Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith during Cowboys match against the West Virginia Mountaineers. (Photo Courtesy: OSU Athletics/Flickr)
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” —Galatians 6:9
Many years ago, when I was coaching in high school, some of my athletes asked how they could become faster or better at their craft. My answer was usually, “Commit to working harder!” I would then help them implement a plan of action.
As adults, many wonder how they can become better readers, writers or grow stronger in their faith. The same principle applies: “Read more, write more and seek God more.”
Author Steven Covey wrote a New York Times best-seller: “The Seven Basic Habits Of Highly Effective People.” He told his readers to work daily at sharpening the saw.
Most people know what they must do, but only true leaders are willing to commit. Each new year people make efforts to change and improve. But way too often they don’t follow through.
Have you done this in the past? Find a friend who shares your dreams and goals for improvement. Begin by writing down these dreams and goals, then checking your behaviors to see that they match. You will begin to see and praise God for the growth you will experience.
— Paul Kelly
OneCoach, part of the Sports Spectrum Network, is an international community of coaches and spouses who have been uniquely gifted and called by God. Visit OneCoach.org for more stories and videos.
Clint Hurdle in July 2023. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE & JASON ROMANO, FEATURING CLINT HURDLE
Clint Hurdle is a former MLB player and manager. He was selected in the first round of the 1975 MLB Draft out of high school by Kansas City. He made his MLB debut in 1977 and played with the Royals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals until his retirement after the 1987 season. He was a member of the 1980 AL-champion Royals team that lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
Clint is one of the few in baseball who have both played and managed in the World Series. He was the Colorado Rockies manager from 2002-09 and the Pittsburgh Pirates manager from 2011-19. He led Colorado to the 2007 World Series and led Pittsburgh to three straight playoff berths in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Sporting News named him the NL Manager of the Year in 2013. He is currently a special assistant in the Rockies front office.
Clint’s new book, “Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball,” came out in February.
Today on the podcast, Clint Hurdle shares his transformative journey from a troubled past to a life of faith and leadership. He discusses the importance of surrender, the challenges of leadership in baseball, and how adversity has shaped his character. Hurdle emphasizes the value of lifelong learning and ultimately highlighting the grace of God in his life.
Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
It didn’t take long for Grant McCasland to see his vision come to fruition at Texas Tech. In just his second year at the helm, he has the Red Raiders in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022.
For McCasland, it’s his first trip to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend as a head coach. But this year marks his second straight tournament appearance with Texas Tech, and his third total thanks to a 2021 berth as the head coach at North Texas.
“What he’s done in two short years at Texas Tech has been incredible,” Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal last week. “Feel very fortunate and blessed that he’s our head men’s basketball coach. I sleep very well at night knowing that he has the keys to that program.”
After wins over No. 14-seed UNC Wilmington and No. 11-seed Drake, the next test for the No. 3-seeded Red Raiders is an upset-minded Arkansas team (10:09 p.m. ET Thursday), a No. 10 seed that knocked off No. 7-seed Marquette and No. 2-seed St. John’s to reach the Sweet 16. Win or lose, McCasland will coach with his faith in Jesus leading the way.
He was open about his faith while at North Texas, and made it clear in his introductory press conference at Texas Tech that nothing would change for him even if the stage was bigger and the lights were brighter. Looking to the players he inherited on his roster, he thanked them for their patience in the coaching search process and told the crowd how he planned to approach his job: relationships first.
“God’s called us all to something,” he said. “I know that our purpose is to pour our hearts into you guys every single day. We love winning, but the only way you can truly win is if you love people with all your heart, and I believe that.”
“If I can go and love my wife the way I’m supposed to and love my kids, then I feel like that will carry over and God will honor it with how I coach our team and how I prepare them,” McCasland said. “And that there’s space for the priorities that need to be in that order. If I can do that in that order, He’ll continue to honor what we’re doing as basketball coaches and maybe as a basketball program.”
McCasland’s time at North Texas included two regular-season championships and one conference tournament championship, capped off by him being named the 2019-20 Conference USA Coach of the Year. He went 23-11 in his first year at Texas Tech and has his team at 27-8 heading into Thursday’s game. He was also named a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award this season.
He’s won everywhere he’s been, and he’s done it “the right way with character and toughness,” according to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which honored him with the 2024 John Lotz “Barnabas” Coaching Award, named after the former North Carolina assistant and Florida head coach. It’s “given annually to honor a basketball coach who best exhibits a commitment to Christ, integrity and encouragement to others, and lives a balanced life.”
