Just the Right Amount

One of the biggest fears of coaches is a big win.  Why would any coach fear a big win?  The answer—Overconfidence.  Often, teams that play great one game have a “let down” the next game.  Why?  Players lose their edge--practice and play with less urgency.  A team with confidence is good, but overconfidence invites vulnerability.

Confidence is the feeling of having little doubt about yourself and your abilities, or a feeling of trust in someone or something.  Overconfidence is excessively or unjustifiably confident.

In officiating, confidence is one of the keys to successfully performing our responsibilities before, during and after a game.  Confidence doesn’t come by chance.  How do officials build confidence in ourselves and as crews:

Ø  rules study

Ø  video review

Ø  pregame meetings

Ø  post game review

Ø  analysis of grader comments

Our confidence happens by consistently preparing for each week’s assignment. Just as a team loses it edge when it plays a great game, officials can become overconfident (lose our edge) when we successfully officiate a game--when we avoid the training tape.

In our spiritual lives, God warns us of becoming overconfident. When we appear to be our strongest, we become the most vulnerable and tend to let down our guard, relying on our own strength instead of on Christ.  What are ways to guard against Spiritual letdown:

·         Reading and studying the Bible

·         Talking to God in prayer

·         Admit our need for His grace/forgiveness on a daily basis.

Luke 9: 23:  Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

Jesus wants His followers to get “geared up” consistently. The key word in these verses to help us gain and maintain confidence is “daily”.  If we take a day or two off, if we don’t focus on a play and become overconfident, we become vulnerable to mistakes. Always seek God’s grace and strength to keep from falling, or falling too far, regardless of what has occurred in the past.

Never be afraid to fail. Failure is just a stepping stone to progress. Never be overconfident because it will hinder your progress. – Tony Jaa

Credit:  https://fcaresources.com/devotional/danger-overconfidence