Week 5 Devotional | Choices

 CHOICES

“A man reaps what he sows.”

Antonio Neves was a walk-on track athlete at a D1 school in Michigan. Being a walk-on is a tough position to be in because you are good enough to be on the team, but you haven't proven yourself enough for the coach to invest money in your education. So, you have to work every day to prove yourself and earn your spot.

Antonio said that one day his coach told him something that changed his life. There were two All-Americans on the team, and Antonio's coach asked him why he never CHOSE  to spend time with or train with them. Antonio said that those two guys were different from the rest of the team. They CHOSE to train differently, they CHOSE to eat differently, and they CHOSE to study differently. To hang out with them meant that he had to make a CHOICE to live differently and make different CHOICES.

In Galatians 6, the Bible says that a man reaps what he sows. If we make good CHOICES, good things happen. Every CHOICE that we make either gets us closer to our goals or farther from our goals.

In Luke chapter 5, Jesus saw two boats sitting in a lake, got in one of them, and He began teaching people from the boat. When He was done teaching, Jesus asked his disciple Simon to put their fishing nets out deeper into the lake to catch fish. Simon said that they had been fishing all night and they hadn't caught anything. But because of Jesus and His leadership, Simon did what he was told.

Even though they were tired and frustrated, they made the CHOICE to listen to and follow Jesus, and when they put the nets deeper into the lake, they caught so much fish that their nets began to break.

Being great is hard. It takes trust in your coaches and leaders, and it takes you going deeper and digging deeper. It takes you making the CHOICE to commit more to your goals, your dreams, and your work ethic. Being great and getting closer to Jesus requires you to make the CHOICE to do what you need to do, even when (and especially when) it is not what you feel like doing.

Every time that you make the CHOICE do what's right when you don't feel like it, you are growing. Making the right CHOICE isn't always easy, but if we want to be the best we can be, then we have to be able to go deeper than what we want, think and feel. We have to CHOOSE to do what we KNOW is right.

I don't always feel like CHOOSING to show up early and getting pre-practice work in. I don't always feel like CHOOSING to run around the block for conditioning on the weekend. I don't always feel like CHOOSING to stretch at night, or CHOOSING to drink more water, or CHOOSING to go above and beyond. But I know that making the right CHOICES is important, so I make the right and decision to do so even when (and especially when) I don’t feel like it.

Life is all about CHOICES. We can CHOOSE to do what we feel like doing, regardless if it makes us better, or we can CHOOSE to go deeper than our feelings and do what we need to do to get us closer to our goals.

Jesus's disciples had been fishing all night. They were tired and frustrated. But when He told them to go further and go deeper, they did. Because they did, they caught more fish than they could handle. Jesus then told them to not be afraid and that they will fish for people. They made the CHOICE to follow Him.

What CHOICES are you going to make this week?

This Week

1 - Celebrate the good choices that we make. What is one area of your life where you feel like you make good choices?

2 - What is one area of your life where you feel like you can make better choices?

3 - What is one thing that you are going to do differently this week?

4 - Who is one person in your life that you admire? How can you spend more time with that person and learn more about that person?

Extra Reading: 4 - Read Luke 5:1-11 to see how Jesus called on His first disciples and asked them to make the CHOICE to go further and deeper despite the frustrations that they were already having.

5 - Read Galatians 6:1-10 to read how we reap what we sow and how we all have the opportunity to do good to all people.

For a Google doc version of this, click here: Week 5 Devotional | Choices

Thieves and Allies

There are two types of people: thieves and allies.

Thieves steal your time, energy, joy, and dreams. Allies are people who fill you up and make you better. Look at the people that you spend most of your time with. Do you spend more time with thieves or allies? Do the people you hang around have the same goals as you? Are they good role models? Do they make you better?

