Second Chance

As a coach for 30 years, the start of each new season was filled with excitement, hope for success, and an opportunity to help prepare young athletes for their sport and life. In anticipation for the 2008 football season, I was tearing down a press box on our football field so a new one could be built. It was just like any other day, until it wasn't. A 16 foot fall off a ladder and an encounter with a chain linked fence below was the beginning of a new life for me. The doctors didn't give me much hope to live, but the Lord had different plans for me. He gave me a second chance at life. My family kept a journal during the months that followed the accident, which I share with you throughout this book. It is filled with every possible emotion, and ultimately faith in God is what helped us all to survive. Since my accident, I am constantly reminded of Psalm 116:8, "For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling." It is only by God's grace that I received my second chance. Over the past 30 years, I've had the opportunity to coach every high school sport. My goal was to prepare my athletes for sports and for life. Over the years, my athletes have said that some of their fondest memories were the devotions we shared before every practice and game. I have included these devotions in the book to be shared with others to offer lessons that apply to sports and to life.