Overcoming Fear of the Unknown

As coaches we see seasons come and go.  Preparing for each season is a non-stop routine required to be successful and it always comes with the unknown of how will all that work pay off.  That fear of the unknown can be overwhelming and take you away from your routine.  It creates a nervousness within you that adds pressure in your professional and personal life. Constant questions run throughout your brain and thought patterns.  Am I doing the right things, do I have a solid plan, will the kids buy-in and participate.  

As a head coach I have never had a season without at least one state qualifier.  So every season I ask myself and the team, which wrestler is going to step up and be the  next state qualifier, state placer or champion.  Setting high expectations of yourself and your program , business, family, etc creates unknowns.  I could go on and on about all these anxious thoughts and unnerving parts of coaching.  What we do know is that having a set plan that includes expectations, planned preparation and faith that it will work are a few of the most important aspects of running a successful program.  

Coaching a team and living life does not have to be unnerving or create anxiety.  We have to put the same faith that we have in our team, players, parents and coaches like God has in us.  He is constant and always working his plan in our life.  He wants us to be successful and have the great moments of life.  I have been fortunate to coach conference, regional and state champion wrestlers.  But I have also seen the disappointments of wrestlers that worked so hard for years to only come up short of making their goal.  

Watching a senior lose that final match and fall short of their goal is devastating.  When that final whistle blows they realize it is over, no more mat time, no more practice and the goal of winning that last match did not happen. I tell those guys that God has been with them and will be with them going forward.  You see, all that hard work, preparation and practice is setting them up for a bright future.  They have learned that hard work pays off, being dedicated and disciplined pays off.  Having faith in God that he is preparing us, putting us through wins and losses and promising a bright future is what we have to see, know and understand.

Preparing for the unknown and walking with faith without fear propels us forward.  We do this to be ready for winning and losing in sports, life and on the job.  We prepare and put the time in to be ready to stand up to life and take it by the horns.  We must prepare our souls and let God coach us up through the unknown and do that without fear of what may happen.  Ultimately, we prepare for that big finish, that big match, that title match.  God gives us the opportunity to attain the ultimate victory and he sacrificed his son for that reason.  It is a victory beyond all imagination, one of beauty, peace and eternal.  So please, go forward without fear, prepare and let God coach you up and handle how things come out.  

Lord, help me to be coachable, humble, obedient, and prepared.  For when that final whistle blows I will gain that life changing eternal victory!  Amen

God Bless! KB

10-21-20