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This is a space for coaches, trainers, and leaders who love the game — but don’t want the game to cost them their family, their integrity, or their soul.
Here, we talk about leadership, pressure, culture, identity, and the quiet tensions no one prepares you for when you step into coaching.
This isn’t about chasing wins at all costs.
It’s about restoring what the game was meant to form in us — and in the players we lead.
This podcast is presented by the Beloved Coaches Collective, a community committed to coaching from identity, not insecurity.
I’m Coach Sanders.
Let’s redeem the game — one coach at a time.
Speaker: Welcome back everybody to
the redeeming of the Game podcast.
I'm your host, coach Matt Sanders.
Grateful you're here today.
We are on the heels of the one
of the best podcast episodes
of the season, and that is.
With my guys, que and Zev shout out quiz.
And Zev, thank you so much
for being on the podcast.
Thank you for sharing your heart about
what this game has done, uh, in your
life, and how God has worked in and
through the game, uh, to change your
life and, and to make you a better man.
And also thank you for being so, uh,
transparent about the transformation
that happened through, uh, our entire.
Seasons together and how much we,
uh, really, uh, united and became
family with the game that God created.
And he is used the game to
make you the man you are today.
So thank you for that.
Que and zb.
This episode today is the start
of a five part series centered
around one thing identity.
Uh, you know, our identity is
wrapped in most of the time up.
Uh, a license or a, um,
a passport, a picture.
It, it actually says who you are, but
the truth is though, what's on the
inside of us actually says who we are.
And so today we're gonna
talk about our identity.
And episode one, the title for today
is The Identity Before Performance.
Identity Before Performance,
because before you ever coached.
The game or a game before you
ever won or lost a game, God
already spoke something over you.
God already, uh, moved you in your heart
to something even greater than that.
Most coaches don't struggle, and I know
for me don't struggle, uh, because they,
uh, don't know enough about the game
or they don't love the game enough.
They struggle because of what
they believe about themselves.
Hear that Most of us struggle with
what we believe about ourselves.
We, we tie our identity to things like
our record, we tie it to, um, our program.
We tie it to our reputation,
what people say about us.
That is what we actually wrap our
identity and what we struggle with.
So if we are honest, and if I'm
being honest with you, this is a
factor in our coaching lives that
truly is a point of demarcation.
It's a line of demarcation,
and let's be honest about it.
When we win, we actually feel valuable.
When we lose, we feel like we're exposed.
Man, what a word.
I want you to hear that when you win,
and I can say this for me, when I win
games or won games or won championships,
I feel like everyone values me.
But when you lose, it's almost
like you fall off the radar
and people dunno who you are.
I, I'll give you a great example.
Uh, I was, I was just paying
attention on one of the social media.
Uh, platforms.
Uh, a coach just won, uh, their first
national championship and, and this coach
was somebody that the, that the algorithm
would bring up every once in a while.
Well, now that this person
and this coach won a national
championship, they're everywhere.
They're all, their quotes are everywhere.
They're, they're, um, their,
their postgame, their pregame.
They're talking about how,
how they did practice.
Two seconds here, two 10 minutes
there, and I can imagine.
What that does to that coach, the value
that that brings to that coach's life.
And what I want to say is that is
a fleeting, and before long no one
will remember kind of identity.
Not kind of, it is a, a place
of identity, but when we lose,
it feels like no one is there.
And we feel like, um.
I feel like everyone can see, uh, like
the backside of a, of a, um, uh, and the
outfit you wear in the hospital, right?
The gown you wear in the hospital.
It feels like everybody can see
the, the, the parts of you that
you don't want them to see.
That's not coaching, that's not it.
That that's not what Dr.
Na Smith.
Created the game four.
In fact, that was something
he was really worried about.
He, he even said that I'm worried that
coaches would value winning more than
winning men or women for the master Jesus.
That the, the character of the person
would become of lesser value than
the, the, uh, the wins and the losses.
That's what he was worried about.
And here we are, we're,
we're definitely doing that.
That's identity attached to performance.
Or the scoreboard, right?
The what?
The, the W's and the L's.
The 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Where you got, what's
your, what's your record?
We did this, the, that year
we did this, that year.
All the, all the numbers that the,
the, the counting that everybody does.
And guess what?
Hand raise, it's exhausting.
It, it's, it, it's never ending.
It feels like you never,
ever, ever land on it.
You feel like you, you, you just,
you don't ever have a grasp on
it and you're always hunting it.
It's never enough.
So let's, let's take a breath here
and let, let's talk about a, a core
truth and let's talk about what Jesus
said before Jesus ever did a miracle.
Before he ever preached a sermon,
God said this, Luke 3 22, you are my
beloved son with you or whom I am Well
pleased, beloved, before performance.
Think about that.
God said this about the, the,
the, the incarnate God in Jesus.
