Character Development
On November 30, 2012, UCLA (#16) met Stanford (#8) in the Pac-12 conference title game. It was an important game to say the least. The score seesawed back and forth between the two rivals. At the end of the first quarter, UCLA led Stanford 14 to 7. At the end of the second quarter, Stanford led UCLA 17 to 14. At the end of the third quarter, UCLA regained the lead. It was now 24 to 17. In the fourth quarter, Stanford once
again overtook UCLA. The score was now 27 to 24 in favor of Stanford.
With 34 seconds left to play, UCLA had the ball and an opportunity to kick a field goal, sending the game into overtime. UCLA’s field goal kicker, Ka’imi Fairbairn, was called upon to kick a 52-yard field goal from the left hash mark in the rain. It fell short and wide, meaning Stanford won the Pac-12 conference championship game 27 to 24.
Instead of allowing Fairbairn to focus on that failure, UCLA coach Jim Mora had Fairbairn repeat the kick again … and again… and again. During spring practice, fall training camp, and the early part of the 2013 season, the team ended almost every practice with that kick. Two weeks before the UCLA Bruins played Stanford Cardinal again, Fairbairn no longer ended the practice with a 52 yard field goal attempt; it ended with a 55 yard attempt. Coach Mora said, “It is a way to move past that kick and on to
the next one. It’s my way of telling him, ‘You got it.’”
I would imagine that Fairbairn did not look forward to the end of practice, knowing that he would have to try that field goal again. I can imagine the dread he must have felt, but that is not what happened. He did it so much it became second nature and he even liked doing it! Fairbairn said, “Every kick is the same kick, whether it’s a 50 yarder or a point after the touchdown.” He said the 52 yard ritual became his “favorite spot.”
Fairbairn explained, “Coach has put me in a number of different spots, but we always end up there. I’ve done it so many times, I don’t even think about it anymore.” That is exactly what the coach intended. He said he did not want that 52 yard failure to be a “defining kick.”
Is that not what spiritual growth is like? The Coach does not want us to focus on failure. He wants us to practice spiritual virtues by His grace until they become second nature … until we do them without thinking about it … until they become a part of our character… until we get to the point we enjoy them. In order to accomplish that, He places us in “different spots” on the playing field of life.
Patience is an example. Most of us struggle with that. We need to determine to become a patient person and depend on the grace of God to do it (Hebrews 4:16). It may take hundreds or thousands of attempts, but eventually we do it without thinking about it; it becomes a part of our character.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 12/10/2013
again overtook UCLA. The score was now 27 to 24 in favor of Stanford.
With 34 seconds left to play, UCLA had the ball and an opportunity to kick a field goal, sending the game into overtime. UCLA’s field goal kicker, Ka’imi Fairbairn, was called upon to kick a 52-yard field goal from the left hash mark in the rain. It fell short and wide, meaning Stanford won the Pac-12 conference championship game 27 to 24.
Instead of allowing Fairbairn to focus on that failure, UCLA coach Jim Mora had Fairbairn repeat the kick again … and again… and again. During spring practice, fall training camp, and the early part of the 2013 season, the team ended almost every practice with that kick. Two weeks before the UCLA Bruins played Stanford Cardinal again, Fairbairn no longer ended the practice with a 52 yard field goal attempt; it ended with a 55 yard attempt. Coach Mora said, “It is a way to move past that kick and on to
the next one. It’s my way of telling him, ‘You got it.’”
I would imagine that Fairbairn did not look forward to the end of practice, knowing that he would have to try that field goal again. I can imagine the dread he must have felt, but that is not what happened. He did it so much it became second nature and he even liked doing it! Fairbairn said, “Every kick is the same kick, whether it’s a 50 yarder or a point after the touchdown.” He said the 52 yard ritual became his “favorite spot.”
Fairbairn explained, “Coach has put me in a number of different spots, but we always end up there. I’ve done it so many times, I don’t even think about it anymore.” That is exactly what the coach intended. He said he did not want that 52 yard failure to be a “defining kick.”
Is that not what spiritual growth is like? The Coach does not want us to focus on failure. He wants us to practice spiritual virtues by His grace until they become second nature … until we do them without thinking about it … until they become a part of our character… until we get to the point we enjoy them. In order to accomplish that, He places us in “different spots” on the playing field of life.
Patience is an example. Most of us struggle with that. We need to determine to become a patient person and depend on the grace of God to do it (Hebrews 4:16). It may take hundreds or thousands of attempts, but eventually we do it without thinking about it; it becomes a part of our character.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 12/10/2013