As athletes and coaches, we are all competitors. We compete every day that we walk on to the field, court, or arena floor. However, at C&C, we believe that we are called to something bigger than just the x’s and o’s of our sport. We are called to win, not only on the field as a team, but on God’s team as well. 

An athlete’s collegiate experience must be bigger than simply competing. The four to five years that an athlete commits to a collegiate institution are the most transformational years of their lives. A time where athletes learn, grow, and continue to become who God has called them to be. That growth can be messy. That growth can be challenging. Most importantly, that growth must be intentional and full of love.

That’s where completion comes in. This completion is not related to anything that we have or haven’t accomplished, or our list of athletic accolades, but for everything that He has already done for us through His son, Jesus Christ. Winning games will never be as important as winning souls. Winning games is earthly fulfilling. Competing is exhilarating. Leaving it all on the field for your team is gratifying, but as an athlete and a coach, if our perspective does not transcend the field of play, then our identity will only be found in our stat lines. God has called us to so much more than that.

Competing and completing are verbs. They are actions. As athletes and coaches, we compete on the field of play. We compete against ourselves, our opponents, and/or the game itself. Completing also takes place on the field. The completion of a perfect pitch, the turnaround jumper, or the ace or kill. However, completing not only takes place from an earthly perspective. It also takes place from an eternal perspective. Completing on the field is a result; an end goal. Completing eternally, in its simplest form, is seeing Christ as the end goal. There are just certain things in life that our sport cannot fulfill. No matter how many points we score, strike outs we have, or matches we win, our end game must transcend earthly understanding and completion. The game cannot complete us. Only the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ can do that.

If you look at the two words, completing and competing, there is one letter different-the letter L. For us, that word represents love. A love that transcends earthly understanding, a love that is transformational, relational, intentional, and can only come from one source-Jesus.