7 Habits of a Servant CoachSample

1 Corinthians 10:31 is clear that whatever we do should be done for the glory of God. Yes, that involves coaching. I think God wants you to become the best coach you could possibly be!

This needs to be clear: By coaching them to get better, you are actively serving them. You are helping to give them what they actually want. So coach! That's the next habit of a servant coach.

Coach, become excellent at finding your athlete’s strengths and leveraging them in competition. Grow in your ability to help each athlete move from where they are to where you want them to be. Know what motivates your players and actively press into that to get the best out of them. Maybe you are already doing this. If you are, keep it up.

But let’s press a little further: Why are you doing it? Are you becoming or desiring to become a top level coach because you are motivated by serving your players—or to serve yourself?

During my brief stint as a volunteer coach I remember an ungodly motivation creeping to the surface—the need to be admired and seen as great. It was very easy for my identity to become tied to how the athletes performed.

Ultimately, God is after our hearts. Coach your players with excellence. Pray for a motivation to coach them out of service to them, not yourself.

Habit Forming Challenge: When is the last time you asked someone else how you can get better as a coach? Oftentimes, our own blindspots prevent us from improving in specific areas. The habit forming challenge today is this: ask someone you trust how you can improve as a coach. Asking trusted friends, coaches, or athletes how you are doing and what you can  improve on is a humbling thing to do. But it's also something embraced by a servant coach.