Sports Memories of 2008

At the end of each year, I often reflect on what, in my mind, were the most memorable moments in sports. In the NFL, the year began with a 16 – 0 team (New England Patriots) and ended with a 0 – 16 team (Detroit Lions). Who could forget the amazing catch made by an unknown receiver named David Tyree of the NY Giants as they ruined the New England Patriots bid for a perfect season. Check out Tyree’s book, More Than Just The Catch (see below). It is a story of mistakes, second chances, hard work, perseverance, and faith. It is also a story of love and ultimately a story of grace. Without “the catch” the Giants probably wouldn’t have won the Super Bowl and without God’s grace Tyree probably wouldn’t have even been in the NFL. God’s grace is amazing!

February brought on the Mitchell Report and Roger Clemen’s bizarre behavior. Has any professional athlete ever “fallen from grace” so quickly? Once a sure fire first-ballot Hall of Famer, he was brought down by conflicting testimonies at congressional hearings. Many who followed the testimonies seriously doubted that what he was saying could possibly be the truth. One lesson we can all learn from this sad story is that, as hard as it may be sometimes, it is much easier to just tell the truth than to try and keep up with a lie. Truth is essential!

In June, Tiger Woods’ performance at the U.S. Open was an amazing feat. How is it possible to do what he did without the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee? Equally memorable, for me, was the sportsmanship shown by Rocco Mediate and the fans at Torrey Pines. If it had been possible for both men to win, it seemed that few people would have been upset. The event certainly renewed my faith in the fact that true sportsmanship can still exist at the highest levels of competition even though it seems to be absent in most other professional sports. Honesty, integrity, and sportsmanship that are maintained in the sport of golf have been replaced by performance-enhancing drugs, loopholes, and questionable ethics in other sports where winning is all that seems to matter. Sportsmanship matters!

Who could ever forget Michael Phelps performance in the Beijing Olympics in August? Eight gold medals! I’m old enough to remember Mark Spitz and what he did in 1972 at Munich. I never thought that his gold medal record of seven would ever be broken. Phelps would have only tied Spitz’s record if it were not for teammate Jason Lezak and his amazing last 50 meters in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay defeating France’s Alain Bernard by eight hundredths of a second (.08). Teamwork is critical! This small victory margin looked large when Phelps edged out Serbia’s Milorad Cavic by one hundredth of a second (.01) in the 100 meter butterfly. Finishing strong is crucial!

Other memorable stories and lessons to learn that I will remember from 2008 are Brett Favre retiring and unretiring, Tampa (Devil) Rays going from worst to first, Nadal vs. Federer in a classic Wimbledon final lasting nearly 5 hours and the NCAA Men’s basketball championship game in which Kansas defeated Memphis in overtime. Let me know why other stories from 2008 stand out in your mind. For me also, the year 2008 will always be remembered as the year in which God allowed us to begin the ministry of CSPN. I hope that it is an encouragement and blessing to you. Thanks for being connected with CSPN. May God bless you in a greater way in 2009!

The Victory is His,

Coach Scott
I Chron. 29:11-13

Sports Missions Works!

Greetings from the Carribean! Not a bad place to be just a week or so before Christmas when we usually have below-zero wind chills and multiple feet of snow in northern Wisconsin at this time of year. I am certainly enjoying the warm weather and natural beauty of the Dominican Republic, but I have a more eternal purpose in being here. I am here to plan a sports mission trip for the women’s basketball team from Northland Baptist Bible College. The trip will take place in May 2009. Northland has a few current students and alumni who are either from the Dominincan Republic or are serving as missionaries here. We are planning on working with them and are hoping to be an encouragement to them. Personally, it is always a blessing when we connect current students on a trip like this with former students who are serving on the mission field. There is nothing like experiencing the mission field first-hand. It is life-changing and always results in shaking us out of our complacency and our "American comfort zone". It also renews in us a greater burden for missions.

Northland’s men’s basketball team was here in May 2007 and we made contact with a number of people that have helped us in making a return trip with the women’s basketball team this year. One such person is Giovanny Valdez. Giovanny was an excellent basketball player and, without a doubt, still is. He was the starting point guard for the Dominincan National Team for a number of years and played against some of the best players from the United States, some of whom are in the NBA now. While he was playing on the Dominican National team, a sports mission team from the U.S. came to compete against his team and to share the gospel. As a result, Giovanny trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. Since then, he has stopped playing for the Dominican National Team, and is now serving the Lord in a full-time sports ministry. He helps plan mission trips and sets up exhibition games for teams that want to share the gospel with the Dominican people. Because of his previous experience, he has many contacts and God uses him to open many doors. He has a great burden to see more of his own people respond to the gospel. He obviously knows from personal experience that sports missions works.

If you have never been able to visit a mission field, taking a sports mission team is a great way to do it. It opens many doors and breaks down many barriers. If you have questions about the possibility of doing something like this with your team, please feel free to contact me. You would never regret the personal sacrifices made or the cost incurred for such a trip. The value can only be measured in eternity. The impact of the gospel here in the Dominican is continuing through the life and testimony of a young basketball player named Giovanny Valdez. Sports missions works.

