What a great time we enjoyed at our volleyball tournament these past two days! Our NCS Lady Gators played hard and competed with such a great spirit. They won the Consolation Championship and represented their Lord, their parents, and their school well. We’re proud of you girls!

Also, I am thankful for all the volunteers who made this week possible- everyone from concession stand workers, line judges, janitors, fans, refs, coaches, and all those in between. Athletes, please know that there are many people behind the scenes making it possible for you to play, so don’t forget to thank them.

Christian school sports provide a great learning and growing format for our young people. Like anything else, there are some inappropriate behaviors that present themselves during sporting events. So here are some challenges to be sure that we represent ourselves and our professions well.

Cheer for your team. Be sure that you are cheering for your team to win not just cheering for the other team to lose. Many athletes are still in developmental stages of their life and some character habits, opinions, and feelings are still being formed. A fan base cheering against them can deter any future relationships from developing.

Celebrate the victories. It’s easy to critique a missed shot, or a ball that’s hit out of bounds, or a foul committed, or a bad call; but you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Be a fan that cheers on the athletes for a job well done, not one that just points out how something could be done better.

Make little of the losses. I am of the opinion that a loss can be a good thing. Some of the best lessons are learned through adversity. If we don’t use losses as teaching tools, we present a fictitious world to our athletes where there are no pains, no losses, and no lessons to be learned.

Be considerate of the refs. Here’s an idea: thank the ref. Really, the ref is in a lose-lose situation. At least half of the people aren’t going to like the call. Furthermore, most refs work 40 hours a week and simply referee as a side job, so be considerate.

There are some great lessons to be learned and principles to be taught in Christian School athletics, so let’s be sure we are learning and teaching.