Just finished watching the movie, Radio, while running on the treadmill this week. It captures the personal renaissance I have been through the past few months. In short, Coach Jones (who has his own issues) begins to notice a young man that is ignored and mistreated by the community. Over time, Coach Jones begins to pour value into a human being that others have neglected. The team does not perform as well that season so one of the football dads decides to try to run off either Radio or the coach. {SPOILER ALERT} In a surprising turn of events, Coach Jones resigns his football coaching role and asks to stay on as a teacher. As much as he loved the game of football, he discovered that its much less important than the fulfillment he found in providing dignity and value to another person. Coach Jones discovered that life is bigger than winning football games!
That's what led us to create a new team experience with 3:23. The past couple of years, I've allowed my focus to digress from investing in kids to worrying more about wins and losses, wrestling with personal pride, and competing with myself and others on the athletic field. Ironically, a few weeks after the season, no one remembers who won or lost or really cares for that matter. After a game, kids care more about where the team is eating and who is spending the night than what happened in the game. Great perspective. So here is where I'm at.
Life Has to be Bigger than Baseball
I grew up with a dad who only knew how to relate to me based on how I was performing in baseball. I have great memories, but I also remember the day I informed him I was coming home from the baseball scholarship due to injury. I can easily default to excellence and performance having played for the winningest high school baseball coach in the country at that time. Yet, I refuse to let my relationship with my son be defined by how well he performs on the field. We talk about this regularly and work hard to overcome that temptation. My success as a coach has to be defined more on the kids' enjoyment of the game and skill development, not my win/loss record as a coach. The relationships and people we encounter on these teams has to be more valuable than what their kids can contribute. Championships last for a moment. Eternity lasts forever!
I once heard a little league coach say that coaches need to be teaching baseball and that character development is what Boy Scouts and churches are for. It's comments like these that motivate me to push myself and others to get a bigger vision for the sports we coach.
It's Not About My Kid Only
Daddy ball is my greatest fear as a coach. It's real. It's nasty. It's everywhere. At the end of the day, it has to be about investing into all the kids, helping them love the game and become great men and women. Some will excel athletically more than others. A few will play at the high school level. Fewer will play in college. One or two might get drafted. At some point, many of these kids will likely be coaching their own kids; that's when we will know what kind of influence we truly had. Will they throw fits at the umpires? Will they cheat on the rules to their own advantage? Will they neglect the kids that don't have as much to offer? Will they play favorites with their own kids? Will every kid be given the chance to improve and earn a spot? Will they encourage best effort? Will they celebrate hard work? Will they laugh and play with the kids? Will their players want to play again next year? Will their players feel loved regardless of performance or loss? Will a kid have value for who he/she is rather what they can do? Will a kid love Jesus more because of the way I modeled Christ? These are the kinds of questions that keep me up at night as a coach.
Back to Radio
This movie inspires and encourages me that I'm on the right track. As we start this new adventure with 3:23 Ministries, I too plan to step back from some of the hands-on baseball aspects and focus more on the mentor role with these kids. Our partnerships with other parents and professional coaches in the community will elevate the skill development beyond what I could provide. It feels good to address the behavioral issues in my own life. It feels good to partner with great families and coaches in the community. It's great to know that the activities we are involved in serve a higher purpose and have kingdom impact! Thanks Coach Jones for the tangible reminder this week of what really matters!
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