BASIC TRAINING

Jeremiah 6:16 “This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

If you were to ask football poll experts which high school team was the best in America during the 90’s they would no doubt name the team coached by Nick Hyder in Valdosta, Georgia. During that decade, Hyder’s teams won more games than any other team. They were named national champions four times and they won more than twenty state championships.

At the beginning of one of their practice seasons, a young aspiring coach went to Valdosta to watch Coach Hyder in action. He wanted to see what kind of practices the coach conducted, hoping to pick up a few game-winning tips. He found the practices were well organized but boring to watch. They involved little more than hours of drills in blocking, tackling, throwing, catching, and kicking – the basics of football. The new coach thought to himself, “This is a lot like a Pop Warner practice – just a lot of hard work everyday on the basics.

At the conclusion of the week, the young coach went to coach Hyder to thank him for the privilege of watching his practices. He said, “One thing I don’t understand, Coach. You spent all your practice time this week doing things your players should have mastered years ago. Are you in a rebuilding year?

“No,” Coach Hyder replied. “This is a veteran team. In fact our offensive line will average more than two hundred and sixty pounds per man this season.” “Wow,” said the young coach. “Then why all the emphasis in practice on the basics?” Coach Hyder answered, “Do you want to know the secret of my coaching success? That’s why you came isn’t it? Let me tell you. The winning football teams always do the basic things the best – blocking, tackling, throwing, catching, and kicking. The more talented the athletes, the easier it is for them to get away from the basics. But it’s skill in the basics that wins games.”

How true that is. Take a look at any set of statistics for winning football teams and you’ll likely find that the teams with the most yards rushing, the best tackling, the best blocking, the most completed passes, and the most skillful special team play are the ones winning the game. It’s very rare that a fluke play wins a game for a team that is losing statistically in a big way.

What is true in football is also true in every other sport and also in every area of our lives. We must never lose sight of the importance of the basics in our life and more importantly in our walk with God. When we stop doing the basics it is so much easier to slip and fall in our walk with God. When we stop doing the basics it is easier to fall into error and be deceived. When we stop doing the basics it is easier to fall into sin. When we stop doing the basics it is easier to lose our relationship with God. When we stop doing the basics it is easier to begin to think like the world thinks, act like the world acts, and look like the world looks, which is always contrary to the Word of God. When we stop doing the basics we are putting ourselves at risk with the Lord.

Be certain to never fall into the trap of believing that your life is beyond the basics. You may be at a high spiritual level with God, but be on guard against prideful complacency. Keep your edge and your focus on the little things that will sustain your spiritual strength for the long haul.