Take a look at virtually every magazine cover, and you will find the phrase “Boost your metabolism!” Having a slow metabolism is an often-used excuse when we describe our struggles to lose weight. The truth is that we all have a different rate at which we burn calories, but we also have a variety of solutions to the “slow metabolism syndrome.”
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You Play To Win the Game

A few years back, Herm Edwards was speaking in a post game interview as the head coach of the New York Jets. He was asked by a reporter how he felt about the loss and did it matter to Edwards considering how poorly the team had been performing that season.
Edwards responded "This is what's great about sports, the greatest thing about sports is you play to win the game. Hello? You play to win the game. You don't play just to play it. That's the great thing about sports, you play to win. And I don't care if you have any wins. You go play to win. When you start telling me it don't matter, then retire... GET OUT! Because it matters. This whole conversation bothers me."
#21 - StVRP - Anthony Munoz, Bruce Matthews and Rod Olson

Cincinnati Bengals Anthony Munoz, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans Bruce Matthews, FCA’s Rod Olson, Sullivan South High School, FCA President Les Steckel
Room to Grow

You would think that after winning three Super Bowls in four years that Tom Brady and his bunch would be satisfied with their accomplishments. Not quite. In a post-game interview with Andrea Kremer of ESPN, Brady said that he was not content with what they had done. Happy? Yes. But there was room to grow and get better. I am sure there are Patriot players who will relax and relish in their victory, but Tom Brady will get back to work soon. He wants to accomplish more and more.
Time to Rebuild

Every once in a while you read a positive story about coaching. I particularly like examples of the coach who goes back home to his or her alma mater to rebuild a struggling program. These coaches not only have a passion for their home schools, but also a plan to put the schools back on the map. It may take time to rebuild, but for the Christian coach, it will also take something else: prayer, and a lot of it.
Fundamentals

Scripture is the basis of our faith. But, sometimes, I think we get so caught up in life that we start to look at familiar verses and almost label them as cliché. As sad as that sounds, we hear verses like John 3:16, Philippians 4:13 and Jeremiah 29:11 and simply pass them by or say to ourselves, “Oh, I’ve heard that a thousand times.” While that may be true, it doesn’t take away the relevance of Scripture!
A high school coach of mine once said that when things go wrong, it is important to go back to the basics—to the foundation of the game—and to re-establish a routine. He was talking about softball, but I think this relates to our faith in a profound way.
Following the Plan

Nike sold a lot of shoes with their slogan “Just Do It.” Now, I’m not a Bible scholar or professional minister, but I think Nike should give some church somewhere a little compensation because I think they were probably the ones who came up with the phrase.
Last night, in the NCAA women’s national championship game, the Texas A&M Aggies took that quote to heart in their victory over Notre Dame. According to the post-game interviews, their coach had to “coach hard” during the game in order for the team to be successful. And the women responded well, topping the Irish 76-70.
Fit 4 Ever: Put God's Design to the Test!
In America, we believe that we can make everything better. In fact, we relentlessly pursue improvement. And this can often be a good thing! It can make us examine our hearts and actions and get right with God and others. It can bring new advances in medicine, travel, industry and the environment. It can even help us discover and understand God in new and deeper ways.
But many times our efforts to improve on God’s design give us a far inferior result.
The Play Clock

