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Faith on the court · Fostering Faith

• 0:00
  Welcome back to Fostering Faith.
• 0:03
  And so we are going to talk about a subject that we both love, which is what do you?
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  And so we are just coming out of our season in basketball and this year was such a special
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  opportunity for us.
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  It was my first chance to coach her in basketball.
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  So basketball is more than just a game.
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  It's an opportunity to live out and share the gospel.
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  In this episode, we want to explore how coaching and playing a Christ like attitude can inspire
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  youth and teach them about faith, discipline and character.
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  Whether you're on the bench or on the court, let's talk about showing Christ in every way.
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  And so some of those opportunities that we got to show Christ, what was one thing that
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  you guys decided to do as a team this year?
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  At the beginning of every game, um, pray with other team.
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  And so can you explain how that looked?
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  That two minutes like when we're warming up, we would just go in the middle and pray.
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  And so as a team, they wanted to start a new tradition is that to go and pray with the
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  other team.
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  And so I would go talk to the coach whenever we were warming up to see if they would want
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  to pray with us.
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  And so we invited the, um, the opposing team and the officials, uh, to gather at the center
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  court and we would start every game with prayer.
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  Um, and so we just felt like it was really important.
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  Uh, Gia does get to go to New Horizons Christian school and we were able to, um, show God into
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  the public schools.
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  And it was just a nice time to reflect, um, Christ like, uh, you know, attitude.
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  And so what are some things that you learned on the basketball court?
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  Um, I'll just be nice to everyone as far as do you feel like, um, what did we, what was
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  our, um, verse of the year?
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  I say, uh, 40 31.
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  Can you speak up?
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  I don't think that people could probably hear you.
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  I say 40 31.
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  Okay.
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  But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
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  They will soar on wings like eagles.
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  They will let and not grow weary.
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  They will walk and not be faint.
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  And so that was the, um, verse that we picked for the year because I love to run.
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  And so whenever we did conditioning the summer, um, the girls ran a lot.
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  And so I wanted them to have a verse that just show that we, we have to have hope in
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  the Lord because he's the one that gives us our strength.
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  He's the one that gives us breath in our lung.
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  And so we will run the race that he sets before us and we're not going to get tired because
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  we have the chance to, you know, get in shape and exercise and do everything that we needed
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  to.
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  And so we will run and not grow weary.
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  We will walk and not be faint.
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  Um, and so just to give the girls a scripture, just to kind of hang on to what was your favorite
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  part of the season?
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  Do you, um, learned anything?
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  How could basketball be more than a sport and become like a ministry?
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  Does people go to like your game and it just depends on how like you act and everything
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  like that?
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  Do you feel like basketball taught you anything?
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  Like, what do you mean by that?
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  Not just about Christ, but what, what has basketball, the sport itself taught you about
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  like just normal day life stuff?
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  Um, it's not only you, it's everyone else too, like on the court.
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  Like you don't have to do everything by yourself.
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  That's why there's a team.
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  So you can just, you know, still having accountability people, um, allowing, um, others to help you.
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  And so not doing everything on your own.
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  Is it really hard as a team?
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  If you count on one person, yeah, what happens?
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  Like if that person's hurt or can't be at the game, it like, you would probably struggle
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  if you rely on that one person.
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  Yeah.
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  And so there's five on the court.
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  So there needs to be five people involved.
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  And so what happens if like you get on the court and two people don't care?
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  They only have three, that's not gonna work.
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  And so as a leader, as an eighth grader, um, what could you say to motivate people that
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  are not giving them, giving their team a hundred percent?
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  Um, I feel like that's a hard question.
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  They don't want to play.
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  Their hearts not really into it.
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  It's like, whatever.
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  My question would be if you didn't like really want to do it and like all that stuff, like
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  I, if it's like not your like last year, why would you do it if you don't want to put effort
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  into it really?
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  Because my mom is making me, she says I have to be in a sport.
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  I really don't know.
