Diamond Starz FCA Blog

Knowing An Athletes Heart-The Biggest Intangible

2008-09-27T09:13:00.008-04:00

Today's thought comes from the Sept. 28 devotional found in the FCA Coaches Bible. Contributed by AL Schierbaum who coached baseball at Dallas Baptist University for 11 years.

The biggest intangible in sports is knowing an athletes heart. Their heart is what drives them, what provides their "makeup". This is the invisible quality that comprises the soul, strength and mind of a team. Although we cannot see it or measure it, we know it is difficult to win without it.

While every coach knows that the team must have heart, it is often very difficult to cultivate it. Heart is the most elusive factor to quantify when recruiting or evaluating an athlete.

Scouts call it the athletes "makeup"....who they are as person inside and the type of competitor they are. It is difficult to look past the physical attributes to get at the mental, spiritual, emotional and relational aspects of an athlete. However most bad recruiting decisions are rooted in this part of the player.

This holds true even when selecting players for youth baseball and softball teams. How many times have you seen a promising athlete who possesses all of the desired physical skills end up giving the most problems to a coach because they didn't have what it took inside to be a competitor.

We can look to the bible to see a perfect example of this principle. In 1 Samuel 16:7 the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what it visible, but the Lord sees the heart."

God sent Samuel to the home of Jesse, who had eight sons, to anoint one of these sons as the next king. Jesse lined up his players (sons) to pass in front of Samuel. The first was Eliab who had impressive physical features and whom Samuel thought would be Gods choice. However as the verse above states God did not want Eliab. Six more of Jesse's sons passed in front of Samuel but none were Gods choice. Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons. Jesse told him about David his youngest, who was a unimpressive shepherd boy. This was Gods choice.

David was so far from making the team that he wasn't even on the sideline. His own father didn't recommend him for the job. However God knew Davids heart and chose him.

Coaches need players who possess not only the right physical and mental abilities, but also the commitment and dedication of heart.

As we evaluate players for our team, whether as a professional scout, college recruiter, or youth team coach, let's pray for Gods wisdom to see the players heart and consider their makeup as well.

I have seen a lot of kids get passed up merely because they didn't have the physical attributes. One only needs to look at players like Brian Roberts or David Eckstein to understand that it isn't always about physical appearance that makes a leader and champion.

Come to think of it, I guess God has a liking for guys named David with big hearts and a desire to make an impact!

Lord please grant us wisdom to recruit and seek players for the best reasons. Amen.

Private Preparation Precedes Public Performance

2008-08-29T22:58:00.011-04:00

Well it has been a while since an update to this blog. Just shows you how busy a summer can be with baseball players in your family. Now that school is back in session and we are back to "normal" routines it is my intent to begin writing again.

Fall is an excellent time to think about training and preparation as a young ballplayer. Great time to think about how you can improve before the spring season cranks up again.

As I sit here in a hotel room on a Friday night in Hiawassee Georgia I have been thinking about how much preparation my own son has put into this game over the past 9+ years. You see tomorrow he gets to "showcase" his talents in a very public setting at Young Harris College with 25-30 college coaches/scouts watching and seeking a player or two that they need for their programs. All that he has done on his own and with his various teams and coaches now gets put to the test. No promises. No guarantees. We have prayed that God's Will is carried out and that we accept whatever that may be. You see preparation has led to this moment and he now gets to see if the public performance pays off. No promises. No guarantees.

Yesterday in my FCA Coaches Bible devotional I read about Private Preparation Preceding Public Performance. We live in a performance driven , presentation focused world. In the sporting world much emphasis is put on game time. "How will I look?" or "How will I perform?" is at the forefront of our minds. We are drawn more to the performance than to the preparation.

Great example is Michael Phelps. We loved seeing him win the gold medals. We were glued to every race. Would we have wanted to watch every swim practice, every workout, every early morning strength session? Nope. We want to see the performance. Did all of his preparation guarantee gold? Nope. But it sure did help! Would he have been able to achieve what he did without the preparation. Absolutely not.