“Fellowship of Christian Athletes has honored a coach whose influence has made not just a positive, but eternal, impact on his players over his successful career,” FCA President and CEO Shane Williamson said. “We congratulate Grant McCasland for not only his coaching talent but for the way he has invested his time and effort into the lives of his players for God’s Kingdom.”
FCA also praised McCasland for being willing to share his testimony and speak at local FCA events, including an FCA-sponsored on-campus event that brought a couple thousand college students to Texas Tech’s basketball arena.
“The way he treats his players, staff, media and fans around his program is with kindness and respect that honors the Lord,” the FCA press release read. “The core values his program culture is built on are all biblically based and modeled in his own life.”
A son and grandson of Baptist preachers, McCasland said his life revolved around church and sports growing up. But an ACL tear in seventh grade put his playing career in jeopardy, and he said that was when God started to break down the idol that sports had become to him.
“Then I was like, ‘What am I? If I’m not sports, then what am I?’” McCasland recalled on the podcast. “… To say I’d put my faith in Him, I think that was the turning point where I decided that, ‘OK, I get it now. Jesus can’t be a part of what I am, He has to be who I live my life for and give my heart to completely.'”
Now seemingly at the peak of his sporting career, he hasn’t forgotten what grounds him.
“There’s no better journey than to live a life of sacrifice to Christ,” McCasland in the FCA award announcement. “This honor is a huge blessing, but, ultimately, all of our hearts must point to Christ and give Him the glory for what He does in and through us.”
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE & JASON ROMANO, FEATURING SPENCER DANIELSON
Spencer Danielson is the head coach for Boise State’s football program. In 2024, he led the Broncos to a 12-2 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff. His squad earned the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the CFP after beating UNLV in the Mountain West Championship Game.
Danielson was named the 2024 MW Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Paul “Bear” Bryant National College Football Coach of the Year, George Munger Coach of the Year, and AFCA National Coach of the Year awards.
Today on the podcast, we talk to Spencer Danielson about his incredible 2024 season, baptizing some of his players before last season, being bold in his faith, and what it means to stand firm in Christ as a coach.
In Roberts’ nine seasons as manager, the Dodgers have reached the National League Championship Series six times and appeared in the World Series four times. At just 52 years old, he has the highest winning percentage (.627) in MLB among managers with at least 1,000 games of experience and is already sixth on the all-time postseason wins list. The Dodgers have won 100 or more games five times under Roberts’ leadership.
While getting paid handsomely to lead a team full of superstars is a pretty sweet gig, Roberts has felt the pressure that comes with such lofty expectations. He handles it by leaning on his faith in God.
When his 10-year MLB career ended in 2009, Roberts joined the Boston Red Sox local broadcast team. The following year, he became a special assistant with the San Diego Padres, and not long later, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a relatively rare, yet aggressive form of cancer. It was discovered during his mandatory physical at spring training in 2010. Had he still been working in TV, he likely would not have gotten the physical. If it had gone undetected for a few more months, it would have been Stage 3 or 4 rather than Stage 2.
While discussing the experience on Sports Spectrum’s “Get in the Game” podcast in 2021, Roberts was quick to identify his faith as his main source of strength and comfort during his cancer battle.
“Even after all this, I would do it again,” he said. “I think my faith got me through it emotionally and mentally. The doctors were amazing. I just really believe that my faith got me through it.”
As awful as it was, it is easy for Roberts to see the positive things that ultimately came from it. His parents came to know the Lord through his experience, something he considers to be “a huge win for me personally.”
Roberts says his leadership style is built on authenticity, relationships and service. He explained on “Get in the Game” that he believes knowing himself well is the first step toward building strong relationships with his players.
“For me, I think that it starts with being authentic with yourself. I think that you’ve really got to understand who you are,” he said.
“The game always has been, always will be, about the players, so you have to really understand who these guys are individually,” he continued later.
Keeping his focus on serving others allows Roberts to keep everything in perspective and remain humble amidst all his success.
“Having that servant mindset to want to help others, it always gets you back to that gratitude piece, that we’ve got it pretty good and there’s other things outside of baseball,” he said on the podcast. “And I think that that ultimately will make you a better person and a better ballplayer. I really do.”
Roberts is a World Series hero as a player and two-time World Series champion as a manager — likely headed to the Hall of Fame — but the things he wants to be known for has nothing to do with his accomplishments in the game.
