So in light of the “new game” that is upon us I thought I
would give a bit of a pre-game pep talk to get us ready. You see a coach always
knows there are things to learn from and improve on. I love watching the
reporters when they interview coaches after a big win; they always make a
remark about how the coach is never satisfied, and they are right. We need to
learn to be content but always should be striving to move forward.
There is a fine line between forgetting the last game and
learning from it. We definitely don’t want to dwell in the past but instead use
it to be better in the future. So a coach evaluates and shares with the team
many different aspects:
·
What we did right / how we can improve on it /
will it work with the next opponent we face
·
What we did wrong / how we can avoid it / will we
face similar pressure from the next opponent
·
Was the last game a complete effort
But the problem with preparing for a future opponent is
that we don’t know the variables:
·
Will they run the same offense / defense they
normally do
·
What players may be injured for them / or for us
·
How will the refs call the game
As a coach I have found that, although I like seeing us
ahead on a scoreboard, I try not to coach to the scoreboard. What I mean by
that is that I don’t determine our success by the scoreboard. Yes we pursue the
win (which is the point of playing a game that keeps score); but we realize
that the quality of the opponent can make the scoreboard an unreliable gauge.
So how does this coaching mumbo-jumbo relate to a
devotion for the upcoming year?
First a simple truth… don’t make all your resolutions be
about the scoreboard! If all you are concerned with is health, wealth, and
happiness I warn you that there are many variables that you cannot control.
(i.e. Injury, illness, market crashes, boneheaded decisions by others, etc.) I
am not saying we shouldn’t strive for greater things, just that we should keep
it in proper perspective.
For example, at the beginning of 2015 I found myself in
horrible physical shape. It didn’t help that I was in FL (as I am now) visiting
family and every time I went to the beach people were trying to rescue me by
push me back out to sea… I decide that I needed to diet and get my weight under
control! For half of “the game” I played “slow down” offense at meal time; the
results were amazing as I was losing a ton of weight. Around “half-time” the
pace of the game started to change as we hit the road for our summer ministry
tour. The great things was that I could “speed up” even at meal time because I found
myself able to run a little more and even amp up my time on the court a little
bit. But then the unexpected happened and by the end of the “3rd quarter”
found myself injured and unable to run / play; and unfortunately I failed to “slow
down the offense” at the table as I had done early in “the game” and the result
was truly an “offensive game.” I lost over 50 lbs. during the first 3 quarters
of 2015, only to re-locate 20 of them in this last quarter… Therefore gotta
tweak the “game plan” for 2016.
John Wooden realized as a coach that he couldn’t always
account for the opponent so he typically didn’t even scout them. He decided
that being the best they could be at what they do was enough; and that if
another team happened to be better on the scoreboard one night, so be it! In
fact he didn’t define success by things at the end of the season like wins,
losses, or even championships; he defined it by the daily pursuit of being one’s
best.
Here are a couple of maxims I use in training:
·
When I look in the mirror at the end of the day
what do I see - a tired but proud and victorious look that is a result of hard
work and accomplishment - or the tired defeated look of a quitter?
·
When I lie down at night what do I feel - the
physical pain that is a result of hard work and accomplishment or the emotional
pain of a quitter? (The first one goes away very quickly; the latter leads to a
lifetime of regret!)
In 2016 I hope that you win each day! Do that by being
prepared for whatever the “opponent” throws at you… how do you do that? Commit
to daily resolutions not yearly
resolutions:
·
Daily time in the Word!
·
Daily time in prayer!
·
Daily time in serving others (physically and
spiritually)
In fact, why wait until 2016? That would be wasting a few
days… start today! You only have today
to Go MAD (Make A Difference)!
James 4:13-17 (The Message) is very to the point on
simply doing what is right in the now…
“And now I have a word for you who brashly
announce, ‘Today – at the latest tomorrow – we’re off to such and such a city
for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.’ You don’t
know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching
a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, ‘If
the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.’ As it is,
you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is
evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for
you, is evil.”
Win the day! Make today a success! (And you will find at
the end of the year you will have done great things!) Do what is right, right
now!
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