Nothing Is Beneath You: Soccer Lessons

"Nothing is beneath you."

   When you are a coach of high school players you could have players that have been playing soccer for 12 years or players who haven't played at all. That can happen at any level, but I have found that it is more common in school ball. Because of this, the coach needs to cater to the needs of players with many different skill levels. I tried to do drills that are beneficial to any skill level. However, I have had players who think that certain drills are beneath them.

   These are the players who have been playing a while. They think they are ready for something harder. Most of the time I watch those players do the drill I assigned and I still see that they need to work on it, but they may not see it. Anyhow, to these players I tell them that nothing is beneath them. Professional soccer players still do Brazilians to get better at controlling the ball. They still do simple passing under pressure so they are used to it in games. If you are not willing to do the basics then you will lose your ability to do the basics. If you think you are better than you really are you will end up hurting your ability to play the game well.

   In life, if you think you are better than you really are you could lose friends, lose your job, and you are also disobeying God. Mark 9:35 says: "And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” If you think you are the best that means you are prideful. Pride is a sin. Now, I'm not saying you should think you are the scum of the earth. But, there is a balance to this. In Mark, Jesus tells us that we are not to think of ourselves first. We are not to think that we are first and the best. We are to be a servant to others. If anyone on the earth ever had a reason to think he was the best it was Jesus. But, Jesus didn't think that way. He gave up his life, he became a sacrifice, so that we could live. What right do we have to think that anything is beneath us?

   So, do you have a problem with thinking that something is beneath you? Are you willing to serve others like Jesus did? What can you do to serve someone today?

   Image from here.