In 1998, the Ohio State Buckeyes beat Northwestern 36–10, but personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct tainted the win. OSU’s coach at the time, John Cooper, made a point to his number-one ranked team, emphasizing that there is no place in football for trash talking and taunting and that it can be a distraction more than a help. Guard Rob Murphy said, “He got his point across.”

Discussing the numerous flags that were thrown during the game, Cooper demanded that the trash-talk behavior stop. Again Murphy said, “I agree. We need to play more and talk less.”

3 Reasons Why Competitors Need To Be Inadequate

In an age that is obsessed with leadership, it is hard to find someone willing to talk about leadership in an authentic, transparent way – especially in the world of sports. When is the last time you heard a coach or athlete say any of the following statements?

I don’t know.

I think I am going to need some help.

I have some weaknesses.

Maybe you’ve heard the statement, “Tradition never graduates.” One of the keys to leaving a legacy is to treasure the past and the memories of our “founding fathers” whose shoulders we have stood upon. We must appreciate the important role that others have played in our lives.

While drawing strength from our past, we must also stay focused on a vision for our future. If we want to stay on the cutting edge of fruitful kingdom living, we must constantly review our ministry commitments, learn from our past experiences, and seek the best advice from others—all while humbly praying for God’s Spirit to guide us. To become more effective, coaches must also skillfully balance time and  resources while carefully planning for the future.

Staying humble is one of the most difficult things to do. Whether it's doing good on a test in school, landing a job interview, or succeeding in sports, our first instinct is to praise ourselves. In most scenarios, it is very acceptable to be proud of yourself.

For example, if you hit a homerun in baseball, you will reflect on all of the training and hard work you put in. Because you took the time, you had the ability to hit your homerun; and that is great. You should always be proud of yourself and have a great self-esteem, but should you gloat to all of your teammates and friends about your accomplishment? Probably not.

In sports, the term “maxing out” is commonplace and usually refers to some type of physical activity. This could occur in the weight room, track, court, or anywhere else that an athletic event takes place. When maxing out, an athlete gives his best performance to show that his preparation has paid off. These preparations could include weight training, running sprints, agility drills, practicing sport skills, and so on. Only through proper preparation will an athlete be successful at maxing out.

Pride is a state of mind vital for any champion to have—pride in yourself, your accomplishments, your team, and your school. But there is a flip side to pride—boasting and self-interest that can bring a championship-caliber team to its knees. So how does a coach ensure his or her team does not fall into the negative state of pride? Humility. Webster defines humility as modesty in self-examination and humbleness. For a Christian, the definition is simpler—to become like Christ. Jesus had every opportunity to boast and brag. After all, he was the Son of God.

Why do we do what we do? And how are we to do it? These questions arose while I was painting lines on FCA’s nine summer camp football fields. My initial answers were, I’m doing this because it has to be done—and as quickly as possible. When finished, I was disappointed in both my attitude and the poor quality of my work. My wife suggested I line the fields as if God were going to play on them. So, three days later I set off to line the fields for God. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t paint a perfectly straight line. I grew angrier with each mistake while practically screaming that I was doing this for God. After seven fields of beating myself up, God intervened and I realized I had missed the point.