Dad, that was a close one!

A year ago I agreed to help coach my 6 year old's soccer team. Last season, we rocked. Lost only one game and had a great team. This year he moved up a division and we had to restructure a new team. This season, we're rocky.

I've got great boys on our team. But only half of them are there to really play and compete. The others either have never played or have no real desire to play. As I plan our game strategy I have to split our team up between those who want to win and those who really don't care.

To help our new team stay focused I implemented the Five Rules of Soccer:
1) Have fun.
2) Put the ball in the goal.
3) Don't touch the ball with your hands (unless you're a goalie(.
4) Have fun. (just for emphasis).
5) Be a team.

I know it sounds basic (I never said I was a good coach!) but it helps keep our guys focused on the play. We don't have a rule about winning...just having fun...mmm.

I was reminded of this concept two weeks ago. After losing 5 straight games and only scoring 2 goals all season I was ready to hang up the cleats on our team. Being a collegiate athlete, I'm fairly competitive and somewhere along the way, winning really became priority. I was visibly frustrated with our team when they would make a mistake or not follow instructions; when we'd lose I was in a foul mood for the rest of the afternoon and I even dreaded coming to games. However, at this particular game we played especially bad and lost 6-0. On the way to the car my son Caleb grabbed my hand and said, "Dad, that was a close one! We almost won!"

In that moment, I realized that Caleb had no idea what the score was nor did it matter to him...he was just following rule 1 and 4: having fun.

It's always nice to have your 6 year old correct you. And right then and there God used Caleb to correct my spirit about competition and how I was losing sight of why I agreed to coach in the first place: to invest in my son and help other non-churched families see a "switched" life.

Grabbing his hand and walking to the car, I was humbled and broken. It's here that God often speaks the loudest to me. I repented and renewed my vision to coach our team. The next Saturday morning I got a call that our best player wouldn't be there to play our afternoon game. Instead of allowing that to ruin my day, I headed to the field ready to encourage my guys and not worrying about the outcome of the game. It was so liberating to enjoy the game and see my son score his first goal of the season. I finally stopped allowing the pressure to win to overshadow the joy of coaching.

Our boys played great and won their first game. God always has a sense of humor.

I wonder what we would be like if we stopped allowing the outside pressures of work and relationships kill the joy that God has for us. Trust him, relax, we don't exist for the praise from others or to have a winning record. We're called to worship the king and reflect His glory alone.