I had the great opportunity to provide the devotional at Coach Sanderson's basketball camp today. The verses that he is focusing on this year are Hebrews 12:1-2. My talk was geared on the phrase, "since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses". As I was thinking about the devo the last couple of days, I thought about great (and not so great) sporting moments that I have witnessed in my lifetime. The best are probably USA's semifinal hockey win against the Soviets in 1980, later called the "Miracle on Ice" thanks to commentator Al Michaels call of the game in the final seconds when he stated. "Do you believe in miracles!?!" Another was my brother Mark's high school team in Hamilton Michigan winning an unlikely state championship in 1984. Then, this last season's overtime win in the state championship game for my Westbury Christian Lady Wildcats ranks right up there as well. Some memories of moments that were not so great are Bill Buckners error in the 1986 series against the Mets, Chris Webber's gut wrenching timeout call in the National Championship game against North Carolina (there is even a sports bar in Chapel Hill called "Time Out". That was excruciating to watch as a childhood Wolverine fan. Most recently, I feel poorly for Ricardo Clark in making an errant pass on Saturday that led to the early goal against Ghana in the World Cup knockout round. We were never truly able to recover our energy in the first half.
There are also, "I remember when..." moments in our lives where we witnessed history and can remember where we were at that time. I can remember being a third grader at piano lessons when Ronald Reagan was shot. I can remember being in the computer lab teaching a Health class at Westbury Christian when the planes flew through the twin towers on 9/11/2001. For my devo, I used the big moment for my daughter, Kylie, when she made her first basket in a game at Westbury Christian. That was definitely a moment to remember. We talked a little bit about all of the witnesses in Hebrews 11 that gave credibility to Hebrews 12.
I challenged the campers and coaches (and mostly myself) to make camp today an "I remember when..." moment. That they would make positive choices today that would affect their lives positively years from now. So that when they get older, their "cloud of witnesses" will think of them favorably and they will have credibility when they speak of Christ and His gospel. I love the use of the word "cloud". It implies that they are completely engulfed and surrounded by the witnesses of the great things accomplished in the past.
As we start the women' basketball program at Faulkner, it is important that we create great traditions and memories that turn into a legacy that we can be proud of so that our "cloud of witnesses" perceives us favorably. If we are perceived favorably, we can have a greater influence for Him and glorify His name!
Blessings,
Coach
Heb 12:1-2
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Donovan, Isner, and the Hurricanes
The last couple of days have been monumental sports days for fans of our generation.
I believe that Landon Donovan's late game heroic goal could have changed the plight of American soccer for good. I think the state of the game of soccer was in trouble in America if our team would have been sent home after yet another tie. His goal put us in the "bracket of hope" at the World Cup and I actually look forward to the next match. Had we had another tie (which in my opinion is a very frustrating result to any competitive game), I would not have cared about soccer for another 4 years. That goal gives us a hero, hope, and one more reason to care for America's sporting step-child.
If you don't follow tennis, I understand. But the war of attrition that became the match at the biggest tournament of the year, Wimbledon, was absolutely mind boggling. American John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut in a fifth set. The score of the fifth set was 70-68. Most major tournaments have gone to a tiebreaker even in the 5th set. That matched proved the drama that I think should change that rule back to eliminating them in the major tournaments. The fifth set lasted 8 hours which is 1 1/2 hours longer than any completed match in the history of the sport. The total time of the match was over 11 hours. Next time you put in an exhausting 11 hour day, imagine having to do that while swinging a racket and charging the net thousands of times. Exhausting! I love tennis and still play as much as possible and played in leagues before I left Houston. I always fell apart in the third set of matches because I was not in great shape. Once I hit the second hour of play, I was spent. I cannot imagine the level of physical and mental toughness it takes to play for 11 hours. Isner lost his match this morning in three easy straight sets 6-3,6-0,6-2. I don't think anyone can blame him for running out of gas. Historical! Tip of the cap to Isner, I am glad it was an American.
The lessons learned are seizing opportunities like Donovan and mental toughness like Isner's. Another impressive group that I experienced yesterday was the Flomaton Lady Hurricanes.
Flomaton is a small town in Alabama of about 1500 on the Florida panhandle border about 45 minutes from Pensacola. They are coached by Leroy Steele and Jarrod Green. Coach Steele cold-called me a couple of weeks ago about coming down to do a one day satellite camp at their high school with his girls. I have a heart for a coach that cares enough about his kids to put in the time and effort to calling some college coaches to bring them in to help get their team better. I agreed to do a 2-5 PM camp yesterday in exchange for their time over dinner so we could talk about that area from a recruiting standpoint and so we could talk x's and o's. I was extremely impressed with the talent and coachability of the kids. I have alot of respect for kids that will take their afternoons over the summer and make it a priority to get off their backsides and get into a gym to get better for the sake of their own health and their team's goals. I have become a fan of their program and will be watching their results this season for sure. I consider the coaches new found friends. I was reminded about the commitment it takes to be a championship calibur program by the Lady Hurricanes. Thanks Ladies!
Blessings,
Reed
I believe that Landon Donovan's late game heroic goal could have changed the plight of American soccer for good. I think the state of the game of soccer was in trouble in America if our team would have been sent home after yet another tie. His goal put us in the "bracket of hope" at the World Cup and I actually look forward to the next match. Had we had another tie (which in my opinion is a very frustrating result to any competitive game), I would not have cared about soccer for another 4 years. That goal gives us a hero, hope, and one more reason to care for America's sporting step-child.
If you don't follow tennis, I understand. But the war of attrition that became the match at the biggest tournament of the year, Wimbledon, was absolutely mind boggling. American John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut in a fifth set. The score of the fifth set was 70-68. Most major tournaments have gone to a tiebreaker even in the 5th set. That matched proved the drama that I think should change that rule back to eliminating them in the major tournaments. The fifth set lasted 8 hours which is 1 1/2 hours longer than any completed match in the history of the sport. The total time of the match was over 11 hours. Next time you put in an exhausting 11 hour day, imagine having to do that while swinging a racket and charging the net thousands of times. Exhausting! I love tennis and still play as much as possible and played in leagues before I left Houston. I always fell apart in the third set of matches because I was not in great shape. Once I hit the second hour of play, I was spent. I cannot imagine the level of physical and mental toughness it takes to play for 11 hours. Isner lost his match this morning in three easy straight sets 6-3,6-0,6-2. I don't think anyone can blame him for running out of gas. Historical! Tip of the cap to Isner, I am glad it was an American.
