No False Steps….

So much has happened since the last time I have posted anything of significance. Many of you know that I coach high school football for a school in my area. I actually coach the linebackers. I won’t go into detail about the responsibilities of a ‘backer…I know that would bore quite a few of you…but there is something profound that I found out yesterday while we were at mini-camp. I love my coaching job. I coach for an inner-city program so many of the kids are rough around the edges…but the crazy thing is…they are all great kids…as I start to peel back their complex layers…I learn that they are no different than any other child…they just merely had to adapt to their surroundings.

Anywho…that is a conversation for a later day. I have learned over the years that it is the small things that get our attention…I teach my players about making no “false steps”…and what I mean by that is (and I promise I’m going to keep the linebacker/football terminology to a minimum) every step you take make it a positive football move. In my defense we have 3 linebackers…each has their own name…Mike (middle backer)…Will (weak side backer) and Sam (strong side backer). Follow me for a minute here…these 3 backers have their own keys…BUT it is all the same. I teach them to mirror their keys through the big picture. For instance…the Mike keys the fullback…if the fullback goes right…the Mike is to mirror him and make his step definitive…if the fullback step forward…the Mike is to step forward…again mirroring his key…BUT as he mirrors his key, the Mike still must watch his key through the entire play…or what I call the big picture. It is pertinent that he does not take any unnecessary steps…or false steps…if he does…there is a potential to be out of position and completely miss the play. Now the Will has a different key…he reads the near back to the tail back…BUT also through the big picture.

We teach our kids that once you read you key…mirror him and you must do what we call…”step to balance”…what this means is after he makes the initial mirror step of his key…he must then place himself in a football related stance…keeping a good width between his feet…staying low to the ground and ready to attack…weight equally distributed and shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage (this is where they hike the ball from) …he steps to balance just in case the play goes a different way…for this reason…if all these components are correctly put in place even if the opposing team attempts to fool the player and run the ball in a different direction…it is easy for him to adjust and redirect himself and still make a play.

As I was teaching this last night at mini-camp…I started to thing about life and how it is crazy how this simple football technique mirrors us. See…God has a play designed for us…but we don’t know exactly what it is…we must read the keys that He gives us…but we can’t just focus on one thing…we have to look at it through the big picture. Check this out…for instance you can be sitting watching television…you can see the television…but you can also see everything thing behind it…you might have pictures on the wall…a clock…speakers…you see the big picture. God has a big picture for all of us…BUT sometimes when we start to make false steps…He might re-direct the play…that is when you must step to balance…you must be able to re-adjust to the direction of your life. Just because you have re-directed your life…doesn’t mean that the goal is not the same. Concentrate…stay focused on the big picture…just like the Will and Mike…even though they have different responsibilities…their goal is ultimately the same. Stop comparing your keys to others…be able to step to balance when it gets tough…make your steps positive life steps…be definitive in your actions.

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. – William Arthur Ward