CHARGER NATION: GAME #14

CHARGER NATION,

            The time is finally here.  State Championship 2017 Day has arrived.  Everyone is excited and everyone is ready to go.  I think all of our boys and our coaches were ready Tuesday after practice.  The boys have worked hard all year to get to this point.  I don’t ever pray for a win, but I am praying that we go out and play to the best of our ability and play like we have played all year.  I am excited to watch our boys play!

            At the beginning of the year we were telling the boys to “EARN IT.”  When we started off the year everyone was assuming ELCA would make a run for the state championship again.  I did not want our boys to think something was just going to happen for them.  Every single day they would have to practice and work their tails off and earn the right to play in the state championship game.  No one was just going to give them victories.  If we wanted to go back to the state championship we were going to have to earn it each day.   I am proud of them—They have earned the right to pay today.

            I want to thank the coaching staff for their hard work and diligence in demanding excellence from our boys at practice each day.  Since July 29^th we have been practicing everyday during the week and these coaches have not missed a beat.  I want to thank the parents for buying into the program and the process of how we do things.  Our football players show up at 6am on Monday’s and many are not done until 8pm Monday night.  Not one starter on this football team has missed one practice the entire year.   No one has missed for being sick, for vacation, or for any other reason.  It’s amazing what kids will do and what they can achieve when there are high unwavering expectations supported by all the parties involved!  This would not be possible without parents buying in to the process of how we win at ELCA.  I am very grateful to our parents and coaches in their commitment to the team. 

            The key to winning today is ELCA playing FASTER.  FASTER is the DNA of our football team.  As I was game planning all week I would make notes to myself like “keep it simple” or “we must play physical”---FASTER.  Today if we will play with these 6 letters in mind when we talk of FASTER I feel good about our chances: 

F-Fanatical Effort:  Every player giving everything they have every play.

A-Attack:  Attacking is aggressive and fearless. 

S-Simple:  Simple game plan=play fast!

T-Tough:  We want to play physical for four quarters.

E-Execute: Everyone do their job and assignment perfectly.

R-Relentless: A determination uncommon each play.

            This is how we train and this is who we are.  We must go out and be these things today!

           

           The 23 ELCA Seniors that will play today have had a remarkable four years.  This group started out as a group of 33 freshman and 23 remain as seniors.  It has been a very a talented group of young men.  We have won many football games together and had a lot of great times.  However, I do not want them to look back on ELCA Football and only remember the success they had on the football field.  What is most important to me is that they remember that ELCA Football was vital in their life because this is where they were challenged everyday to be men for Jesus Christ. 

            I believe you can win in this world and lose in all that matters in life.  In fact, sometimes or all of the time, the pursuit of winning and success in the world cause catastrophic failure in all that truly matters such as our character and our families.  Everything we have taught these boys through the game of football has really been to help them become Godly men who will lead their families and in their communities when they grow up.  We took Godly principles and incorporated them into the expectations of our football team so that we may lay a firm foundation in the hearts of these young men so that God can use them when they are older to lead.  Our goal was never winning a football game.  Our goal was creating young men who will know Christ, surrender all to Christ, and then lead for Jesus Christ. 

            As I watch these seniors play their last game tonight I will be seeing the final chapter of their high school career being written and then a new book beginning.  The new book is a sequel to the book that will be finished today.  My hope and my prayer is that in the sequel we will see the fruit of our labor in these young men and they become leaders for Jesus Christ.  This is the only victory that matters.  This is why we coach.  This is what ELCA Football is all about!

           

BEAT Athens Academy!

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.”

Proverbs 21:31

Wholly for Christ,

Coach Gess

CHARGER NATION: GAME #13

CHARGER NATION,

            Tonight we are playing game #13.  I guess it isn’t just any game because it is the semifinals of the playoffs.  But it truly is just as important as any other game we have played this year.  Each game builds upon itself and the previous 12 have gotten us to this point.  This is the biggest and most important game because it is the one we have right now!  I am proud of the boys for getting to this point.  Now it is time to go “shine as lights.” 

            Prince Avenue is who we play tonight.  They have a team full of very good high school football players.  The most notable of their players are #73 (going to GT), #54 (going to West Point), #3 (the qb), and #8 (their most dynamic football player).  Each player they have is a good football player.  As with every game we are going into this game expecting a dog fight.  We are prepared.  We are ready!

