WHY NOT?

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover of the U.S. Navy was legendary for his interviews and found ways to cut through the superficial and rehearsed answers to get a look at the person underneath. He especially wanted to know how candidates would act under stress. During interviews, Admiral Rickover would have candidates sit in a chair with the front legs sawed off an inch or two shorter than the back, to keep them off-balance.

In his autobiography Why Not the Best?, President Jimmy Carter tells about his Rickover interview.  The Admiral asked Carter’s ranking in his class at the Naval Academy. As President Carter explained, “I swelled my chest with pride and answered, ‘Sir, I stood 59th in a class of 820!’ Carter sat back to wait for the congratulations. Instead came the question: ‘Did you do your best?’ Carter started to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ but remembered who this was. Carter gulped and admitted, ‘No, sir, I didn’t always do my best.’ Admiral Rickover looked at Carter for a long time, and asked one final question, which Carter never forgot and was not able to answer. Rickover asked, ‘Why not?”

Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV):  ¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14 The Message (MSG):  ^12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

These verses show that God wants His people to excel in both what they are (inward character) and in what they do. So, why not pursue of excellence in all we do all the time?  Remember this…..”The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.” Knowing this, we want to pursue our goals, our jobs with excellence.

Excellence:  greatness — the very best

Perfection:  excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement

“Success means being the best. Excellence means being your best. Success, to many, means being better than everyone else. Excellence means being better tomorrow than you were yesterday. Success means exceeding the achievements of other people. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential.” Brian Harbour--Rising Above the Crowd.

Why not?  Why not strive to always do your best? We can make excuses of why we can’t or why we didn’t?  But think about facing Admiral Rickover and answer the question--”Why not?”

“If a task is worthy of our attention, it is worthy of our best.”

Swim Buddies

In underwater SEAL training, SEALS are partnered with a “swim buddy” on long swims. In fact, Admiral McRaven explained they were physically tied to a partner during these swims.  So, success or failure was determined by the buddies tied together, not the individual.  At the end of a swim, if you failed to meet certain requirements, both buddies suffered the consequences—The Circus (hundreds of flutter kicks, push ups, pull ups, sit ups, etc).  The Circus was two hours of additional calisthenics-after your training.  Not only was this punishment difficult to endure due to the physical exhaustion, it was mentally tough knowing you had your “normal” training the following day after completing The Circus.

As Admiral McRaven wrote in his book “Make Your Bed”, The Circus was a cycle of failure that caused many students to quit training.  However, in the case of Admiral McRaven and his buddy, the Circus made them stronger, not weaker.  The final open swim training was a 5 mile swim in the very cold ocean.  At the end, Admiral McRaven and his buddy made it back to the beach. An instructor met them and said “You have once again embarrassed your class.”  Thinking they were way behind the rest of the group, the Instructor then said “You have made all of your teammates look bad.”  What he then realized was him and his partner came in first.  Enduring The Circus paid off and made them stronger.

Our swim buddy is each member on our crew.  We want the best individual performance as possible.  But, the reality is when one member of the crew suffers, we all suffer.  Just as Admiral McRaven and his buddy did, we have to let The Circus of evaluation, assignments, grades, outside “noise” make the crew stronger.  How much stronger can our crews be if we learn and correct weekly?

Isaiah 40: 31:  “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Rarely do we have instant solutions to the things we face. In Isaiah 40: 31, God promises if we will slow down and wait for Him, in quiet confidence, He will strengthen us. When we face discouragement or difficult times, slow down, keep fighting, pray and listen to hear God’s plan and soar!

As Admiral McRaven states……..

“Don’t be afraid of The Circus”

Crisp = Sharp

When you look at athletes that are the best, they are sharp.  I’m not referring to the way they dress, although looking the part is important.  A wide receiver or running back must make crisp cuts when running a route or hitting the hole. A soccer player needs to make crisp cuts when passing or dribbling. Basketball players must make quick, crisp cuts when running plays or making moves to the hoop.

The word “crisp” has been defined as “notably sharp and clean-cut.” Being sharp is the same as being crisp. If a football, soccer or basketball player makes slow, sloppy actions on the playing field or court, they decrease their chances of being successful.

In officiating, we must stay sharp.  If we decide to be “sloppy” one play, that could be the one play from the whole game that demands our full attention.  Staying sharp and focused increases our chances of being successful.

In the Book of Hebrews, God’s Word is described as living and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword……..

“For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12

In the Christian life, God’s Word keeps us sharp.  The key is we have to apply it and put it into action.  To make the most impact on the people around us, we don’t take short-cuts in what God’s Word tells us.  Just as in Hebrews 4: 12 says, the Bible gives us instruction that is sharper than a two-edged sword.  God’s Word penetrates our hearts and minds to keep us sharp.

Whether we are talking about our family life, our job, our spiritual life, or our officiating, stay sharp, stay crisp. Why?  So that we can increase our effectiveness and our success!

“It takes energy, mental toughness and spiritual reinforcement to successfully deal with life’s opportunities, and to reach your objectives.” ―Zig Ziglar

Credit given to…http://fcaresources.com/search/site?retain-filters=1&f%5B0%5D=type%3Adevotional

Sustain

Definition: endure without giving way or yielding.