When you go into a game, athletes have to think they will win. They can’t think they might win. They have to think they will win. If that happens on both sides, it means that there will be two teams entering the game thinking the same thing, and only one will get to live it out. No matter how much we wish we could all win, in the end, one of us will lose. And a big determining factor in who comes out victorious is the infamous game clock.
No matter how much we wish we could, we can’t put more time on the clock in any game. Each game we play is set up to be played in a certain amount of time. Whether it is counted by seconds and minutes or by innings or sets, each game has a set time frame. What we do in this amount of time determines the outcome of the game.
Stay Focused (Camper Edition)
Welcome back to the real world, kid. It’s a far cry from the experience you just had, feeling so close to God and all. But now, you need to start thinking about — check that — start worrying about “more important” things.
Fit 4 Ever: Fitness Myths
Have you ever seen the show “MythBusters”? Every week, these two crazy guys try to separate truth from urban legend. They take commonly accepted ideas like the ones that say eating turkey makes you sleepy or that certain sodas will completely dissolve rusty bolts, and then they prove them to be true or false.
I have to wonder if the Apostle Paul would have been the host of this type of show from a spiritual perspective. He certainly would have had a blast busting the “irreverent and silly myths” of his day with the truth of Jesus!
#20 - StVRP - Ben Utecht, Clyde Christensen and Keith Erickson

Guests include Ben Utecht, Clyde Christensen, Keith Erickson and FCA’s President Les Steckel
Lasting Leadership

Coaches are always looking for the winning edge. We continually explore new techniques or systems to improve our programs. We go to clinics, conferences and seminars to learn how it should be done. Of course, no one coach is successful 100 percent of the time. But I know one coach who always did it right.
The Master Coach personally selected His own team. He poured His life into a team of 12, worked with them for 3 years, and then sent them out to teach and prepare others for future good work. In fact, He instilled lasting leadership skills among His team in the following five ways:
Staying on Track

“Coach, I couldn't make it to weight-lifting on time because I had to get my hair cut.”
Apparently there wasn't enough time in the day for this athlete to handle his busy schedule. It's not like there was any other time in the day he could have gotten a haircut. It must have been a life-or-death situation!
#34 - StVRP - Drew Neitzel, Jeff Francoeur and Dave Pasch

Michigan State basketball star Drew Neitzel, Atlanta Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur, sports broadcaster Dave Pasch, FCA President Les Steckel
Rebound

Carly was a good basketball player. She was a tenacious defender, but she couldn't shoot the ball very well. But one thing I loved about Carly was that if the ball was available, she was going to get it. Carly understood the game quite well. Most of her shots weren't going in, so she learned what most players today do not — stop pouting about your miss and go get the ball! We had one drill in which Carly was the queen of the court. It was our 11 man break drill. In it, whoever got the rebound got to continue playing in the drill. Carly stayed in this drill one day for 11 trips up and down the floor. That's right. She got 11 straight rebounds to stay in the drill. She took great pride in knowing that when most of her shots were not going in she did what she did best: got the ball.
Changed Lives, Change Lives

John was the man. He was the star of every team he played on at his school. Had the best car, the best girl, the best of everything. On the outside, he lacked nothing. Everybody wanted to be like John. His lifestyle was fast and furious. He played hard and partied hard as well. Most people thought it was good to be John. But John was not content. He knew he was missing something in his life. After practice one Wednesday, Bill, a teammate of John's, invited him to come to FCA that night. Bill thought John would never come, but he showed up. John heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, and it made him think. He asked Bill if he could come to church with him that Sunday as well. Something was happening in John's life.
Out of Control

Paul gave great instruction on how to live with the peace of God. It’s easy to get caught up in everything going on around us and lose sight of our true purpose on earth, which is to serve God. He has blessed me with the opportunity to play football. It’s my responsibility to give everything I’ve got and use my ability to the fullest while praying for His direction. Anything beyond that is out of my control. If I’ve truly given my best, then I can have peace no matter what happens in a game, during the season, or throughout my career. This is true in every area of our lives. An eternal perspective is important. We are only here for a short time compared to the scope of eternity.
He's Got Your Back

It has been said that life is not a playground, but a battleground. Most battles happen in the unseen world and play out in the physical world. Knowing this, God gives us spiritual armor to be prepared for battle. Every piece of armor—the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit—protects from the front. None provide protection for our backs. In fact, we are instructed in Philippians 3 to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. God has our back. He gives us no armor for our backside because He has it covered. When we are right with God and confess our sins, we have nothing to fear. Proverbs 3 tells us that when we use good judgment, our sleep will be sweet.
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