What You Do in Practice...

I played softball when I was a kid. It was a huge part of my life in elementary and middle school. Trust me, I wasn’t an MVP, but I gave it my all! We lived about a mile and a half from the ballpark in our town and I used to ride my bike to practices or games. Sometimes I’d ride my bike to the field when I knew no one else would be there.

I’d sit quietly in the dugout and run through plays in my head. Go over my mistakes from the last game, my victories, what I could do better. What position I’d be shooting for next. I’d imagine what it would be like when I was at my best. It was like I had a relationship with the field nobody else had because of those moments spent there. Quiet, contemplative moments.

We had an incredible coach named JoDonna Birdoff. If you know anything about coaching, you know that your team will not produce something that you don’t have. They will, however, reproduce your character right before your very eyes. They will face adversity the way you do. Treat their competitors as you treat yours. Honor each other the way you honor them. And they will have your endurance and strength of will. If you choose to coach, you will reproduce who you are, not what you want.

JoDonna knew this well. She coached us girls to have character. Respect for people. Integrity – the same person on and off the field. And I can’t tell you how many times her voice echoed across the field, “What you do in practice you’ll do in the game! Remember that. WHAT YOU DO IN PRACTICE, YOU WILL DO IN THE GAME!”

There was no tolerance for sloppiness, distractions, comparing ourselves to one another, smack talk or laziness.

“Bock! What was that!? Pay attention! This isn’t just practice! What you do in practice, you’ll do in the game!”

That phrase ran me through college. It compelled me to behave as a working adult before I had the job I was shooting for. It drew my attention to silly habits I knew I couldn’t bring with me. It forced me to confront immature thought patterns. “Is this the kind of person I want to be in the game of life?”

I would hear it on Sunday mornings when I studied late the night before.“I don’t want to go to church early today.” “What you do in practice, you’ll do in the game.”

It would ring in my mind when I was tempted to slack on some commitment I’d made, “What you do in practice, you’ll do in the game.”

It hung over my head when I wanted to be just a little late for class, “What you do in practice…”.

There is something about athletics that forges character. There is no instant gratification. The principles of the game are irrevocable: you will not be great without sacrifice; victory will cost you something; be the one working when everyone else is asleep. Those are principles of greatness we all need for life.

My “education” on the field may have more to do with who I am than any classroom lesson. Because now, when our church is empty, people are with their families and no one is really thinking about church, I love to go sit in the sanctuary. Just like I sat at the field. I run things through in my mind – past moments, victories, defeats. I dream of what will be. I pace the floor with bare feet, knowing the carpet is probably just as familiar with me as I am with it.

I’m in the game now; practice has been over for quite some time.

I want my love for life to be contagious, like a good coach’s love for the game. I want to be that persevering, strength of will, forward-looking, never-letting-up person that compels people to be better than they think they can be. I want to be a person of longevity. Someone who understands that adversity isn’t always the enemy. Not backing down from challenge in any area of my life; making tenacity a hallmark of my character. All the while, hoping this will be reproduced in those closest to me, that they’ll reap the benefits of unseen time I’ve sown…

Fourteen years later, I’m still pretty thankful for what I reaped from JoDonna.