Adventures in Austria: Fighters

This school year I have the privilege of coaching one of my favorite sports to the High School girls, volleyball! They are a spunky group of girls that I have come to love more deeply than I thought I ever would. They are a group of 19 energetic, hardworking, crazy divas that keep my life very entertaining. I am currently coaching both Varsity and Junior Varsity teams which has made for quite a hectic schedule. In addition, I am required to take German classes this year and therefore our practice and game schedule has been greatly affected. I, thankfully, have a great assistant coach and four captains who have filled my role when I cannot be there.

ICSV Eagles

This year I really wanted to teach my teams a valuable lesson about Christ. I was praying for these teams all summer and nothing was placed on my heart. It wasn't until two of my captains told me that there were some issues on our team that needed to be addressed that the Lord placed the verse Exodus 14:14 on my heart. "The Lord will FIGHT for you and you only need to be STILL". (This is a verse the Lord has been using in my life a lot recently.) I knew that the Lord wanted to teach these girls about being a fighter and knowing WHO is truly on your team.

I was excited to pour this concept into the girls and to discuss this with the team. We had a team meeting before one of the games and I told them that as a team, we need to be fighters. We need to fight for our team, our school and most importantly, Jesus Christ. Fighting on a team is not about being self-fish or having an attitude, but choosing to sacrifice desires in order to better the team. And, when you are weak or feeling weary (Isaiah 40), to believe in a God who is fighting for you and you just need to be still. I soon saw the girls take this concept to heart and to begin to play as a self-less team. They were wise with their words, generous with gifts of encouragement, and respected the other teams through every win and loss.

JV girls on their way to a game

While the Lord was showing these girls how to be self-less fighters, he was also teaching me how to be a self-less leader. I believe the Lord calls people to be leaders in order to clip our wings and humble us. I, too, learned that I am incredibly self-fish and depend too much on myself instead of the Lord. I have learned to apologize to teenagers, to be patient after I've repeated myself a million times and was reminded that the soul of the girl is more important than the ability to play a sport. Our season is almost done, and while I will be thankful for a break, I will greatly miss these lively, beautifully chaotic high school girls.