Praying for coaches

I added something new to our prayer list last night...  Our coaches.

Why has this just dawned on me?  We have prayed for the educators and staff at the kids' schools since before we were ever in school.  And we pray for Sunday school teachers...  And we've thanked God many times over for our coaches, but we've never really prayed for them. 

If our kids participate in sports for the reasons my husband and I say they do, then their coaches need all the prayer support they can get! 

Why do our kids participate in sports?

To grow social relationships with their peers.

To establish trusting relationships with adults outside of our family.

To learn how to be a part of a team.

To maintain physical activity and good health.

To receive support, encouragement, and constructive feedback from someone other than Mom and Dad.

To learn how to win and lose gracefully.

To learn how to be competitive while keeping ones integrity and character in tact.

To have fun.

To know the freedom and joy of simply being a kid and playing.

As I've sat back and watched my kids with their various teachers and coaches, I've often wondered if they realize the full scope of what they are doing.  Or do they just think it's about piano, or soccer, or baseball, or basketball, or math...  Do they realize that they are writing on the heart and mind of the child before them?

The work of a teacher - a coach is a teacher - is a tall order and calls for prayer.

Additionally, our coaches are given a degree of permission to add things to our family's schedule.  And they are given discretion regarding the safety and discipline of our children when we are not there.

Our family has been richly blessed with loving coaches who are passionate about all of the above.  As fall sports continue through late October, we will continue to lift these men up in prayer.  So their hearts and minds will be primed with wisdom, patience, endurance and passion for the kids entrusted to them.  We also pray that many blessings are poured out on their families, as they give generously and sacrificially for the team...more specifically - for my child.