Today I spent some time out on the football field at Kincaid Stadium, home to Carter and Kimball High Schools. There were about 150 middle school football players participating in an FCA/DISD “In The Zone” partnership camp. Along with the students there were about 25 high school coaches volunteering their time to impact student-athletes.
The athletes and coaches gathered at center field to hear from chaplain, Jon Randles.
All the athletes were sitting on the ground and as he began to speak he took a knee so that he could be eye level with them, face to face for them to see his emotion and vice-versa.
He spoke boldly and truthfully about not quitting, keeping their commitment to football, striving to be the best athlete they can and how that will pay off when they get into “the real world”. But with great passion and compassion he lovingly told them that if they really wanted to make a difference, the other component is to be people of character. Sometimes people with less skills and less natural abilities can, with hard work and commitment, be more successful than the top athlete with all the skills who don’t care about being a young man or woman of character.
Coach Tom Landry once said, “Give me a choice between an outstanding athlete with poor character and a lesser athlete with good character and I’ll choose the latter every time.”
Here is what I love about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization. With the help of coaches, FCA teaches student athletes new skills about their sport of choice through clinics and camps, but most importantly we get to love on these kids, speak truth into them and encourage them. And our hope is that they will grow up to be adults who make a huge impact in their communities … for the good!
The Greater Dallas Fellowship of Christian Athletes serves 200 middle schools, high schools and college/universities in the Dallas metroplex. As a student or parent, if you would like learn more, please give me a call or send me an email so we can connect. Our website: www.fcadallas.org is a great source of information and inspiration as well. (rbowles@fca.org / 214-739-8003)
Don’t forget, our 2nd Annual Sports Leadership Camp for high school athletes is June 26-29 at Dallas Baptist University. Call us ASAP to see if there is still room.