Hockey Chat:  With the NHL expansion in the late 1960s and the emergence of skilled players like Wayne Gretzky, enforcers became more common.  Their role was to try to knock those skilled guys on the other team off of their game.  The enforcers were poor at nearly everything else because their main role was to hunt down the good guy and get ‘em and they spent their ice time doing just that.

“Touch the line!” is a phrase that athletes hear constantly, a call to run a sprint the right way. In my own personal experience this phrase has often been followed by the dreaded “that one didn’t count.” Needless to say, no one likes to run more than they have to.

Why would a coach make an athlete run again just for missing a line? I mean really, sometimes it’s only a matter of inches. The answer has to do with hard work and discipline. A coach never wants to see a player cut corners. He or she wants every player to realize their full potential, even if that means focusing on seemingly minor things. The same is true of our Heavenly Coach.

Are you busy? I bet you are! Games, practices, work, meetings and other important things consume our days. We get so busy we sometimes forget what is truly essential. Recently I have been reminded that there are two things I have been neglecting or forgetting to do for my family. And while I can build a great plan to succeed in life, if I'm not leading and caring for my family, emptiness will surely follow.

As athletes, a majority of us are constantly searching for two things when it comes to increasing our athletic performance:

1. Things that make us better.
2. Things that make us worse.

Athletes who are serious about reaching their full potential are always looking for that next exercise, diet or drill that will help them increase their performance. Similarly, athletes are also on the lookout for things that will inhibit or corrupt their performance (bad habits, poor attitudes, wrong diets, etc.) so that they might be able make changes and achieve their full athletic potential.

Today, the FCA family is celebrating the life of one of its heroes. Longtime FCA teammate Ed Britton went home to be with the Lord this morning, leaving behind him an unsurpassed legacy of faith, passion and life. Anyone who came into contact with Ed, even for the briefest of moments, was left with an impression of Christ and a fresh desire to make an impact for Him. No one could leave an encounter with Ed without being completely fired up for Christ and ready to go out and make a difference in the world! He was truly one of a kind, and we will miss him so much.