will soon discover the difficulty in establishing the foundation level, not to mention the upper level.)
After some time has passed, use their experiences to emphasize the parable of The Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27). Compare the house built on sand to the card houses that kept falling down –– our lives without Christ as the builder. Then compare the card houses that did stand to those with the solid foundation of rock –– Christ as the careful and masterful builder of our lives.
Although Grace Johnson isn’t balancing on the beam anymore, the former All-American gymnast from the University of Georgia is as close to the sport as she’s ever been. Only now, instead of doing handsprings herself, she’s teaching others. The athletes she now coaches at the Oconee Gymnastics Center in Watkinsville, Georgia, are reaping the benefits of not only high-quality gymnastics training, but also many of the spiritual and life lessons that Johnson learned during her own time on the floor.
During his Major League career, New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira has established himself as one of the premiere players in the game. The switch-hitting slugger lists two-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove award winner, three-time Silver Slugger award winner and World Series champion among many other records and accomplishments on his résumé.
Key Verse:
So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.
Genesis 1:27
There is a place where a person can go when life gets complicated — a place where he can feel completely at ease and safe from the big, bad world. It is a wonderful place where one feels at home not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Life is easy there. Life is good.
That place is called Comfort Zone. Yet, in spite of its welcoming title, it’s often located at the address of 1000 MissedBlessingsAndOpportunities Dr., in the city of Half-Lived, Life.
Dayton Moore remembers his comfort zone.
Ministry
Sport
Book of the Bible
FCA Bible Topic