Antonio Neves is an author and speaker, and he told a story about his time as a walk-on college track athlete at Western Michigan. Being a walk-on can be tough. You aren't guaranteed a spot on the team, you don't have a scholarship, and you can be cut at any moment. Every single day, you have to show up ready to work, give your best, and bring value to the team to earn your stay. He said that one conversation with his head coach completely changed his life. The coach said to him, "Antonio, you are doing horrible. In the two years that you have been on the team, not once have I seen you spend any time with our All-Americans."

They had two All-Americans on the track team. One went on to compete in the Olympics, and the other spent time competing for world championships.

His coach continued by saying, "Instead, you are spending time with "those" guys. Those guys were good guys but they were not All-Americans."

Neves said that his coach was right. He didn't spend time with the All-Americans because they got up earlier than he did, they ate better than he did, and they weren't at all the parties that he went to because they were more committed to being great. He didn't do all of the extra reps that they were doing, and it was easier for him to spend his time with the other people.

Thieves are people in our lives who don't make us better. They don't encourage us, they don't inspire us, they don't challenge us, they don't push us, and they don't hold us accountable to be the absolute best version of ourselves. They might not be bad people, but they are thieves because they take something from us without putting something back in.

Spend your time with allies. Spend your time with people who encourage you, inspire you, challenge you, push you and hold you accountable to being the absolute best version of yourself.

Think about the last 30 days of your life and think about the 5 people you spent the last 30 days with. Are they thieves or are they allies? Do they make you better? Do they keep it real with you? Do they hold you accountable? Are they helping you become the best person that you can be?

If they aren't, you don't have to stop being friends with them, but you have to find time to spend with more allies.

Listen more about Thieves and Allies and more great stories about and by Antonio in his interview with Jon Gordon here.

Week 4 Devotional | Antifragile

 ANTIFRAGILE

“I can do all things through God who strengthens me.”

What does it mean to be ANTIFRAGILE?

Something that is fragile is easily broken breaks when it faces any kind of stress. Fragile things break easily. 

Being ANTIFRAGILE means that you are able to get stronger because of the same stress, challenge, pressure, and adversity that might break other people.

You can’t light a candle in the wind because the wind blows it right out, but when that same wind hits a larger fire, it makes the fire bigger and stronger. The same concept can be applied to weight training and conditioning. The first days in the weight room or running are hard as it breaks your body down. But your body is ANTIFRAGILE because it comes back stronger.

Our bodies are built to be antifragile and to come back stronger than before. Knowing this, think about your mindset and how you mentally approach problems and adversity. Does a challenge break you down, or does it make you stronger?

Someone or something that is fragile is hurt by stress and difficulty. Someone or something that is ANTIFRAGILE uses that same stress and difficulty to grow stronger. 

Pastor Andrew Forrest at Munger Place Church in Dallas recently asked his congregation, “How did it happen that a small group of terrified but courageous followers shared the message of Jesus and the resurrection throughout the entire Roman world within a few short decades, and how did this movement lead to the largest religion in the world?”

The book of Acts talks about the spread of Christianity and the message of Jesus’s life and resurrection. The early church faced a lot of opposition. When they were threatened, they prayed to God. They asked Him to consider their threats and enable them to speak His word with great boldness. The threats that they received increased their efforts, strength, and boldness. The more that the early church was tortured, stoned, beheaded, and crucified, the more the Gospel spread. It was like a fire that couldn’t be stamped out; the more that their enemies tried to stop them, the more the message spread. In the middle of stress and difficulty, God made them stronger, bolder, and helped them grow.

What if we looked at life like this. What if instead of always praying for safety or looking for the easy way out, we prayed for the strength and wisdom to learn and grow from the stresses and obstacles that we go through?

Be ANTIFRAGILE. Get stronger in the face of problems. Pray what is on your heart, but don’t give so much power to the problem that your mind stays on the problem and not the opportunities to grow.

This Week

CHECK YOUR MINDSET Problems will never all go away. But having an antifragile mindset helps you get through them and grow through them. Remember that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.

What are one or two areas this week that you can grow through by being ANTIFRAGILE?

