Photo: Enigma Sport

"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."

Vince Lombardi

Speech

There is one in every team – at least one! The one who is always moaning, grumbling, complaining. For many of us this is a real challenge. We are perfectionists. We set ourselves high standards and we expect others to do the same. We grumble when a team-mate makes a mistake. We grumble when the officials don’t make the calls we want them to.

Or we argue – with the coach, with team-mates, with the officials. We are very competitive and we struggle to channel our aggression in the right direction.

As Christians we are called to be content – that rules out grumbling. We are to be peace-makers. That challenges us to consider how we act towards others. Of course we can have opinions and express them – but respectfully and in a way that fosters team-spirit and unity. We are not to be disruptive.

There is a real role for the Christian player to be positive in difficult situations and help create a culture which could have a positive influence in the team.

Am I a positive voice in my team or training group? Or am I always grumbling and arguing?

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