He said, this is my son and whom I'm
well pleased, you are my beloved son.
He is saying that over you too.
And the same truth is extended to
you and me in second Corinthians 5
21, so that in him, we might become
the righteousness of God in him.
In who?
Jesus.
You're not working your
way into that identity.
You have been given it by
what Jesus did, his sacrifice.
You have been made righteous before God.
That's why I say this to you all the time
on this podcast, by believing in the, the,
the, uh, son of God, Jesus Christ, his
re, his, his crucifixion and resurrection.
You inherit the free gift of righteous,
which makes you redeemed and you
have been given a whole new life.
You, you've been made a new creation.
So what does that mean for us as coaches?
It, it, it, it shifts the
way you do everything.
Uh, again, shout out PGC, how you do
anything is how you do everything.
And truthfully, like if, if we're
being honest about this, the, the, the
core value of who we are as coaches is
always and has been for decades now,
wrapped in something that's fleeting.
But what this game was designed for.
Was character development inside
the person of Jesus Christ.
These kids need you to believe
in who Jesus says you are.
You're beloved and righteous and
redeemed before you're ever just
the coach who coaches the game.
You're beloved.
You're, you're righteous.
All the things that you are,
you, you count against yourself.
Jesus says, I, I, I have removed them
as far as the east from the west.
I, I remember, don't, don't
hold onto those things.
So I think it's really important
that we, we talk about.
This a lot, this, this piece of identity.
And I, I wanna say something here.
The Lord has really been dealing
with me about this word identity.
Uh, our beloved ident ident
identity, our being loved identity.
I know I've said it a ton, and we, we
can, we can, uh, we can attach it to.
Uh, so many things we can attach it
to, um, the, the way that we look.
We can attach it to the way that
we coach on the sideline, what
we wear, what, how we speak.
But when you are a new created
being in Christ, not only has
he given you a new identity.
In fact, it says that he has given
you a new pathway to be human.
This is a com not, not, not just
an identity, but a way of life.
You know when, when the early p,
early church followers of what Jesus
did, they, when they started their
churches, they called themselves
people of the way, and Jesus said,
I'm the way, the truth and the life.
No one can come to the Father.
But through me.
And what that means is like this
new way of living, this new creation
life that you have on the inside of
you is a new way to do everything.
And most importantly, this gift
you've given been given to Coach.
It gives you a new way of doing it.
You do it differently.
And I'm telling you, you
heard those guys say it.
If you've not seen that
podcast last week, go watch it.
The thing that changed about for
me mostly was I became peaceful.
A man of peace and Jesus
was the man of peace.
That's what they called him.
And so early in my career, I
didn't know this, uh, I thought
I had to prove I had to belong.
I was trying to prove to everybody
and their mother's uncle that I was
a great coach, prove I could lead,
prove I could prove I was going to be
good enough, and I was good enough.
And it showed up in every single
thing I did, how I coached.
How I corrected my players, how
I handled those, uh, losses.
Um, it showed up and all because
it's pressurizing, right?
When, when your, when your total
personal identification is wrapped in
let's, let's go, uh, 15 to 22 year olds
and how they actually play the game.
And what they actually do on the
scoreboard, it will wreck you in
so many ways, especially if your
identification of the, your personhood
is wrapped in what the outcome is.
So then it affects everything
affects how you coach.
It affects how you correct it.
It affects how you handle wins.
Even how you losses.
You always coach, and I know I did.
You always coach from pressure.
You, you never stop feeling the pressure.
It never goes away.
And so did my players.
They felt it, they always felt it.
I was a ticking to
bomb, waiting to go off.
You know, you, you're outta place
in one position in practice.
I'm coming for your neck.
I did this all the time.
All the time.
And so I, I want to say to you as we,
as we begin to land the plane here,
that this is a, uh, a, a renewed
identification, but more importantly,
a new way to coach and live life the
way, and Jesus Christ in his life is
the perfect example of how to be human.
Crazy, right?
But he was the incarnate God.
He was God in a human body.
Why else wouldn't we follow that
and why else would we not use
that as our pathway to coach?
Right?
Why would we not?
So when my identity isn't secure,
you start asking the game.
I know I did to give you something.
It was never meant to give you, right?
It it, it's so fleeting.
I, I've shared this before we win
our first state championship, I
think we won 22 some odd games.
We won the state championship
game, I think by 2020 to 25 points.
I don't even remember that.
That tells you a lot.
I want you to think about that.
I get in the van to drive home and I start
to cry because the, the feeling was empty.
It was fleeting.
It lasted, I got water dumped on me.
We're jumping around.
We're gonna get rings.
Yee-haw and what for what?
So I can go do it again.
Yes, so you can do it again.
