The Game of Life

My son, Landry, started playing tackle football as a 4^th grader last year.  He joined a team that some of his classmates were already a part of, the Stampede.

It didn’t take long for us to realize that this team was special.  The team’s head coach, Grant Gocke, not only coaches the kids in football, but coaches them in life and their walk with God.

The team motto is, “Next Play, Best Play.  For Him and For Them.”  And Coach Gocke always takes time to illustrate to the boys that this applies both to football and to life in general.  Let me break it down for you.

“Next Play, Best Play” means that after the boys have finished one play, they need to focus on the next play and strive to make it their best.  Regardless of how well or how badly the last play went, they have to put that behind them and focus on what’s in front of them to keep advancing.

The same is true for life.  Regardless of what past successes or failures we’ve had, our focus should be on what’s in front of us, and we have to keep putting our best foot forward.  When we get knocked down, we get back up and give it our all.  Even if we keep getting knocked down, we keep getting back up.  When things don’t seem to be going our way, we don’t give up.  When we make a mistake, we don’t wallow there.  We keep giving it our best and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Coach Gocke also teaches the boys to play “For Him” – that all of the praise, honor, and glory should go to God for everything they do both on and off the football field.  And it should all be done with love for their brothers and their opponents.

In the last game of the regular season, we were playing a team who not only hadn’t won any games, they hadn’t even scored any points in a game all season.  It was apparent early on that we were going to win the game easily, and that’s when Coach Gocke made a decision to give the other team something to feel good about.  He instructed our boys to allow the other team to score before the end of the first half.  Not only did they do that, but they let the other team score another time in the second half.  The boys on the other team finally had something to celebrate.  Our boys were still able to celebrate a win, but more importantly, they learned a valuable lesson in the gift of compassion.  What a great lesson for us all.

Lastly, Coach Gocke teaches the boys to play “For Them”, to support and encourage their teammates and to be there for each other.  And for the team to succeed, they each have to play their part and give their all.

This concept really came into play this season.  A couple of the better players weren’t returning to the team, and we weren’t sure what kind of season it would be.  It was apparent that the boys would really need to come together as a team to be successful.

And that’s exactly what happened.  It was a true team effort.  Some new players joined the team, and the returning players had the opportunity to step it up.  They each filled various roles and positions.  They challenged and encouraged each other.  They rallied behind each other.  When they were knocked down, they picked each other up.  When a player went out, another stepped in to fill the gap.

And they had their share of gaps to fill.  There were numerous injuries both on and off the field, some of which prevented three boys from returning to the team.  The team was down, but they were not out.  They kept fighting, and though they had some losses, they had more successes and wins.

As the regular season was winding down, Coach Gocke further emphasized the boys’ success as a team.  He pointed out that even their name was proof of this.  No one boy alone could be a “Stampede”.  He could be a stallion, but not a stampede.  It took all the stallions coming together to make a stampede, and all season long, they kept coming together.

The Stampede made it all the way to the championship game, the Super Bowl, for their division bracket.  They came ready to play, and despite yet another Stampede player being injured and coming out of the game in the first half, the Stampede pressed on.  They never gave up, and they emerged victorious.  They won the game by a touchdown.  And they did it as a team.

These boys will always remember the time they won the 5^th grade Super Bowl, and hopefully the lessons learned along the way will be far reaching.

In life as in football, we need to be there for each other.  We need to encourage and support each other.  We need to challenge each other and rally behind one another.  When our friends and loved ones are knocked down, we need to help pick them up.  And at times, we may need to help fill in the gap.  In life, we don’t win when we look out only for ourselves, we win when we look out for each other.

Who knew we could learn so much from an elementary recreational league football team.  Even if you’re not a football fan or even a sports fan, this team has a lot to teach us, wrapped up concisely in their motto.  “Next Play, Best Play.  For Him and For Them.”  It is a motto worth adopting for the game of life, and if we all lived our lives accordingly, the world would indeed be a better place.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:12-14, 17 (NIV)