We have players who are afraid to commit themselves to excellence on the football field.  A large number of you slouch and mope around with no energy.  There is no spring in your step.  You are often afraid of contact.  You invest NO time to learn our offense outside of practice.  Even when you or another player makes a big hit, you don’t get excited.  You can give NO energy in a drill or a team period, then you can come together and yell “pride”.  Frankly, it’s hard for your coaches to understand.

In football, the danger is that we may pretend to compete, but we may be in danger of losing a large number of football games.  That would be demoralizing…a real bummer, you might say.

But there is something much bigger at stake.

I have learned an important principle from Andy Stanley, my pastor.  He says, “you can’t compartmentalize character.”  And he is right.

The way you handle yourself in football is the way you are (and will) handle yourself in life.  If you allow yourself to give a portion of yourself to what you are doing (whatever you are doing), you will allow yourself the same ‘luxury’ in every area of your life.

This works positively as well.  Do you think it is random that Chart Riggall knows the offense plays well, and he is also a very good student?  It’s what we would expect.  Why?  Because you can’t compartmentalize character.  He is in the habit of 1) knowing what to do, and 2) giving maximum effort.

What’s at stake in football is losing games.  Over the course of your lifetime, these games are completely inconsequential.

But, what’s at stake in your life is everything.  Those with low expectations for themselves and for the organizations of which they are a part…in the real world…live on the brink of poverty, if not actually in poverty.  The world outside of your parent’s home is cruel to those who do not KNOW.  It is heavy on those who do not GIVE MAX EFFORT.  And it is lonely for those who do not COMMIT TO A CAUSE THAT IS BIGGER THAN JUST YOU.

The real problem with low expectation is that they become easier to accept, and the accepting will lead you down the path of financial and relational poverty.

Chose a cause you can be passionate about and demand a great deal from yourself and from those who share your passion.  Let me suggest that you should commit yourself fully to your faith, your family, your friends, and your football team.  There is tremendous joy in giving your all to a noble cause.

Why are you afraid to give your very best?  What is worse…meeting a low expectation? Or barely missing a target that is sky-high?  What prevents you from experiencing the joy that is trying your very best doing something you love?  What options might open up for you if it was your habit to give your best in football?  Your best in the classroom?  Your best in your relationship with your parents?  How might your life be better?