Last week we discussed the
development of relationships with coaches. Today I’d like to have us think
about how to develop relationships with a sporting team’s support staff. This
includes a wide variety of people who support the coaches and competitors on a
team.
The people I have in mind
include:
·
Athletic administrators
·
Athletic trainers (physios)
·
Equipment managers
·
Operations managers
·
Office personnel
·
Team doctors
One may wonder why building
relationships with these people is important. I would simply say that they are
as valuable to God as is the most productive or highest profile player, the
head coach, or anyone else associated with the team. In addition, building
relationships with these people can make your service of the team easier, more
effective, and deeper than it could ever be without their insight, expertise,
and partnership.
Having a relationship of
trust with the athletic trainer or physiotherapist, can be of tremendous value
as he or she can inform you of injuries, upcoming surgeries, and other
situations encountered by players. This information often leads to ministry
opportunities for me.
Having favor with the
athletic administration could be the determining factor as to a sports chaplain’s
access to secure areas; practice, sidelines, locker rooms, etc.; as well as
travel with a team. Without that relationship, the character coach is an easy
one to drop from the passenger list.
The equipment managers of our
teams have become friends, allies, and trusted sources of administration for
me. I can quickly learn many details about practice schedules, travel details
and more from the numerous managers around a college football practice.
To know and offer to serve
the operations manager for a team is a wise and effective relationship to
build. These people have to manage most of the logistics for a team’s travel
and the whole process of game day. They are usually quite stressed and when we have
an encouraging voice, hands ready to serve, and express thankfulness for their
work, we build relationship quickly.
The head coach’s secretary,
the office manager, and other personnel around the coaches’ offices are the
gatekeepers to the staff’s inner sanctum. Make the office manager your friend.
I was privileged to be married to one of these and her influence with four
different coaching staffs and the daily lives of 100+ student-athletes each
year could not be overstated.
Finally, to be familiar, even
just acquainted, with the team doctors can be of tremendous value to you and to
those you serve. The doctor can allow you into the personal life of injured
competitors, can give you access to family and to moments of crisis for the player
(surgery center, emergency room, etc.) so that you may serve most effectively.
In summary, a sports team’s
support staff can be of immeasurable value to your efforts to serve the
coaching staff and competitors on the team. Let’s be sure to love and serve the
support staff in a similar way as to how we love and serve the competitors.
Their eternal souls are of infinite worth and they are within our sphere of
influence and responsibility.
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