From our C-Sports Spirit Moments Book:
You Guys Are Different!
Our C-Sports baseball/softball program was still young when Coach Ashley and Coach Russell approached Dan and asked if they could form a girls “All-Star” team after the season to play in the Alabama Sports Festival. The Festival was to be played in Mobile that year and they thought it would be a great opportunity for the girls who wanted to continue with softball after the season. Dan and I agreed to the suggestion with the provision that our C-Sports “In the world but not of the world” standards be maintained even in the highly competitive atmosphere of the tournament. I had coached teams in previous Sports Festivals and realized that, although the opening ceremonies with the Olympic style introductions and parade are exciting, the worldly nature of “win at all costs” was very evident.
Well, our girls enjoyed that wonderful opening ceremony. Parents got great pictures. Then, they went out and played beautifully in the tournament winning a number of games. The exciting part for me happened off the field!
After that weekend we received reports from our coaches and parents that other teams, officials, parents, and coaches were asking members of our group questions such as , “Now where are you guys from?” They noticed and commented that our group was “different” in so many ways. They commented about the way our coaches encouraged the players and interacted with them in positive ways rather than shouting at them. They noticed how our girls even encouraged the girls on the other teams after they had been shouted at by their coaches or made an error. Coach Ashley told me afterward, “We were just doing what we thought was normal.”
And here, it is normal. Can Christian love and fellowship co-exist with a competitive sports environment? I believe it can…and I know it does. Not only were the players, coaches, and parents blessed by the fun and fellowship they experienced at the event, they were fulfilled by the fact that they served as ambassadors from our program…and for the Kingdom, to the world. When God lives in our hearts, it shows!
Marcia K. Gibney
Director of Recreation Ministry