There Is Power in Sport

God has ordained and desires for sports to be used for His glory and our good.  

By: Wally Jenkins, athletic director 

It was one of those days … one that you know is coming but never want to experience. In March of 2019, my mother completed a 29-year fight with a rare form of muscular dystrophy called polymyositis. As we made the trip back home for her memorial service, I had no idea what to expect. It had been seven years since I had finished college and moved away from home. However, throughout the weekend celebrating her life, there was an unavoidable message, “There is power in sport!”

For His Glory and Our Good

In 1986, my parents relocated to Baton Rouge for my dad to pursue his master’s degree. Upon completion, he began a career as a teacher and coach, which he would continue until last year. In 1990, I was born, and my mom received her diagnosis. Polymyositis is a disease that causes muscle weakness throughout the body, and the body attacks itself gradually over time. During my elementary years, my mom began her transition from using a cane to using a walker, then a wheelchair, and then a power chair. In my adolescence, I was too consumed with myself to see what was happening around me, but the message was never clearer than the day we celebrated my mother’s life.

An overwhelming number of students, former players, and their parents from 1986 all the way to 2019 came through the visitation line with story after story of the impact my parents had made. Consistent topics were about my mom’s near-perfect attendance record at their games (mine and my brother’s too), her determination to work and be present in the school and church community, the example my dad set in his care and caretaking of her while still fulfilling his duties as a coach, and the hospital visits they made to players with sick parents or unfortunate injuries. While most of these memories weren’t news to me, the message from this community rang louder than ever before … God has ordained and desires for sports to be used for His glory and our good.

Integrity and Character

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
– John Wooden

While on a family vacation when I was 10 years old, my dad, brother, and I were out for a round of golf. There weren’t any other people on the golf course that day. As we began the round, I had grand visions of long drives and sinking putts. However, the reality of my shortcomings quickly set in, and my attention changed to a recent movie that my older brother had shown me. At the next tee box, I decided to imitate the approach from the movie by adding a “running crow-hop” into my drive. The results were amazing! My ball experienced flight for the first time that day and found itself on the fairway.

But, when I looked over at my dad, he said, “Great drive, but don’t ever do that again.” Golf etiquette and safety would clearly frown upon my actions. After receiving this explanation from him, I said, “Dad, no one is even out here but us.” His response was to explain to me the importance of having integrity and character and doing the right thing regardless of who was watching.

This lesson would be repeated to me in conditioning workouts when I would face the temptation to cut corners or “miscount” reps … or when I chose whether or not I would put in the work to improve my skill outside of practice time.

How We Respond to Failure

“The Lord Jesus does not give the charge, ‘Be a shepherd to My lambs … to My sheep,’ on hearing Peter’s self-confident affirmation of undying loyalty, but He gives it after he has utterly failed to keep his vows and has wept bitterly in the streets of Jerusalem.”
- J.C. Metcalfe

The greatest baseball hitters fail 70% of the time, the best golfers win 3 tournaments out of 48 in a season (6%), and the average career of an NFL player lasts 3.3 years! Most of us who have participated in sports have probably experienced some form of failure.

I was in seventh grade and acting as a ball boy on the sidelines for our varsity football team where my dad was the defensive coordinator. In a second round playoff game, we were trailing by 14 points with little time left. As the other team attempted to run out the clock, one of our players jumped over the center and leveled the quarterback before he snapped the ball. A 15-yard penalty, an ejection, and some tempers flaring would follow, while the guilty player went to the bench with his face hidden in his hands.

I will never forget seeing my dad walk over to the player, put his arm around him, and show him that no matter what, he was there for him. The disappointment and embarrassment of being upset in the playoffs and the frustration of an ejection from one of his players was not going to keep him from getting the message through to that player … “You made a mistake. Own it. Let’s move on and get better.”

God, in all of His kindness, did not wait for us to achieve perfection. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Together We Soar

There is no “I” in “team.” TEAM > ME. And if you have been around Perimeter Athletics long enough with me, you’ll be familiar with “Together We Soar.” Most coaches will spend an ample amount of time working towards unity amongst their team. Throughout my dad’s career, I was able to see this reality and how it played out with great success and great failure.

One of the greatest challenges and satisfactions in sports is taking a group of individuals and unifying them around a goal. As you know, this can be difficult! Everyone comes in with various skills, talents, interests, and expectations, and opportunities to sow discord due to our unmet expectations are endless in sports. However, sports offer us the opportunity to press into these disappointments and continue to pursue unity with those on our team.

There are 59 “one another commandments” listed in the New Testament that express how we are to treat others. In John 17:20-21, before Jesus proceeds to the cross, He prays, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Sports offer us the opportunity to work through our differences for the betterment of one another and the team.

The "power” that I see in sport solely comes from the truth of the gospel and the life that is offered to us through life with Jesus Christ. Player awards, notoriety, championships, and athletic scholarships pale in comparison to the life that Jesus gives.

As much as I want our teams and individuals to experience athletic success, I have a much greater hope that they will see the lessons offered through sports on and off the field of competition. While this is a big and continuous task, it is a worthy one for all of us. May we depend on God to accomplish this great work in and through us.

#TOGETHERWESOAR