Character Coach / Sports Chaplain Blog

This is the latest in a series of this year’s Team Building with Saluki Football. I hope it’s of value to you. If you would like the entire outline, please email me and I’ll be pleased to send it to you. Strength and Skill - Group Discussions • In the sport of college football, what kinds of strength seem to be important? How are they observed and developed? • How are these various areas of strength observed and developed? o Physical strength o Mental strength o Spiritual strength • Among your skills as a football player, which has been most important to your success? How did you acquire and develop that skill? • Which skills need further development for you to be the player you want to be? How do you intend to do that? Session 5 – True Freshmen • Tell us your name, your home town, the position you play, and your uniform number. • By the end of your career as a Saluki Football player in four or five years, what would you like to say will be your grea...

This is the latest in a series of this year’s Team Building with Saluki Football. I hope it’s of value to you. If you would like the entire outline, please email me and I’ll be pleased to send it to you.   Poise and Perseverance – Group Discussions • Roger’s introductory remarks about poise and perseverance. • Poise is defined as: “a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession, steadiness; stability.” • What does poise look like on the football field, from your position? Tell us about a situation, down and distance, time on the clock, score, etc… • Who among us of Saluki Football consistently demonstrates that kind of poise? Tell us about a situation when you saw it in action. • When you hear the word “perseverance,” whose name or face comes to mind? Through what did that person persevere? • Through what have you persevered to be a Saluki Football player? • Through what do you expect we will have to persevere this year to become Missouri Valley ...

This is the latest in a series of this year’s Team Building with Saluki Football. I hope it’s of value to you. If you would like the entire outline, please email me and I’ll be pleased to send it to you.   Motivation and Mentors – Group Discussions • Roger’s introductory remarks about motivation and mentors. • Tell us about the most motivational coach for whom you have played. How did he motivate players to be their best? • What most consistently motivates you to be your best? • What demotivates you most consistently, leading you to poorer performance and attitude? • How do you work to motivate other players and to help them compete at their highest level? • Tell us about someone who has been a mentor to you as a football player. How has he influenced you? • Who have been mentors in your life outside of football to this point? In what areas of life have they been most helpful to you?   Session 3 – Sophomores • Tell us your name, your home town, the position you play,...

This is the latest in a series of this year’s Team Building with Saluki Football. I hope it’s of value to you. If you would like the entire outline, please email me and I’ll be pleased to send it to you. Several asked for and received it each of the last two weeks.   Attitude and Ambition – Group Discussions • Roger’s introductory remarks about attitude and ambition. • In your group make a list of five or more attitudes which are productive in the process of becoming a championship football team. • Now make a list of five or more attitudes which are detrimental to the process of becoming champions. • How does one monitor his attitudes to be sure he’s being helpful and not harmful to his team’s development and his own development? • Ambition is defined as: “an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.” • Toward what are you personally ambitious? How important is it to you? ...

As promised, below is session #2 of this year’s Team Building with Saluki Football. I hope it’s of value to you. If you would like the entire outline, please email me and I’ll be pleased to send it to you. Several asked for and received it last week.   Session 2 – Hunger and Humility – Group Discussions • Roger’s introductory remarks about hunger and humility. • For what are you most hungry as a Saluki Football player? Why? • What action will your hunger produce in you? How will that hunger drive you? • Definition of humility: “the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc.” • Who has been a model of real humility in your life? Tell us about him or her. • How does one’s humility affect others around him?   Session 2 – Seniors • Tell us your name, your home town, the position you play, and your uniform number. • In your years as a Saluki Football player, how have hunger and humility contributed to your ...

I recently finished reading “The Gospel According to Starbucks” by Leonard Sweet (Waterbrook Press) and found it to be well worth the purchase price. Its subtitle, “Living with a Grande Passion” is appropriate and one idea in particular seemed very applicable to our ministry with the men and women of sport. Sweet used the acrostic, EPIC , to explain why Starbucks has done so well in capturing the imaginations of people all over the world with coffee and more.   EPIC stands for: E xperiential, P articipatory, I mage-rich and C onnecting. He further states that our expression of the Gospel of Christ would be more appealing to our generation(s) if it were also EPIC . Below are some ideas regarding the EPIC nature of our work together.   Experiential – our ministry is very much this way, if we are close enough to share the experiences with coaches and competitors. That’s a little dangerous because we could experience losses as well as victories. We may experience grief as well...