"Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—a stranger, not your own lips." (Proverbs 27:2)

When I was a college junior in 2001, I was named the Kansas 4A Assistant Wrestling Coach of the Year. I have a plaque that is on display in my classroom, and when someone happens to come up to my desk and look at the wall, that's about the only way anyone knows about it. Since than that awesome honor, I have yet to be named coach or even teacher of the year. And I'm okay with that.

Coaching accolades are nice, so please don't get me wrong. I've had the privilege to coach alongside several men who have been awarded coach of the year honors in various sports (football, soccer, and track), and I count myself very fortunate to have had a mentor who has been named Wrestling Coach of the Year for both men's and women's wrestling in the state of Kansas. I know that I would never have become the coach I am today if it hadn't been for what I've learned from these great leaders.

I try to be a humble man, both in the classroom and in athletics. I believe humility as having a modest view of one's own importance. Spending fifteen years as a high school English teacher, I was very familiar with the ancient Greek concept of hubris, or excessive pride or wanton insolence. I spent many lessons talking about how hubris leads tragic heroes to committing the tragic error that leads to their reversal of fortune and subsequent nemesis. Hubris is the pride that blinds us, and it can lead to the other vices. It can be a gateway to these vices.

Am I saying that coaching accolades are evil then? They are something to avoid or shun? On the contrary, they are great things to recognize what we are doing in our profession. However, they should never be the outcome that we pursue – the end goal or objective – they are the extras that come after the fact.

I seriously doubt anyone ever enters the profession with the aim of being named "coach of the year." Nor do they plot out benchmarks and objectives as process goals to help them achieve these honors. Coaches spend their time planning what will make our athletes succeed on the game field, court, mat, etc. They spend countless hours and burn so much energy trying to enable our athletes' growth and success.

Yet the evils of pride and vanity are always a risk for us. Proverbs tells us that we should not talk about ourselves, our jobs, our houses, or our successes. Rather, we should make the effort to ask others about themselves and their situations. The gracious person will ask about others and praise others.

Another danger of the coaching profession is getting caught up in the fan mentality, which I’ve learned through Gene Zannetti's Winning Mindset program. We become competitive and feisty when in company of other coaches, whether it's the same sport or a rival sport. I was reading an online talk forum for wrestling in the state of Kansas a while back, and a discussion thread had become rather chippy. After the tone of the conversation took a negative turn and coaches began putting down one another, a colleague of mine joined the conversation with a simple response: "Blowing out someone else’s candle does not make yours shine any brighter" (unknown). It was the first time I'd heard this saying, and it's stayed with me ever since.

It reinforced in my heart the principle that we should do things that are praiseworthy, and we should do them openly. However, it is not for the praise itself but for the intrinsic value and reward of following in Christ's footsteps.

This, in essence, is the virtue of Kaizen. Vanity or too much self-praise will lead us to begin believing all that we are telling ourselves. Christ intends for us all to utilize our ability to look critically at ourselves. He wants us to be able to be objective and improve ourselves. When we focus too much on our own abilities and accolades—when we write our own narratives—we lose objectivity. We romanticize our perspectives so much that we fail to see the flaws and imperfections that Christ wants us to overcome. It leads to the deadly sin of pride.

Moment of Kaizen:

• How do you handle the feelings of envy or jealousy that might begin to arise when coaching honors are given to others?
• What intrinsic motivators keep you focused on your mission of serving the athletes in your program?
• How often do you offer praise to other coaches, athletes, etc.?

Related Passage: "Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and I delight in these things." (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Heal your pride by removing ego (the focus on the self) and boastfulness. Open yourself to the attitude of service, which is truly Christlike.

October 10, 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.