CHARGER NATION GAME #10

Charger Nation,

            The last game of the regular season is here.  All the hard work and sacrifice has gotten our boys to this point.  Tonight #1 vs #2.  9-0 vs 9-0.  They have great players and we have great players.  It’s a pretty awesome experience and opportunity for everyone involved.  We have had a great week of practice. The boys are focused.  The boys are ready.  Now it is time to go play!  Why do we do all the hard work year round?  So we can be in a game of this magnitude.  Not everyone gets to play in this game.  Enjoy the experience.

            I was talking to a reporter from the paper Wednesday night and he was asking me about this game.  He felt that from all his years covering us that this was the biggest ELCA/Landmark game that he could remember.  He asked me if I felt the same way.  I could honestly say no.  Ever since I got to ELCA ten years ago the ELCA/Landmark game has been a big game.  Last year we were 4-3 and they were 6-1 and it had playoff implications and region championship weight.  In 2014, they were ranked in the top 5 and we had to beat them just to get in the playoffs.  It was a big game.  In 2012, we were playing them for the region championship the last game of the season the year after they beat us in the semi-finals of the playoffs.  It was a big game.  Every year, the Landmark/ELCA game is going to be big and be significant.  That is why we feel the way we do today.

            The only pressure I feel during the week is the same pressure I feel all the time—I hate losing!  There is a sense of urgency as we diligently work hard to get everything right for Friday night.  The stress does not revolve around the game Friday night but rather in the preparation each day.  If we allow the game to be too big and too important we will make irrational decisions during the week.  At this point, you do what got you here and you continue to perfect what you do.  It all comes down to execution.  I don’t feel pressure tonight as I have great confidence in the preparation of our coaches and players. 

I want to win and I know you want to win.  But I do not have to win.  Football is not my God.  It is not my identity.  Nothing about it I have to have.  As we always say at ELCA football is a tool that we use to help boys become men.  It is a tool that we use to preach Jesus Christ.  We are going to give everything we have to be the very best we possible can be.  We are going to work our tails off to maximize our potential.  In all of this young boys are learning how to be productive men.  Most importantly, they are learning Christ, who can transform their life so they become men who impact the world for God’s glory. 

            I think about the young men I coach the same way I think about my son.  I sit and watch him and I want him to be good at things.  And then I think, it doesn’t matter.  I pray: “Lord, all I care about is that he know you.  That he love you and serve you.”  Jesus Christ has made us in his image for his glory.  He is our Creator.  He is the Savior of our souls.  He is Sovereign and in control of every single step.  He is the All-Powerful and All-Knowing is God.  It does not matter if Uriah is good at a game or smart.  What matters is that he knows God and gives his life to him.  For if he knows Christ, the eternal and everlasting Father, the Savior--THIS GOD--He can make Uriah all that he made him to be.  I cannot do it----God can.  If my Son knows Christ, I don’t have to worry about if he is a good athlete or smart, because God will be in control of his life and make him all that he created him to be.  This is truly my anxiety and worry each week—that the young men on this football team know Christ.  Because in knowing Christ they will find life and find their purpose. 

            If you are like me, you love to win and you love success.  If you’re a parent or a coach these are dangerous loves.  When we love winning too much and we love success too much we impart our sin upon our players and our sons.  We then love them based on their performance and their accolades rather than who they are in their soul.  We don’t even realize but we destroy their spirits as they can never live up to our expectations and dreams. 

            Here is the challenge for us tonight and it’s bigger than the football game.  We must love our sons and love our players more than we love winning tonight.  Don’t let the stress of the game get to you.  Don’t stress over your sons performance.  Don’t blame me for success or failure.  Find freedom and joy in loving the young men that give us the opportunity tonight to enjoy this game.  I know I’m not going to stress today.  I’m going to enjoy these young men I get to coach tonight.  I’ve done everything I can do.  Every play I call tonight on paper scores a touchdown (yes every single one and I’m always confused when it doesn’t score!)  There are no bad play calls because every play called has been designed to have every person blocked.  Coach Dallas scheme looks to allow no one a yard!  But of course our kids have to execute, block, tackle, etc.  But I’m not worried about this because I know they will mess up and fail at times.  But what is important is their heart!  Give me your all! Give me a great attitude!  In these things we will rejoice!  Christ has risen—nothing else matters!

Let’s go get this done!

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

Beat Landmark!

Wholly for Christ,

Coach Gess