But when you go to do it again, if you
are rooted and founded in who You, who God
says you are as a child, a beloved child
who's righteous and redeemed, when you go
to do it again, your purpose is the kids.
That's the whole goal of this is to
through your life, God would work through
your life to affect them for the kingdom.
Thy kingdom come and thou will be
done on this earth as it is in heaven.
So.
Let's land the plane.
What if you didn't have to prove anything
in this coming basketball season?
And I know we're, we're, you know, there.
Maybe there's some a a u, you're coaching.
What if you coached from a place
of you have already been accepted?
There's nothing to perform for that you
get to coach in Perfect peace and freedom.
That itself changes what?
It changes your tone.
It changes your patience,
it changes your leadership.
It changes literally
how you do everything.
Because again, how you do
anything is how you do everything
and the anything part of you.
If it is following the way.
This, this shifts the whole narrative.
It, it changes the way that
you live in everything.
You don't coach for approval from
anybody because you've been accepted.
And when someone does give you
approval, what do you do with it?
Thank you.
I received that.
I, I am, I am operating in my calling
as a coach and my purpose as a,
as a child of God, set out to tell
the whole world through the game of
basketball that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And he redeemed this game.
You coach from your beloved,
righteous and redeemed identity,
and that's when everything shifts.
Everything else after that will
follow the peace, the wisdom, the
leadership, the understanding in the
games, in practice with your kids on
the bus, everything about you shifts.
This also requires one thing as
I, as I close the door on this,
you must receive
in your heart through with out of
your mouth that Jesus Christ came.
He died on a cross.
He was rejected, resurrected, went
into the heavenly realm, sent the Holy
Spirit, and the Holy Spirit comes inside
you and teaches you about who Jesus is.
That's what this requires, and if you
don't know that and you haven't done
that, I'm gonna stop right now and say,
Matt, mattSanders@redeemingthegame.com.
Email me, let's talk.
Hit me up.
I would love to talk to you.
I would love to tell you about the
more about this man Jesus who changed
my life in the way that I see the game
Championships are no championships.
And for me, this is where everything
changed and it began to change
because your identity is now secure.
Your, your personhood, the way
that you are lived, the way
that your humanity changes.
You stop using the game
to build yourself up.
But you use the game.
You work through the game.
God works through you to the game to build
the kids up and you start to follow and
a, and allow God to send you through it.
He's working through it.
The scripture says, both the willing
and the doing of his good pleasure.
Shout out my dad.
That's one of my dad's favorite verses,
but it's not always that easy, right?
It's, it, it sounds simple and I know
I'm presenting it simple, but it is
in its purest form and acceptance,
a belief, and then a, uh, a walking,
you, you, you gotta walk with Jesus.
You need somebody to walk with.
That's what I'm here for.
I would love to walk it, walk through
you, walk with it through you.
So here we go.
If this has, if this has spoken to you,
I know it's even speaking to me right
now, if this has landed in your heart
where you're, you know, I don't have to
prove anything and God has changed me,
and this is what the Lord says about
me, and I am a righteous, beloved,
and redeemed child of the king, and I
love the coach and he laid this in my
heart and I know that is my calling.
Then what I want you to do is I want
you to download the 10 things that
I wish I knew as a young head coach.
This is a great starting point.
It'll be in the show notes.
It's a PDF file.
It's free, and then I, I'm telling
you, I really just email me.
I would love to talk to you.
matt@redeemingthegame.com.
I will hit you back.
Let's have a conversation.
Uh, if you're not following on YouTube,
uh, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook,
I want you to go follow all the stuff
that, that, that we're putting out
there, because I believe with all my
heart that what God is teaching us
through this game and how he wants
to redeem it is so accessible and
more accessible than ever before.
So, redeeming the game on all the
platforms, I want you to go there if
you love what you're hearing on here.
Definitely I need you to like and
subscribe and most importantly,
post repost and share it everywhere
because remember what we're doing.
This is not a checklist.
This isn't a check off the button.
I won this, this, and this,
or I lost this and this.
So I can find my identity in Christ.
This is or find my identity game.
This is a way of living as a
coach that is better for you
and even better for the kids.
As you recognize that you're, you're
a beloved child of the king, and
you are an incredible basketball
coach who's been gifted with it.
And I wanna say this more importantly
and maybe the, the, the core value
of, uh, redeeming the game, Dr.
Na Smith created a game that was
for the kids to get outta the cold.
Yes.
For to, to give them another PE activity.
Yes.
But Dr.
Naysmith didn't just happen
to be a Methodist minister.
God worked in him to create a game
that would win men and women for
the master Jesus through the gym.
And when we grasp, behold that and
we redeem this game back to that,
all these kids who are starving for
what God says that they are, will
come to fruition through the game.
As we always say, we are here to
redeem this game, one player, one
coach, and one family at a time.
Hope this blesses you.
Redeem
in the.