Jesus knew how important private preparation was to performance. Every chance He got, Jesus would spend quality time in prayer and devotion to His Father. He pushed away from the crowds, away from the public eye, away from the demands of His day and got alone with God. While his disciples saw his public performance of preaching, teaching, ministering to the needy, and performing miracles their only request was "Lord teach us to pray".

Jesus' private preparation guaranteed the success of His public performance. As coaches and players, our private time (preparation time) is more important than what happens in the public eye. So must our private time with God be important to our "performance" in life. We must take time each day to talk and walk with our Creator in order to hear Him and to seek His wisdom and His Will for our lives. This preparation does guarantee success. Success in having a relationship with the One who made us who we are and will become.

So as you spend time preparing and training physically this Fall for next Springs public performance, keep God in your spiritual preparation and training plan. Seek that quiet time to hear what God has to offer you. He guarantees you won't be disappointed.

As my son "showcases" tomorrow I only wish the college coaches knew how much preparation he has put into this moment. No promises. No guarantees.

However his heavenly Father knows about his physical and spiritual preparation and will see to it that His Will is carried out in his life. Promised and Guaranteed on a cross.

Be Prepared

2008-06-01T09:44:00.003-04:00

This is a great time of the year if you are a fan of amateur baseball. Here in Georgia we have just wrapped up the High School State Championships and the Dawgs and Jackets are playing in the NCAA Regionals. As I watch these games and series unfold, I always see the very simple things that seem to be the downfall of a team's season. Things like baserunning and advancing runners on offense or first pitch strikes and hitting the cutoff man on defense. As a coach, it is a slow death as we watch our teams make these simple yet destructive mistakes. Ultimately it falls on us to have our teams prepared for that exact moment in the season.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible talks of preparedness. Ephesians 2:10 states, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

God has made each one of us with certain gifts and talents. It is up to us to take those talents and hone them to be used in the proper manner. God prepares us and we have to execute. It is that simple. It is a shame to see Christians wasting their God given talent and not executing the game plan that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has assigned us. This is where the disciplines of prayer, Bible study, meditation, silence and solitude come into play. The disciplined Christian will execute when the game is on the line because they have been prepared by the coach AND they have taken on the responsibility to practice extra and discipline themselves. It is a beautiful thing to behold.

Similarly, it is readily apparent when a team is not adequately prepared when the season is on the line. Mental errors, baserunning blunders, poor decisions all harken back to lack of preparedness. It is a miserable feeling to lose a game or have your season end because you did not take the time to properly prepare in the preseason. As a coach, your season flashes before your eyes when a rundown is botched or a bunt coverage is blown and in your heart you know that the athletes cannot be blamed because you did not adequately prepare them. OUCH! Every minute spent on a baseball field is precious. Make them count in preparing your team for crunch time.

Watch the the next college game as this postseason unfolds and see if you do not recognize the signs of unpreparedness. Learn a lesson the easy way and make sure that you are prepared on the field and off the field. Be a prepared Christian and coach/player.

A New Inning

2008-05-23T13:40:00.005-04:00

In baseball many of us as coaches and players have experienced the inning that we thought would never end. It seemed like everything we did ended up with the other team scoring runs.

Eventually though that 3rd out finally happens and we get to go into the dugout and go to bat.

In the past few weeks it seems like no matter what we did satan was scoring the runs. Like any good baseball game the inning ended and now we get to start a new one. We have re-opened this blog so we can let the words of Christ be used to get some hits and drive in some runs.

No matter how hard Satan tries to get in the way of our mission at Diamond Starz, we as Competitors for Christ will not give up, give in or give out. Allow me to take a section from the FCA Competitors Creed

I give my all- all of the time

I do not give up. I do not give in. I do not give out.

I am the Lords warrior- a competitor by conviction

and a disciple of determination

I am confident beyond reason because my confidence lies in Christ

The results of my efforts must result in His glory

Let the competition begin.

Let the glory be God's.

Thanks to everyone who has continued to encourage and support us and believe in what we are ultimately trying to do for His glory.