The lessons learned are seizing opportunities like Donovan and mental toughness like Isner's. Another impressive group that I experienced yesterday was the Flomaton Lady Hurricanes.
Flomaton is a small town in Alabama of about 1500 on the Florida panhandle border about 45 minutes from Pensacola. They are coached by Leroy Steele and Jarrod Green. Coach Steele cold-called me a couple of weeks ago about coming down to do a one day satellite camp at their high school with his girls. I have a heart for a coach that cares enough about his kids to put in the time and effort to calling some college coaches to bring them in to help get their team better. I agreed to do a 2-5 PM camp yesterday in exchange for their time over dinner so we could talk about that area from a recruiting standpoint and so we could talk x's and o's. I was extremely impressed with the talent and coachability of the kids. I have alot of respect for kids that will take their afternoons over the summer and make it a priority to get off their backsides and get into a gym to get better for the sake of their own health and their team's goals. I have become a fan of their program and will be watching their results this season for sure. I consider the coaches new found friends. I was reminded about the commitment it takes to be a championship calibur program by the Lady Hurricanes. Thanks Ladies!
Blessings,
Reed
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Commitment
Father's Day was this past Sunday. I was fortunate to be able to see my kids for the first time in a month. It was great to be around them. I love hearing Kylie's passion when she talks about her friends and the things she is involved with. I loved being able to comfort Brady in the middle of the night when he woke up with a bad dream. I absolutely love how affectionate Katelyn is. I think she said "I love you daddy" and gave me hugs about 50 times in a 24 hour period of time. I love that Marisa got to come back with me to Montgomery. I did some research for her arrival. I watched Twilight and New Moon. You might find it hard to believe but neither of those films would be my first choice at the RedBox. I look forward to diving in to our relationship and studying her while I have the next 3 weeks with her.
The focus of this post, however, is my dad.
I listen to KSBJ when I am at work in my office. I am grateful that I have a job that doesn't require me to be in there all the time. When I am in there, I get online and listen to KSBJ which is the christian radio station out of Houston. I think it gives me comfort to listen to that station while my family is still living in that area. On that radio station today they were involved in their annual share-a-thon. The share-a-thon is a fund raising effort to take care of needs but also the dreams of the station. They made a statement that kids have a tendency to be givers if their parents are givers. I think the same can be said about other attributes as well. The one that is on my heart right now is commitment.
My dad worked that same desk job in claims and customer service for 40 years. I can remember he had opportunities to move up in the company but he recognized his strengths and the extra stress it would put on him so he stayed committed to his position. I can remember him coming home tired at times and frustrated at times, but I can never remember him truly saying a bad word about his company. He lived commitment. I can also remember another situation when I was about 5th or 6th grade when dad and I picked up one of my brothers at the school after a long basketball road trip. My bro got in the car a proceeded to complain about his lack of playing time and starting bad-mouthing the coach a little bit. I will never forget my dad turning to him in a calm voice saying, "I don't ever want to hear you say another bad word about your coach...You deal with it." He wanted my brother to be committed in good times and bad.
I hear more and more stories about a lack of commitment in society. Just today I was involved with two.
Marisa and I were eating lunch at Faulkner. A young camper's mom came up to Coach Sanderson who was at our table and said, "I am taking my daughter home, she is sore and tired". Coach Sanderson said, "that's funny, she was just in the gym dancing last session". Mom told him that her daughter just needed some rest. Coach was frustrated that with one phone call, this kid's mom dropped everything and catered to her whim. I think if I would have called my dad to come pick me up he would have said, "I'll come get you when camp is over.
The second was from an AAU coach who has spent a couple of years with a kid in his program and spent countless hours away from his family getting her better at no charge to her to the point where she is a top guard in the state that she plays in. The coach has another player who is getting alot of recruiting attention right now. The first kid and her parents called the coach and said they are leaving to another team because their kid has been ignored and mistreated by the coach. They are crippling their child for life. One might suggest that it is just summer basketball. I would suggest that a child is a parent's most captive audience regardless of how small or large the decision is. If being a princess instead of a queen is mistreatment then they are probably right, she is being mistreated. The coach was unbelievably committed the development of the kid and the kid bolts...unbelievable.
I am grateful to my dad now for alot of things. I didn't appreciate him at the time. Hebrews 12 suggests that no discipline is pleasant at the time, but we have developed a friendship as I have gotten older that is priceless. I am grateful that I will be able to pass commitment on to my kids and players, and I believe that they will have a competitive advantage over the kids who are enabled and not committed.
Thanks Dad
Blessings,
Reed
The focus of this post, however, is my dad.
I listen to KSBJ when I am at work in my office. I am grateful that I have a job that doesn't require me to be in there all the time. When I am in there, I get online and listen to KSBJ which is the christian radio station out of Houston. I think it gives me comfort to listen to that station while my family is still living in that area. On that radio station today they were involved in their annual share-a-thon. The share-a-thon is a fund raising effort to take care of needs but also the dreams of the station. They made a statement that kids have a tendency to be givers if their parents are givers. I think the same can be said about other attributes as well. The one that is on my heart right now is commitment.
My dad worked that same desk job in claims and customer service for 40 years. I can remember he had opportunities to move up in the company but he recognized his strengths and the extra stress it would put on him so he stayed committed to his position. I can remember him coming home tired at times and frustrated at times, but I can never remember him truly saying a bad word about his company. He lived commitment. I can also remember another situation when I was about 5th or 6th grade when dad and I picked up one of my brothers at the school after a long basketball road trip. My bro got in the car a proceeded to complain about his lack of playing time and starting bad-mouthing the coach a little bit. I will never forget my dad turning to him in a calm voice saying, "I don't ever want to hear you say another bad word about your coach...You deal with it." He wanted my brother to be committed in good times and bad.
I hear more and more stories about a lack of commitment in society. Just today I was involved with two.
