Sports Mentoring: From Play To Purpose

Loaded down with a saxophone and a bunch of text books, a college freshman saw a couple of guys playing some basketball.  One of them, a junior, invited the freshman to play with them. He recognized him from the marching band and the freshman accepted the invite and balled up.

While playing the junior trombone player started asking him questions about life and eventually about faith. That line of questioning led to an invite for dinner and a friendship that changed the life of the freshman, leading him to deepening his relationship with God and ultimately a life of paying it forward.  I was that freshman.

What that junior did was simply meet me where I was, spoke my language and built a mentoring relationship with me simply because he loved God and cared about me. Mentoring is all about seeing the potential in a person and stepping into their life and helping them to see it and bring it out of them. Sports is a platform that provides the opportunity for this to happen and that is what “The SportMentor" is all about!

Casey picked up on that pretty early on as I would always show up to band practice in basketball shorts and a t-shirt looking like I was ready to ball someone up (don't think much has changed over the years lol) Basketball was the initiator of our conversation and became a part our relationship, but Casey was pretty intentional in what he did with me. He became a "spiritual mentor" for me as well as a friend. He took it upon himself to help me discover what I have been searching for which was a sense of direction in life. 

I was a 17 year old from suburban Chicago who loved basketball, music and had a desire to help others live a better life. Through our relationship, he helped me to see the bigger picture of life and he used sports as the way to make the initial connection. I could relate to basketball and sports. As our relationship grew, the other interests we shared in common began to serve as the driver for our talks about faith and life. I am so grateful he chose to deliberately use basketball to start a friendship that changed my life forever.

The late great Howard Cosell said that “sports is life in microcosm”. He understood that sports imitates life and therefore can teach us life lessons. If you have ever played any sport, you know that some of the most effective mentors in life can be your coach, if he gets it. Mentoring expert, Bob Proctor said that “A mentor is someone who sees more talent within you, than you see in yourself, and brings it out of you. He gets it if he understands that his ultimate goal is to make you a better person who can contribute to the world you live in.  

The game eventually ends but life goes on. What the game teaches you is that you have it in you to succeed in all areas of your life. That is sports mentoring is all about! Mentors make the world a better place one relationship at a time so why not use sports as the platform. That is what “The SportMentor” is all about!!!

The SportMentor is not one person, but a movement with a mission of moving people from needing a mentor to becoming one. The last 30 years has seen many people “go professional” in many areas other than sports (though some have done that too).

This blog is an attempt to share the how’s and why’s. Throughout my professional career, sports has been that constant platform that has provided the foundation for building into the lives of thousands of people. It has taken many forms, but the one constant has always been the idea that sports is just the start of something bigger. The results can be seen in the lives of many of the guys I have invested in over the years. 

Whether you are in need of a mentor or have a heart to be a mentor, allow me and my friends to come alongside you and help you become all that God created you to be and help others to do the same!  

Stay Forever Strong