Team Effort

God never ceases to amaze me in the way He conducts my life.  He also knows what people I need in my life on any given day.  What is more amazing to me is when He puts me in a situation where I think I am the one going to be teaching and helping but it turns out I am the one that does the learning and receiving.  Even though this basketball season is less than 2 weeks old, this is on of those situations.

I came into the season ready to teach, guide and guide my players not only in basketball but in life.  I was ready to lead them on the court, in Bible study and in life lessons.  I was ready to help them learn what it meant to play for Christ and honor and glorify God in all things.  I was ready to show them that you can show love and respect to your opponents and how to be the young ladies God intended them to be.  Little did I know that they would also teach me.

This past weekend was a true testament to that.

I started writing this post 4 days ago on Nov 12. It is now late night Nov 15 into wee hours Nov 16th.  Little did I know then just how real it would come to be.   My intent was to write about how the girls had taught me about certain things over their efforts and encouragement and motivation during team huddles at recent games.  About how they would come into the huddle and literally start talking to each other about what they needed to do and what was and wasn't working and as a coach you just stand and smile and let them finish because sometimes it means more coming from a teammate.  That was my intent BUT after the most recent game my mind went a different direction. 

I must say it was a hard game to watch and coach.  There are times as a coach you have nothing to say because things are going so well and then there are times like this game.  Times you're not sure what to say because nothing seems right.  I know as their coach they look at me for all the answers to what they are doing wrong and how to do what needs to be done, but honestly sometimes I don't know.  It breaks my heart but I just don't know.

I think the problem is that over the past few years of coaching teams that are "less competitive" I have lost my edge.  I have mellowed myself out so much that I tend to shove those emotions down when they start to arise for fear of saying the wrong thing or "hurting their feelings".  The teams over the last 3 years I had to do that and now that I have a team that needs it, I can't seem to bring myself to do.  I have passed it off as just being the "Christian coach" I want to be but that still doesn't work.  Tonight while watching videos to find clips to motivate my team, God used them to speak to me.  And I realized I have been fooling myself and my team. 

You see because of the mindset over the last few years, I realized I have not bee putting my entire effort into coaching this team the way they need to be coached.  I was dancing around the issue trying to the "Christian coach" I feel called to be.  In reality I was not being that Christian coach.  God created me to be who I am for a reason, emotions and all.  I realized that if I am not giving everything I have to my coaching, emotions, heart, desire, effort, then how in the world could I ask my players to do the same!!  I have always told myself and my players that I would NEVER ask them to do anything that I wouldn't do.  Guess I blew that one tonight!!!

So God has used them greatly to teach me but not the lesson I thought it was 4 days ago when I first began writing this blog post.  But I believe that this is a far greater lesson for both myself and them and that it will help all of us grow together.  I only hope that we can meet talk about, learn from, forgive and move on from this lesson and be all the more stronger on the other side.  It's all about the team effort we give and it starts with the coach!!!