Profiles of a C4 Competitor – Coach Skip Sanford

Removing Distractions

In the first posting, we looked at the concept of giving God our best gift on a daily basis. We determined that according to Romans 12:1-2, God ask us to give Him the gift of our attitudes, effort, and abilities. In this post, we will look at the obstacles that keep most athletes from giving God that gift. We will look at three obstacles that keep people from becoming the athlete that God wants them to be and more importantly, how we can remove those distractions and develop a C4 mindset.

Hebrews 12:1-2 states Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Basically Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to get rid of those things that will slow us down or hold us back. We should examine our attitude, effort, and abilities and see if there is anything that is holding us back from giving God our best in those areas. Mike Blaylock says in his book “The Right Way to Win” that there are three deadly sins for any athlete that will immediately hinder an athlete’s maximum performance.

First on the list is Anger. You have probably seen it a hundred times, something bad or unfair happens in a game and the athlete loses his composure. He becomes distracted and is no longer focused on the game. Anger takes our focus away from giving our best effort, displaying a great attitude and hinders us from using our abilities for maximum performance. So, how do we remove that distraction?

• We stay away from angry people. Proverbs 22:24-25 says Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, ²⁵ or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.
• We need to guard our mouth. It is very important for us to be careful what we say. Our words can destroy reputations, friendships, create tension among our teammates, cause trouble and possibly ruin our witness for Christ. Proverbs 21:23 states that Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.
• We need Memorize scripture and fill our minds positive reminders to give our best. Some great scriptures to start with that deal with overcoming anger are Psalm 37:8, Proverbs 14:17,Proverbs 15:1, Proverbs 15:18, Proverbs 16:32 and Proverbs 19:11

The second distraction that holds us back from achieving competitive greatness is Pride. According to Blaylock, “pride is playing as if you are the only one in the stands. It will make you too concerned about what others think and will distract you from giving your best gift to God. Proverbs 16:18 says that Pride comes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. The only way to remove pride as a distraction is to practice humility.

• To be humble, we must see ourselves in comparison to God. There are numerous scriptures throughout the bible that speak about God’s greatness and about the fact that we are His creation. It is important to remember that God is the creator of the universe and holds all things in His power.
• To be humble, we must be teachable. Proverbs 1:5 tells us that A wise man will hear and increase in learning and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. A humble athlete is willing to learn.
• To be humble, we must remember the source of our ability. It is incredibly easy to get caught up in our accomplishments and abilities, but we must remember who gave us the ability to perform. John 15:5 says I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

The third and final “deadly sin” for athletes is lack of self-control. Proverbs 25:28 says that a person without self-control is a defenseless as a city with broken down walls. If we want to conquer the distraction of self-control we must discipline ourselves to control our attitudes and actions.

• 1 Timothy 4:7-8 states Train yourself for a holy life! 8 While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come.

Every day we should strive to give God the best of our abilities, effort, and our attitudes. However, we must also remember that there are many things that will distract us, slow us down and keep us from becoming the athlete that God has intended. Three of the most prevalent are anger, pride and lack of self-control. Make every effort this week to remove these distractions and develop a C4 mentality.

Adverse Circumstances

Did you ever think that having a bad game or dealing with a bad call from a referee could actually be your chance to show off? Think about it. What do most athletes do when circumstances don’t go their way? They complain or they blame. We hear them say things like we would have won but… or maybe we could have won if . . . the circumstances would have been different. If the weather was better we would have won or we could have won if the referee hadn’t made so many bad calls.

But guess what, bad things happen. Sometimes things don’t go your way, sometimes referees do make bad calls, and sometimes we just play bad. So What! The time to really show off is when circumstances aren’t favorable. When the game is not going our way. . .

• We have the opportunity to win the respect of our team mates, coaches, and spectators in how we respond to adversity.
• We have the opportunity to play the next point or play with our as much enthusiasm, pride, and aggressiveness as possible.
• We have the opportunity to show what a watching stadium what it means to compete, to give our best effort, to show our best attitude, to use our abilities for maximum performance in spite of the circumstances.

So the next time your team is behind, or you feel like the nothing is going right and there is no reason to keep giving your best, remember some of the greatest comebacks of all time started when one person made a decision to show off during adverse circumstances.

Adapted from Dick DeVenzio’s Think Like a Champion