Remembering Your Influence

Two nights ago I was at the arena preparing our lacrosse team for the playoffs. After our team was finished, a team from another city arrived to compete for a championship game later that evening. It was a team from a city where I’d lived and coached five years ago. In fact, I’d actually taught many of the athletes on this team how to play lacrosse when the association first started.

As with other teams I had coached in the past, men who had been boys when I coached them were greeting me as they came into the arena. Some stopped to share what they had been doing over the last few years. Through their warm conversations and solid handshakes, I was reminded of just how much of an impact we as coaches have on the lives of our athletes. When I’d coached them five years ago, I had not yet given my life to Christ, so conversations about God’s grace would not have happened. I soon felt conviction set in as I thought about how many opportunities I’d missed.

That’s when a new question entered my mind. In the past three years since I surrendered my life to Christ, how much have I communicated Him with my teams? How many opportunities have I let pass by? Seeing these athletes that I’d coached five-plus years ago put into perspective just how much a coach can influence an athlete.

As Christian coaches, we need to keep this in mind and remember that God has placed us in these positions to bring Him to our teams. Whether that is through actions or words, we have to keep in mind that we can be pleasing to Him and help build His Kingdom if we act when He presents opportunities. Really, this lesson can apply to anyone: athletes, students, teachers, parents. We all have influence over others in our lives.

The bottom line is that as a Christian—someone who has the Holy Spirit of Christ living within—how much of an impact can be made for the Lord when we follow Him and seize the opportunities He gives us to share Him with others. Let’s remember not to forget.