Thank a Coach

Odds are that if you're reading this, you once had a coach that made a lasting impact on your life. As I write this week’s blog, it is Thanksgiving Day, 2009. Early this morning my thoughts were directed to all that I have to be thankful for and I was reminded of my high school baseball and golf coach. Most of us athletes just called him "Hack". (Great name for a golf coach!) His real name was Mr. Harry Ramseyer, but few students called him Mr. Ramseyer. No one dared call him "Harry"! A few athletes called him "coach", but most of us who knew him well and loved him, just called him "Hack". That's what he wanted us to call him. What an impact he had on my life! He was always willing to confront and correct bad character which had often manifested itself in bad behavior. One time he told me, “You’ll never be a good golfer because you can’t control your temper!” As a Christian, I was convicted and challenged by that thought. I wanted to be a good golfer and began to realize that I couldn’t dwell on that last shot and get angry or frustrated with an unfortunate result that sometimes happened even after a well planned and well played shot. I had to forget about it and prepare for the next shot. Hack’s willingness to confront my frustrated and sometimes angry spirit on the golf course made a huge difference in my life.
Sad to say, I didn’t even think about my testimony as a believer and my responsibility to “rule my spirit” until years later even as I began my own coaching career. Verses like Proverbs 16:32 and Proverbs 25:28 convicted me about my temper and my example to the young athletes under my care. God used James 1:20 to challenge me about my purpose in being a coach. That verse says, “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God”. I began to realize that if I was going to have an eternal impact on my athletes, I couldn’t be spewing my anger and wrath over them when they made mistakes or didn’t do things exactly the way I wanted them done. My whole perspective on coaching changed. In order to make an eternal impact on these young athletes I needed to model Jesus Christ before them. I also needed to biblically confront wrong attitudes and bad behavior in order to help them grow in their relationship with the Lord through the experiences of athletic competition.
This is our goal at CSPN. That you will consider how God can use you to make not just a “lasting impact”, but an “eternal impact” on a new generation of athletes. So, if you once had a coach that helped mold your character, or challenged you in your walk with God, take time today to send a thank you note.
Thank you Hack, for the difference you made in my life.

No One Would Have Ever Known!

Have you ever struggled with an issue of honesty and integrity and realized that you could probably “get away with something” and no one would ever know? That is the situation that J.P. Hayes found himself in last week. You may be wondering to yourself, “who in the world is J.P. Hayes?” One reason you may have never heard of him might be that he is a professional golfer. Another reason is that what happened to him is the type of story that seldom makes the headlines, but certainly needs to be shared. To me, what J.P. did is one of the reasons why I love the game of golf so much. Golf is a game of honesty and integrity. Few sports demand the level of integrity expected in the game of golf. However, golf can also provide the opportunity to lie and cheat just like any other sport. The bottom line is the choice you make when the situation arises. Hays chose to do the right thing and it cost him his PGA Tour card for next season. The PGA Tour is his livelihood, yet he realized that living with a clear conscience is far better than making millions of dollars playing a sport he loves. In the book, Golf Without Tears, P.G. Wodehouse says, “Golf my dear fellow, is the infallible test. The man who can go into a patch of rough alone, with the knowledge that only God is watching him, and play his ball where it lies, is the man who will serve you faithfully and well”. Are you that kind of man? That kind of coach? Remember that God is always watching even when others are not!
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3712372

Sports and Politics

There were a couple of victories in the election this year that had ties to the athletic arena. A former NFL coach, a Heisman trophy runner-up, and an NBA all-star were all elected to significant leadership positions. I don’t believe that it was just the “celebrity status” or “name recognition” that gave them this opportunity, though it certainly helped. I believe that there were significant leadership character qualities developed through athletic experiences that helped each of these men gain a position of influence in their “life after sports”. We should never underestimate the importance of the lessons learned through athletics as they have carry-over value to other areas of life and leadership. It is important that coaches take advantage of the opportunities to teach the character lessons through the sporting experience and give athletes an opportunity to lead their teams. A good coach doesn’t just “gather followers” or build a team, he prepares others to lead in areas of life after sports. Read the election stories of Sam Wyche, Heath Shuler, and Kevin Johnson and be reminded of the future potential leaders you have under your care as a coach. Leaders that won’t just lead your team, but will eventually lead a family, a church, a community, or a nation.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3683217&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

The right kind of KGB

Many of us in this area of the country were saddened recently by the release of Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (KGB) from the Green Bay Packers. KGB was outspoken about his faith in Jesus Christ and did not hesitate to share his purpose in life or his motive for playing football. “Gbaja-Biamila said in a statement. "... I don't know what my football future holds, but one thing I've realized is that football is more than a game -- it's about building relationships and changing lives." Wow! Here is an athlete making millions of dollars at the highest level of competition who says that there is more to life. At one time in his life there must have been a coach who gave him a proper dose of perspective when it comes to athletic pursuits and an eternal focus. Are you that kind of coach? I hope that you will consider that your greatest victories are not on the scoreboard, but when one of your athletes places his faith in Jesus Christ and communicates the message of a changed life and an eternal focus through all of the hype and overemphasis on winning that there is in our sports culture today.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3676640