When thinking about the meaning of Sustain, I really thought of it as “status quo”.  But, when you look at the definition, it’s really progressing forward without giving up or falling back under pressure.

Over the past few weeks, we have looked into the life of people going through Navy Seal training.  How important do you think it is for a Navy Seal to press forward without giving up or not to fall back under pressure?

What does it take to sustain…..

--Preparation

--Support

--Meditation

Preparation is key and proper preparation is vital to sustain.  Support from our crew, family, and friends sustains us through good and bad times. What do we meditate on…those things we have done to get us to where we are today.  It may be positive things or those struggles we had.  The focus should be on how we learned and adjusted to get better.  In the case of David, he faced many trials and threats, but his focus was on how the Lord sustained him.

1 Samuel 17:37:  And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

David faced many trials, but he was sustained through them by the power of the Lord.  In 1 Samuel 17:37, David reflects/meditates on being delivered from the Lion’s Den and certain death.  This gives him confidence to face Goliath.

In officiating, how we transition/move on week to week is critical to our individual and crew performance.  Our preparation, support from crewmates, and mediation on past performance can help to sustain us week to week.  We don’t give in or yield to what we’ve done right or what we’ve done wrong.  We move forward without giving in to pressure.  We must never stop working at what we love to do………

“Confidence is the most important single factor in this game, and no matter how great your natural talent, there is only one way to obtain and sustain it: work.”  Jack Nicklaus

What did I do Wrong?

Sugar cookie—one of my favorite cookies.  But in Navy Seal training, being a Sugar Cookie was not something you wanted.  During physical training, the trainees would run up and down sand dunes, across the beach, and swim through the ocean.  If the Seal instructor gave you “The Look”, you were being punished and had to turn yourself into a Sugar Cookie.  This meant as soon as you came out of the water, you rolled around in the sand until you were totally covered in sand.  Then, you had to walk around like that the rest of the day with sand all over you.

As explained by Admiral William McRaven in his book “Make Your Bed”, this punishment was one of the toughest in all of training.  Not because of how uncomfortable it was to walk around with sand all over your body, but because you never knew “why” you were punished.  Even though a trainee thought he was at the top of his game, being a “Sugar Cookie” was a test of patience and determination.

As officials, we can often go through a game and think highly of our individual and crew performance.  But observers, graders, supervisors, other officials, administrators and coaches may have other “not so good” thoughts about our performance.  We may not receive a “great job”, “good call”, or “good position”.  We may only receive feedback that focuses on what we did wrong or what we need to improve on.

 

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Being a “Sugar Cookie” was hard to accept in Navy Seal training because most often, the trainee never knew or did anything wrong to be punished.  In officiating, we can often get frustrated when we are “nitpicked” on the things we did not do as well when it really had no impact on the game.

As James explains in the verses above, take the trials--things that are pointed out wrong in our performance--and let them make us more mature and stronger officials.

Don’t complain, Don’t blame, just improve your game!

Start with Something—and Do It Right

Make your bed!  One thing I disliked doing as a kid.  It was simple and quick, but I did not like doing it.  In his book “Make Your Bed”, Admiral William H. McRaven stated the first task of the day in Navy Seal training was to make your bed.  Now, making his bed as a Navy Seal was a lot different than the way I made my bed as a kid and even today.  In Navy Seal training, there was a standard to making your bed and any deviation from the exact requirements resulted in “punishment”.

Admiral McRaven explained that making his bed was the one constant task he could count on completing each day.  The rest of the day could be filled with accomplishments, disappointments, failures, set-backs etc. But, when he came back to the barracks, he could atleast see he accomplished one thing—making his bed.

During games, we have ups and downs.  If we feel something did not go right--we missed a call, and/or our focus is not where it needs to be--we need to find one thing that we can count on to do right every play.  When we feel ourselves losing focus, decide for yourself what one simple thing you can accomplish every play to get your focus back.  For me, it is counting players.  When I find myself thinking about a previous play/call, I focus on counting to get myself back on the task/play at hand.

Proverbs 4:25 

²⁵ Let your eyes look directly forward,
    and your gaze be straight before you.

This Proverb tells us "To look right on" and "to look straight before one".  We need to fix our eyes/thoughts steadily (without swerving) upon the task before us. Don’t allow our “gaze” to deflect either to the right hand or to the left—focus on what’s ahead of us during the game.

Start with something simple and do it right!

Every Paddle Matters

Every Paddle Matters

Have you every thought a 10 foot rubber raft can teach the value of a team? Admiral William H. McRaven states in his book “Make Your Bed” that the first phase of Navy Seal training is to carry around this boat everywhere you go.  That means from going to eat, to training-carrying it through sand dunes, navigating the coastline of San Diego with waves up to 8 feet to get to the final destination—EVERYWHERE! 

