I try to get my students to flesh out how they perceive Jesus as a person based on what they see in our readings or what they believe about what they have heard concerning the Messiah. I try to make Jesus, who was a carpenter, real as it relates to their society. This week, as I do most years, I had my classes answer this question:
What kind of coach would Jesus be?
Here are some responses. All are used by permission and I allowed the students, if they chose, to pick a specific sport. Tonight, all the thoughts are from 11th graders, with girls in pink and boys in blue. We will post more of these for several days! I do think it is fascinating how some of the kids consider what believers see as attributes in Jesus to be liabilities as a coach!
I don't think that Jesus would be a good baseball coach. His coaching style wouldn't be practical because Jesus would be too nice to be able to discipline someone and tell them what they're doing wrong. Jesus's discipline would probably be just telling all of his players to have fun in baseball and that there is no good or bad besides following the Ten Commandments. Also, the fact that Jesus doesn't even know what baseball is which would make the players teach Jesus how to play. I don't think Jesus would care if we lose or win. Jesus just wants us to have fun while playing. Jesus also never played sports in the Bible so he has no knowledge or experience of teamwork. I would also say that Jesus may be somewhat good at teamwork since he had his team of disciples constantly doing as he commanded. The reason I said he was somewhat good at teamwork is because one player/disciple who was disobedient, didn't listen, and betrayed him. I would give Jesus I would give him a 9 out of 10 for his teamwork efforts. If anything, Jesus should be an assistant coach to give moral support. Fernando 11
I'm not sure if Jesus would make a good coach. In the Bible, we only see Jesus getting angry once when he was at the temple, and he flipped tables and yelled. As a cheerleader, you want a coach who is tough and sensitive at the same time. I don’t think Jesus would fully understand how to handle coaching girls. I don’t think he would be a good cheer coach. Being a cheerleader can be very dangerous and if not given specific instructions step by step, something can go wrong. I think Jesus would have us (the team mates) figure out how to do a stunt or a flip by ourselves so we can learn from our mistakes, but that's not how it should be done. In cheer, we need to be very careful doing stunts or flips. I'm not sure if Jesus would like our routines, either, because I don't think he would understand why we do certain things. I think Jesus would be a good coach in soccer or baseball but not in cheerleading. Sophia M 11
I think Jesus would have good and bad
aspects to his coaching style. The sport I'm choosing to talk about is
basketball. I think his coaching style is calm but firm. He would say and do
what is necessary but he would do it with good sportsmanship. He would be a fair
coach. He would play who he believed deserved to be played, but he wouldn’t
make the other players feel bad about it. He would still give the other players
a chance, but maybe not in a tight situation. I’m not sure if He would yell at
His players, I’m thinking maybe not, and that might be bad to some extent.
Getting yelled at isn’t a fun experience, but sometimes it is necessary, so if
He did yell, it might be beneficial. I think he would try not to blow out the
other team when they were very obviously losing, but He also wouldn’t play
down. I think he would prefer to win, but he would learn from the losing
experiences and use them as teaching examples. I think Jesus would be a generally
good coach, but maybe a bit understated. Lexi 11
I think Jesus would be a good coach for girls' basketball because He would know
what to do. Jesus would help us learn how to do plays, how to press, and most
importantly, how to be a good team player and teammates. I believe that Jesus
would yell at us if we were doing something wrong repeatedly. I think of it like sinning and mistakes. I think if we make the same mistakes and do the same sin
every time Jesus or our actual Coach would yell at us. Jesus would teach us how
to play or how to learn based on our personalities and how we like to learn and
remember what we are learning. I do not think Jesus would care if we as a team
wins or loses. He would care if we give it our all, one hundred and ten percent.
Jesus would coach us how to live our lives outside of basketball or any other
sport. He would want us to practice what we learned from Him towards other
people in the world. No matter if we make mistakes or get angry at him, I think
he would be very proud of us. Jesus would also push us to be the better
versions of ourselves that He wants us to be on and off the court. Gabrielle 11
I am on the fence about whether Jesus would be a good coach. I believe he has
characteristics that would make him a good coach but some of his philosophies
are different than what a typical coach displays. Jesus is kind and
understanding which are traits that I believe all coaches should demonstrate to
their players. Jesus would never yell at his players or show that he is visibly
angry. In soccer, there are times when a referee makes a call on a play that is
inaccurate. Most coaches will argue with the referee, and try to prove that
they are wrong. I do not believe Jesus would yell at a referee when they are
wrong. There are times in games when a coach needs to show anger, but Jesus
would be slow to anger. Since soccer is a physical sport, there are times when
the opposite team will be too aggressive and plays with poor sportsmanship.
