Seasons in Sport

It is the nature of the sport world to divide the annual calendar into various seasons, not Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, but pre-season, on season, post-season, and off season. It is helpful for those who serve people in sport to have a strategy for each of these seasons. Below are some brief thoughts about different sorts of initiatives one can undertake in each of your team’s seasons.

 

Pre-season: This is the perfect time to learn all you can about the people on your team. Work to meet everyone who works with the team. Learn the names of players, coaches, and the support staff like physios, athletic trainers, equipment managers, operations people, office staff, strength and conditioning coaches, etc… I would challenge you to memorize the whole roster of players’ names, uniform numbers, and home towns. This is the time to lay the relational foundations for the ministry opportunities that will follow.

 

On season: This is when you execute the plans you have made and you work to fit into the rhythm of the team’s life. Listen well for expressions of spiritual hunger and seize each opportunity as it arises. Pray for a sensitive heart and wise presence with the team.

 

Post-season: Should your team compete well enough to make it to a set of playoffs or a post-season tournament, enjoy the ride. Treat this as a new season with unique opportunities and work to help each one and the team collectively to finish well. Most of the time these tournaments are one off events and while each team thinks they’ll emerge as champions, only one will. Be very present and self-controlled in order to serve everyone, especially if the team is eliminated short of the championship.

 

Off season: The easiest thing to do in the off season is nothing. It is far better to use this time to rest, to evaluate, to plan, and to prepare for the future. It’s wise to meet with the head coach to discuss and to evaluate your service of the team. Ask the hard questions like: What worked well? What did you like that we did? What did you not like? What would you like to have me do more? What would you like to have me do less? What do you most value from my role? How can I serve you and the team better? Use the information gathered from this meeting to make plans and to prepare for the next pre-season.

 

The seasonal nature of sport can be of tremendous benefit to us if we’ll understand the unique nature of each season and its opportunities to serve and to grow our ministries. The dynamics and rhythm of sports’ seasons diminish monotony and enhance our anticipation of the Lord Jesus’ movement in the hearts and minds of the men and women we serve.