Magical Eagle Powers

There is something special about this team. Everyone is now enrolled and locked in. 15 young ladies that chose to become Lady Eagles on the first ever team here at Faulkner University. As I write, I am in my office that overlooks the gym. It is 5:17 am and I am waiting to see the ladies and encourage the ones who show up at 6am for a voluntary workout. They are going to jog a one mile course mapped out by Graduate Assistant, Amanda Pence. Then they will do some ab work and the gym will be open for them to shoot some shots. It is voluntary, but I have a feeling everyone will be there.

I have felt very good about the basketball talent coming in with our first recruiting class, but I have felt even better about the calibur of human being in this class. On Monday night, we had our first team meeting scheduled at 8 PM. Everyone was putting their notebooks together, in their seat, and waiting on me to begin at 7:40 PM. There is a spirit about our young ladies that suggests that they are ready to go. I initially intended to wait and give them a little bit of time to settle in before beginning workouts, but they are ready so I must be ready and that is why we have the voluntary work out this morning.

In our meeting we discussed all of those things that coaches talk about when they want to set the tone. We discussed our philosophy and some of our academic expectations like sitting in the front row in class and the lower level of the gym for chapels. We laid the foundation for our meeting this next Sunday night on the standards that our players wish to establish and hold each other accountable for. However, the thing that motivated me the most was sharing a verse that I believe God put in front of me before the meeting specifically for the team. It is Romans 15:5-7.

I was sitting in my office the afternoon before the meeting reading out of a devotional book for female athletes called, In Him. It is written by a good coaching friend, Vicki Benson. Coach Benson coached at a school in Austin, Texas called Hyde Park Baptist. We played them in a Bi-District game two years ago and struck a friendship. She is now at Georgetown High School as an assistant coach in one of the traditional girl's basketball powerhouses in Texas. Her devotional focused on Unity. I was trying to find something that could help convey my desire that they glorify God in everything they do as valuable pieces in our basketball puzzle. I am going to close the blog with this section scripture and you can put together the value of this passage for a brand new collection of eclectic personalities as they start the process of becoming a team.

Blessings,

Coach


"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."

Romans 15:5-7 (NIV)