            When we break it down as a team it is always “Win the Day.”  That is our war cry for each day.  When we begin practice on Monday in preparation for Friday night we do not say “Win Friday.”  Nope—each day at practice is critical and the preparation during the week is more important than the game Friday.  Winning Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will lead to giving us a chance to win on Friday. 

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom YOU SHINE AS LIGHTS in the world.”  Philippians 12:14-15

            What drives me as a football coach is to help each player become all they can be.  I love off-season workouts and development because we are working diligently to help each young man become everything they can be.  They goal for each player is they become the very best they can be.  We don’t sit around in January talking about winning a state championship the next December.  We just go to work and we talk about being your very best every single day.  If you put a whole bunch of days together where you have “won the day” then you have a group of young men that are ready to perform at their best come the time for football season. 

            Our goal is that each young man will be ready to “shine as lights” when it is time for them to perform for an audience.  If we invest all of our time effort and energy in each individual demanding they daily become the very best they can become for the entire year, the end result will be a group of individuals that are ready to become a fantastic team.  The result will be a group of individuals that will shine as lights come Friday night.

            Your son shining as a light for Jesus Christ is why we do what we do.  To help your son become everything God created him to be is why we coach football.  We do not coach him to be good at football so that we can win a championship.  We coach your son so that he may become a Champion for Jesus Christ.  And I truly believe this: When you put building Champions before winning a championship you have a better chance of getting to an actual championship.  At ELCA, it is about the individual—about the person and leading them and guiding them and demanding them to be everything God made them to be.

            However, we face many challenges as we seek to become everything God created us to be.  First off, our sinful flesh rages war against all that is right and good.  In the verse above you see the challenge is to be a shining light in the midst of a “crooked and twisted” generation.  If you wonder how crooked and twisted this generation is just turn on the news and see what our top leaders are doing to women.  Turn on the radio and listen to the trash music that our generation has become enslaved to.  But for those who are children of God, we are to be lights in this dark world.  We are to look and act different than this twisted and crooked generation. 

            As a coach for Jesus Christ, I am not interested in helping you raise your son to look like the world—a crooked and twisted generation.  I don’t want to coach kids who want to be in the middle of the culture but I want to coach kids who will grow to transform the culture.  I have been put here to help you raise your son to be a LIGHT in the midst of this crooked and twisted generation.  It breaks my heart when I see the boys so engrossed and enthralled with the culture.  I want our young men to stand up and shine as LIGHTS in this dark and evil world.  I want them to stand as Champions.  Then, and only then, will change begin to happen in this world. 

            I hope we win tonight and we have diligently worked to win this game.  But, the most important battle God uses us to win is in the fight for your son to surrender all the Jesus Christ and become a LIGHT in this world.  For each young man on this team, for me and for you, when we understand who Jesus Christ is, why he came and surrender all to him—then, and only then, will we have put ourselves on the course to become a Champion.  Just like the opposing team tonight is going to do everything in their power to prevent us to become worldly champions, we face the same adversity as we seek to become Champions for Jesus Christ.  There is an opponent and they are at war to destroy us.  May we band together and fight to become all we can become by the power of Jesus Christ that work in us.  May we Win the Day for Jesus Christ.  In this and through this we will stand as LIGHTS in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation! We shall become CHAMPIONS!

BEAT Prince Avenue!

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.”

Proverbs 21:31

Wholly for Christ!

Coach Gess

CHARGER NATION: GAME #12

CHARGER NATION,

                I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday.  For a high school football coach, one of our goals is to still be playing Thanksgiving week.  All across the country, it means you have gone deep into the playoffs and are in the hunt for a state championship.  

                Tonight, Calvary Day will drive up from Savannah to play us.  They are a talented team with a rich tradition of great football.  The head coach, Mark Stroud, is one of the winningest high school coaches in the state.  He does a fabulous job.  As always, we have been preparing for a battle this week.  We are ready!

                One area of my life I am really trying to improve, or God is convicting me of, is being thankful.  It hasn’t just been thanksgiving week that I have been thinking about how man is naturally sinful and therefore naturally prone to gripe, complain, and spew out other negativity.  Instead of walking around thinking about what is wrong with the world what if we walked around finding things for which to be thankful.  I bet life would be so much better. 

