I’m sure you’ve heard it before. God is the creator of everything, controls everything and is in everything. There is nothing that God is unaware of and no matter what happens from day to day God can and does use all things for His glory. This being the case, it is safe to say that God can even use the game of soccer for His glory by teaching us a thing or two about Himself. I might have bypassed the idea that God was in soccer altogether had it not been for a metamorphose that took place among the players on the team, the Majestics.
During the summer, fourteen young girls, including my daughter, ranging between ten and twelve years of age gathered with their coach, Kirk Barrington at Northgate Park for their first practice. A few of the members had played together before but for the most part the gangly pre-teens were unfamiliar with one another as friends and certainly as players.
Basic drills and exercises were covered briefly within the first few weeks before their first and only practice game was scheduled. As a typical parent wanting to see her child succeed come game time, I hung at the edge of the sidelines as the two teams prepared to play. I had my "soccer mom" enthusiastic grin plastered across my face as the referee blew the whistle. The first kick was made and the game began. But what I had hoped would be a victory for the Majestics quickly turned into a similar display of the famous "Bad News Bears." It was not for a lack of heart or poor coaching, it was simply that the players had weaknesses which clearly showed up during their first attempt at play. They stumbled and tumbled all over their opponents and each other while scrambling for the ball. When in position to make a goal, their kicks were flimsy and their follow through was void. Being a true soccer mom, I cheered either way but in the back my mind I wondered if we were going to be in for a long season.
One week following the eye-opening defeat, the official season started. Sadly, the first two games where no better than the practice game. The girls were trying but they were still very underdeveloped as individual players and as a team. In His wisdom, Coach Kirk brought in reinforcements. He recruited two assistant coaches, Jerry Sveum and Charlie Draper to help develop the team.
The coaches rallied together and with a mighty game plan, they encouraged each player’s strengths but focused their attention on strengthening their weaknesses. They divided the girls up and started from square one. They practiced kicking, passing, defending, blocking, running and overall working together as a team. By their commitment, these three coaches instilled into the players that the previous losses didn’t have to dictate their future outcome. Each team member paid close attention to the instructions given by their coaches and worked hard at the practices. The end result? After giving their all, they tied their next game. It was this tie that brought them to an amazing turning point.
They went back to practice eager to face their weaknesses. The players were instructed to draw strength from one another and to never give up. Coach Kirk’s advice when preparing for their next game was, "Play hard for sixty minutes, that’s it!" Play hard, not so much for the sake of winning but to display the hard work they had done turning their weaknesses into strengths. The end result? They won the game. And the game after that, and the game after that, and the game after that. Each game has been more incredible than the last. The team can no longer be compared to the "Bad News Bears." This fearful bunch is now a power winning team. Not just because of the final score but because of the transformation that has taken place as they faced their fears and "jelled" together.
The Key? They weren’t afraid to work on their weaknesses. They didn’t huff and puff because their coaches took them through one drill after the other to make them better. Instead they listened, they learned, they practiced and when all was said and done, they play hard and had fun.
Working on our weaknesses, whether in soccer or in life is hard work? We rarely like to face the fact that we have them let alone actually do something about them. Watching the Majestics develop their weaknesses over the past few months has been a perfect display of Romans 8:26, "The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses."
When confronted with our weaknesses, we need not huff and puff, we need only to listen, learn and practice, knowing God will help us. Just as Coaches Kirk, Jerry and Charlie helped the Majestics face their weaknesses in order to be the very best they could be, God is willing and waiting to strengthen our weaknesses so that we too can be the very best we are meant to be.