Marisa and I were eating lunch at Faulkner. A young camper's mom came up to Coach Sanderson who was at our table and said, "I am taking my daughter home, she is sore and tired". Coach Sanderson said, "that's funny, she was just in the gym dancing last session". Mom told him that her daughter just needed some rest. Coach was frustrated that with one phone call, this kid's mom dropped everything and catered to her whim. I think if I would have called my dad to come pick me up he would have said, "I'll come get you when camp is over.
The second was from an AAU coach who has spent a couple of years with a kid in his program and spent countless hours away from his family getting her better at no charge to her to the point where she is a top guard in the state that she plays in. The coach has another player who is getting alot of recruiting attention right now. The first kid and her parents called the coach and said they are leaving to another team because their kid has been ignored and mistreated by the coach. They are crippling their child for life. One might suggest that it is just summer basketball. I would suggest that a child is a parent's most captive audience regardless of how small or large the decision is. If being a princess instead of a queen is mistreatment then they are probably right, she is being mistreated. The coach was unbelievably committed the development of the kid and the kid bolts...unbelievable.
I am grateful to my dad now for alot of things. I didn't appreciate him at the time. Hebrews 12 suggests that no discipline is pleasant at the time, but we have developed a friendship as I have gotten older that is priceless. I am grateful that I will be able to pass commitment on to my kids and players, and I believe that they will have a competitive advantage over the kids who are enabled and not committed.
Thanks Dad
Blessings,
Reed
Friday, June 18, 2010
Tine Davis
I am blessed to be able to be employed in a position that I would not call work. Very few people get to do that. Yes there are tough days as a coach when things don't go well. Anytime you are trying to lead a myriad of different personalities there are challenges.
I can't think of anything I would rather being doing than being a full time coach because I literally wake up ready to go every morning. There has not been a day since I arrived at Faulkner that I came dragging into work. The opportunity to coach for a living is awesome. There are days that I feel a little bit guilty, because I have always had to do other things along with coaching like teaching or being an assistant pricipal. In the early years I had to work at Radio Shack, Walgreens, and a pizza place to be able to do what I really want to do...coach. I used the analogy with a friend yesterday that in years past I have had to make the cake so that I could sample the frosting. Right now it is all frosting and it is very sweet.
Today was a good day because Men's basketball coach, Jim Sanderson, and I got to spend some time with our President, Dr. Hilyer. We got to talk to him about ways we felt we could improve our facility, Tine Davis Gymnasium. In particular, we were talking about sanding and refinishing the gym floor and repainting some of the floor level walls. After visiting the gym this afternoon, Dr. Hilyer broke down and told us to move forward with the plans. You could see how excited he was about talking about anything that improves campus, but there is an obvious counterweight called money. He has the tough job of balancing wants and needs. I am grateful for the trust he has put in Coach Sanderson and I to make the gym great.
Tine Davis Gymnasium is a great place. It has a great spirit about it and a great home court feel to it. There is a great balance between old and new. I think if everything were new, it would be impersonal. I like the traditional eagle paintings on the walls and the older wooden chairback seating, although there may be a need to replace the seating soon as well. The new surface on floor will brighten it up and really enhance the most trafficked building on campus. We have chapel in here every day so everyone on campus will benefit from the improvements. I hope the young ladies in our program appreciate the opportunity to play in such a wonderful building. I know that I feel blessed to be able to "work" in it.
Blessings,
Coach
I can't think of anything I would rather being doing than being a full time coach because I literally wake up ready to go every morning. There has not been a day since I arrived at Faulkner that I came dragging into work. The opportunity to coach for a living is awesome. There are days that I feel a little bit guilty, because I have always had to do other things along with coaching like teaching or being an assistant pricipal. In the early years I had to work at Radio Shack, Walgreens, and a pizza place to be able to do what I really want to do...coach. I used the analogy with a friend yesterday that in years past I have had to make the cake so that I could sample the frosting. Right now it is all frosting and it is very sweet.
Today was a good day because Men's basketball coach, Jim Sanderson, and I got to spend some time with our President, Dr. Hilyer. We got to talk to him about ways we felt we could improve our facility, Tine Davis Gymnasium. In particular, we were talking about sanding and refinishing the gym floor and repainting some of the floor level walls. After visiting the gym this afternoon, Dr. Hilyer broke down and told us to move forward with the plans. You could see how excited he was about talking about anything that improves campus, but there is an obvious counterweight called money. He has the tough job of balancing wants and needs. I am grateful for the trust he has put in Coach Sanderson and I to make the gym great.
Tine Davis Gymnasium is a great place. It has a great spirit about it and a great home court feel to it. There is a great balance between old and new. I think if everything were new, it would be impersonal. I like the traditional eagle paintings on the walls and the older wooden chairback seating, although there may be a need to replace the seating soon as well. The new surface on floor will brighten it up and really enhance the most trafficked building on campus. We have chapel in here every day so everyone on campus will benefit from the improvements. I hope the young ladies in our program appreciate the opportunity to play in such a wonderful building. I know that I feel blessed to be able to "work" in it.
Blessings,
Coach
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
The Love Chapter
In my personal time, I have been reading through the Corinthian letters. My last blog was derived from I Cor 12. Tonight I read from I Cor 13 for about the millionth time. Not really...that was hyperbole. I have read it alot and it is very meaningful. It is a very special verse that I used to have memorized thanks to a song by my favorite Christian rock band as a teenager, Petra, who wrote a song utilizing this chapter as the lyrics on their Beyond Belief album.
It will always have a special place in my heart as I know it is my wife's favorite passage. That page in her Bible seems to be a little more crinkled than all of the other pages. It was our (her) selection for a scripture reading at our wedding....probably thousands of other weddings, too.
As I read through it today, I thought about my role as a father with Father's Day coming up. Starting in verse 4, I decided to replace the word "love" with the words "a Godly father". I also substituted the word "it" with the word "he". So it goes something like this if you use the New International Version, "A Godly father is patient, a Godly father is kind, He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. he is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered. He keeps no record of wrongs...etc..." You can read it for yourself.
God's word obviously shares that we shouldn't add or take away from what was inspired by the writers. That is not my intent. My intent is to personalize it for me and challenge my own life to be more loving.
From a basketball standpoint, I would argue that you could also replace "love" with "A good coach" or "a team player" or "a great manager", then replace it with "he" or "she" depending on the gender. I think if you stop and read it through it a couple of times while utilizing whatever role in your life you want to improve, it will inspire and motivate.
