This is going to be short and sweet.
How do you view those you coach against? Are they friends, rivals, colleagues, adversaries, or some combination of the above? Does it depend on who they are or where they work?
Obviously, we are going to get along with some people better than we do with others, but I know for me, there were certain people who coached in certain places that brought out the worst in me. These men were my sworn enemies, and I wasn’t going to be friendly or give them anything more than the minimum required amount of courtesy and respect.
I think I’ve grown up a little since those days, so maybe this isn’t much of an issue for you. But maybe it is for your players, or other coaches on your staff.
I read this recently: “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
(Romans 5:10). The part of that passage that grabbed me was the “God’s enemies” part. I was God’s enemy, as I rebelled against Him. And yet, in the midst of my rebellion, while I was His enemy, He sent His Son to suffer and die for me. That’s kind of hard to wrap my brain around.
So as I think through the people who I’ve considered enemies over the years, the idea that God loves me that much despite my sin, brings my attitude into perspective. I have no right to treat hardly anyone, particularly some rival coach, as an enemy. Maybe that sounds ‘soft’. Or maybe it makes me more like God than I used to be.