Upsets Left and Right
Spring sports were initially postponed. Coaches provided at-home training schedules for their athletes, and both coaches and athletes held out hope they would be able to play. But as time went on, the season was canceled altogether.
Many coaches expected fall to be better, but planning for fall sports has been exhausting. 
First, the season is on so schedules are developed and athletes are contacted.
Oh wait – the season is moved to spring and spring sports are pushed back to summer, but the teams can all practice for a month in the fall. So new schedules are developed, and athletes are contacted again.
Hold on – now the season is back but delayed and shortened with very limited spectators. No more practice for spring sports in the fall. But is that the final answer, or will it change again? Hopefully, this is the final time schedules are reworked and athletes contacted – again.
These coaches are going back and forth – reworking schedules, recommunicating with teams, changing line-ups and practices, trying to make the best out of an upset year. In the meantime, they have athletes trying to earn scholarships and others who just desperately want some normalcy in their lives and want to play their sport.
Add all of that to the normal stresses of coaching along with their day jobs and family commitments, and many of our coaches are stressed, tired, and overwhelmed.
Weariness
Coaches have poured themselves into the FCA huddles at their schools for decades, but many FCA staff members are recognizing that right now our coaches need the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to come alongside them to bring hope, encouragement, and peace in these challenging times.
Ron Backes has been ministering to coaches within FCA for years. He invests in coaches, building them up in their walks with Christ, and preparing them to lead their teams well so they can then go back and impact entire teams. He sees a deep weariness in the coaches he serves. The constant changes in the sports season along with a hybrid learning model and increased pressure on families has added some heavy weights on the coaches:
“They are just so strapped . . . It’s so hard to get time with them . . . Everyone has a time crunch.”
James Bolin,
Southeast Minnesota Area Director, has noticed the weariness in coaches as well. He received a text from one coach that said, “I could use some prayer personally. With changes in fall sports along with the hybrid learning model, I could really use
prayer for wisdom and solutions for the problems.” He has received a similar message from other coaches in his area too.
Randy Jensen,
South Metro Area Director, hosted a Zoom meeting for coaches this summer. He wanted them to have a place to come together just to talk:
“I was surprised that even my most optimistic coaches who had gone through challenges and trials in their schools in the past but always kept a positive attitude and trusted God would get them through it, that every one of them agreed with those who shared they were weary."
Randy went on to say, “We just need to love on our coaches and not worry about whether the huddle is going right now. I want them to know, ‘I’m concerned about you and as you have enough capacity to think about starting your huddle, just start with student leaders.’” He wants to make sure FCA is not a burden to his coaches but something that is making an eternal impact on their lives.
Hope and Encouragement
For FCA staff, it could be easy to become discouraged because things aren’t working according to plan, but God has been moving in and through FCA staff members all over Minnesota to lean into the challenges. They are finding creative ways to bring hope and encouragement to more and more coaches.
James sends out monthly text messages to his coaches. He includes a verse and positive message along with an offer to pray for them. The message he received from the stressed-out coach above was a response to one of those texts. James prayed for this coach immediately. “I used to tell them, ‘Oh I’ll pray for you,’ but I want to make sure they know and see how I pray for them. I’ve started voice texting my prayers back to them.” Besides the text messages, sometimes the Southwest MN board, staff, and James send handwritten notes, gift cards, or small gifts to coaches. “Personal, individual things are making the most impact right now.”
Randy plans to do more Zoom calls for coaches. The first call made a greater impact that he could have imagined. “They enjoyed seeing each other and knowing they are all in the same boat. There was a positive feeling about being an encouragement and knowing they are going through that very specific thing together.” No one understands the life of a coach quite like another coach, and Randy is there to bring encouragement as they share their struggles with each other.
For Ron, it’s about meeting one on one with coaches as well as meeting them where they are at spiritually and physically. “At the heart of coaches ministry has always been discipleship.” It is Ron’s heart to be able to minister first to coaches who will then minister to their athletes once they are encouraged and ready to disciple others.
It Takes a Village
FCA staff all over Minnesota are finding unique ways to meet the needs of coaches and athletes around the state in a time when in-person contact for a highly in-person ministry is nearly impossible. We are encouraged to see how God is at work in the hearts and lives of coaches all over the state, and we think you will be encouraged too.
Be looking for more impact stories over the coming weeks and months specifically related to coaches ministry around the state.
Please pray for more coaches to be impacted by the ministry of FCA and for staff to keep thinking of new ways to reach them.
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