Blessings,
Coach
I Cor 13
It will always have a special place in my heart as I know it is my wife's favorite passage. That page in her Bible seems to be a little more crinkled than all of the other pages. It was our (her) selection for a scripture reading at our wedding....probably thousands of other weddings, too.
As I read through it today, I thought about my role as a father with Father's Day coming up. Starting in verse 4, I decided to replace the word "love" with the words "a Godly father". I also substituted the word "it" with the word "he". So it goes something like this if you use the New International Version, "A Godly father is patient, a Godly father is kind, He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. he is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered. He keeps no record of wrongs...etc..." You can read it for yourself.
God's word obviously shares that we shouldn't add or take away from what was inspired by the writers. That is not my intent. My intent is to personalize it for me and challenge my own life to be more loving.
From a basketball standpoint, I would argue that you could also replace "love" with "A good coach" or "a team player" or "a great manager", then replace it with "he" or "she" depending on the gender. I think if you stop and read it through it a couple of times while utilizing whatever role in your life you want to improve, it will inspire and motivate.
Blessings,
Coach
I Cor 13
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Wheelhouse
When I was playing tennis as a kid, I had a coach who taught me that I always needed to hit the ball in my "wheelhouse". The wheelhouse is the place where I felt most consistent and comfortable hitting the ball. My coach would holler at me if I tried to hit the ball too early or too late instead of moving my feet to get in a position to hit it while it was in my wheelhouse, which was when the racket and my arm were fully extended out in front of my body. This is a phrase that I believe he picked up from the baseball world. Baseball people have been saying it for years and they suggest that a hitter's wheelhouse is that "sweet spot" directly over the plate that is at the right height and distance so that when a batter swings it makes them extend their arms to get maximum force on the ball. In physics, it is where kinetic energy meets potential energy for optimum force. The phrase "wheelhouse" could have originated as a nautical term to describe the heart of the vessel where the boat is steered most manageably.
We all have "wheelhouses" in our daily lives. One may have a wheelhouse at play, at work, and in their spiritual walk. Our wheelhouse is our personal strengths, or more specifically our God-given spiritual gift.
How much time do we spend trying to strengthen weaknesses, rather than developing those specific few things that God gave us to do well? We pray for improvement or read books on things that have little bearing on our specific purpose in life. Referring back to physics, work input in that situation does not equal work output no matter how much kinetic energy one puts into it. How much more efficient would it be to put our potential energy into the things of the Holy Spirit. So many times I have seen when there is spiritual alignment with spiritual gifts that the work output is much greater than the work input which goes against the laws of physics (probably called miracles). When we turn over control of our wheelhouse to the God that created them, He blesses us. Seems easy to say...but it is hard to do.
So how do you know what your spiritual gifts are. There are a couple of ways that you can figure it out. The first is by having an awareness of the things that you naturally do well or have the aptitude for. The second is to have an awareness of areas where you seem to get compliments (I personally have gotten compliments on devos and speeches I have given but never leading songs, therefore, I try to speak whenever I can and lead songs as little as I can). Another way is to ask others what they feel your strengths are and have an open mind. There are probably more ways, but the last way I will share is to take an evaluative assessment like the one linked to the title of my blog. Just click on "The Wheelhouse" title above and it will link you to a site where you can take a test and print out the results.
Let me know where your strentgths are. Mine are in teaching and exhortation. Shout out to former Assistant Coach Kelly Edmiston for sending me the link. She was an encourager for me to be inquisitive about my own gifts and the gifts of our players last year. The fun part is trying to predict the gifts of friends and see if the assessment shows it to be true.
Of course the best hitters can expand their wheelhouse and make adjustments to curve balls that come at them, but that is a different topic for a different day. I encourage you to click on the title above and follow the prompts to begin identifying your spiritual gifts. I encourage my players to begin thinking about how their gifts will best be utilized within the framework of our team.
Blessings,
Coach
I Cor 12:1-11
We all have "wheelhouses" in our daily lives. One may have a wheelhouse at play, at work, and in their spiritual walk. Our wheelhouse is our personal strengths, or more specifically our God-given spiritual gift.
How much time do we spend trying to strengthen weaknesses, rather than developing those specific few things that God gave us to do well? We pray for improvement or read books on things that have little bearing on our specific purpose in life. Referring back to physics, work input in that situation does not equal work output no matter how much kinetic energy one puts into it. How much more efficient would it be to put our potential energy into the things of the Holy Spirit. So many times I have seen when there is spiritual alignment with spiritual gifts that the work output is much greater than the work input which goes against the laws of physics (probably called miracles). When we turn over control of our wheelhouse to the God that created them, He blesses us. Seems easy to say...but it is hard to do.
So how do you know what your spiritual gifts are. There are a couple of ways that you can figure it out. The first is by having an awareness of the things that you naturally do well or have the aptitude for. The second is to have an awareness of areas where you seem to get compliments (I personally have gotten compliments on devos and speeches I have given but never leading songs, therefore, I try to speak whenever I can and lead songs as little as I can). Another way is to ask others what they feel your strengths are and have an open mind. There are probably more ways, but the last way I will share is to take an evaluative assessment like the one linked to the title of my blog. Just click on "The Wheelhouse" title above and it will link you to a site where you can take a test and print out the results.
Let me know where your strentgths are. Mine are in teaching and exhortation. Shout out to former Assistant Coach Kelly Edmiston for sending me the link. She was an encourager for me to be inquisitive about my own gifts and the gifts of our players last year. The fun part is trying to predict the gifts of friends and see if the assessment shows it to be true.
Of course the best hitters can expand their wheelhouse and make adjustments to curve balls that come at them, but that is a different topic for a different day. I encourage you to click on the title above and follow the prompts to begin identifying your spiritual gifts. I encourage my players to begin thinking about how their gifts will best be utilized within the framework of our team.
Blessings,
Coach
I Cor 12:1-11
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Rojo Gato
...That's what Abilene Christian's announcer Grant Boone called her, "rojo gato", or "red cat" in Spanish. She is a red-head and her first name is Kat. Kat Kundmueller is the first assistant women's basketball coach in Faulkner University history.
