The Focus on Training

by Adam Kronberger / Superintendent

The past month I have been coaching the Crosshill Christian School girl’s middle school basketball team. It has been a very fun and rewarding experience. My only regret is that I wish there were more practice time – there is so much to cover! As skills are introduced or reinforced, it is a coach’s responsibility to continue to remind and reteach the correct technique. I often find myself fulfilling this coaching duty with a large degree of passion and sometimes increased volume. I have made a deliberate effort to remind the girls how much I love them, the purpose of my words of correction, and the larger importance of life itself. In fact, this very process of learning the game of basketball is necessary for growth in one’s mental, emotional, and spiritual maturity.

As I walk the hallways and classrooms of CCS each day, I observe this process occurring on a regular basis. Teachers work hard to train students effectively. We want to not merely respond to misbehavior, and not just attempt to simply manage each situation.  But rather we choose to consider the purpose of the leadership we provide to students.  Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. True disciples possess a degree of maturity that eventually is not dependent on external controls. When one of my basketball girls travels while pivoting, I insert my encouraging instruction to not only bring to her attention the infraction, but to train her to perform it correctly in the future. As a basketball coach, my desire is to develop a mature basketball player that will consistently pivot in competition without traveling.

When our students demonstrative behavior that is inconsistent with being a disciple of Jesus Christ, we must insert ourselves into the situation. Correction is certainly necessary, but more important is training the student for future success. We read in Hebrews 12:11 “No discipline [or correction] seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

As correction is provided, the process can be painful for both the deliverer and the recipient. So much so that there is a temptation to tone down the correction so much as to deem it ineffective. The result of watered-down correction is the absence of righteousness and peace in the lives of our students. A soft heart that pursues both righteousness and peace are components of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Each one of us can consider moments in our own lives where correction was present, either through natural consequences or the direct intervention of a leader in our lives. But we don’t focus on the pain, but on the fruit. When a pair of my basketball girls executes a screen-and-roll perfectly on the court this week, I will not be thinking of the multiple moments of painful correction, but rather will focus on their success. As parents, may we keep the purpose of training in focus, and demonstrate courage and consistency with our children. Both in our homes, and on the basketball court! 

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– Adam Kronberger / Superintendent