HBO’s Hard Knocks: Training Camp is following the Seattle Seahawks—the reigning Super Bowl champions—as they prepare to defend their title. The series begins with three poignant moments: the Super Bowl ring ceremony; players arriving at the stunning, sprawling Virginia Mason Athletic Center (VMAC) in Renton, Washington; and, finally, the first team meeting of the year.
It feels like a Back to School moment. Players take their seats in the auditorium as the head coach, Mike Macdonald offers a warm welcome. "We're back!" he shouts. "Camp already?!" He adds. He changes the slide and says "a couple of wins." On the screen is the word WEDDINGS and underneath it are the photos of four players who got married in the off season. The team claps loudly. Next slide: New Seahawks. Two players had a baby and Macdonald adds that he and his wife are expecting, too. More applause.
I hate the Seahawks. To me they share the title of chief division rival with the Los Angeles Rams—and still, I love this scene. It moved me so much that I have decided I am using it in Sports and Spirituality for my students first assignment. This is a creative, culture building introductory assignment. It is two or three slides and include a player profile and an off-season win.
But I will be qualifying what I mean by a win. My hope is that my students can share with me something they have accomplished and are proud of. Perhaps they set a goal for the summer and surpassed it. Maybe they learned or practiced something quite challenging and made progress. Although traveling to Turks and Caicos sounds enticing, I am hoping to steer them in a different direction.
My win is this my new website: The Prayer Playbook.
I wanted to create a resource that is attractive, easy to navigate, and genuinely helpful to student-athletes and coaches. As a coach and teacher, I turn to the internet for prayer resources on a regular basis. In my (very) humble opinion, many are poorly curated—listing too many prayers, including prayers that simply don't resonate with my students.
Then I realized I already had a treasure trove of prayers at my fingertips. My Sports and Spirituality students lead prayer every day! So I decided to review the prayers they posted and, just as importantly, recall how the class responded to them. Which prayers sparked conversation? Which ones made students pause? Which ones seemed to speak to their experience of sport and life? The result is what you will find here.
As written on the front page:
This website is designed to help athletes, coaches, athletic directors, team captains, parents, and sports fans develop their own prayer life. Whether you are a youth, high school, collegiate, or adult athlete, my hope is that what you find here will help you grow in faith. What you will find here has been already used by athletes; they are for athletes.
Through praying with her students and athletes, Anne became aware that certain prayers spoke to them in particularly meaningful and memorable ways. As a coach, she also sought to offer her teams a variety of prayer experiences. Over time, she came to believe that student-athletes, coaches, and teams deserve prayer resources that speak directly to the realities of their lives and experiences.
That is the hope behind this site: to provide a collection of prayers and prayer practices that can help you find what you are seeking—whether you are a student-athlete, coach, athletic director, or team looking for a way to pray.
The prayers are organized around the ways people in sports might want to pray: together or alone, before a competition or during a season, in moments of joy or struggle, and through a variety of prayer practices.
I will also be sharing the loss I experienced this offseason with my students. I want to tell them a little about my mom and how a great loss can shape us, humble us, and make us appreciate people and past experiences even more.
Amidst my grief and sadness, I have wanted to channel my energy toward something life-giving. I believe that is one of the many lessons this offseason has revealed to me: even in loss, we can choose to create something that gives life to others.
I love the finished product—thank you, Stacey! (If you are looking to hire a talented, astute, and experienced web designer who was outstanding to work with, let me know. Thomas, you get the assist!) And, thank you to everyone who offered critiques, ideas, and input along the way. The work is not done. Please keep passing along your ideas and suggestions. Together, we can keep create something beautiful (Mother Teresa)—and maybe even score a few more big wins along the way.
Photo Credits
Team
Team in Auditorium
The Prayer Playbook
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