Who's Your Coach?

Football is here and autumn will be arriving this weekend. Here in the Midwest, the weather is getting chilly, the skies are that “I’m bringing in cold weather” kinda blue, the flowers are making one last push, they’ve started harvesting the crops and school kids are back being school kids. Because I love the changes, I’m blessed to be living where we have four distinctive seasons. Just about the time I’m sick of one season, another slowly moves into the picture.

Now back to football and coaching! When I was in high school, our football team went undefeated for almost three years. We were a rather small rural school with rather small rural kids. We didn’t have big and tall athletic superstars. We just had kids who wanted to play football. The difference was the coach. Now deceased, Coach Jim Calloway was from Arkansas. He was built like a brick you know what and had a smile that would light up a heart. He was a family man and a Christian. Aside from those good qualities, he loved kids and he loved football. He was good at both. He brought a bunch of goofy unsophisticated farm kids in the 1960's to statewide fame. We were the stuff of movies such as “Hoosiers” and “Remember the Titans.”

What was this coach’s claim on this bunch of kids? He took a passion for a sport and performed his coaching and teaching as if he was Christ ministering to the flock. His picture would be in the dictionary under the word “coach.” He cared for the student first. He cared about them personally: their well being, their family, their place on this earth. He encouraged them one-on-one to be all they could be both on and off the football field. He understood you could not have top quality football players without having top quality hearts. He understood he was forming young men to have a lifetime of integrity and confidence in themselves and football was a means of teaching this to them.

His dedication to good sportsmanship not only instilled this quality in the football team, other students and adults knew if you were at one of his games, you had better display the same kind of sportsmanship. He didn’t preach or issue ultimatums, you just knew from Coach Calloway’s personal performance and demeanor. He led by example and by having high expectations and optimism.

Coach Calloway moved onto coaching at the college level and had the same success. But, our small town was forever influenced by this man. He forever changed a body of students, their families and the community. Almost forty-five years later, the high level of sportsmanship and community spirit continues as an example of what one loving caring person can accomplish.

My point for writing about this coach on a Christian supervisor/leadership BLOG? You are that one person at your place of employment. Through the same qualities, you can bring your Christian love for your employees to make a difference. You never really know what you are doing for Christ by showing His love and responsibility for others. But, as one little girl from a small Hoosier high school can attest, Coach made a lasting difference in multitudes. Step up to that goal line and coach as if lives depended on you. They do!

Proverbs 15:26 “In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.”