Why Coaches Need Rest Days Too

Rest is one of those concepts we recognize as beneficial in athletics. Coaches structure off-seasons and incorporate timed rest in workouts and at incremental times throughout the season. However, rest is a performance-enhancing concept that seems only applicable to the athletes on the field and nowhere else, which can include our personal lives.

Sports culture thrives on the idea of going harder, pushing, breaking through your limits to keep going. We applaud it; therefore, it gets repeated and even expected, because, yes, such grit is necessary for competition. Consequently, the attitude of grinding until the wheels fall off becomes a cycle that cannot be escaped even when the competition is over and the stadium lights turn off. This is equally true for the coach. Coaches push hard, cutting into personal family and vacation time. Compromises are made to check out a new recruit or restructure the offense. For some coaches, there are no days off, and this can dangerously lead to burnout.

Jesus offers a better way. He shows us how to approach our sport or career with excellence and heart, yet not be so identified with it that it rules our life and decision-making. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says: 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

I know the words easy and light may not sound appealing to a coach in sports, but Jesus’ way is essential to your life, well-being, faith, and yes, your career. Coaches need rest because of the sheer demand of the job, and because God demands and modeled it.

From the little leagues to the majors, the role of coach is essential to every team and sport. It’s a highly valuable, demanding, skilled and visible role. Coaches carry a heavy burden, yet coaches are human. And like any other person, it is essential that coaches take time to care for themselves so they can better carry the burdens of life and career.

We’ve been gifted a relationship with God where He invites us to cast our burdens on Him and rest in His grace, love and provision. David writes in Psalm 23 that the Lord lies us down in green pastures, leads us beside the quiet waters and restores our souls. Just reading these words puts the mind at rest, don’t they? God allows us space and freedom to pause from the weariness of life. Sometimes it’s a physical break; sometimes it’s a break from an attitude and way of thinking.

Resting means we can choose not to be anxious and stressed in a worrisome situation. We can, instead, give God permission to work out the uncontrollables and trust Him to do so. In 1 Kings 19 the prophet Elijah was overwhelmed by his work to the point of depression. God met Elijah in that moment, though.

“Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, ‘Get up and eat.’ Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord returned for a second time and touched him. He said, ‘Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.’ So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.” -1 Kings 19:5b-8

God’s angel acknowledged the journey was too great for Elijah, gave him rest, and cared for and encouraged him. Do you give Jesus the burdens of your life and career? Can you lay at His feet in honesty and transparency and talk about how you’re really doing, allowing Him permission to take care of you?

Our connection to God is essential. He is the one who created the heavens and Earth, and in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). We must take time to rest so we can connect to our life source and maintain that intimate and personal relationship with Him.

Jesus modeled incorporating rest into our rhythms. Whether in the early morning hours or after a long day of ministering, part of Jesus’ rhythm was to go to a quiet place and connect with His Father. This time of connection is like a coaches Huddle, when we get affirmation, direction, instruction and strategy from one another and God’s Word.

When we can cast our cares on God and learn to truly trust Him, we put peace in God into practice and free our souls for what’s important. From our time of connection with the Lord, we can give deeper impact to our teams, our staff and other coaches in our network. Jesus’ way of living is light, and it’s offered to us as a gift. Take it today.

LIVE IT OUT

Theme Verse: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” - Romans 15:13

Quarter Verse: “Stop fighting, and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.” – Psalm 46:10

Question: Have you been experiencing burnout? How has it made you feel? What can you do to deeply rest in Jesus instead?

Challenge: Try getting up a little earlier or carving out time in the evening to read the Bible and hear from God.

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