Success as a runner is
dependent on many things; however, after reading Miler by Steve Scott, I am reminded that the
relationship between a coach and his athlete is vital. The relationship of a coach to an athlete has
my mind buzzing, thinking of what I tell my athletes, and how important it is
to trust the coach. I recently was
speaking with a few of my athletes when an analogy came to mind.
The conversation
was about workouts and what I thought was working and what will
continue to work. I asked my athlete if
he had a girlfriend and if she was the most beautiful woman and smartest
woman in the world. He, of course,
answered that she was not the most beautiful or the smartest. Don’t worry! I am not picking on my
athlete's girlfriend; I am simply getting to my point. I then stated that I am not the smartest or
even the most experienced coach in the world, but for some reason he chose to run
for me, just like he chose to date his girlfriend. I followed up with how well would this
relationship between you and your girlfriend work if there was not trust.
What if one of them was giving it their all, while the other one simply
did what was easy or convenient. Without
trust, commitment, and respect, a relationship between a couple or a coach and
an athlete will be doomed to failure. An
athlete who does only half of the workouts according to plan will go
nowhere, and if the athlete tries to do the coach's workouts plus extra
workouts, he will soon be injured or his times will be slower. You may not always understand your coach or
your significant other, but if you want the relationship to work, you
must trust them and go forward even when times are hard.
When I look at myself, I
think of my relationship with Christ.
God gives me a play book, and he gives me pastors and friends for
encouragement, a lot like a track team.
It's not always easy to see the big picture, and I quite often end up
astray. This makes me think of how
frequently God refers to me and to his followers as sheep. Growing up in the country, I never wanted
anything to do with sheep as they are, in my opinion, the dumbest of all farm
animals. Is this why God refers to us as
sheep and Him as a Shepherd? This
actually sounds quite possible, as we are often doing stupid things that we
later realize are far from what is best for us.
In no way would I call my athletes dumb farm animals, but they,
just like me, sometimes walk away from what is best because they want to
get results quicker or even a completely different result. Sometimes
then, God, our Shepherd, must step in and lead us back to what is right, just
like a coach leading an athlete back to what is best.
Our society is often
driven by a "get rich quick" mentality, and people
want success overnight. However, developing a relationship with
Christ and developing as a runner both take time. Some of the most successful runners have had
quite different training plans, but almost all had great coaches who they
trusted, and that is the element that is key.
Also, some of the most famous characters in the Bible had to do some
crazy things and trust that what God was telling them was going to work. The relationship of trusting in one another
is the backbone of successful coaching and the backbone of
faith.
To sum things up, if you
want success, you must trust, you must put forth effort, and you must do your
very best every day. A relationship with
a coach, Christ, or even your significant other will never work if you are not
both pursuing the same goal in a manner that balances the
scales. Whatever the situation, a successful relationship must
be one in which both parties are giving equally, and both are seeking
to better the other.
