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While a health “detox” can help restore vibrant health, don’t follow in Oprah’s footsteps!
There had not been an undefeated Kentucky Derby winner since Seattle Slew did it in 1977. Fans watching the 2004 Kentucky Derby saw a Pennsylvania-bred horse named Smarty Jones, with a trainer and a jockey who were both rookies, end the 27-year drought by winning the race, running the horse’s record to 7–0. Jockey Stewart Elliott later said:
"It is just unbelievable. We bunched up a bit on the first turn but things turned out great. It was a good trip. I crossed the wire and I can’t explain it; there aren’t words to describe it. At the three-eighths pole, I knew I had a loaded gun underneath me. I was just going to sit until he straightened up and switched leads. He really went to running."
Hockey Chat: You can feel effects being out on the ice for the first time in a while. You can also feel the effects from working out or keeping active in preparation for game time. Devoting the extra effort helps you be a better skater. That helps the whole team win. Individual dedication leads to team victory.
So much in sports is related to the eyes. A ball is dropped because a player takes her eyes off the ball at the last minute. A batter misses the pitch because he fails to keep his eye on the ball. As a coach you’ve likely cautioned your players, “Keep your head up,” so that an athlete will look at the right thing in order to avoid injury and be most effective.
There are many “reality” shows on television today, and nearly all of them delve into areas that are indeed outlandish. One show in particular that caught my attention involved an experienced foreign nanny who came to rescue a family who had lost control of their children. The parents were depicted as a hapless pair who were desperate and frustrated with their lives.
A recent study reports that only 6 percent of teens today believe that moral truth is absolute. I knew it wouldn’t be high, but that’s really low. Not good. Young people today are basically saying that life is a sliding scale. Truth has become relative because it all depends on the situation.
In the world of athletics, there are many truths that cannot be relative, such as wins and losses. Imagine if every athlete defined winning differently—one by score, one by hustle, one by the best fans, and so on. It would be chaos! Fortunately—or unfortunately—winning is defined by the scoreboard. Life without truths, absolutes and boundaries leads to chaos.
A few days ago I went to the funeral of a huge sports fan whose love for life was evident to all. His name was Mike. His father had worked for FCA for several years and was responsible for getting FCA started in the SEC schools in the 60s and 70s. Mike’s life was full of joy, but it ended tragically with a sudden heart attack. He left this life way too early in my opinion, but his legacy will live on. His life was based on hope in Christ.
Hockey Chat: You’ve seen hockey players try to argue there way out of penalties saying that it was just a little hook or they just slashed at the puck not the opponent. They try to minimize the offense. Fact is, when they are called for penalty, it’s a penalty. If they say they just barely hit the guy with their stick, they still are called for slashing. If plead that they just nudged the guy head first into the boards, they still get called for boarding just as if they slammed him. When the ref sees a penalty, regardless of the degree, he calls it.
Hockey Chat: The current engraver, Louise St. Jacques is the engraver of the Stanley Cup every year. During engraving, the Cup is disassembled from the top down. The band being engraved is clamped onto a homemade circular jig that creates a steel background for stamping. Special hammers with different head-weights are used to strike against a letter-punch to sink each letter into the silver. When complete, it is another part of the awesome masterpiece.
Olympic speed-skater Chad Hedrick was part of a two-medal finish in the 1,000-meter finals Wednesday night, winning a bronze medal. After winning gold in the 2006 Olympics, Hedrick is one of the most prominent figures in Olympic speed-skating today. Yesterday, Hedrick was featured on the radio broadcast of Haven Today with the key line of the intro, “Chad Hedrick is not the same Chad Hedrick of four years ago.”
During this interview, Hedrick discussed his recent conversion experience. He admitted that most people knew him as a guy who worked hard and played hard. In describing his commitment to Christ, he said, “Now I find myself…really living a godly life now. I feel like I’m going in the right direction.”
Did you ever notice that too much of a good thing can become a very bad thing?
