"If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if you whole body were an ear, how would you see anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where He wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body." (1 Corinthians 12:17-20)

The 2021 Kansas 4A state champions in boys track and field featured a team that medaled in 12 of 18 events, yet it only had one individual state champion. Louisburg High School head coach Andy Wright and his coaching staff had the opportunity of a lifetime for some coaches to enjoy watching their athletes’ hard work pay off on the big stage in late May. The Wildcats edged Andale (who had three individual state champions) by 4.5 points to secure the championship.

On any championship sports team, the skill sets may be similar, but they are made up of athletes with diverse skills. They are individuals who come together to contribute to the whole team’s success. They know their roles and value each other.

Our athletes have been given their own unique value by Christ. As each part of the body has a specific function, each player has his or her own specific role. Your challenge as a coach is to help your athletes discover their individual functions with respect to the team. The athletes’ roles make them more significant, not less. Just because they aren’t the leading scorers, the tournament champions, etc. doesn’t mean their value is any less. It’s a paradox: each athlete has a different-yet-similar part that works with the rest to make the whole machine function.

We need to teach out athletes to avoid self-importance. No matter how great they are, it’s because of the whole thing of which they are a part that this greatness is possible. As John Donne wrote in 1624, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” We must celebrate our players’ unique roles, talents, and callings and the common goals we work toward together.

If we successfully teach this mindset to our athletes, it will carry over to the “teams” they are on beyond the sport: family, relationships, places of employment. In 1 Corinthians, Paul of Tarsus speaks of this unique analogy of the whole body being composed of many parts. Some of the sports we coach are much more difficult to engrain this mindset than others – for example, wrestling or track and field.

This scripture reminds me of a scene from the classic 1985 wrestling film Vision Quest. During a scene at the high school wrestling practice, the main character erupts angrily at a teammate: “I got a bulletin for you, Otto. Wrestling is not a team sport. When you’re out there on the mat with another guy who’s quicker and faster than you, there’s not a lot a team can do for you.” I disagree with this attitude. I preach the concept of bonus points to my high school wrestling team. When we have dual competitions, every match counts, whether it’s the light weights or the upper weights. It could be a match that’s more of a junior varsity level competition or it could be a match between state medalists. Winning is vital, but with wrestling, a win by pin is worth more than a win by points. Likewise, I preach bonus points in that if our wrestler is losing by points, the team needs him to not give up and to not get pinned. I’ve had countless dual victories come down to a matter of how many bonus points we scored versus our opponents.

Moment of Kaizen:

• Why might your athletes feel they do not belong on the team? What can you do about this?
• How can you avoid “favorites” or the perception that you play favorites with the more skilled athletes?
• What weaknesses are exposed when athletes fail to buy into the team concept?

Related Passage: “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow so that the whole body is healthy and growing, and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:16)

Strive to convince your athletes to buy into the “family” or the “team” concept, and stay true to it. Athletes will know almost immediately if you’re just giving them lip service by saying those words as catch phrases. Live this philosophy every day and revisit it with your program.

July 25, 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.