I believe unequivocally that God answer's prayer. The Bible and history books have proven that. My personal life is a case study in answered prayer at every turn of my career.
I thought I had picked the perfect assistant back in January. I talked to her and she was interested. She had a solid playing career at a high-major university and was highly recommended. Time passed, however, and things stalled in our conversations. I don't think it was anyones fault, circumstances just slowed things down. I decided to focus on recruiting players first and then concentrate on an assistant. Once we got our 15th commitment from Linzee Kerce (whom we signed last night at Camp Ney-a-Ti in Guntersville, AL), I turned my focus toward hiring the right assistant.
So I texted the one that "I" wanted and we went back and forth and she just wasn't as excited about coming out for an interview as I would have liked. I was a little frustrated at first, but realized that might have been God's way of slowly closing a door. In the meantime, I had been calling around to some othe Christian high school and college women's basketball coaches. The first call I made was to Mark Campbell of Union University. His team has won the last two NAIA national championships and he runs the model small college program. He did not know of anyone off hand, but he gave me great advice. He told me that basketball background was virtually irrelevant for him as far as assistants go. They don't have to be perfect, but they have to be Godly women who will commit to working hard at mentoring the young ladies in the program. He also mentioned that they have to be someone he knew his wife would be comfortable with. I thought that was great advice so I start praying for God to send me that person.
As I called around to high school and college coaches, there was one name that came up a couple of times as a young lady fresh off a great college playing career who was very spiritually minded, a competitor, and had the intangibles to be an outstanding coach. So I called Kat. She played high school ball at Euless Trinity in Texas before transferring to play for Coach John Anderson at Fort Worth Christian her junior and senior years. Fort Worth Christian is a private school powerhouse rival that my team at Westbury Christian had to play in the state semi's this year to advance. When Kat was playing, it was not a rivalry...they just beat us. They had a great team full of outstanding college level talent. Kat just graduated from Abilene Christian University. She was a prolific point guard for Coach Shawna Lavender that was 2nd in the country in assists last year in NCAA Division II. She was also number 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (my favorite stat). More than her playing statistics, however, was the recurring theme of her natural gift of leadership, her eagerness to learn, and her heart for service. These attributes are extremely evident after a couple of phone conversations, some emails, and a campus visit with Kat. I am confident that she was "God's" choice for our program. I had to get out of the way and let Him choose.
I am very excited about how the team has taken shape and I sense the Holy Spirit's blessings on our University and the basketball programs. I will sum it up with Kat's thoughts in a text she sent me last night when she returned home to Texas. She texted some thoughts about our potential motto (or mission statement) for next year. She wrote, "Our hearts and our eyes are focused on Christ so our destination is clear; we give everything every time for our team, our God, and His glory".
If we heed the thoughts that were in her heart as she sent that text, we are assured of success regardless of the numbers left on the scoreboard at the end of a game.
Welcome, Coach Kat!
Coach
I believe unequivocally that God answer's prayer. The Bible and history books have proven that. My personal life is a case study in answered prayer at every turn of my career.
I thought I had picked the perfect assistant back in January. I talked to her and she was interested. She had a solid playing career at a high-major university and was highly recommended. Time passed, however, and things stalled in our conversations. I don't think it was anyones fault, circumstances just slowed things down. I decided to focus on recruiting players first and then concentrate on an assistant. Once we got our 15th commitment from Linzee Kerce (whom we signed last night at Camp Ney-a-Ti in Guntersville, AL), I turned my focus toward hiring the right assistant.
So I texted the one that "I" wanted and we went back and forth and she just wasn't as excited about coming out for an interview as I would have liked. I was a little frustrated at first, but realized that might have been God's way of slowly closing a door. In the meantime, I had been calling around to some othe Christian high school and college women's basketball coaches. The first call I made was to Mark Campbell of Union University. His team has won the last two NAIA national championships and he runs the model small college program. He did not know of anyone off hand, but he gave me great advice. He told me that basketball background was virtually irrelevant for him as far as assistants go. They don't have to be perfect, but they have to be Godly women who will commit to working hard at mentoring the young ladies in the program. He also mentioned that they have to be someone he knew his wife would be comfortable with. I thought that was great advice so I start praying for God to send me that person.
As I called around to high school and college coaches, there was one name that came up a couple of times as a young lady fresh off a great college playing career who was very spiritually minded, a competitor, and had the intangibles to be an outstanding coach. So I called Kat. She played high school ball at Euless Trinity in Texas before transferring to play for Coach John Anderson at Fort Worth Christian her junior and senior years. Fort Worth Christian is a private school powerhouse rival that my team at Westbury Christian had to play in the state semi's this year to advance. When Kat was playing, it was not a rivalry...they just beat us. They had a great team full of outstanding college level talent. Kat just graduated from Abilene Christian University. She was a prolific point guard for Coach Shawna Lavender that was 2nd in the country in assists last year in NCAA Division II. She was also number 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (my favorite stat). More than her playing statistics, however, was the recurring theme of her natural gift of leadership, her eagerness to learn, and her heart for service. These attributes are extremely evident after a couple of phone conversations, some emails, and a campus visit with Kat. I am confident that she was "God's" choice for our program. I had to get out of the way and let Him choose.
I am very excited about how the team has taken shape and I sense the Holy Spirit's blessings on our University and the basketball programs. I will sum it up with Kat's thoughts in a text she sent me last night when she returned home to Texas. She texted some thoughts about our potential motto (or mission statement) for next year. She wrote, "Our hearts and our eyes are focused on Christ so our destination is clear; we give everything every time for our team, our God, and His glory".
If we heed the thoughts that were in her heart as she sent that text, we are assured of success regardless of the numbers left on the scoreboard at the end of a game.
Welcome, Coach Kat!
Coach
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Barnabas
One of the great things about starting a program from scratch is the opportunity as the bus driver to only allow the right people on the bus as it leaves the station.
I have had the great opportunity to have an assistant coaching candidate on campus the last couple of days that I am really excited about. She is very spiritually minded, was a great college player, came highly recommended, and is an overachieving hard worker. These are great qualities to have as we begin the journey. I hope to have an announcement about that soon? It's up to her.