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The Bible and its words are an instruction manual. Here are 3 Bible verses that you can use to become ANTIFRAGILE.

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

No matter where I am and no matter what I face, Christ will strengthen me. It is possible to strive and not just survive. The early church teaches us this. Our bodies already know this. We have to make sure that our minds know this as well.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

PRAY Put your thoughts on God so that when obstacles come, you can face them with peace, poise, courage, and keep your joy. What can you pray that God will help you approach with boldness?

READ

Read Acts chapter 4. It starts with Peter and John being thrown in prison for teaching about Jesus’s resurrection and how they prayed for boldness and how they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Don’t just be strong. Be antifragile. Grow stronger in the face of stress and pain.

Click here for a Google Doc version of this.

Thank You For Coaching Me

A leader in our district shared a story about a local football program and talked about the impact that it made on him, the impact that it is making on his kid, and how that impact is having a ripple effect on his teams and athletes.

The Highland Park High School football program is one of the best and most consistent football programs in the state of Texas. They have won 6 state championships, and they have produced NFL talent like Doak Walker and Matthew Stafford.

When a coach from Highland Park was asked about some of the things that separate them from other programs, the coach said that one of the things that all of their athletes are taught is to go to their coaches after every practice, to shake their hands, and to tell them, "Thank you for coaching me today."

When a coach is at practice, they are sacrificing time away from their family to be with the team. They are giving time, energy, and resources to others, and many coaches don't get paid to do so. The simple act of thanking your coach can go a long way to making them feel better about the work that they do. Also, the simple act of saying thank you is a good skill to know and use in all walks of life.

Parents and coaches, take some time during the next practice to teach your athletes the importance of saying thank you and how to say thank you to people who offer their time, energy, and resources.

Coaches, it is also okay to tell your athletes, "Thank you for allowing me to coach you today." This is a great way to model the behavior that you want to see.

Teams Beat Talent When Talent Isn't a Team

A connected team is a more committed team. The more connected you are to each other, and the more committed you are to each other, the more you will fight for each other and not with each other. There is a great quote that says, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." There is another great quote that says, "Teams beat talent when talent isn't a team."

One thing that every coach and every athlete, especially the leaders of the team, can do is work hard to connect with their teammates. The best teams are connected and work together. The best teams become a family.

I often say that you have to catch the fish before you can clean it. This means that you have to connect with and build relationships with your teammates before you can lead them.

Connection doesn't happen by accident. You have to connect on purpose. You have to invest in relationships and team building, and you have to invest in it every day. Think about how you talk to your teammates. Think about how you treat them. Are you helping them or hurting them? Are you connecting with them or creating separation. Are you bringing people together?

Athletes, take the time to get to know your teammates, and coaches do the same. Coaches, create time and opportunity for your teammates to get to know you and each other. Ask them what they are excited about on and off the court. Ask them what their biggest fears are. Ask them what they are confident about and what they struggle with. A four-question conversation that I use is:

1 - What is one thing that you are excited about this week?
2 - What is one thing that you feel really good about or confident with on our team?
3 - What is one thing that you aren't comfortable with or are struggling with?
4 - What can I do to help you with this.

In The Power of a Positive Team, Jon Gordon dedicated a chapter to the importance of communication and connection in great teams.

Here is a list of 7 different team-building activities that you can do. Some of these come from his book. These work for coaches and players, and they have the power to completely transform your team:

1 - If You Really Knew Me
Start with the prompt, "If you really knew me you would know this about me: ______________________________________________________________

2 - Share a Defining Moment
Have each person share one moment that has defined their life. It could be something positive or negative.

3 - The Safe Seat
Focus on one athlete. Have them sit in the safe seat in the middle of the circle and ask them three questions: one about their life, one about their family, and one about a defining moment. The coach might want to be the first one and model for their team how to do it.