A few days ago, I went out for a long training run. It wasn't a particularly pretty day, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to the run ahead of me. About four miles in, it started to drizzle. A mile later, it was raining. I found myself looking around realizing that I was the only one around running in the rain. My mind started to harp on how miserable it was, how much longer I had to go, and how I could probably just take a shortcut and go home. Then I felt God speak to me.
Let’s be honest. There are some days when we just don’t want to have it all together! I’m a coach’s wife, and as such, I sometimes don’t want to be the patient listening ear for my coach and his frustrations. After all, isn’t it his fault that we are in our situations and dilemmas? Our kids miss their dad while he spends time with someone else’s kid.
In today’s devotion, I want to speak directly to the coach’s wives and hope that the rest of you can take away a small bit of spiritual encouragement, as well.
After injuries to ligaments in both knees cut his 2001 and 2002 seasons short, Oklahoma quarterback Jason White wanted desperately to get back on the field with his teammates. “For a while, it didn’t seem like it would happen,” White said.
White not only got back on the field in 2003, but he also led the Sooners to a 12-1 record and won the Heisman Trophy, the highest honor in college football. When reflecting on the grueling rehab that he had gone through to get to this point, White said, “I’d go through it all again.”
Recruiting at the collegiate level is not an exact science. As coaches travel around the country looking for athletes to fill their rosters, they look for players who are not only talented, but who are willing to dedicate and commit themselves to being the best they can possibly be. Likewise, as coaches, we are committing to players to help them become the best they can be. We are promising to equip them for success.
Shane was a college lacrosse goalie who was playing on our men’s FCA Lacrosse team in Vail, Colorado. It was a ministry outreach that we had done for a couple of years to reach the lacrosse community for Christ, and the Vail Shootout Lacrosse Tournament was at the time the biggest and best tournament to mobilize our efforts. God did amazing things on the field, but what He did off the field was even more amazing. God got ahold of Shane, and I remember being with Him when he asked Jesus to be the Savoir and Lord of his life.
I was getting ready this morning, minding my own business when I heard a proclamation from outside my house. It was loud. It was proud. It was my 4-year-old son singing at the top of his voice, “I’m in the Lord’s Army. Yes, sir!” He was sitting with his light saber in hand singing his praise to the General of the Heavenly Host. When we play sports, we go into battle. Sides are drawn, boundaries set, and the battle begins. No matter what the sport, we choose whom we will compete for and against. It is no different in our walk with Christ. Every day we battle against evil. We are in a war for our souls. God wants us to choose a side.
Hockey Chat: You’ve seen hockey players try to argue there way out of penalties saying that it was just a little hook or they just slashed at the puck not the opponent. They try to minimize the offense. Fact is, when they are called for penalty, it’s a penalty. If they say they just barely hit the guy with their stick, they still are called for slashing. If plead that they just nudged the guy head first into the boards, they still get called for boarding just as if they slammed him. When the ref sees a penalty, regardless of the degree, he calls it.
At the beginning of this soccer season, we had a good combination of experienced/inexperienced starters and substitutes. I thought we were right where we needed to be. We jumped out to a 3-0 record. But then we lost a key forward due to a broken leg, and, two weeks later, our leading scorer broke his ankle. Fortunately, my players took it upon themselves to step it up. The bad thing was that each player did what he thought the team needed. They stopped listening to coaching instruction, stopped playing as a team and relied on their own individual talents. The season started to fall apart, and they found themselves at 3-4. It was time to rally the troops!
Every new year my wife buys me a running journal. It's a great little book that allows me to log in my weekly mileage, my times and even the weather conditions. If you were to glance through my book you would learn that it tells a story about me.
Three years ago I was in great shape, and the pages of that journal reflected that in all of the entries. Nearly every page was full. Last year's journal, however, told a different story. Many of the pages were empty, and they revealed my decline in fitness.
Hockey Chat: Having 5 guys on the ice makes a team. Having 5 guys on the ice that are working together and covering each other makes a winning team. When we say that our position is just on Offense or someone else is a Defenseman, we are cutting away that we are all a team. Whichever color jerseys have the puck determines whether we are all on offense or defense. It’s when we complain or argue that “it’s not my position so it’s not my fault” we all fall down.
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