God's Coaching #211

God's Coaching #211

When the pressure was on, Pierre-Luc Gagnon raised his game. On July 30, 2010, the crowd at Nokia Theater in Los Angeles was buzzing in the Skate Vert finals at X Games 16. Shaun White had pulled a frontside heelflip 540 varial (among other high-flying tricks) to score a 44 in his fourth run and take the lead. But Pierre-Luc stayed focused. He answered with back-to-back scores of 47 and 46 on his fourth and fifth attempts, for a total of 93 points—eight more than Shaun. The victory marked Pierre-Luc’s third straight in Skate Vert.

Going into X Games 16, Pierre-Luc was the heavy favorite. He’d been putting together entire runs of tricks that none of the other competitors could perform. But when Shaun decided to compete after a long layoff from skateboarding, fans knew the competition could be close. Pierre-Luc pulled out the win with a 720 kickflip body varial and a massive body varial McTwist.

What’s the Score?

Pierre-Luc’s technical abilities and complexity of tricks were unmatched on the half-pipe. Later in the day, he added another X Games gold for Best Trick. The Canadian-born skater developed his skills through years of practice. While Pierre-Luc was growing up in Quebec, his father was a driving force in getting an indoor skate park built in his hometown of Boucherville. Pierre-Luc’s father wanted his son concentrating on skateboarding and school, instead of getting caught up in negative behaviors. In fact, Pierre-Luc wasn’t allowed to go to the skate park unless he got good grades and stayed out of trouble.

The Bible tells us what we should concentrate on if we want to avoid negative influences. Philippians 4:8 says to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy. What we put in our minds makes a big difference in our actions. When we focus our mind on good things, we’re more able to stay out of trouble, make positive choices, and accomplish great things.

On the Ball

What things are you focused on? Popularity? Being the best at a sport? The Bible says your thoughts should focus on truth, purity, and excellence. Write down a few good things you want to focus on more.

Coach’s Comment

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 (ESV)