Lessons from Middle School Sports

something within us comes alive when what seems impossible becomes possible.

By: Wally Jenkins, Athletic Director

God has created us uniquely and for good works

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
(Ephesians 2:10)

I have spent over a decade working with middle school-aged students, and while there have been many changes in our culture, there has been one consistent observation that I have made. There is a strong desire for a student to identify, label, or define themselves and their peers. While I understand that there are many challenges to how students interact with this truth, I believe that this reality helps reveal the truth that God has created us uniquely and for good works.  

When we step into this truth, there is the opportunity for our students to begin to realize the gifts that God has given them. It is far and away the greatest joy of this job to see a student come alive when discovering and enjoying more of how God has created them. It gives us the opportunity to celebrate others as they begin to discover and excel in how God has gifted them. It is an opportunity to set our students on a trajectory of living out their God-given design and impacting others to do the same.

We are called to make others better

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more important than yourselves.”
(Philippians 2:3-4)

While the gifts and talents that God has given us can create opportunities for comparison and envy, in their proper context they lead us to celebrate and experience the gifts that God has given those around us.

Our sports culture can be very “me-focused.” While there is some value to this in the right context for growth, I would argue that calibrating our hearts and minds to serve and honor others will have a far greater impact. Jesus’s command and example of laying down our lives for others is not a command and example to withhold things from us but to give us a life that is abundant and full.

Authenticity benefits everyone

“Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.”
(John 17:17)

The verse listed above is spoken by Jesus as He prays for His disciples before He is arrested and ultimately crucified. The disciples were about to step into a whole new reality. Middle school is a big transition, as it bridges the gap from elementary school to high school. Gone are the days of equal playing opportunities, trophies for everyone after the season, and rules that keep the competition close. As parameters like these go away, students face a “real-life environment,” where hard realities can exist.

I have seen tremendous growth and impact when students and families step into these hard realities with their authentic selves. After Jesus prayed this for His disciples, Peter’s first response wasn’t pretty, but his testimony is powerful and encouraging to those of us who also struggle during changing circumstances.

Challenges offer opportunities for growth

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”
(Romans 5:3-4)

There are many challenges that can exist inside of our programs: dissatisfaction with a role on a team, conflict with a teammate, overcoming injury and disappointing results, etc.

Over the past three years, I have seen powerful examples of students experiencing growth by engaging with these challenges. Just last year, there were two eighth grade boys who were integral members of our basketball team after not receiving the playing time they would have wanted in sixth and seventh grade. Their response was to work hard to continue to live out the desires God had put in their hearts.

There is hope

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
(Romans 5:5)

What do we all love in sports? A comeback story. We can all identify with being counted out, being in a place where it seems too hard to hold on to hope.

There is something innate within us that comes alive when what seems impossible becomes possible.

Just last year, our boys basketball team was down to a team that we don’t regularly win against in basketball. It could have been easy to throw in the towel and expect the outcome that we most often received. Instead, this group came back to force overtime and ultimately won a game that many thought they never could have won.

The inspiration that I felt as a coach and the looks on their faces after the game spoke volumes about what they had just experienced. And while there may be some big actions or big plays that make these comebacks possible, I think that most of the work is done bit by bit, in small steps, until a breakthrough happens.

These powerful moments in sports are great reminders to us that there is hope, regardless of the circumstances that life will present.