The Preseason

 

It is finally basketball season! It is middle of October, the weather is starting to change, and all you see on social media is basketball highlights (at least the pages I follow). Youth basketball, College and Professional seasons are all underway as they are entering or just finishing their preseason. One thing about every basketball preseason that never changes is, it sucks.

The preseason sucks because it is tough. It is designed to be tough and to put athletes in more demanding situations than they would experience in a game, so when they are in a game, the “tough” situation would be easier. If you know me at all, then you know this story, but the worse thing I have ever had to do in my life was run a timed mile while I was at Kent State. This was our conditioning test and the time for guards to make it was 5 minutes and 30 seconds. That was by far the toughest thing I had to do in my basketball career. However, I learned a lot about mental toughness, and fighting through adversity.

Another reason the preseason sucks, is it is a season of waiting. Waiting on the main events, which is the actual games. One thing I have realized in my spiritual life is, God likes to put us in a season of waiting to prepare us for our next point in our life. Waiting is not easy, waiting is not ideal, waiting sucks sometimes.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

During our season of waiting, God tells us to be obedient in His word. Growing our knowledge in His word will allow God to show us more about ourselves. Once we know how God wants us to act and what He wants us to do, then we can act on it. We must put ourselves in position to receive things from God.

I coached a fall league recently with my AAU team, and I caught myself trying to explain and coach them like we were in our regular AAU schedule. I had to take a step back and focus on the goal of the fall league, and that was to get better. The fall league was created to give players and teams the opportunity to play games out of the normal season. Wins and losses do not hold as much weight, how many points a player scores do not matter as much, and the objective of playing was just to prepare them for the upcoming season.

During our season of waiting, it's important we understand the process. Being obedient and staying rooted in what you are doing is crucial. It is easy to try and take things into your own hands and control the situation, but that is not what the preseason is meant to do. Teams and individuals who understand how to properly operate in their season of waiting are the ones who can best prepare themselves for the next phase of the process and put their self in position to receive the gifts God intended them to receive.

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58