Below is another excerpt from “Transforming Lives in Sport.” It again affirms the centrality of building redemptive Relationships to our work with the People of Sport.
Meet their Families. For teams at the college, club and professional level, the players are mostly removed from their homes and families, so when the family comes to town to visit, it’s an important occasion. Many times they will want to meet the Sport Chaplain or Mentor and to visit with you about their child’s spiritual life. This can be a very valuable relationship for you. You may have the opportunity to invest in the life of not only the player or coach, but the rest of the family as well.
I’ve stood at practices many times praying with players whose mothers or fathers had recently been diagnosed with cancer or had been hospitalized with a heart attack. There have also been a number of players whose families have been shattered by divorce or infidelity and it has hit them very hard. Most of them have left their homes and are hours away from the people they love. Coaches and competitors are just normal people and their families are not immune from the struggles of pain, disease, heartache and death. Simply taking time for prayer and compassion means more to them than I can possibly express.
Meeting the families, even briefly helps build your bond with the players and coaches.
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