                All week I have been challenging the boys to be thankful and I have been getting up writing things down for which I am thankful.  Here they are:

1. I am thankful that Jesus Christ has died on the cross for my sins and rescued me from the enslavement of sin.  I rebelled and rejected God from birth and deserve the full-wrath of God which is Hell.  But God, being rich in his mercy, sent Jesus to die so that I may l have eternal life. God has opened my blind eyes to see his wondrous truth through Jesus Christ.  By Grace I have been saved.  I am THANKFUL!
2. I praise God for his Word.  The Bible holds all the secrets the world is desperately chasing.  The Bible contains the words of eternal life.  The Bible teaches me how to live a life for the glory of God.  Many men died interpreting the Bible into different languages that could be read by the people.  That is how precious the Word of God is.  The Bible is life and gives life.  May I be diligent to immerse myself in it daily!  I am THANKFUL!
3. I am thankful for the Fathers of the Faith.  As I read through the Book of Acts I see many trials and persecution for the early church as they advanced the Gospel.  In October, we studied and discussed the Reformation and the many men who died for the purity of the Gospel.  In fact, all throughout time and even now, men and women have suffered and died for the Gospel.  I am thankful for the bold leaders in the church who are so strong in their faith that their lives mean nothing to them and they sacrifice all to take the Gospel to places it has not gone.  I am thankful for those who preach the gospel unashamedly and in purity without fear of what man may do to them.  Strengthen them Lord!  Make me one!  I am THANKFUL!
4. I am thankful for my family and where God has placed us to be his representatives.  Dee and Uriah are precious to me and given to me by God and I pray that I lead them in Jesus Christ.  My goals and my dreams for my family are nothing more than Jesus Christ growing more and more in us daily.  I am THANKFUL!
5. I am thankful for the ministry God has called me—To use the game of football and the development of young men in the weight room as a tool to preach and teach Jesus Christ.  Football and sports are many men’s idol.  But for us it is just a means to an end: A tool to preach and proclaim Jesus Christ and build young men into Godly leaders. 
6. I am thankful for my mom and dad who diligently raised me in the fear of the Lord.  My mom and my dad sacrificed all they had for their children.  We didn’t have a ton and they could never buy me my own car or many other toys I wanted, but I realize now they gave to me the only thing that matters in life: Jesus Christ.  I am THANKFUL!
7. I am thankful for God’s guidance and patience in the life of Dee and me.  At 23, Christ opened our eyes to full surrender to Him.  He has been faithful to grow us in Jesus Christ ever since.  He has placed us in jobs and in churches where we have Godly leaders and examples.  I am THANKFUL!
8. There are many men that I can single out but I am going to mention three.  I have worked at ELCA for 11 years now and one thing is true at ELCA-Jesus Christ reigns supreme.  That is not to say all the kids are Christians or that the boys are going to be perfect examples of Jesus Christ on the field tonight.  If you don’t have Christ you can’t represent Christ.  But one thing is true: Pastor Tim Dowdy makes sure this is a Christian school where Christ is before academics, sports and fine arts.  I appreciate his diligence to maintain the integrity of the school and the church.  I appreciate Marshall Chambers.  Mr. Chambers was the first headmaster when I got to ELCA.  What a great example of a champion of the faith.  To this day I look to him as a leader in my walk with Christ.  Mr. Chambers retired and Chuck Gilliam became the Headmaster.  Mr. Gilliam is a Godly leader who loves Jesus Christ.  What a blessing it is for us all to have a man who loves Jesus more than academics, sports, or fine arts as our leader.  He is a great example day in and day out.  Richard Allen, Edd Tucker---There are many other men out there I consider champions of the faith but it would take me all day to name them!  I am THANKFUL!
9. I am thankful for the rain.  Without the rain we all perish.  All of us sit around and try to control every aspect of our life.  But the very things we are so desperate to have for survival are given to us by God.  I am thankful my heart beats even though I have no idea how it all works.  My brain thinks and it does not make sense to me (my wife will tell you that my brain doesn’t make sense to here either J).  I breath and don’t know I do it.  Without the sun we all perish.  Eyes that see are the greatest miracle.  Just think about it—and you will see there is a Sovereign Omnipotent God behind all things.  God gives life-God controls life-I stand in Awe!  I am THANKFUL!
10. I get to get up and go play play-off game with a great group of young men and coaches.  I appreciate everyone and all the time, effort and energy everyone puts into this program.  I appreciate the parents who are on board and support what we do.  I can’t promise victory ever in this program.  But I can promise we are going to work our tails off to be successful.  I know that coaches, players and parents are all on board in this process.  I am THANKFUL!

