POURING MYSELF INTO MY PLAYERS

To most, I am known as simply “Coach.” As the local high school’s football coach, I spend a great deal of time with high school boys.

Many of them come from broken homes and could very easily end up on a very bad path. However, I realize the Lord has placed me in this particular job at this specific school to pour myself into these boys and help them become all they can be.

For many of them, I am the closest thing to a father they will ever know. That is why my office door is always open. My players know they can come to me about anything, not just football. And almost all of them do at some point during their time on the team. We talk about girl problems, home issues, peer pressure, time management skills, you name it.

Often, I ask them if they would like us to pray about their situation. I know I work in a public school and that’s really frowned upon, but the only way I can meet the needs of these boys is through the power and wisdom of God. I’ve never had a student say no to prayer.

And every night, my wife and I pray together about the needs of the boys on my team. I don’t know if anyone in their lives is praying for them, but we are. And I know it’s making a difference. Boys that would have ended up in jail, or worse, have gone to college and become wonderful adults.

I don’t take my role as coach lightly. It is divinely ordained. And the Lord is doing an amazing work.