12.16.19
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
Spend Time on Fundamentals
Watch as Coach Garrett discusses the importance of spending time on fundamentals of shooting every day in practice.
Dr. Dish Drills of the Week
Gator Split Cut Action
This drill from the Florida Gators gets a lot of shots up; but also allows you to get your kids to read different options off of split cuts.
Message from Coach Thompson
Be Present
In a recent email from Tony Dungy’s All-Pro Dad, suggestions were made for 10 Ways to Have the Best Holidays with your family. While all of those tips are great, including the importance of worshipping together, I think the greatest gift that you can give your family this Christmas is to be totally present. In short, the best present is your presence. With all the hustle and bustle it is easy to lose focus, so here are five tips for the coming holiday season. Remember, they don’t hang banners for holiday tourneys - LOL!
1. Leave the gym at the gym - your next practice plan; review of game film; and planning for your next opponent can wait. What cannot wait is how much your family wants you to engage with them. You can’t BE PRESENT if your mind is on basketball.
2. Stay off the phone - when you are at home with your spouse and family, stay off your phone. Play games with your kids and engage in conversation. You can’t BE PRESENT if you are checking Facebook, Instagram, or scrolling through the Twittersphere.
3. Make plans - nothing says I am here and present with you like making plans in the future to do something else with your family. Whether it is another get-together or a vacation next summer, simply talking through things you want to do together is a great way to spend quality time.
4. Tell them you love them - you never know when the next time you see a friend or a family member is going to be the last time. We’ve all lost loved ones that we would love to be able to say this to one more time. Don’t leave it left unsaid.
5. Spend time with the Lord - there is no greater gift than the gift of time and our heavenly father desires time with us. Over the coming couple of weeks plan to spend some time with Him and reflect on all that He has brought into your life.
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FCA Message from Jason Brand & Billy Holder
Skill and Integrity
Ready
"He shepherded them with a pure heart and guided them with his skillful hands.” — Psalm 78:72
Set
David was a leader with great skills and a pure heart, qualities that make for a great leader, whether he or she is a monarch, a coach, or a teammate. David was both skillful and full of integrity. The world is full of skillful leaders, but they often have hearts full of compromise and mixed motives. It is the rare leader who has purity of heart, uncompromised by self-interest or divided loyalties.
We must be leaders like David. We must work diligently to develop our skills and guard our hearts in order to maintain integrity. Beware of those who would have us violate our players’ trust. Watch out for the crouching lions of division and strife that would disrupt the unity of our teams. We need to shepherd our teams with skillful hands and integrity of heart.
As we prepare to compete, let’s ask God to sharpen our leadership skills and fill our hearts with integrity. Let’s ask Him to do the same for others who also lead our teams into competition..
Go
Think about your team’s leadership, the coaches, and the players with leadership responsibilities. How complete is their leadership?
On a one-to-ten scale, how would you assess your leadership skills?
On that same scale, how would you rate your other team leaders?
Would you say that they lead with integrity of heart or something less than that?
Workout
Psalm 62; Matthew 26:1–16; Romans 9:19–33
Overtime
Father, please shape my heart so I may lead with skill and integrity. Teach me to lead my fellow coaches and athletes in a way that helps them to be their best and in a way that honors You. Amen.
This devotional comes from FCA Resources.
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