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  And so as you motivated people, um, that didn't have like really good days on the court, I
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  mean, so if you are a team, what would you say to somebody that's having like a day that
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  they really just don't feel like bringing their a game?
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  They are, or they just don't feel like it.
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  They are not.
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  They don't feel like doing it.
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  There's like this, I'm not going to put forth that much effort.
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  I really don't know what I usually just don't say anything to like that.
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  I've watched you this year.
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  You've encouraged people.
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  Yeah, but because they're not doing the best as they can.
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  I know they can, but I don't know what to say to people who just don't want to play.
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  No, that's what I'm saying.
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  Like, so it's about they're just not putting forth the effort, um, on a practice or in
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  a game.
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  And so you were just like, you know, I know that you can do it.
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  This is what we're doing.
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  This is why we're wanting to play.
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  And so having those leadership like skills is going to be really important for a team
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  that is like a really small team.
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  Did we have a big team?
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  I mean, was on our team.
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  Yeah.
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  And so everybody is so important.
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  And some scriptures that come up to mind are Colossians 3, 23, 3, 24, whatever you do work
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  at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
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  And so what was one of the things that we kind of stress for?
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  Who are you playing for?
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  And showing that talent and everything that he's given us.
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  And so it doesn't matter if you have a stand full of people and crowds, like, cause you
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  know who's watching, right?
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  Do you think that a perspective change for people that could help them play harder?
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  If they thought that that God was in the crowd, that Jesus was in the crowd.
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  Yeah, probably.
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  Did that make you want to play harder?
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  Yeah.
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  Why?
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  Because it's God.
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  I don't know.
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  It's God.
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  It's because we always want to put our best foot forward, don't we?
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  And what about your attitude on the court?
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  How is that reflective in ministry?
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  Because your attitude really, really reflects ministry and all that.
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  So you thought with good attitude and everything.
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  Yeah.
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  Encouraging players to have good sportsmanship and respect even in whether they face defeat.
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  And so is it really easy to have a bad attitude?
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  If you lost or having a bad attitude towards the refs, if they called like bad plays or
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  something like that.
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  Was that allowed on our team?
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  No, no.
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  And so glorifying God in a victory and in a loss.
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  And so teaching players to give things and remain humble during and regardless of the
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  outcome.
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  Because we fought our regional championship, what was one thing that I talked about the
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  game before and the day of was that we're not going to be sad because we're going to
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  give 110%.
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  And if we lose, then we lose.
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  And it was about allowing us that we're going to go out there, we're going to give 110%.
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  And we were going to pray about it.
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  This is what we're going to do.
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  We're going to use the skills that God gave us.
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  And there's going to be better teams than you out there.
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  There's going to be, you know, we were the complete underdog to go as far as we did.
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  And so there was nothing to hang our head low on or, you know, be shameful.
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  Now, absolutely cry and be mournful and tearful.
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  If you had an opportunity to win a championship and you went out there and did not play your
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  absolute hardest.
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  Yeah, absolutely.
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  Be sad and tearful and be so sad.
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  But if you gave 110%, then what's the point in being sad?
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  Like you should hang your head up high and be like, we crushed it.
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  Like we did a really good job.
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  Just another team is better than us.
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  Right.
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  And so what would you, how could a kid just feel like just so sad?
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  What could you do to encourage them not to be sad after a game?
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  Like what you said, like trying our best, if you try your best, there's no reason to
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  be sad.
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  If you left everything on the court, there's nothing else you can do.
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  Perfect.
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  And then faith and pressure moments.
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  And so sharing some examples of how faith can provide a calm and strength in high stakes
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  moments.
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  I mean, so was there anything, you know, in the games leading up that, you know, like
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  your faith, did it help you stay calm?
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  Did it help you stay focused?
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  How?
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  God just knew God was on our side.
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  If he doesn't want us to win the game, he won't let us win the game.
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  It's all like with God.
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  God has a plan for everything.
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  And I mean, just some coaching things.
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  And so like Christ, like coaching, you know, emphasizing integrity, humility and teamwork.