BEAT Calvary Day!

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord! Proverbs 21:31

Wholly for Christ!

Coach Gess

CHARGER NATION: GAME #11

Charger Nation,

                Today we have game #11.  It is our first playoff game and we play Savannah Christian.  Savannah won their first round playoff game last week 22-15 over Hebron Christian.  They have some very good players.  The ones that really stood out to me on film were the QB #2, the Center/DE #54, and the FB/Mike Linebacker #36.  They run GT’s offense and play an aggressive attacking style of defense.  We have worked hard this week and I feel like we are prepared.  The boys are ready to play.  The coaches are ready to play.  Kick off can’t get here fast enough!

                

        “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this people will know that you hare my disciples, if you have love for one another.”   John 13:34-35

               Over and over we have clearly stated our mission in ELCA Football: To use the game as a tool to build young men for Jesus Christ.  We want to win but we pray constantly that the pursuit of worldly glory would die and we would find joy in instilling biblical Christian manhood values in these young men.  Everyday is an opportunity to challenge the boys to die to their sinful selves and be a coachable player and a great teammate.   It is a war for us all. 

                As we strive to teach the boys Christ centered character, I find the great struggle in my own life with self-centeredness.   I see it among the players as well.  One of the greatest impacts of the fall is sin has caused man to go from being fully in pursuit of God to being fully in pursuit of self.  When we are in full pursuit of God we are in full pursuit of others because this is his command.  We are sinful naturally so naturally we defy God’s commands and we are in full pursuit of self.  But I see it: The danger of being in fully pursuit of self is in the end it leads to jealousy, bitterness, anger, division, and wrath. 

                If we are fully in pursuit of self then we naturally think everyone around us should be in full pursuit of me as well.  It becomes very frustrating that a certain person does not think that I am as great as I am or as smart as I think I am.  So, once again naturally, we hate that person that does not think I am as great as I think I am.  The self-centeredness, this love of self, creates division and separation.  There can be no unity in a group of people who are all self centered.  

                Have you ever seen two self-centered people arguing?  There is only yelling and speaking over each other.  There is no listening.  A self-centered person has no room to listen to another person’s point of view or perspective.  In the self loving person’s mind, only he or she should be speaking and the other person listening.  Once again, great division comes with self-centeredness. 

                Truth be told, we all struggle with this love of self.  We are enslaved to it.  It is sinful and it is wretched but it is who we are in our fallen state.  Most of us are blind to it unless God has opened up our eyes to our sinfulness.  Yes, it is disgusting and it destroys.   Yes, it divides.  There is nothing good about self love and no good fruit can come from it.  And this is why Jesus gave us a new commandment while he was on earth: To love one another.  

                So with this baseline of knowledge I can see what a great team should look like.  A great team is a group of individuals who are committed to personal excellence.  Each person desires to be the very best they can be; to maximize the talents and abilities that God has given them.   But here is the hard part: Within a great team these people who are striving to be their best are also desperately pulling for the person next to them.  Not only is the individual working his hardest to be his absolute best but he has a longing desire to see the men and women next to him be their best.  And if that means that person has more success in areas then them, they have joy for that person.  In fact, I believe life without sin would mean I could actually take great pride in the success of my teammate-more so than my personal success. 

                To me this is idea is a team concept in a sinless and pure form.  As our goal is to build men for Jesus Christ, we tell and show the boys the picture of this type of team.  We will never truly see it this side of heaven.  But we strive for it daily! 

We do have a great model and example.  The perfect example: Jesus Christ The Creator of the Universe came down from Heaven to die on the cross for our sins.  Jesus Christ died for me and you.  We rejected god and had no desire for god yet Jesus came and died for us so that we may have life.  His passion and His desire was to see us saved.  I can’t help but be thankful.  I also stand condemned.  I can’t help but ask myself, “What if my deepest desire was to see the success of those around me rather than myself?”  In this I believe I would find insurmountable joy.  Christ is the example.  Not only did he command it but he showed it.  May he grant us the ability to be faithful and to bear the everlasting and unifying fruit that comes from loving one another.  

Beat Savannah Christian!

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory comes from the Lord.” 

                                                                                                                Proverbs 21:31

Wholly for Christ,

Coach Gess