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Competition

by Doug Reese TTNL

"The more difficult a victory, the greater the happiness." Pele - World Cup Soccer Champion

"We like competition, we think it brings out the best in people." Tom Landry - Head Coach World Champion Dallas Cowboys

"I like to win - period. I like the sport. I like the challenge. I like the competition." Thomas 'Hit Man' Hearns - 6x World Champion Boxer

"You can't be a better runner unless you are willing to run and be beat. You've got to look for tough competition. You've got to want to beat the best." Grete Waitz - World Champion, Olympic Silver Medalist

Athletic Principle

Competition. You should not only welcome tough competition, but you should seek out the best competition you can find. As an athlete you will never reach your full potential unless you are challenged. You need to be challenged. When you are facing a demanding task, you have to dig deeper into your reserves of athletic and mental abilities - you need to stretch yourself further than you have ever gone before to grow as an athlete. Tough, demanding competition allows you to consistently set new performance standards to aim at for your personal goals.

Too many athletes don't give enough of themselves, compete hard enough, or push themselves to the limit because they fear failure. Too many athletes give up too easily. They watch the clock and the scoreboard rather than increase their level of intensity. Instead, they level off and let their own performance standards dominate them. If you compete this way, you will never know how good you can be. Unfortunately, this type of athlete believes how good his competition is, rather than believing in themselves.

Real champions will always push themselves to see how far they can go. Real champions will out work their competition, and in the process they will develop self-confidence in their abilities, because they have learned to pay the price to be the best.

"When I'd get tired and want to stop, I'd wonder what my opponent was doing. I'd wonder if he was still working out. I tried to visualize him. When I could see him still working, I'd start pushing myself. When I could see him in the shower, I'd push myself harder." Dan Gable - Olympic and World Champion Freestyle Wrestler

"Iron sharpens iron." Find someone who is better than you to workout with. You will find out your own weaknesses, you will draw on your partners strengths. You will continually learn, grow and be stretched. You will never improve by always working out with, or competing against a weaker opponent. You will never be pushed. You will only become as good as your competition.

There are a number of key reasons why you need to pursue the best competition:

You will have better performances.
There will be a greater incentive to practice and to improve.
The competition will be more demanding and more fun.
You will be motivated to excel.
You will develop stronger mentally.
The victory will be sweeter!

Competing against tough competition will help you tremendously as it will force you to compete on a higher level. You are as only as good as your competition. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. So challenge them. If you get beaten, then in the process you have found out how good the best is. Evaluate, make corrections, and then take action. Don't dwell on the loss, but concentrate on the part of your performance that limited your success. A champion may get knocked down, but he never stays down!

God's Performance Principle

Too many Christian athletes have a problem with competition. They assume as a Christian that they must be meek and mild, turn the other cheek, rather than pursue victory with great intensity. How wrong they are!

Paul gives us this charge:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way to get the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:24)

Paul is telling us to run to win! Not run to run, not run to compete, not run to be on the team, but to run to win! If we are going to compete in athletics as a Christian, it is our charge to put all of our efforts in disciplined training, and when we are ready to compete, we compete to win.

As a Christian athlete you also need to have the right perspective:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men." (Colossians 3:24)

There are a number of important points in this one verse that you need not miss:

"Whatever you do..." means just that, or stated another way it means in everything you do. Yes, everything. This verse needs to become your perspective on athletics as well as life.
"work at it with all your heart..." This simply means give your best effort in all situations and circumstances. Do your best regardless of the score, regardless of the time on the clock, regardless of the opponent - you give it all you have!
"as working for the Lord..." You are competing on the Lord's Team. You are doing it for Him. Make your effort a love offering to Him for the price that He paid for you on the cross. Give thanks to God for allowing you this opportunity and for your talents and abilities.
"not for men." You are not competing for the medal, nor for the honors, nor for the title, nor for the money. You are not competing for your coach, your parents, or your loved ones. You are not doing it for the personal glory, and not for the media coverage. You are doing it for the Lord, not for men.

True competition is challenging, both physically and mentally. Versus tough competition victory never comes easy. You know already to be a champion you have to pay a price. You have to sharpen your skills, persevere through long and difficult training sessions, and you have to be disciplined. Listen to Paul's final coaching point:

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize..." (Philippians 3:13-14)

Any runner knows in a race, you never look back. Keep your focus on the goal. Keep straining for improvement. Keep on digging in and fighting in competition versus tough opponents. Keep pressing on to reach the goal. Keep striving to win. When you can successfully maintain this attitude and compete for God, then regardless of the results, God will see you as a champion in Christ.