When I was young my parents knelt down with me before bedtime and taught me how to pray. They told me this was my direct line to God. I remember mostly praying for my family members and some other general things. It wasn’t until I got older when I developed my relationship with Him that I learned about praying specifically. I started to understand the power of prayer and the amazing things and miracles that transpire from it. 

But what about the prayers that go unanswered? We all have them. Some of us pray fervently for a situation to turn around and it doesn’t. At least on our timeline. We have a plan that we believe is best, but it’s not happening, and we don’t know why. We get frustrated and impatient with God and when we are at our weakest, we sometimes question or even get angry with Him. Maybe I shouldn’t speak for you, but I have done this…too many times.

Getting Knocked Down

I was told back in September that the minor league team I helped build from the ground up in 2023 was replacing me. Our team was very successful on the field during our 2 seasons, but new ownership wanted to bring in their own people. It hurt me more a lot more than I let people know. I searched all fall and winter for a new coaching position, and interviewed with teams, but nothing materialized that made sense for my family. My prayers were not being answered.

I joked with my mentor that at one point it was so quiet that the crickets weren’t event chirping. Then it got worse when the calls and texts started pouring in from my peers as the calendar turned to February. “What do you mean you don’t have a job? How is that possible? Look at everything you’ve accomplished in the game.” I fought against the feelings of anger and frustration that had been building all offseason and began to pray even more. And I got specific.

I wanted God’s will to be done in my life. Whatever and wherever that was, just please show me. I have always put my faith first, my family second, and my job third. If you ask anyone who truly knows me, they will rubber stamp that statement. I still believed that I am supposed to coach because it is my mission field. I believe working with young men is where I am going to make the biggest impact in our world. I was just hoping that was still God’s plan for my life. 

One of my best friends called and said he could most likely get me a high paying management position where he worked. He said I was a great candidate and that my leadership skills would translate well. The problem is it just didn’t feel right being stuck behind a desk in an office, and I decided against interviewing. Another month went by and still nothing was happening. Then I got an email from a summer collegiate league team in March. 

I spoke with the manager of the team and the GM. They both seemed great and people that I would enjoy working with, but the offer was significantly lower than the salary I have made in the past. At first, I mentally dismissed it because I didn’t think the amount of money was even going to help pay our monthly bills. Then I went to my wife and shockingly she said I should seriously consider it. I thought there was no way we could pull this off financially, but then something new came into the picture. 

My wife said there was a need for someone to help out at our church and multiple people thought I would be great for the job.  Easter was around the corner, and we were expecting 15 to 20 thousand people in attendance. Yeah, that’s a lot. To top it off our church was also opening a second location about 20 minutes away from our main campus. What was the job? I appreciate you asking. It’s what I was as a high school, college, and professional player. The utility guy. 

Getting Back Up

I accepted both jobs and got to work at the church. To be honest with you, it’s the hardest I’ve worked in years. Between working in the mornings at the church, going to high school baseball practice, and then heading home to do lessons at night, I was gassed by the time I was able to go to bed. Add in my 5:30am workouts at the gym and you can guess how I felt most days. Exhausted. But I tell you what, it’s been an awesome couple of months.

The people I work with at Impact Church are awesome. They work hard and are some of the most positive people I have ever been around. Whether it was setting up the auditorium, building furniture, making Costco runs, or taking out the trash, we did it with excellence and a smile. Coaching at my son’s high school was also an amazing experience. I have known most of the players since they were in middle school and to see their growth has been awesome to watch. When you add in what was happening on the field, you will know how much fun we were having.

The Scottsdale Christian Academy Eagles went out and dominated the 2A conference. We went 16-0 in our region, 22-2 during the regular season, and swept through the playoffs for a 26-2 overall record and a State Championship. Add in the fact that my son’s Connor (junior) and Bryce (freshman) were on the team made it that much more special. When the final out was recorded, and the players started to celebrate on the field I took a moment before I joined the other coaches to just watch and enjoy the boy’s reaction. It was pure joy. 

Garth Brooks may have said it best, “Some of God’s greatest gifts, are unanswered prayers.” If an MLB or Independent League team would have hired me this year I would not have been as present with my family as I was this spring. My time with the high school team would have been limited and I sure as heck wouldn’t have taken a job at our church. I needed to be humbled more than I thought. Now I have a better appreciation for high school sports and the people behind the scenes at church who do all the little things that make it run so smoothly. They are an integral part of the operation.

This Friday I fly to Wisconsin to spend the summer as the Hitting and Bench Coach for the La Crosse Loggers in the Northwoods League. This might be the first time ever that I will be the oldest coach on the staff, and I believe God is putting me in a position to mentor not only the players but the coaches as well. It’s also an opportunity to coach a different level of players and a new place for my family to spend part of their summer. I believe new coaching doors and opportunities will also open because of this.

My good friend and college teammate Mark sent me a text to congratulate me on the high school state title. He made a comment that all I need now is a college natty (national championship) to complete my trophy case. While I never talk about winning or championships as a coach it did get me thinking. If God wants to transition me to being a college coach, I am all in. If He wants me to get back into pro coaching next year, I’m in. If it’s high school only, I don’t love that thought initially, but I’m in. His plan is better than mine and I would rather be on the path He has for my life than my own.

If you have been following my blogs you might have noticed this is my first one in 3 months. I allowed my situation to dictate my attitude for a while and lost the inspiration to write. Then about a month ago I saw how well our high school team was playing and I knew when my next blog would come out and what the title would be, but I didn’t start to write it. I was waiting until our team won the State Championship. This one didn’t have any points, scripture or quotes, but it came directly from the heart. I hope you enjoyed it and inspires you to pray more and trust completely in God’s plan for your life.

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