I love the start of a new season. I have such fond memories of coaching little league many years ago, especially the younger age groups who had never played before. The kids would show up for the first practice in all sorts of outfits. Some were in jeans, some in shorts, some in baseball pants, gloves and hats that all seemed too big for them, and who knows what would be on their feet. Most were so excited they could hardly contain themselves, and others were so scared it took ten minutes to remove them from their mother's grip. It was magical... and then there were parents.
One of the very first things I would do at the start of every season is send the kids onto the field with a few coaches and then gather the parents together on the outside of the fence. I would spend time discussing our philosophy, how excited we were to have the privilege of coaching their child, our practice schedule, expectations, and rules of conduct... for them. I asked if any parents wanted to volunteer to help coach and always got a few. The rest of them, however, needed to be reminded that while their child was on the ball field during practice or a game, their job was to encourage and our job was to coach. Coaching or criticizing from the stands would confuse the players, disrupt their development, and hurt the team.
"Remove the impurities from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith." (Proverbs 25:4)
A very successful college football coach I know tells his team at the start of every season, "If you have some place better to be, be there". In other words, we only need players who are fully committed to the team and fully present. Anything less would not be tolerated, no matter how talented they were.
This world is full of people who are half in, want to send mixed messages, have toxic attitudes, are always looking for an angle, think they know better, or promote self-interest over team. Those impurities must be removed.
When silver is mined, it often comes with lead, copper, iron, sulfates, and even gold that have to be removed before it's considered pure and useful. The same is true in your life, your mind, and on your team. The impurities need to go before something significant can be created.
Look around. Where are the impurities that need to be refined out? Who might look like gold on the surface, but weakens the strength of the team? Who's yelling from the bleachers but aren't willing to step on the field and truly help? What thoughts do you allow that distract your entire mind? What people are tarnishing the shine of your silver?
Remove the impurities from the silver, and you can really create something of significant value. Either get on the field and help or stay on the sidelines and encourage. And if you have someplace better to be, be there.