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  And so I was really big about, you know, teamwork.
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  There's five on a court.
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  There's nine on the bench.
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  You know, we have nine girls and integrity is huge.
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  And so we, no one was more important than the next one and allowing people to have the
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  opportunity to grow and to just be a good team and sitting, you know, godly examples.
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  And so coaching behaviors and models and having Christ-like behavior in their words and their
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  actions.
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  And so did I yell on the court?
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  Yes.
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  And was my yelling hateful?
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  No.
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  Was it encouraging?
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  Yeah.
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  Was it appropriate?
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  What do you mean by that?
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  Like I was yelling at you like to do a play.
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  I was yelling at you for not doing what the play was.
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  There was no like hatefulness.
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  There was like, I didn't like call names or like braid or like downgrade you guys.
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  I feel like you didn't downgrade any of us.
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  Yeah.
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  I mean, because we are all there to grow and be better.
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  And you know, as a coach, you know, prayer and encouragement, you know, incorporating
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  the prayers before and after the games.
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  And so what did we add practices and how did we end every practice?
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  Maybe say that with more excitement.
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  And so prayer planks.
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  And so what we did at the end of every practice is everybody would line up and we would get
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  into a plank position and one girl would start off with a prayer and then the whole team
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  would have to do it before we could get out of it.
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  And then we would not cheat if someone was on their knees, we'd stay in there longer.
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  And then I would finish it off.
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  And so just, you know, bringing God to the end of the practices and always ending on
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  a gratitude attitude.
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  And you know, we talked about scripture and so using Bible verses to inspire the team.
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  And so we would say that whenever they would miss their free throws, we would run killers
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  or we'd run down and backs.
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  And so whenever they were lagging, we would have to say, you know, the scripture because
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  we would run and not grow weary.
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  And so whenever they were running, it just gave them more motivation because we know
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  that God's on our side.
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  And just to inspire and encourage them.
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  And so playing the game with godly purpose and so your attitude on your court glorifying
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  God, you know, and faith, you know, in those moments, knowing that he's always with you.
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  We know that not to be anxious, not to be nervous over something.
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  And so what are some character building skills that you think that Christ had taught you?
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  Do you think he taught you discipline?
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  Yeah, probably.
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  And resilience just to not to give up.
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  And so why would someone that wants to be Christ, like not want to give up?
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  Because sometimes like, like he can like put some hard stuff on you to like, like, to like
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  test your faith kind of and see if you'll stay with them and you just have to like go
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  through them and everything like that.
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  And so what what what happens when God puts us through like testing or allow certain things
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  to happen?
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  What's that do for you?
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  Build your faith, build your faith, build your character shows us kind of really what's
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  on the inside of us.
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  With creating a legacy of faith, you know, players and coaches can embody Christ and
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  by the other teams watching you, especially like if you had an unfair game, and we did
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  not lose our minds, we did not yell at the rest, we did not get kicked out, we did not
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  get a technical we didn't, you know, we didn't blatantly do anything to
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  cause a commotion.
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  Correct.
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  And whenever the you know, the other team would like, you know, be yelling at the refs
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  or something like that, there is there a point to that?
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  No, no, and it's disrespectful you we have to respect authority.
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  And life beyond the game.
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  And you know, life lessons that are learned on the basketball can transition people into
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  a lifelong faith walk.
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  And so how could you transition kind of the faith and determination and, you know, grit
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  that you learn on the court to your real life?
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  I have one lesson I learned to like, and I guess, for your life to just be respectful,
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  I feel like everything like that and try your best.
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  It might not always go your way, but like, God has a plan for it.
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  And so just some practical tips for some coaches that are listening, you know, praying for
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  your team, and their spiritual growth.
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  And so those girls were prayed for every day.
