Imagine this scenario. Your team 
wins a state title, something you have been striving for all year. With the victory comes great celebration, joy, satisfaction, honor. However, something is wrong. Later, in reviewing the results, you realize there was a error in the calculations. It wasn’t your error but the error of those responsible to tally the results. Yet, the mistake means you actually finished third not first.
What would you do?
This is not so fictional fantasy but an actually event for North Attleboro High School and their track coach, Derek Herber. To see how the coach responded and why, take a minute and watch the following video.
To find out more of the story, go here
The line that stood out to me from the video – “Ultimately, we need to make sure we maintain the integrity of the sport and North Attleton Athletics.”
Coach Herber had a higher goal than winning. That goal was maintaining the integrity of the sport. That goal towered above the goal of “win at all costs.”
Did you notice the impact his example had on the track team members, the other coach, and even the news announcers? I would call it honor, true honor. Not honor for something you accomplish but honor for who you are. A higher, more satisfying honor than comes with winning.
This kind of reward, this “glory” is at the heart of our efforts here at CSO to redeem the idol of sports and those who play them. It is this honor, the glory that God promises for those who seek such redemption. This glory makes all other “prize”, all other “trophies”, all other honor pale in comparison.
Now, would you think for a moment about how would it change the sports landscape if more and more coaches shared this higher goal than winning?