What did he learn?  Probably a lot about the best way to carry a boat and to paddle a boat through rough waters!  But, also, that every paddle--every team member--matters.  Admiral McRaven said that some days were better than others in training—on any given day, some were sick, tired, injured, etc.  What that meant was other team members had to recognize someone was struggling and either pick them up or dig a little deeper and give extra effort.  In other words, carrying around a small boat with 7 other guys made you get to know those men very well.  As Admiral McRaven said…”The small rubber boat made us realize that no man could make it through training alone.”

As officials, we cannot do it alone.  To perform at the highest level, we need each other and to recognize our strengths, weaknesses, and when we need help.  We need our families.  We need to work with administrators, coaches and players.  We need to support our leaders. 

I Corinthians 12: 14-20:  14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,[e] yet one body.

In these verses, Paul is specifically talking about Spiritual gifts.  Basically, we all have different gifts as Believers in Jesus and we can use those gifts for God’s purposes.  The same is true for officials.  We all have different things to bring to the crew to make it the best.

Remember—every paddle matters—my success depends on others!

10 Lessons Learned—Navy Seal Training

As the start of the 2018 football has arrived, I challenge you to take the lessons learned from Navy Seal training from Admiral William H. McRaven and apply them to your life, to your officiating, and to your crews.  Here is a link to Admiral McRaven’s speech he gave at the University of Texas in 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SONzKUY_bek

These lessons are great for anyone.  As a team of officials, they are especially beneficial.  When listening to the speech, pay close attention to Lessons 2 & 3 concerning the boats.  Remember this….”Every paddle matters and don’t measure a person by the size of their fins but by their heart!” 

Please take 20 minutes to listen and watch the commencement speech.  Also, the book “Make Your Bed” by Admiral William H. McRaven aligns with the speech.  Great book to read and refer to often.

Have a great season!

Life Happens....so what?

Life Happens...so what?

That question can be phrased in two different ways…..

      1)   As an official, it is phrased “Life happens, so what do I do now?”

      2)   From a coaches’ perspective to an official, “Life happens, so what; you’ve got a job to do.”

As an official, life doesn’t stop happening.  During the season, we face many challenges on the field and off the field.  Finding the proper balance of work, family, school, activities, and officiating responsibilities can be difficult.  The reality is when we hit the field, everything else that happens in our life doesn’t matter to the coaches, players, administrators and fans.  How do we balance our life to meet and exceed the expectations of our personal and officiating responsibilities?

John 16: 33:  ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus spoke these words to tell us we will face troubles—no matter who you are.  But, He also tells us to have peace about it.  The word “heart” is also translated as “courage”.  The two things that are vital when facing life’s challenges—peace and courage.

How do we balance life as an official.  3 things to focus on….

      1)   Prayer

      2)   Prioritize

      3)  Time Management

James 1: 2-4:  (2) Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whatever you face trials of many kinds, (3) because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (4) Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Colossians 3: 17:  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

BUCKET LIST

What Should Be on Everyone’s Bucket List

By Jared West

***Adapted from the series “The Bucket List” by Dr. James Merritt.***

Do you have a “Bucket List”? Chances are, you have a list of things you’d like to do before you die as research suggests 69% of people have a “list of life’s things to do”.
 

Research does not indicate the percentage of referees that would want to officiate a College Football Championship game or Super Bowl, but I would imagine it would be 100%! But if you removed football officiating from your bucket list, what else would be on it? Traveling to an exotic location? Meeting a famous entertainer or sport personality?
 

So, with your bucket list on your mind, let me ask you a question…Does your bucket list contain things you would like to do before you die or does it contain things you need to do before you die? There is a big difference between the two.
 

Jesus offered a list of things everyone needs to do before he or she dies, and the setting for providing this list is a short span of time (about 6 hours) while he hung from a Roman cross bearing the weight of sin for all mankind. Jesus made 7 statements while He was crucified, and all 7 were thing he specifically did or caused to happen.
 

Indeed, it is the best bucket list of all time, and one that every human being should accomplish before death. Think of this as the ultimate bucket list of things that we need to do before we die.
 

And now, on to the list…
 

1. We must die with a clean slate by forgiving others who have wronged us. (Luke 23:34)

2. We must take care of our family before we die. (John 19:25-26)

3. We must accept Jesus’s sacrifice on our behalf. (Matthew 27:45)

4. We must learn to suffer well. (John 19:28)

5. We must accomplish the mission God has set for our life. (John 19:30)

6. We must ensure that we die in the hands of God. (Luke 23:46)

7. We must see ourselves as sinners and make the right choice to accept Jesus. (Luke 23:42)

The Bible tells us Jesus hung on the cross with criminals on either side of Him. Jesus hung on the center cross and died for sin. The man to the right of Jesus was a criminal who deserved death, and yet He accepted Jesus as savior right before he died. This man died to sin. On the left of Jesus hung another criminal who refused to recognize Jesus as Lord. Sadly, this man died in sin.
 

Three men. Three crosses. Three deaths. However, we, as humans, are left with only 2 choices in response to these crucifixions. We can either die in sin or we can die to sin. You have a choice to make. The criminal who died to sin made the right choice, and this single choice wiped out once and for all the countless bad choices he had ever made.