"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here I am, send me!'" (Isaiah 6:8)

In our profession, we’ve often heard the phrase, “So-and-so needs baseball more than baseball needs him” (or fill in the sport of your choice). 

As a coach, you should never measure your success on how a group of 10-year-olds or teenagers decide to perform on game day. You provide the framework, and they choose whether or not they want to follow it. Besides, there’s so much beyond your control. 

By stepping up to become a coach, you are becoming a servant leader. It’s not about you anymore. It’s about the kids on your team or in your program. As I grow as a coach and teacher, I keep hearing this term: servant leadership. Digging a little deeper, I came across an article by Larry Spears, President and CEO of the Larry C. Spears Center for Servant-Leadership, Inc. He lists ten characteristics of a servant leader, and when we step up to the calling to become a coach, it’s vital to remember these principles:

• Listening, combined with reflection and communication
• Empathy as we respect all of our athletes as people
• Healing the emotional hurts and relationships of our athletes
• Awareness to help us understand the issues surrounding our programs
• Persuasion as we seek to convince (and not coerce) our coaching staff and athletes to buy into our programs
• Conceptualization to make big dreams become big realities
• Foresight to understand the lessons of the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequences of the future based on our decisions
• Stewardship, or holding something in trust for another, as we are committed to serving the needs of our athletes
• Commitment to the Growth of People as we do everything in our power to nurture the growth of all of our athletes
• Building Community or a sense of belonging within our programs

When God asks, “Whom shall I send?” and when we step up to become coaches, we must become servant leaders. Looking at the list from Spears, how can we not embrace these characteristics? Whether we are a head coach, assistant coach, a youth volunteer, or any other kind of coach, these characteristics not only enable us to propel our programs toward greater chances of success, but they also enable us to model the idea of living a Christ-like life for our athletes.

Moment of Kaizen:

• Which of the characteristics of servant leadership from Spears do you feel you most strongly implement into your program?
• Which of the characteristics do you feel you need to work to improve upon?
• How often do you revisit the reason you chose to answer the call to become a coach? Are your current practices in-line with that reason?

Related Passage: “Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.” (Acts 26:16)

Especially if you are a coach in a public school, it can be difficult to implement your faith into your role as a coach. However, the manner in which you live, make decisions, treat your athletes, etc. can do so much more to spread the Word of God than anything you might be able to say. If you are truly a servant and witness to Christ, then your decision to step up as a coach can be an integral part of bringing others to the Lord.

July 4, 2021

This article is a part of a series of Coaches Devotionals that I will be writing over the course of the next year. Please click here if you would like to receive email notifications when a new devotional is published.