We are also adding another student-athlete to the roster tomorrow. It is Linzee Kerce. She is a 5'11" post player who played her high school ball at Madison Academy and then played a year of Junior College ball before deciding to make the move here because she was far enough along with her academic credits that she didn't need another year of JUCO. I am really excited about Linz. I think she will bring a great deal of intensity to practices and is a great encourager. She has a great spirit about her. It has been tough to nail her down to get a signing. I called her a couple of weeks ago after her commitment and said "let's get this done next week", and she said, "I can't, I am going on a mission trip to Ghana". I told her to call when she returned. She did. I texted her and said, "Let's get it done this weekend", and she said, "I am working a church camp this weekend". That is the ideal recruit. A student, an athlete, and a servant with a heart for Christ. I am pumped about Linz. I am headed up to church camp tomorrow to eat some hot dogs, listen to a devotional, meet some Godly people, and sign a servant of Christ to be a part of our program. Continue to pray for our program to be blessed.
Faulkner Women's Basketball is getting better everyday and tomorrow will be no different. We are signing a modern day Barnabas. What a blessing!
Coach
I have had the great opportunity to have an assistant coaching candidate on campus the last couple of days that I am really excited about. She is very spiritually minded, was a great college player, came highly recommended, and is an overachieving hard worker. These are great qualities to have as we begin the journey. I hope to have an announcement about that soon? It's up to her.
We are also adding another student-athlete to the roster tomorrow. It is Linzee Kerce. She is a 5'11" post player who played her high school ball at Madison Academy and then played a year of Junior College ball before deciding to make the move here because she was far enough along with her academic credits that she didn't need another year of JUCO. I am really excited about Linz. I think she will bring a great deal of intensity to practices and is a great encourager. She has a great spirit about her. It has been tough to nail her down to get a signing. I called her a couple of weeks ago after her commitment and said "let's get this done next week", and she said, "I can't, I am going on a mission trip to Ghana". I told her to call when she returned. She did. I texted her and said, "Let's get it done this weekend", and she said, "I am working a church camp this weekend". That is the ideal recruit. A student, an athlete, and a servant with a heart for Christ. I am pumped about Linz. I am headed up to church camp tomorrow to eat some hot dogs, listen to a devotional, meet some Godly people, and sign a servant of Christ to be a part of our program. Continue to pray for our program to be blessed.
Faulkner Women's Basketball is getting better everyday and tomorrow will be no different. We are signing a modern day Barnabas. What a blessing!
Coach
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Great Link
I am not a wikipedia fan, per se. However, this is a good link that took me to a site that brought back memories of the Sports Psychology class that I took when I started my doctorate. It takes one through the stages of team development. You can click on the title or copy and paste the link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forming-storming-norming-performing
Blessings,
Coach
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forming-storming-norming-performing
Blessings,
Coach
Sunday, June 06, 2010
This Day in Basketball History
It has been a very basketball nostalgia-filled day today.
I have been watching the NBA Finals for the last little while and I have also been online reading articles about the greatest Coach in sports history, John Wooden. I enjoyed the comments that were made at halftime about Coach Wooden from his two most prolific players, Kareem Abdul-Jabber and Bill Walton.
When someone has success in a given field, there are usually many who like to take shots at them to bring them down to size. I know that I am not extremely old in a coaching sense having coached for about 17 or 18 years, but in all my years of being a fan, player (debatable), and coaching, I have never heard anyone say one mildly irreverant comment about Coach Wooden. He had the affect on his players that all well meaning coaches wish to have...a positive one. The word most synonomous with Coach Wooden is "Teacher". His servant leadership style was akin to the "Great Teacher", Jesus Christ.
Today has been a neat day in another regard for me. I have had a chance to experience two of the great basketball gyms in all of college athletics. This weekend I had the great opportunity to work with Coach Sylvia Hatchell at the University of North Carolina Girl's Elite camp. Coach Hatchell is a wonderful woman that I look up to because of both her success on the floor and her heart for her player's off the floor. It was reassuring for me that she and her staff are taking such good care of former Westbury Christian Lady Wildcat, Waltia Rolle (who has grown and inch in the last year to 6-6 1/2). In this morning's final session, I had the opportunity to coach a basket and officiate a game at the Dean Smith Center. It is as huge as it looks on TV. There is carolina blue everywhere you turn. The banners and the retired jersey's of all the greats are hanging from the ceiling. A very impressive building.
On my way out of Chapel Hill after camp was over at noon, I decided to make the 10 mile (or so) trip to Durham and try to catch a glimpse of Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke. I walked in the front door and looked around and it turned out there was a camp for older gentlemen who I believe are Business Executives. I went in and sat down and watched and snapped a few photos on the disposable camera I bought for the weekend. It was a very different gym that was much smaller and intimate than the Smith Center. The gothic stone architecture mirrored that of the other buildings on campus. These arenas are both very impressive and very different. They represent the dichotomy between large universities and smaller private schools. They have in common, however, a rich tradition in basketball excellence and leadership with first-class programs. I was evidently lucky as the lady running the gift shop told me that there were a few people that were kicked out of Cameron because they didn't have the right credentials. I was certainly an uninvited guest and my apologies to the University for imposing. As a basketball purist and junkie, it was neat to experience these things. I feel very fortunate. I think it is always important to be curious about the history and traditions in one's family, work, and faith.
This weekend was the best one I have had since I began as Head Women's Coach at Faulkner because I feel that I developed multiple substantive player and coach recruiting contacts. Recruiting and checking up on Waltia were my primary objectives for the trip. A side benefit of the trip was the humbling thought that there was a point in time when each of those Universities chose to begin basketball programs on their campuses, much like we are doing in women's basketball next year. A coach and a few players had to get things started. I liked...er, loved the championship banners. However, the retired jerseys in the rafters gave me an overwhelming sense of respect for of all of the unique coach's and players that gave their heart and soul to the programs over the years. North Carolina Men's Basketball has had a team for exactly 100 years. I wonder what the gym at Faulkner is going to look like in 100 years. What names will be hanging from the ceiling? Will our program be as successful at developing successful young ladies as Coach Wooden, Coach K, and Coach Hatchell have been at developing young leaders?
It is fun to think about the possibilities...
Blessings,
Coach
"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player."
