Daily Diary - January 16th 2016

The Coaching Box

(Revelation)

As a baseball coach I have fought many battles in the 3^rd base-coaching box.  When you are unable to play yourself you live and die with every pitch.  Over the years of coaching things began to change.  Following the Lord and imparting the things of God to my team started to transform my thinking.  I began to see the player’s personal needs at a higher level than the outcome of their performance. 

Over a seven-year period we returned several three-year players.  Our relationships were strong and I understood their needs away from the field and the battles they faced at home.  Some of these players were qualified and loved by how good they were at a sport.  This began to work on my Spirit.  Players that were good kids had their identity wrapped up in their performance.  It was the only identity that they really had.  That identity was placed upon them from home. 

Households that had their priorities out of order had placed this pressure on these young men.  Therefore failure on the field had become complete failure for their identity.  This led me to begin each season with the same statement for players.  “If you are loved and your identity is wrapped up in your success as a baseball player you need to find another place to play.  You are a person first and a player second”.  

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

It was becoming common for this team to win and win big.  We had won the championship in 4 consecutive tournaments this particular season.  The value of on the field success began to shift to the needs of the player personally.  I later concluded that those needs should have been first from the beginning.  It has to be God first, family second and everything else next.

During the 4^th game of a tournament we were down a run with players on 2^nd and 3^rd.  One of my players that I knew very well was at the plate.  I remembered praying many times for our success from the coaching box.  God does care about everything!  For the first time I faced a cross roads in my coaching career.  This player had been struggling and needed something to go well.  The problem was that the root had come from home.  It had spilled over to his play.  Baseball was his only identity in life.  I stopped myself for a moment and said Lord I don’t know that it is best for him to succeed.  He is missing the foundation from home that he needs to succeed past this level of play.  That foundation will not change by him getting a hit and us winning the game.  It would simply increase the pressure for the next time. 

For the first time my prayer and philosophy changed.  I said Lord your WILL be done for this young man.  He failed in his at bat.  The team later won the game, but this young man broke down and hit bottom.  He had a heart to heart with himself and his family about what was wrong.  The bondage that the enemy had created was broken.  From this night forward he was a different player.  The priorities were realigned in his life and success fell in place.

The revelation I received began to manifest itself daily.  I began to look at the root needs of players and changed the way I had viewed my job.  I began to share the word of God daily and pray for their needs even more than before.  All the sudden we were in the business of changing lives and helping the future for these young men.  That value for them as people became the focus.  Our players began to grow spiritually and physically.  The outcomes on and off the field were miraculous. 

Our program was dominating in a way that I had never seen.  Most people believe that it had a lot to do with money, talent and coaching.  Those were factors that helped with our success.  The truth was that players began to KNOW who they were.  Their identity had value outside of the batter’s box or the field.  The future results of these players at the college and professional level were the same.  For the first time in my career I felt as if we had understood and taught the game completely.  Success was foundational and prioritized and God was at the center of the change.

College coaches began to recruit our players and tell me that they wanted them because of the type of kids they were FIRST.  This revelation that I received had made a huge difference.  God was just looking for a situation that he could affect the lives of these young men.  Being submitted to God’s plan and fulfilling his Word in your day to day activities will change everything, every time. 

After watching a lot of startup baseball programs and young coaches there is concern about the approach.  I pray for them to gain the real understanding of what we are doing as coaches.  I see young coaches that have placed their pride first.  That is the place where I once was.  It is easy to believe because you win a game or championship you have done a great thing.  It is a good accomplishment to be successful on the field, but it should never be prioritized above the value of the individual’s identity.  In fact I believe their identity is more than half of their potential success. 

We won more than 30 championships over 7 years and not one was more important than any one individuals well being and foundation.  If we coach from the word of God and prioritize accordingly, championships will follow.  Those Championships are founded on the Truth of God’s Word!

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.