Looking back on this season and further back at
the past twenty-one seasons with Saluki Football, there are a couple of factors
that have made for the enduring nature of our tenure and the successes we have
enjoyed in this ministry. Some thoughts about these two factors follow. I hope
they are of some value to you.
Factor
number 1 – I value short-term projects. When people ask me to take
on a project that would require years to complete, I break out in a cold sweat and
immediately decline the invitation. If it’s a six month project, I’m listening,
but with great reservations. If the project will last six weeks, six days, or
six hours, I’m in! This sort of orientation fits the sports world very well as
most everything we do is seasonal in nature and even if things are really bad,
the season will be over shortly and we can move on.
Factor
number 2 – I strongly value long-term relationships.
Loyalty, faithfulness, and trustworthiness are among the values I hold most
dearly in people and aim to develop in myself. These values have helped me
maintain a wide network of long-term relationships. A number of the coaches and
players who have been a part of our college football (American Football)
program are still in touch with me and my wife. We have their phone numbers,
email addresses, family details, Facebook pages, and more angles for staying
connected. I seek them out when I visit the places where they live. I look for
them at coaches conventions and similar events. Through the season I send text
messages to around forty college football coaches scattered across the USA on
Fridays and Saturdays.
The odd blend of valuing both short-term projects
and long-term relationships has resulted in a freshness to each season with its
constant changing of team roster, coaching staffs, and other factors. On the
other hand, the continuity of being the veteran of twenty-one seasons lends a
constancy to the program as seen by players’ parents, the coaches, and the
university administration.
If you are similarly bent toward these two
factors, I hope they serve to enhance your ministry with sportspeople as they
have mine.
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