God calls athletes to be the light and salt of their sports and faith world

In sports you will sometimes hear the term choking used in a negative tone. It means a player has performed well below their capabilities during crunch time – under pressure.

When we try to live and express our faith in a sometimes hostile environment, there is also pressure and we too need to find ways of succeeding at these moments.

Often the biggest issue in sports is that the athlete is focusing too much on outcome (i.e. possibly losing) rather than on the process.  A coach will therefore encourage the use of “cue words” like reach, accelerate, feet … the word needs to be internally repeated over and over until the task is completed. If you stop too early the negative thoughts (I might miss, they will score, I might fail) will come back in. For our spiritual life we could use words or aspirations like “Come Holy Spirit”, “Jesus be with me” or “Pray for me Mary”. Keep repeating. We need to remember than in the bigger picture of live we cannot lose when we profess Jesus as our savior and live like he does. It is impossible, as he promises that those who love him, live has he did and love others in his name will receive the imperishable crown.

A second strategy a coach may use is to teach their students to breath properly. This enables us to relax and stay calm and it helps our energy system.  I relate this to prayer in our daily spiritual life. There are many benefits to prayer to/with God (ie. it helps us know God’s will, it allows us to praise God and give thanks) one of which is the calming benefits it has. The peace and confidence it gives us is amazing.

Thirdly, athletes, where permitted, in pressure moments will consult the coach. In the last minute of football and basketball games there will be many timeouts called so the players can slow down and get instructions. With our faith we should obtain spiritual direction. Having a faithful spiritual director that you can trust will help your confidence immensely.

It helps if you trust yourself under pressure therefore players should always be encouraged to give themselves credit when they have accomplished something. If you never reinforce the positives then under pressure you will not believe that you have accomplished anything when in fact you have. The same goes for our faith life. This doesn’t mean we should be prideful or conceited; absolutely humility is still a most significant virtue. All success ultimately comes from God but a least recognize the good that God has done through YOU. Have confidence in God to work through you.

Remember that under pressure you need to play the way you know best. If you stray from your strengths and get away from your game plan then you are far less likely to succeed under pressure. In our daily life journey it is similarly paramount that you deliver the message of Jesus in a completely natural way. Don’t try to be somebody that you are not. You can live a quiet apostolate of friendship and example where others might be more outgoing. God uses us for victory each in our own different ways.

Practice performing under pressure. Some coaches in practice create pressure through artificial scoring methods and reward systems. These reps get players acclimatized to pressure. In your daily life get your reps with those closest to you, especially family. Practice charity, forgiveness and the message of Jesus there.

Take pleasure in the pressure. Athletes need to be reminded of how blessed they are to be able to perform a sport at such a high level that there is pressure. We also have to be reminded how blessed we are to have divine filiation, to be actually asked by God to spread his message. Let us handle the pressure and be the light and salt of your world.