"THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN BASKETBALL, BUT THERE IS MORE TO BASKETBALL THAN BASKETBALL."

One of God's greatest gifts is the power of choice. We choose to:

Compete for our faith
Compete to be grateful
Compete to be the men we are called to be

Invest your time and energy in the spiritual gifts God has blessed you with that are within your control. Take responsibility for managing these areas!

The more we direct our focus on actions we can control, the better choices we can make in the moment.

Circle of Control

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Passion When we discover the passion that God has uniquely created for each of us, it motivates us to devote our time and energy. It compels us to sacrifice, to discipline ourselves, and to make wise choices that help us pursue our passion. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24	Humility Never try to be better than someone else, but never cease to be the best you can be. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:4	Unity Work together to quickly and properly execute the fundamentals of the game/life for the greater good of the team. It is not about you, it is about us. "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” Mark 3:24
Servanthood Make those around you better while looking for opportunities to serve. It is best to serve when you expect nothing in return. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17	Thankfulness Be thankful for what you have. Do not waste time playing the comparison game. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4	Flexible System We want to protect the skills we acquire, but not at the expense of putting ourselves in a box, thinking that we have arrived, thus stunting growth. We want to be able to grow into our games and our lives as we develop. We have to learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable as our game is in the process of developing.
Create Space Once we have internalized basic skill sets, it is our responsibility to provide opportunities and space to use those skills. Our job is not only to develop fundamentals, but to teach how and when to capitalize on those opportunities. In order to recognize an advantage, we must have vision. Good vision leads to good decisions. Poor vision leads to poor decisions.	Consistency When you don't give it your best shot, nothing is learned from a challenge. Growth comes at the point of resistance. Learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities.	Attack We break every game huddle, practice, conditioning session, and segment of our youth summer camps with the call and response, “Together. . .we attack!” It is at the heart of what we do on the floor, in the classroom, and in preparing for life beyond the walls of Bethel. What we understand is that our “together” is only as strong as the people in our program. Sometimes with a pat on the back and sometimes it is a kick in the rear with the understanding that we are all in this for each other.
Develop Skills We don’t make a habit out of being successful. We are successful because of our habits. Our goal is to develop habits that hold up under pressure and allow us to play free. Eventually our foundation is so deeply internalized that it becomes a way of life.

"THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN BASKETBALL, BUT THERE IS MORE TO BASKETBALL THAN BASKETBALL."

Circle of Control

click for summary

Passion

Humility

Never try to be better than someone else, but never cease to be the best you can be. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:4

Unity

Work together to quickly and properly execute the fundamentals of the game/life for the greater good of the team. It is not about you, it is about us. "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” Mark 3:24

Servanthood

Make those around you better while looking for opportunities to serve. It is best to serve when you expect nothing in return. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

Thankfulness

Flexible System

Create Space

Consistency

When you don't give it your best shot, nothing is learned from a challenge. Growth comes at the point of resistance. Learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities.

Attack

Develop Skills

We don’t make a habit out of being successful. We are successful because of our habits. Our goal is to develop habits that hold up under pressure and allow us to play free. Eventually our foundation is so deeply internalized that it becomes a way of life.