Tom Izzo’s Spartans went cold during the first half, and couldn’t quite overcome the deficit to win the South Region and get into the Final Four. But what they achieved this season was remarkable. Completely unheralded at the start of the season, they climbed their way into the top ten in the rankings, won the Big Ten regular season by three games, and landed a number two seed in the NCAA tournament, a position they justified by going all the way to the regional title game. Izzo is a remarkable coach, which even you Michigan fans would have to admit. How does he do it – much the same way Jesus does.
First of all, he’s a basketball genius. He knows the game inside and out, creating defensive and offensive schemes that simply work. He knows how to prepare for a game, walking his players through how to deal with what the other team will bring. Even at tournaments when there’s little time between games, his assistants will take a banquet room in a hotel and layout a court, on which the players will walk through the plays and defensive sets they will need against a particular opponent. If you can’t see how that mirrors Christ, I’ll just reference Ephesians 1:22: “ And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.” Remember He wrote the playbook; He is, quite literally, the Word.
Another part of Izzo’s genius is that he works to build community among his players. He himself commented this last weekend on how this year’s team connected and bonded, noting that some years that hasn’t happened, but it was always a hallmark of his greatest teams. They started that process with a ten-day trip to Spain last August, and continued it with trips to the UP and eating pasties together. It makes sense – teammates that like each other and develop a sense of kinship communicate better on the court, identify natural leaders, feel a sense of responsibility toward each other to bring their best, and endure tough times of practice since they just like being with one another. That’s what the church is all about; that’s why have a men’s ministry at Cascades. We need to bond with our brothers in Christ, for that mutual support and accountability and communication. The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone; the design was a community of faith, a fact so clear to the early church that they actually did move in with one another, living a communal lifestyle of sharing, each according to his ability supplying to each according to his need (Acts 4:32-25).
Thirdly, Izzo, like most great coaches, learns the strength and weaknesses of each player and uses them accordingly. You can’t always recruit the players you want to fit your scheme – sometimes you have to adjust the scheme to fit the players. Mark Dantanio, the great MSU football coach, rarely recruited level one players. But he took what he had, coached them well, and fit his scheme to them, and won. Izzo knows when to put in the better rebounder, or the guy who’s the spark off the bench, or the guy who’s the better defender. Jesus does that too. He knows our abilities, and more importantly, he knows the gifts He has given us. All he asks is that we be faithful stewards of what he
has given us. Think about Romans 12:4- 8. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, [b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. We all have a role to play; we just need to embrace it.
Finally, Izzo builds a personal relationship with each player. He talks with them, counsels them, and has them into his home. He still communicates regularly with players he had decades ago; they are still a part of his family. Their kids even come back to play for him. This relationship explains what seems to many to be a paradox. He is famous for yelling at his players during games; he genuinely lets them have it if they goof up. A friend of mine doesn’t get how he can get away with such displays of anger, but this person is a Michigan fan anyway. The fact is that he gets away with it because he and that player have a relationship that transcends what happens on the court. The player knows that Izzo cares about him, and wants to see him succeed and the team succeed. They are on the same page on that one. Sometimes, they even yell back, and Izzo respects that. Tom Landry, the legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and a Christian, once said, “A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who
you have always known you could be.” Izzo makes his players be what they want to be – winners.
Is Christ a great coach? Well, duh. Do you have a real relationship with him? Do you understand what he’s trying to accomplish in times of discipline? In Hebrews, this idea is framed not as coach/athlete, but as father/son, a much deeper paradigm:
“ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not
disciplined by their father? (Hebrews 12:5-7).
Let Christ be your coach – let God be your father. Endure hardship. Build community. Play your role. Be on the winning team.
Think about it:
Do you know your spiritual gift? How are you using it?
Do you value the community? What does that look like?
What has God taught in times of discipline?
Written By: Tim Barsuhn
