11.18.19
Quote/Thought of the Week
HBCA/FCA Tournament Scheduled
February 22–23 in Washington County
Many more details will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks about the upcoming HBCA/FCA basketball tournament for boys and girls in grades 2-8. The tournament will be called the Southern Indiana Championships and will be hosted by Salem, West Washington, and Eastern Pekin High Schools in Washington County, smack dab in the middle of the HBCA. The event will raise money for the HBCA scholarship foundation and FCA ministries in southern Indiana. Mark the dates and share information with all coaches in your feeder programs.
One of the best things about the tournament is that we will have a Sunday morning devotional at Salem HS prior to games getting started. Because teams, coaches and families will be away from home we are going to give them this time to come in and have some prayer, devotional, and message time with members of the FCA staff.
Coaches Insider Drills and Videos
Ball screen bump drill and Defending the best player
There are two great video articles this week in the Coach’s Insider. One comes from Jason Hooten at Sam Houston State called Ball Screen Bump Drill and the other is from Dana Ford on how to guard the other team’s best player.
Dr. Dish Drills of the Week
8 Types of shots not worked on enough
Looking for drills before/after practices that incorporates shooting off the move, shooting off the dribble, and conditioning? Check out this article from Nick Bartlett on some aspects of shooting that we neglect.
Duke transition Shooting
Also check out the great drill from Duke’s women’s team that can help you with your transition shooting.
A Message from Coach Thompson
Follow Jon Gordon
Whether you follow Jon Gordon relentlessly on Twitter or read all of his books here are some powerful nuggets from Jon Gordon and his book “The Power of Positive Leadership”.
As the season grinds, finding small nuggets daily to energize you is important. One of our daily thoughts to our team came from this page earlier this week, “Show up; do the work; and you will be glad you did.”
Good luck as you continue on with your seasons. Grab a Jon Gordon book, like “The Energy Bus” or give him a follow on Twitter at @JonGordon11. Remember that, “True grit leads to true success.”
FCA Message from Jason Brand & Billy Holder
The Search for Life
Why do we keep acquiring more possessions when we clearly already have enough?
Why do we stare into overstuffed closets and tell ourselves that we have nothing to wear?
Why do we tend to live in a house way larger than our family truly needs?
Why do we get a brand-new car when our current mode of transportation is more than adequate?
Why do we eat out so often and eat way more than we need for daily sustenance?
Why are we so obsessed about our physical appearance and fitness?
Why do we employ modern medical technologies to ward off old age?
Why do we invest so much time and money on our vacations?
Why are so many of us in debt?
Why does illicit sex seduce so many of us?
Why do we so often envy what other people have?
The answer is simple. It's found throughout the Word of God, particularly in the book of Ecclesiastes, and we verify its truth every day with our desires, words, actions, and purchases: we are searching for life.
God created us as spiritual beings to have a life-defining, soul-satisfying relationship with him, but the Fall shattered that perfect union. So with groaning souls, as we await the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23), we can't resist searching elsewhere for identity and contentment.
A comfortable house, a new car, a cute outfit, a delicious meal, a relaxing vacation, a gym membership - none are inherently evil. I'm not suggesting that you dump all the pleasurable items and experiences in your life.
I will suggest, however, that materialism is capturing our hearts and eating up the time, energy, and resources of our lives (see Matthew 6:19-33, Isaiah 55:2, your calendar, bank account, and sources of anger, anxiety, and excitement).
You and I tend to be captivated and controlled by whatever we think will give us life:
The bride is transfixed by her fiancé because she believes he will offer her life;The new employee is excited by his new job because he thinks the position will supply him with identity, or the increased salary with the ability to purchase things which give life;The couple is vibrating with anticipation as they turn the key to their new house because they think they will find and make life there;The Hare Krishna convert is enthusiastic because he is convinced he has finally found the meaning of life;The older woman is depressed and bitter because she feels that life has passed her by;The teenager will cross any boundaries you set in an anxious and immature search for life.It's important to preach this theology again and again because we continually make the profound mistake of looking horizontally for what can only be found vertically: earth will never be your savior.But take heart. The Creator of the heavens and earth is also your "I am with you always" Savior. He meets you with strength in moments when you are weak. He graces you with wisdom in moments when you're acting like a fool. He fights for your soul even when you don't fight for yourself.You don't have to conceal your materialism in shame. You can run into God's presence in weakness and failure, knowing you will receive mercy and not judgment.
Reflection Questions
What recent evidence verifies that you are still prone to search for life horizontally?
Where were you searching, and what were you hoping to find? How has Christ already supplied all of this and much more?
How have your earthly searches for identity and contentment resulted in failure and frustration in the past?
Is there anything in your life that's not inherently evil but that may be interfering with what God is calling you to do and who God is calling you to be? Would you struggle to sacrifice this?
How can you share with someone this week that life is only found in Jesus? How can you practically connect their search for life with the truth of the Gospel?
This Devotional is from the Paul David Trip weekly devotional.
Contact Us
Coach Thompson - coachthompson44@gmail.com - @coachthompson44
Luke Zeller - lukezeller@distinxion.org - @lukezeller40 and @distinxion
Patrick Kohan - patrick@coachesinsider.com
Nick Bartlett - nick@drdishbasketball.com
Jason Brand - jbrand@fca.org