Cherokee FCA

When a coach loves their players, they demonstrate it in the way they teach, the way they correct, the way they push. Coaches who love their players don’t shame them in front of their teammates; they don’t condemn publicly and tear down, they confront privately and build up. They care about what’s going on in the classroom and at home. They work to understand the pressures their players are feeling off the field as well. They serve their players and step in to help in whatever way they can, because they are tuned into the needs and hurts of their players. They’re intentional about modeling and building specific character qualities into the hearts of their players – integrity, perseverance, consistency, teamwork, overcoming adversity and forgiveness.
If coaches would coach their players like Jesus loved His disciples, sports would be transformed instantly! Imagine if every coach followed The Love Win and could say – “My goal is to love my players!”

“Coaching is a profession of love. You can't coach people unless you love them.” - Eddie Robinson

Love is usually not found in most coaching job descriptions. But Bobby Dodd, former football coach at Georgia Tech, once said, “Either love your players or get out of coaching.” When Joe Ehrmann, former NFL player for the Baltimore Colts, was coaching the Gilman High School football team, he would tell the players: “Our job as coaches is to love you. Your job as players is to love each other.”

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)