This causes us to become angry and want to purposefully try to push the
other players down. This goes against what Jesus would want. He never wants us
to stoop down to the level of the people who are against us. He would want us
to play with a good attitude at all times, even when the opposite team is being
rude. Our coach will give every player a chance to play in the game regardless
of skill level. I believe Jesus would do this as well because he sees
every one of us as equal. Sophia G 11
He would be a terrible coach. Let me
explain. What does most of mankind want? It’s an ambiguous question that I don’t
have the answer for. I believe that Jesus wants the opposite of what every
human wants. The competition in sports, superior feeling when one wins over
another, and dirty tricks that can make you score a few more points are nowhere
on Jesus’s mind. I hate to be frank, but I don’t think the players would have
time to spend the halftime trying to figure out the intricate parables Jesus gave them. He cares about stuff that are way beyond sports. He
doesn’t care about winning or losing or anything that’s practically a
competition. He probably doesn’t like to workout as much as I do. However, I
think he will be a great philosophy teacher. I would sit down in his classroom
and spend 3 hours admiring his sophistication. I would even ask him if I can
audio tape his teaching, so I can write down his quotes on a book and sell them
to the pseudo intellectuals residing in
I think Jesus would be a great soccer coach. He would try to make sure everyone
is included and not make anyone feel left out. He would have great
sportsmanship towards the other team. Jesus would believe in working hard to
win, but also just having fun exhibiting the talents that everyone was blessed
with. I think that Jesus wouldn't get upset with his players if they lost a
game. I feel he would pray over them and tell them not to beat themselves up
over losing. For each win, I think Jesus would have a huge celebration with his
players. There wouldn't be a "MVP" because Jesus would want to acknowledge everyone's efforts. There would be captains, but the only exception
would be if you have been baptized and truly believe in your heart that Jesus
is our Savior. He wouldn't get upset or punish anyone who talks about his team
or insults his coaching. He would simply ignore all comments and continue to
try to spread kindness. The players would see him not only as a Coach, but as a
guide in their life. Cara 11
I think Jesus is the greatest coach in the world if possible. Take soccer as an example. If he is the coach, I have no doubt even China can win the World Cup under his training. Coaching is a profession that has one's own experience and knowledge to help others achieve a purpose. I think that's exactly what Jesus would do: he would help the weak, impart knowledge, unite the team, never abandon anyone, and have faith in them. I don't think he would care if the game is won or lost, but he does care if everyone did their best, God has given everyone a different gift, and it would be Jesus' job to make sure everyone doesn't waste it. But like I said before, under the teaching of Jesus, even Chinese football can become the No. 1 in the world. It is not a question of training, venue, time, and talent. It is simply a matter of whether the players love the sport. And if there was a coach like Jesus, I'm sure everyone would love the sport he taught. Tian (Tony) 11
I think Jesus would be a very …
interesting coach. This is concerning the sport of basketball. I believe that
in practice Jesus would definitely “cut” people/not be afraid to tell who the
starting five are, etc. I also believe that he would be able to set people
straight. For example, if a player starts to get an attitude or acts
inappropriately such as cursing or punching, Jesus would probably use the Bible
and moral principles to set them straight, just like when he crouched down on
the ground and wrote in the dirt and told the men something along the lines of
“Whoever hasn’t sinned to throw the first stone.” In a basketball game, I don’t
think Jesus would be too concerned with winning or losing. I think that it
would be the players’ wanting-to-win attitude that would either allow His team
to lose or win. Overall, I think Jesus would be the type of coach to coach the
players and teach them all they needed to know and what the best options are in
certain situations, and then leave them to lead themselves in practices and in
games. However, Jesus wouldn’t not be there. He would still be in the gym
either drawing up plays, reading basketball material, or supervising the
practice to see if the players needed help or anything. I believe that when a
player needs help, is in trouble, or doesn’t know what to do, He would observe
the situation and then either give them the direct answer of what to do, or He
would give hints to the or one of the “answer(s),” without giving the direct
answer, to allow them to learn and grow as a player. And of course, all the
players would still acknowledge Him as Coach and respect Him because of His
knowledge, wisdom, and coaching skills. Faith 11
If Jesus was a coach, I don’t think he would be any different from any other
coach. Although there are different types of coaches and their different
techniques and personalities, they all have the same goal of making a team and
playing together, along with the possibility of winning. Jesus wouldn’t have
favorites or a star player ;his eyes, everyone would be equal. He would
instill his wise words of, “loving thy neighbor, like you love yourself”, into
his players and mold them into good teammates, creating a bond amongst the team
or simply getting them to play well with each other. Win or loss, it doesn’t
matter to Jesus. If his team happens to win, of course there’s celebration and
being proud, but Jesus wouldn’t want to be prideful. He sees a difference
between being prideful or proud, and would rather feel proud than prideful.
Losing would never upset Jesus as he wants you to learn something from it, not be
in your head about it or down on yourself. Overall, Jesus would practice union
and harmony. Leah 11
Jesus would be a good basketball coach. He would cut people. He wouldn't choose
by how good someone is, but by how much hard work they would show. Jesus would
care about winning, because why else would he start a team? He would not care
if his team loses, but he would care if someone didn't play their hardest. I
think that Jesus would aggressively at times. If he knew there was a faulty foul,
he would argue against it. Jesus would do practices an hour a day and he would
teach his players how to run plays. I think that Jesus would have a girls' team
because it would be a good contrast from the apostles. I think that Jesus could
bond with his team by telling them parables and teaching them about the Bible.
He wouldn't do a miracle unless someone(even on the opposing team) got hurt. As
a coach, Jesus might not be the best coach for winning games but he would show
kindness and give his team experiences that no other team would have.
Nathan 11
Applicable quote of the day:
What you specifically teach is what your players will do best.
Dick Bennett
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
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