September 23, 2019 - “Playing tired = poor performance!”

This week’s ponderings are the result of discussions I had this weekend with one of our InBounds coaches… and to be fully transparent, my personal and present state of mind… trying to rush and get things in…


As a coach it is imperative that you “read” where your players heads are at… it is easy to get frustrated when a player is making uncharacteristic mistakes in a game or practice… or maybe he is not dealing with his teammates or even the coaching staff well… or maybe he simply seems out of it.


I believe the number one reason players “get stupid” is fatigue. The simple rule is that “Playing tired = poor performance!”


This is true in all areas of life… I try to remind teachers of this when students are acting out… or parents… and I even remind kids/students/players that their leaders are human and subject to the same rule. (Spend time with an infant and you will see this in its purest form… I took my granddaughters to Alabama this weekend to surprise Lisa’s parents. The oldest of the two is just a year and 4 months. She did AWESOME, even on the long 8-hour road trip (each direction); awesome, except when she would start getting sleepy… and then we were all very aware that she no longer wanted to be in her car seat.)


Honestly it didn’t take my granddaughter crying to remind me of this truth… I had been corresponding with my co-laborer Coach Trenton Green, he has recently completed his time with InBounds as an intern and is faithfully serving in ministry back in his home state of Alabama. A group of young people he works with were faced with issues this past week as they realized that they were worn out… Trenton contacted me to ask me what I thought, yet before I could try to give some guidance Trenton started sending Scripture to me and simply asking, “would this be good to share with my friends?” (So, in essence he is helping write this week’s devotion.) Check out these Biblical reminders… (I’m going to use The Message paraphrase because it gives great description to why Trenton mentioned these verses.)


Mark 6:30-31 The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. Jesus said, “Come off by yourselves; let’s take a break and get a little rest.” For there was constant coming and going. They didn’t even have time to eat.

(Trenton’s commentary he sent me, “Once they rested, they were able to serve accordingly.”)


Psalm 127:2 It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late and work your fingers to the bone. Don’t you know He enjoys giving rest to those He loves?


As I was driving through the afternoon and evening, I was trying to think about what I was going to write on tonight… I was planning for trying to do something that is good… yet I said I would be transparent… the longer I drove the more irritable and negative my thoughts turned. This tired old man was ready to say forget about this week’s devotion. (We’ve been doing these every Monday since the beginning of 2002… and fatigue started distorting my thoughts! Then as my granddaughter got a bit “crazy” and I thought about how I was a bit “crazy,” I remembered the conversations I had been having with Trenton about fatigue making us “play stupid”!


Get rest my friends!!!

September 16, 2019 - Too Much Dribbling is Selfish!

I’ve written in the past about my favorite basketball trainer… his name is Jason Otter (check out otterbasketball.com) and I think he is the best because the gets the most out of his players. I think the secret to his success as a trainer is very basic… efficiency… he trains players to avoid unnecessary movement… avoid wasted movement. I have watched many trainers that are really good at teaching skills (and I do ok at it), yet Jason has tapped into ways that gets players to function at peak performance… where even average athletes seem to be a step ahead.


Jason teaches in a way that the smallest movements are analyzed and speed of executing the skill I maximized. On a bigger scale, we as coaches do that to an extent when we discuss things like not overdribbling… if you can get to the rim in one bounce, why take 3 or 4?  Taking extra dribbles is not against the rules… not “wrong”; yet just because it is “right” doesn’t mean it is “right!”


I guess my question this week is, “do you want to be a step ahead in life?” Have you evaluated your day to see how efficient you are living? Are there things that may be “right” but are keeping you from reaching your goals?

Just a quick reminder this week:

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being. (1 Corinthians 10:23)


Taking “extra dribbles” is a selfish way to play! It could hurt the team by wasting time and not getting to the goal… The Scriptures are clear that we need to evaluate our lives and live in such a way as to make the “team” better!