She was a cute and happy kindergartener in the very first PE class I taught in 1987. I knew she would grow up to be quite a young lady. Seventeen years later, Kristen is a senior playing basketball for a Christian college in Indiana. Coming off an outstanding high school career, Kristen has had a hard time finding success at the next level in most people's eyes. You will not find a harder worker or a more disciplined ball player than this young lady, but for some reason her number is not called too many times. Many players in her situation would have quit by now, but not Kristen.
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Start Right

There’s nothing better than getting the day started right - with a spiritual and physical jump start.
Fit4Ever: Food for Thought
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Almost every credible source links the foods we eat to our moods, our ability to focus, our energy levels, and our athletic and academic performance. It even affects how we think, which, in turn, affects almost every area of life from our relationship with God to our ability to perform under pressure and overcome challenges.
Pumped!
Every great moment in sports has its own soundtrack — a song that fuels the emotion of the moment. Would movie goers be half as moved if they watched Rocky Balboa train for a fight without hearing “Eye of the Tiger”? Imagine any college team taking the field without the band playing the school’s fight song. As an athlete, have you ever tried to prepare mentally for the game without using music? Would fans come to the games if they had to sit in silence?
Up the Hill

I love to run. It allows me an extra opportunity to connect with my Creator. It’s more than just seeing His beauty in nature, so much more! The longer I run, the more I hear His voice. Is it the physical exertion? Can it be the steady cadence? I think it’s more about just being quiet.
I hit the road taking my usual route. I crave the familiar. I run it many times each week and know it well. Halfway through, I prepare for my least favorite part: a sizable hill with a nasty bend. I’m tired and, yet, I’m far from done. In order to tackle this ascent, I need the Lord to carry me.
Slump

Tiger Woods doesn't win a tournament in a month. Barry Bonds doesn't homer in a week. Jeff Gordon doesn't win a race for a month. All of these are recent happenings. Sportswriters love this type of reporting because they get to go for the jugular. They break out the big "S" word — SLUMP. Sports fans and writers get used to the sports heroes performing day in and day out. When reality hits that these athletes aren't perfect, they feel like they have to make an excuse or that something must be terribly wrong with them. For the three examples above, I'm not sure if the word "slump" is right, but we all go through tough times in life and in sport.
Fit 4 Ever: Stressed Out
It's almost impossible to find anyone who isn't feeling the pressure these days.
Stress doesn't care if you are young or old; it has the ability to weigh you down regardless of age, gender, race, political affiliation or socio-economic status. In fact, all studies confirm this.
Stress is something we all seem to have in common.
Playing Time

A coach looks at his players’ strengths and weaknesses and decides who will play and how long they will be in the game. He or she often will take players out of the game to get some rest or to give someone else some playing time.
When I played softball in college, our shortstop had a very positive, contagious personality. When she was out of the game, you could tell the difference on the field. The game of life is no different. When a loved one leaves the playing field, they are dearly missed. For those who believe in Christ as Savior, this is a welcome call home. The rest of the “team” will miss them dearly, but they can find peace in knowing that the Creator, our Coach, has a plan.
Heart of an Athlete: Rhett Rakhshani
Raising the Standard (Excellence - Chapter 6)

One athlete’s career-threatening injury is another athlete’s blessing in disguise. At least that’s been the case for Major League Soccer veteran and four-time All-Star Chris Klein, who tore his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 2001 and his left ACL in 2004.
Faith Over Circumstance

Another grueling workout… I have just finished leg presses with 10 plates. As I grab the sides of the press machine to steady myself as I get up, I can feel my legs shaking. It is not the normal shake of someone who has worked out hard. It is the shake that comes from the nerves in my body struggling through multiple sclerosis.
I look around the gym as I try to get my mind to coordinate my legs to move and I see the other bodybuilders working out. They are all healthy. They stand strong and steady on their legs. They don’t hold onto the machines to keep from losing their balance. There is no effort in walking from machine to machine.
The Lost One

Wright College had a football team of 100 players. Every player knew the system, except for one. He was lost. A freshman who had never played football before, and had walked on to the team. He thought it would be fun, but he was lost. Everything seemed foreign to him. On plays, he would go one way, and everyone else another. He was always last in drills and always making his unit run for his struggles. Many players did not like this freshman, but he was still part of the team — the body. Ninety-nine players and one who was lost.
Fit 4 Ever: Put Your Health to the Test
“It makes me feel good that FCA cares about it’s people!”
That was a common statement after a week of clinical exercise testing at the FCA World Headquarters in November. This effort, led by the FCA Health & Fitness Ministry, was designed to help our FCA team improve its health so that everyone involved could have the strength and energy necessary to perform at the highest level. FCA President Les Steckel put it best: “We believe that our initiative to serve our people on the front-edge of ministry will define us as an organization that genuinely invests in the personal and professional development of its people.”
Hog Heaven
Zack Cox couldn’t take it anymore. Frustration was flying at him from all directions like 90-mph fastballs from a pitching machine gone berserk. The game he loved felt more and more like a prison sentence. So he did what any athlete would do. He found a bathroom and broke down.
The Year of the Capper
Southsiders of Chicago will never forget the summer of 2005. It was a season that brought glory to the Windy City as their beloved White Sox crushed the Houston Astros in a World Series sweep.
Fans cheered, brooms were raised, and confetti rained down on LaSalle Street in grand celebration.
Four hundred miles away in Pittsburgh, the silence was deafening.
Fit 4 Ever: Time for a Detox
One of the most popular movements in health and wellness today is the concept of “detox.” In fact, this spring, Oprah Winfrey completed her own 21-day detoxification program in an effort to rid her body of accumulated toxins and harmful substances, and in the process, she brought renewed national interest to the idea.
During her 21 days of physical cleansing, she completely avoided all animal products, caffeine, alcohol, bread (and gluten) and refined sugar. At first-glance, this may not seem like that big of a deal. However, the program that Oprah followed was based on a book called Quantum Wellness by author and new age spiritual counselor Kathy Freston.
The Bench Warmer
Every team has them. Most of us have even played the role ourselves, but no one really likes to. It’s the role of the bench-warmer.
There are only so many players who can play at one time, and every team has players who sit on the bench more than they play in the game. But does this make them any less of a team member than one of the starters? No way! The role of a bench-warmer is simply different than that of a starter. Bench-warmers have big roles in contributing to practices, developing team spirit, and in giving necessary breaks to the starters.
Bitterness

The psalmist tells us that his heart’s bitterness caused him to act more like an animal than a man. Sometimes when competitors are displaced by injury or illness, they experience great frustration, isolation, loneliness, and a myriad of other emotions. Those emotions can lead one to thinking and acting senselessly. The pain associated with losing may even drive some to foolishly medicate their pain and grief. Wise coaching can short-circuit that process and keep the team from painful consequences.
Mississippi Miracle
What's more impressive than Trinity University's 15-lateral play? The story of faith behind it.
Souled Out

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