ATHLETICS
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iscipleship is a key aspect of what makes Heritage unique, and the athletics department makes a concerted effort to encourage and disciple each coach, team, athlete, and family involved in HCS athletics. The department does this through what it calls the “three prong approach,” supporting the three main relationships that take place in athletics: department-to-coach, coach-to-student, and team-to-team. In recent years, the athletics department has created a more formalized process to guide what each department, coach, and team does on a daily basis to fulfill its mission statement: “Glorify God in the discipleship of student-athletes and the pursuit of excellence in athletics, with the Bible as the foundation and Jesus Christ as our focus.”
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The department supports the coaching staff by providing printed and online resources for them. One such resource is the book InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives, written by Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL star who became a pastor following his football career. The book helps coaches see how they have a tremendous amount of influence in their athletes’ lives and it encourages them to mentor their athletes beyond the playing field. “Our main objective is to help our coaches become transformational coaches,” said HCS Director of Athletics Michelle York. “Not coaches who care just about the wins and losses, but coaches who care more about the relationship with their players.”
Department-to-Coach
Coach-to-Student
The athletics department works to develop and challenge its coaches in their professional, personal, and spiritual growth. The department supports them professionally by holding coaches meetings to discuss season strategies and by checking in with them weekly to see what needs they might have. Beyond this, the department strives to help coaches also grow in their own relationships with Christ, which in turn helps them mentor students and build unified teams and mature players.
All HCS coaches work to teach and mentor their athletes beyond the playing field. Some have their teams study a book of the Bible and others begin each practice with a devotional or life lesson talk.
SPRING 2019 HERITAGE MESSENGER
“We ask all of our coaches to have some focused time to disciple, mentor, and share God’s Word with their student athletes,” said York.