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  And so in my prayer closet, their their hearts, their minds, their just their activities,
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  and just to pray that God was able, I was be to be able to be used by God to show them
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  something other than basketball skills, other than a victory or wins or whatever, just for
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  me to be able to empower their life, to see a godly woman, you know, come out, take time
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  off to know that they're important to know that they're loved, and to know that they
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  can do hard things because teenage girls are so impressionable, that they they give up
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  if they're out of shape, you know, just making sure that they know that life is hard, but
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  you're going to have to try hard things, you're going to have to be uncomfortable.
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  And just to impress, you know, that, you know, I could do it, you can do it, and just really
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  just press into them and then intentional about speaking life and faith into the players.
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  I just you know, telling them encouraging them and constantly that they can do it, you
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  know, running faster, running harder, don't give up.
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  We used to have a run, we would run a mile before every practice.
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  And you know, there was girls that would just wanted to give up, just wanted to give up.
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  And so just staying with them, because I can't ask the girls to do something that I can't
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  do.
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  So I ran every run with them, I ran every sprint with them.
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  If they would miss a free throw, I would do the sprints with them.
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  And so just teaching them that, again, if I can do it, you can do it.
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  I wouldn't ask you to do something that I could not do.
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  I don't think that's fair.
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  It drove me crazy. Whenever I was a basketball player, and my coaches wanted us to run a
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  ton, then you get out here and bro and do it with us.
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  And then so they wouldn't because all I did was smoke all day.
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  And so it was just and there were there's like the boys that were talking like in class
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  that their coach wants them to run and just makes it harder and harder and he won't even
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  run with them.
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  And so I text him I'm like, what are you doing?
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  Like why are you not running with these boys?
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  And he's like, I can't run that much.
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  Then don't expect them to like don't expect something out of these kids that you're not
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  able to do yourself.
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  And so just leading by devotions and short talks and practices.
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  And so for coaches, just lead those girls, your girls, your boys and whatever you're
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  doing and always try to interweave God into that.
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  And so for players, reflecting love of God into your teammates, into your opponents.
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  And so whenever we would be in a lineup for before a varsity game, I would be praying
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  for the other team for their glory to shine for their talents to come out because we're
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  all there to glorify God.
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  And it was not that we were praying for our enemies, but praying that their talents shine
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  through that they are able to, you know, execute their plays and actually, you know, and feel
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  confident about going out there on the court and using the game for a platform for your
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  faith.
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  And so those prayer circles, I think you guys did a really good job, right?
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  And maybe see ground in your identity in Christ and not your performance.
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  And so what happens if you would have like, do you want to be known for Christ follower
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  or to be a basketball star?
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  And be honest.
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  So what?
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  So if you want to be known as both, what should come first?
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  And so we asked this week that we just encourage you guys to see to look at your team, whether
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  it's basketball, whether it's volleyball, soccer, field hockey, whatever.
• 20:45
  We encourage you guys to maybe look at how you guys can incorporate Christ on the court,
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  on the field.
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  Could you guys pray?
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  Could you boldly go out and say, hey, can we pray before the games?
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  Can we pray after the games?
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  Maybe even doing like a short reading plan before the sport happens, before practice
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  happens or after it.
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  And we just invite you to share some stories on our comments and how you guys can incorporate
• 21:15
  Christ or how you can and will incorporate Christ into your next sporting event.
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  And so as we close out this week, we know that tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands,
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  hopefully are following our messages and that we are so thankful for you guys on fostering
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  faith.
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  And we just hope we encourage you guys to incorporate Christ in all sports and we glorify
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  him in all that you do.
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  Gia, do you want to pray us out?
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  Dear God, thank you for your stay.
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  Thank you for everything.
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  You guys please help the sick and the sick feel better.
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  I pray that everyone's minds are sharpened for the school tomorrow and I pray that everyone
• 21:57
  just has a good day.
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  And just now pray, amen.
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  Amen.
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  And so stay tuned for next week while we are in discussions.
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  Gia is now off into volleyball.
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  We just got done with basketball season and so we're excited to see her play in that.
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  And so we'll see you next week.
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  Talk to you later.
• 22:16
  Bye.