Coaching Cues for Students

Three weeks of school down. Binders and water bottles have been labeled (hopefully!), class expectations given, and routines established. Students have begun this year’s journey in pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty.

There will be times when the scholastic travelers will be full of energy and enthusiasm. God’s world is abounding with wonders and interesting things to discover! There will also be times when the travelers are weary and discouraged. What encouragement can we give our children—and ourselves—when the way is difficult?

Press on. A good athlete knows that sweat and sore muscles are part of growing in strength and skill. Encourage your child to persevere. By finishing those math problems or writing that essay (without AI), students are building their academic muscles and developing good habits that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Take a breath. After running a hard race, athletes needs to warm down, rehydrate, and rest. Your child will need those times of rest and refreshment throughout the school year. Spend time enjoying the outdoors, reading a book together just for fun, playing a board game, gathering for worship.

Eyes on the prize. The book of Hebrews reminds us that “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

As Jesus, in His journey to the cross, set His mind on the joy of faithfully completing His race, so we look to Jesus and find in Him our strength, our rest, and our reason for running.