--Coach John Wooden
I have been watching the NBA Finals for the last little while and I have also been online reading articles about the greatest Coach in sports history, John Wooden. I enjoyed the comments that were made at halftime about Coach Wooden from his two most prolific players, Kareem Abdul-Jabber and Bill Walton.
When someone has success in a given field, there are usually many who like to take shots at them to bring them down to size. I know that I am not extremely old in a coaching sense having coached for about 17 or 18 years, but in all my years of being a fan, player (debatable), and coaching, I have never heard anyone say one mildly irreverant comment about Coach Wooden. He had the affect on his players that all well meaning coaches wish to have...a positive one. The word most synonomous with Coach Wooden is "Teacher". His servant leadership style was akin to the "Great Teacher", Jesus Christ.
Today has been a neat day in another regard for me. I have had a chance to experience two of the great basketball gyms in all of college athletics. This weekend I had the great opportunity to work with Coach Sylvia Hatchell at the University of North Carolina Girl's Elite camp. Coach Hatchell is a wonderful woman that I look up to because of both her success on the floor and her heart for her player's off the floor. It was reassuring for me that she and her staff are taking such good care of former Westbury Christian Lady Wildcat, Waltia Rolle (who has grown and inch in the last year to 6-6 1/2). In this morning's final session, I had the opportunity to coach a basket and officiate a game at the Dean Smith Center. It is as huge as it looks on TV. There is carolina blue everywhere you turn. The banners and the retired jersey's of all the greats are hanging from the ceiling. A very impressive building.
On my way out of Chapel Hill after camp was over at noon, I decided to make the 10 mile (or so) trip to Durham and try to catch a glimpse of Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke. I walked in the front door and looked around and it turned out there was a camp for older gentlemen who I believe are Business Executives. I went in and sat down and watched and snapped a few photos on the disposable camera I bought for the weekend. It was a very different gym that was much smaller and intimate than the Smith Center. The gothic stone architecture mirrored that of the other buildings on campus. These arenas are both very impressive and very different. They represent the dichotomy between large universities and smaller private schools. They have in common, however, a rich tradition in basketball excellence and leadership with first-class programs. I was evidently lucky as the lady running the gift shop told me that there were a few people that were kicked out of Cameron because they didn't have the right credentials. I was certainly an uninvited guest and my apologies to the University for imposing. As a basketball purist and junkie, it was neat to experience these things. I feel very fortunate. I think it is always important to be curious about the history and traditions in one's family, work, and faith.
This weekend was the best one I have had since I began as Head Women's Coach at Faulkner because I feel that I developed multiple substantive player and coach recruiting contacts. Recruiting and checking up on Waltia were my primary objectives for the trip. A side benefit of the trip was the humbling thought that there was a point in time when each of those Universities chose to begin basketball programs on their campuses, much like we are doing in women's basketball next year. A coach and a few players had to get things started. I liked...er, loved the championship banners. However, the retired jerseys in the rafters gave me an overwhelming sense of respect for of all of the unique coach's and players that gave their heart and soul to the programs over the years. North Carolina Men's Basketball has had a team for exactly 100 years. I wonder what the gym at Faulkner is going to look like in 100 years. What names will be hanging from the ceiling? Will our program be as successful at developing successful young ladies as Coach Wooden, Coach K, and Coach Hatchell have been at developing young leaders?
It is fun to think about the possibilities...
Blessings,
Coach
"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player."
--Coach John Wooden
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Forgiveness
A quick parallel to the grace of God...A soft pat during the lineup card exchange from Detroit Tiger pitcher Armando Gallaraga to the back of umpire Jim Joyce.
Soak in the magnitude of that act.
Joyce admitted to making a monumental error in ruining a perfect game on the last out. Perfect games come along roughly every 200,000 games played. As early as the next day, he was outwardly forgiven by the person damaged the most. I praise God for the example that Gallaraga showed to all of us in the business of athletics. God expects us to be competitive, but not at the expense of our character.
Blessings,
Coach
Soak in the magnitude of that act.
Joyce admitted to making a monumental error in ruining a perfect game on the last out. Perfect games come along roughly every 200,000 games played. As early as the next day, he was outwardly forgiven by the person damaged the most. I praise God for the example that Gallaraga showed to all of us in the business of athletics. God expects us to be competitive, but not at the expense of our character.
Blessings,
Coach
Thursday, June 03, 2010
You Make A Grown Man Cry
"You make a grown man cry" are some of the lyrics to a song called "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones. It also describes my day yesterday. As it turns out, I had a kidney stone that was between 3 and 4 mm. That doesn't sound very big on paper, but it was enough to put me on my knees.
I am eternally grateful to my wife for hundreds of reasons, but the biggest reason is making me go to the Pri-Med Center yesterday when I did. Without giving out all of the uncomfortable details, I noticed some pressure and that things weren't normal when I woke up at 7 am yesterday morning. The pain and symptoms were that of my wife's when she had a kidney stone a year or two ago. I called her and she said "Go to Pri-Med NOW! Don't wait! Get there as soon as you can!" So I went out the door, jumped in my truck and burned down Atlanta Highway to the clinic. The major, excruciating pain set in about the moment I walked through the door of the clinic. I was reeling in pain.
I absolutely thank the nurses at the clinic for understanding the pain, except for the one who tried to comfort me by saying, "The pain is only about a third as bad as giving birth a child". I said, "Thanks". Jim Sanderson, our Men's Coach at Faulkner and my savior with rides and picking up prescriptions, wasn't as subdued and said "You know how to comfort a man don't you? Just kick him when he's down!" I think I am going to enjoy working with him.
It is amazing how something that small can throw everything out of whack. The bodies that we have that were created by God are very resilient, but something as small as 3 mm in diameter can literally make a grown man cry and remind us of the fragility of the human body.
Everything is ok now as the stone must have passed in the middle of the night when I was sleeping. I am up and feel good and will continue with my plans to go to North Carolina this afternoon for some recruiting and working at UNC's Elite Camp.
Shoutouts to Darla for convincing me to go to Pri-Med, and to Coach Sanderson for breaking up his day (even though he had a recruit on campus) to help me get to the different places I needed to go and serving my needs ahead of his own.
Servant Leadership.
