Character Coach / Sports Chaplain Blog

For the last eighteen years I have been working alongside collegiate student-athletes and for many of those years I have heard that designation, “student-athlete,” being disparaged as an oxymoron. National sports media, in particular, daily speak cynically of the nature of college athletes and their scholastic discipline as being at best a total joke and at worst a cruel hoax. I have a few thoughts about their opinions and the nature of collegiate athletics and scholarship.   First, to make a blanket statement about student-athletes as if they were all the same is ludicrous. The national media tend to look at the most high profile and extreme cases and then extrapolate their situations to every student-athlete at every level of sport. This is foolish at best. The gap between the academic requirements of institutions like Duke and Stanford and many other universities, even in their own conferences, is quite broad. The NCAA sets minimum standards for eligibility for scholarships...

Why do competitors leave their sports? What are the reasons for the disappearance of people who love sport and have lived in sport for most of their lifetimes? There are a number of factors which lead to the end of one’s sporting career, many of them are listed and discussed below.   One’s eligibility expires – this happens mostly in collegiate sports in the USA. A player has four years of eligibility to compete in college sports across a span of five years. Occasionally an injury or some other issue may extend that to six years but it’s the rare exception. Most competitors can see this coming for at least a year, but some don’t really grasp it until they’re about to compete in the last game or meet of their careers. This factor ends the vast majority of collegiate sportspeople’s competitive sports careers.   Loss of opportunity – this happens in many sports, even to the most talented and host highly achieving, simply due to the lack of professional sports opportuni...

Below is a series of discussions I just completed with student-athletes at our university. They engaged deeply in these discussions and seemed to be genuinely challenged and encouraged. I hope it is of value to you and your ministry.   Pursuing Our Life’s Purpose as Sportspeople Inductive Bible Study + Discussion of Applications to Life in Sport   Life Purpose and Identity 1 and 2 Pursuing God’s Will – 1 and 2 Pursuing God-Honoring Relationships Pursuing Fulfillment and Joy Pursuing God’s Will in Life Transitions Pursuing Wise Choices   Life Purpose and Identity - 1   Ephesians 1:3-6  Chosen  Adopted  By His will and grace Ephesians 1:7-14  Redeemed and forgiven  Obtained an inheritance  Believed the Gospel – salvation - sealed Ephesians 2:1-10  Were dead in sin  God mercifully saved us  We are His workmanship Application:  Which of the truths above are diminished by our sport performances?  Which of these truths are enhanced by ou...

Partners in Ministry,   Earlier this week I led a discussion with a set of collegiate student-athletes regarding “Pursuing God’s Will in Life Transitions.” This is the latest in a series of discussions we’ve been doing related to pursuing God’s will, joy and fulfillment in our lives as sportspeople. After incubating thought on this matter for weeks, I finally arrived at a form for this discussion which was different than all the others. Below is the outline for our discussion. I hope it can be of value to you as you share with competitors or coaches in your circle.   1. What sorts of transitions have you experienced to date? • Answers included:  High School to college sport and academics  Living at home with parents to living more independently in a dorm or an apartment  Playing for fun to playing to perform 2. What are the transitions in life you anticipate to encounter in the next year or two? • Answers included:  Competitive sport to retired from sport  Singl...