By: Jenny Young
I’ve always been an athletic girl playing an array of sports from volleyball to softball to basketball. Basketball, however, has always been my sport of choice. I enjoy the skills developed, the ability to play as a team, the pace, and the creative play. I love controlling the ball in my hands with a bounce or a throw. When I am left to play a sport with my feet, which requires a different skill/mindset, I am often left unbalanced. This becomes a challenge in some sports and can be greatly frustrating for me. I love playing sports and I enjoy playing them well. But over the years, I’ve realized I have a hard time letting myself go and enjoying something without “perfecting” it first.
You’ve likely heard of the common phrase, “Practice makes Perfect.” It’s one I've heard from a very young age and lived by. I have seen this way of thinking take up more room in my heart and life than I care to admit. The idea of perfection has not only revealed itself through sports, but also through relationships, and through my years of ministry.
In the last few years, I was pushed out of my comfort zone by coaching something new. Soccer for me is not a natural sport to play or coach. Yet, for the past two fall sports seasons, I have coached a youth kids soccer team. Undoubtedly, some kids know more about the sport than I do! I am learning different things about coaching younger kids. I am learning a sport I know little about. Lastly, I'm learning what I value most about myself and others.
I have been constantly thinking about how to keep the mission of my ministry in its proper view, yet also discerning my own goals/motives for the kids. There have been challenges during my first few practices as I learn along with the kids I am coaching. The kids may struggle with keeping attention or understanding why we play the way we do. But I hope to make the sport fun for the kids, allowing them to play a different position and get the chance to learn new skills by going through the fundamentals.
This new experience of practice brings a familiar phrase to the forefront, except I prefer a different result. “Practice makes PROGRESS.” Growth and development as an athlete, leader, friend, and individual takes time and practice. Progress does not mean everything will be perfect. Perfection should not be our true measure of growth. I fight to believe this not only for myself, but to help these kids and families believe this as well. Our growth as a team is all about the progress daily and weekly. Our growth is found in the way we talk, the way we play, the way we see each other on the pitch, and the way we approach the practice.
I am thankful for all of the ways I am reminded of this truth on a practical level, but also on a spiritual level. Jesus was the only perfect man and He would turn to His father continually in prayer. I cannot attain perfection in my own strength, but because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I find salvation from my imperfection. Because of Christ, I can continually approach the Father in prayer for help and comfort in times of needs. When I do, I am strengthened in my pursuits and reminded that in our practice (of sports or anything else), we find freedom in progress not perfection.