Blessings,
Coach
"I haven't got time for the pain"
--Carly Simon
I am eternally grateful to my wife for hundreds of reasons, but the biggest reason is making me go to the Pri-Med Center yesterday when I did. Without giving out all of the uncomfortable details, I noticed some pressure and that things weren't normal when I woke up at 7 am yesterday morning. The pain and symptoms were that of my wife's when she had a kidney stone a year or two ago. I called her and she said "Go to Pri-Med NOW! Don't wait! Get there as soon as you can!" So I went out the door, jumped in my truck and burned down Atlanta Highway to the clinic. The major, excruciating pain set in about the moment I walked through the door of the clinic. I was reeling in pain.
I absolutely thank the nurses at the clinic for understanding the pain, except for the one who tried to comfort me by saying, "The pain is only about a third as bad as giving birth a child". I said, "Thanks". Jim Sanderson, our Men's Coach at Faulkner and my savior with rides and picking up prescriptions, wasn't as subdued and said "You know how to comfort a man don't you? Just kick him when he's down!" I think I am going to enjoy working with him.
It is amazing how something that small can throw everything out of whack. The bodies that we have that were created by God are very resilient, but something as small as 3 mm in diameter can literally make a grown man cry and remind us of the fragility of the human body.
Everything is ok now as the stone must have passed in the middle of the night when I was sleeping. I am up and feel good and will continue with my plans to go to North Carolina this afternoon for some recruiting and working at UNC's Elite Camp.
Shoutouts to Darla for convincing me to go to Pri-Med, and to Coach Sanderson for breaking up his day (even though he had a recruit on campus) to help me get to the different places I needed to go and serving my needs ahead of his own.
Servant Leadership.
Blessings,
Coach
"I haven't got time for the pain"
--Carly Simon
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Becoming A Team
While retyping my notes that I took from the recent clinic that I attended with Coach Don Meyer there was one segment that stood out to me that would be beneficial in starting a team. It was his four concepts in developing a team.
The first one is SHARED OWNERSHIP. There is a monumental difference in renting a home and buying one, or renting a car and buying one. One takes care of, nurtures, and makes deposits into things they own. One has a tendency to use and abuse things that they rent. The same can be said of the attitude of the players on a team. They must "buy" in, not "rent" in to the program.
The second one is SHARED SUFFERING. If you want to be fit, it requires working out and working out is uncomfortable. If it was comfortable, then the obesity rates in America would drop. Shared suffering is the concept behind basic training in the military. Yes, it is to get people in shape, but it also makes them work together and develop bonds with each other that are still strong when tough times hit (and they inevitably will).
The third is INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY. Players need to be accountable and need to be held accoutable. I love how Coach K writes in his book, "The Gold Standard", that when Jason Kidd joined the team, Kidd made a huge deal out of making sure that everyone on that team was ALWAYS on time. This was out of respect for the coaches and teammates, but it is just the right thing to do. Jim Nantz, in his book "Always By My Side", mentions that in journalism the standard of behavior was that "to be early was to be on time". My friend and Olympic Gold-Medalist sprinter, Mike Marsh, always shares the advice to people he meets that the most important part of being successful is "showing up"...always being relied upon to be there, regardless.
The last is COLLECTIVE PRIDE. This is about being more proud of team success than individual performance. My dad never used to ask me how I played when I was a kid until after he asked how the team did...even in the individual sport of tennis. I would get home and he would say, "Did you guys win?", I would say, "Yep", He would say, "How did everybody do?", and I would share some highlights, and THEN he would say, "How'd you play?", and I would tell him my successes and failures. When I would play great and win my match but the team would lose overall, he would be disappointed. When I would play poorly and the team won he would say, "That's great!". The sweatshirt that he wore to all of my games, matches, and tournaments said, "Hamilton Hawkeyes", it didn't say "Reed Sutton". He was a company man. He worked in the same company for 40 years, through good times and bad and success and failure and parties and funerals, he gave it is all for his company. That's pride.
I am excited about developing our team in each of these four areas. I hope they are ready to meet these challenges face-to-face and conquer them.
Blessings,
Coach
"...whatever you do, do all for the glory of God" (I Cor 10:31 NIV)
The first one is SHARED OWNERSHIP. There is a monumental difference in renting a home and buying one, or renting a car and buying one. One takes care of, nurtures, and makes deposits into things they own. One has a tendency to use and abuse things that they rent. The same can be said of the attitude of the players on a team. They must "buy" in, not "rent" in to the program.
The second one is SHARED SUFFERING. If you want to be fit, it requires working out and working out is uncomfortable. If it was comfortable, then the obesity rates in America would drop. Shared suffering is the concept behind basic training in the military. Yes, it is to get people in shape, but it also makes them work together and develop bonds with each other that are still strong when tough times hit (and they inevitably will).
The third is INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY. Players need to be accountable and need to be held accoutable. I love how Coach K writes in his book, "The Gold Standard", that when Jason Kidd joined the team, Kidd made a huge deal out of making sure that everyone on that team was ALWAYS on time. This was out of respect for the coaches and teammates, but it is just the right thing to do. Jim Nantz, in his book "Always By My Side", mentions that in journalism the standard of behavior was that "to be early was to be on time". My friend and Olympic Gold-Medalist sprinter, Mike Marsh, always shares the advice to people he meets that the most important part of being successful is "showing up"...always being relied upon to be there, regardless.
The last is COLLECTIVE PRIDE. This is about being more proud of team success than individual performance. My dad never used to ask me how I played when I was a kid until after he asked how the team did...even in the individual sport of tennis. I would get home and he would say, "Did you guys win?", I would say, "Yep", He would say, "How did everybody do?", and I would share some highlights, and THEN he would say, "How'd you play?", and I would tell him my successes and failures. When I would play great and win my match but the team would lose overall, he would be disappointed. When I would play poorly and the team won he would say, "That's great!". The sweatshirt that he wore to all of my games, matches, and tournaments said, "Hamilton Hawkeyes", it didn't say "Reed Sutton". He was a company man. He worked in the same company for 40 years, through good times and bad and success and failure and parties and funerals, he gave it is all for his company. That's pride.
I am excited about developing our team in each of these four areas. I hope they are ready to meet these challenges face-to-face and conquer them.
Blessings,
Coach
"...whatever you do, do all for the glory of God" (I Cor 10:31 NIV)
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