4 - The Triple H: hero, highlight, and hardship
Each teammate talks about one of their heroes and shares why they admire them. Then each teammate shares a positive highlight and one hardship that they have had to overcome. Starting with a hero helps lead off with a positive ice breaker before getting deeper.

5 - The Hard Hat
Each teammate shares what they think the characteristics of a great teammate are by asking the simple question, "What is a great teammate?" Write all of the answers on the board and have each person adopt one and write down or share how they are going to use it to be a great teammate.

6 - One word
Have each team member chose one word that will drive them to be their best and help bring out the best in their teammates. You can do that at the start of the week, the start of the practice, or the start of the season. Have them write it down and write down how they will use this word.

7 - One Strength, One Weakness, How Can I Help
Have each player think of one strength, one weakness, and one way that the coaching staff or their teammates can help them maximize their strengths and grow their weaknesses.

For more, check out The Power of a Positive Team.

Week 3 Devotional | Adversity

ADVERSITY

Nobody likes to lose.
Adversity is when you go through something hard, difficult, to challenging. Adversity can be hard to deal with.
Growth happens when we are uncomfortable, but being uncomfortable is ... uncomfortable.

Sports are filled with storms. Life is filled with storms. Things don't always go the way that we want them to. Sometimes things are great - we are making all of our shots, we are rolling defensively, and every decision we make is the right decision. But sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of a storm where we can't buy a basket, we can't stop anybody, and every decision seems like the wrong decision.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

When the storms hit and when hardships do come our way, how do we respond?

God once sent a storm on the Sea of Galilea to teach Jesus' disciples a lesson on faith. After a long day of preaching by the sea, Jesus told His men in Mark 4:35, "Let us cross over to the other side." In the middle of their journey, a terrible windstorm threatened the boat, and they all panicked. The disciples were terrified and asked Jesus, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

The Sea of Gailea was a place where big storms were known to hit at a moment's notice, and they were going through this storm in the dark of the night. While the disciples were panicking and terrified about what was happening, Jesus was sleeping through the storm. They woke Him up and accused Him of not caring about them. Jesus rose, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" He turned to His disciples and said, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"

It is hard being in the middle of a storm. It's hard going through adversity. Life can be hard. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that we will have trouble in this. But He also told us not to worry because He has already overcome the world.

We can have peace through the storm. We can deal with adversity. We just have to have a plan.

The Plan
1 - Know that God has a plan for you and for your life. No matter what you are going through, God wants to help you through it. Read Jeremiah 29:11 and John 10:10. God wants us to live a great life!

Write out those two verses and use them when you need to hear something positive.

2 - Know that you can't be stressed and positive at the same time. Think about, write down, and talk about a time where you went through something really tough. You made it through that. You can make it through anything!

3 - Write down three things that you are excited about this week. Again, you can't be stressed and positive at the same time. Train your mind to think good thoughts. Find the good in all things.

4 - Write down two sentences that you can tell yourself in the middle of a storm. Team USA Volleyball has a list of positive affirmations that you can build from here.

This week, look for ways to turn challenges into opportunities. One last thing that I want to leave you with is a memory from Kobe Bryant. Kobe once shared the picture below on his Instagram. With grit, toughness, a plan, and faith we can always bounce back from anything.

You can access a Google Doc version of this here.

Chris Brickley - Relationships and Time

Chris Brickey is one of the go-to trainers in basketball. The list of guys who he has trained is the ultimate 'who's who' list of NBA superstars.

You can read more about how he got his start training NBA players and his process here.

The video below is a workout that he did with JR Smith a couple of years ago. It's always good to get a glimpse of the work that the best of the best put in so that you can see what it looks like from a rep and intensity standpoint.

What I love most about Brickey's process is his work ethic, his commitment to learning, and his commitment to relationships. He said that his film sessions are routinely 5-6 hours, as he is committed to learning as much as he can about his athletes.

It is Okay if We Lose ...

One of the things that I always tell myself going into big games or tournaments is that "It is okay if we lose." It isn't okay, but it really is. I do that to take the pressure off and to focus on the process and what our long-term goals are.

