This is going to be a bit of a shorter article this month but one that makes up for it by packing more of a punch. Hope is a precious commodity and one that is becoming in shorter supply these days. Former Olympic athlete and World War 2 pilot Louie Zamperini spent 2 ½ years being tortured in a Japanese POW camp. He said even in the worst of situations ““a part of you still believes you can fight and survive no matter what your mind knows. It’s not so strange. Where there’s still life, there’s still hope.” That is hope lived out.
A hope that transforms lives
I recently saw the transformation that comes from hope in one of my athletes. She started training with me just after Covid and by her own admission it had “destroyed my life”. This talented young lady had high anxiety, low self esteem and regular bouts of depression despite having incredible potential as an athlete. She just couldn’t see it anymore and so was hoping I could help. It got so bad for her that at the start of last year she was having a service dog trained.
She had no hope.
Gaining traction
As we worked together, I began to work not just on her physical state but more importantly on her psychological state and how she viewed herself to help her. And do you know what? She started to get some traction. Then she hit all the milestones and goals I had for her and we were satisfied with how the season went. No, this athlete didn’t qualify for Nationals (it wasn’t one of our goals) so I’d not seen her since the end of July.
We had our first shake out practice the first week of October and there was something different about her. There was a new confidence, and she led our drills. I was asking all my athletes about school and life, just getting caught up, and she told me “I hold my head up now and walk with good posture. I look people in the eye. I used to always walk with my head down and I don’t anymore.” That’s transformation! That’s hope lived out.
While I stress posture as part of good physical mechanics, I’m glad to see her enacting that but its more. This is indicative of a new confidence that manifests itself not just in how she moves but how she sees herself. That only comes through hope.
The Bible says in God’s mercy “he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Be a bringer of hope
Whether you are a coach like me, a trainer, or just an athlete who is an encourager at the gym, you are that bringer of hope to your athletes. Biblical hope is a confident EXPECTATION of things to come, it is not wishful thinking. Just as you plan your season and practices, you watch your nutrition and training plan, you don’t leave them to chance, so too we need to be intentional as bringers of hope. Sport is a great vehicle to suffer, struggle and ultimately triumph; it is the greatest vehicle for developing hope. That’s why I’ve coached for most of my pastoral ministry.
Sport becomes a proxy for life and as I’ve found out post-Covid in an increasingly hopeless world its one of the best vehicles to teach people how to find hope and ultimately find hope in God. The Bible also says, “always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have.” Are you hopeful? Do you see God at work in your life? In your coaching? It starts with you and then you share it with you athletes. Be a bringer of hope.
Oh, and the athlete whose story I shared earlier? She kept the dog as pet since she doesn’t need a service animal anymore. She has a living hope.
