one on one discipleship coaching

Probably my favorite part of coaching basketball was practice. Practice is where it all happened. We loved the saying, "Perfect practice makes perfect." So practice was intense. We put players through the ringer when it came to skill, fitness, and their mental toughness. We summed this up as Character. We had a distinct plan for players when it came to drills that we would put players through day after day. We wanted to push them to their limit and then push more. We would run them until they were tired and then run them some more. Then as coaches we would play with their minds by making them think that they had completed a drill successfully and then throw them off by changing the rules or something. We would push and push and push as we knew that those drills decided games that hadn't been played. We wanted our team to be prepared for tough situations in games and have the character to push through and win.

I think that God sees life in the same way. He knows that tough times are going to come and the question is do we have the character it takes to push through? This is why I believe James tell us this:

James 1:2-4 says, "²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

As coaches we are developing the character of those we are coaching. So as a coach I encourage you to push the person you are coaching. Push them beyond where they think that they can go. I can guarantee you that at some point in your coaching relationship you, the person you are coaching, or both of you will go through a significant life trial. It is what you do with that situation that will mark you as a coach and mark that person. Are they prepared? Have you prepared them? The coaching relationships are designed to help develop a person's character so that when they go through a tough time they can persevere and be mature and complete.