Our long-term goals are to compete, to have fun, and to become the best players and people that we can be while having the best experience that we can have.

Fortunately, we have won a lot more than we have lost. It is always more enjoyable learning lessons through wins. They say that winning is the best cure for a struggling team. But if we lose, it will be okay. It will hurt. We might cry. But we will pick ourselves up, we will learn from our mistakes and shortcomings, and we will come back better than we were.

Week 1 Devotional | Hope

HOPE

“Something good is going to happen to me and through me.”

Read the Zero Week Devotional on Endurance by clicking here.

What is HOPE?

HOPE is expecting that something good is going to happen to you. It is the belief that the future will be better than the present, along with the belief that you have the power to make it so. Hope is a positive attitude and a positive mindset that can push you through and past the tough times. When we start a new season, or a new team, or a new week, or a new practice, it would help our performance, mentally and physically, if we had high levels of HOPE and believed that great things are going to happen to us and through us.

Tell yourself, daily, “Something good is going to happen to me and through me.”

HOPE doesn’t mean that we won’t face obstacles, adversity, and difficult moments. The Bible is filled with stories of people facing difficult trials and overcoming them. One of my favorite Bible stories is the story of Joseph. Joseph was the father of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Joseph was called the ‘Beloved Son’ because he was so loved by his father. He was also hated by his brothers, and they sold him into slavery, and he eventually ended up in an Egyptian prison. But Joseph never lost HOPE, and he never lost faith in God.

Joseph became one of the most respected and highest-ranking people in Egypt. 

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you will abound in HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit.” - Romans 15:13

 

Doubt and negativity block and steal hope. The Bible says that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but Jesus says that He came so that we can have life and live life to the full (John 10:10). Expect negative thoughts and feelings to creep in. That is okay and normal. Just have a plan for restoring and keeping your HOPE when they do.

When you feel down or hopeless in any way, you need a resurrection of belief, a positive attitude, and a plan. You can make the decision to be HOPEFUL, and deciding to have HOPE releases joy and positive energy. It gives you the push you need to keep going. Choose HOPE and positivity, not negativity.

The HOPEFUL athlete refuses to be negative. They know that life isn’t perfect and that they won’t win every race or every competition or every game. The HOPEFUL athlete lives with enough HOPE that they try to and compete to win every race, competition, and game. HOPEFUL athletes recognize and deal with the storms of life while remaining HOPEFUL in their thoughts, their words, and their actions. They know that something good is always ready to happen to them and through them. They don’t wait for a special moment or a special game or senior night to have hope. They decide to be HOPEFUL every day because being HOPEFUL is a happier and more effective way to live life.

This Week

This week, read Romans 12. It is a great chapter on how to live a Godly life. Find a verse that you can connect with. A few good places to start are verse 2, verse 9, and verse 21.

What can you do when you start to feel down?

1 - Do something for someone else.

2 - Think about something good in your life.

3 - Think about something you do well for your team.

4 - Think about something that makes you excited.

5 - Write down a skill or drill that you want to get better at, and write down a plan or a habit that you can start to improve at that skill or drill.

6 - Go for a run, stretch, or a workout. Don’t be slothful. Be fervent in spirit.

What are three things that you are HOPEFUL about?

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What is one HOPEFUL habit that you can commit to this week?

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What is one thing or distraction that can keep you from getting what you want this week?

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What can you do to overcome that barrier?

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Remember:

If you want to be a Christian leader, then stay happy and HOPEFUL no matter what. Your HOPE, joy, and energy give other people a reason to follow you.

Every day you have to decide to have a Godly attitude and stay full of HOPE. If you do, no devil or obstacle can hold you down or defeat you. Life and sports aren’t perfect. Sometimes it is hard and hurts. But, the God of your HOPE will fill you with joy and peace.

(Thank you to Joyce Meyer for the inspiration this week)

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