WILLIE PILE
Every team in the CFL is staffed with an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and a special teams coordinator. These coaches are the men we go to for guidance regarding schemes, techniques and any tips to help us perform more efficiently on game days. They typically have years of experience coaching at various levels and are adept at teaching athletes to perform at a consistently high rate.
In addition, every team in the CFL is staffed with a different type of coordinator that is not on the official payroll, yet not only can have an impact on game days, but more importantly, every day of our lives. That person is known as the team Chaplain.
Through Athletes in Action, an organization founded in 1966 by David Hannah, a man who desired to build on society’s great love of sports and utilize the platform given to the athletes to reach the world for Jesus Christ, the eight CFL team Chaplains serve as life/spiritual coordinators. Similar to the credentials of the three coordinators mentioned earlier, the team Chaplain typically has years of experience providing life and spiritual guidance at various levels and are adept at developing relationships.
The Chaplain’s duties include organizing weekly Bible studies for the team, conducting pre-game chapel services for both the home and visiting teams, and sometimes hosting a meal at their home for the families of the players.
However, more than anything, the team Chaplain provides an unbiased ear to listen to whatever is going on in our lives and a subsequent boost to the morale/spirit of the guys who choose to spend time with him. Team Chaplains are a valuable resource who repeatedly emphasizes the fact that we are blessed to play this sport and regardless of wins or losses, it’s how we play the game and how we give a thank you performance each week that defines us in God’s eyes.
Although the 2009 CFL season has not started the way we at the Toronto Argonauts envisioned, the theme of “Keeping the Faith” continues to pop into my mind. In the Bible, faith is defined as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It’s obvious that we are hoping for victories and a run at the playoffs here in the last third of the season. Moreover, we know that we’ll need to perform our jobs to the highest ability that we’ve been blessed with, in addition to keeping the faith because we know that once a team gets into the playoffs, anything can happen.
This Saturday afternoon presents the first opportunity to get on track. With a home game versus the league-leading Montreal Alouettes, many people outside of our organization will contend that we’ll need a miracle and prayer to beat them. However, in our league, it’s how we prepare during the week and play on game day that will determine our success on the field, not previous games and records.
As long as we “Keep the Faith” in each other, we have the opportunity to be as good as we want to be. With the help of our team Chaplains, keeping the faith is a task that has become a little bit easier.
The CFL and its players are extremely fortunate to have Chaplains Tom Paul of the Montreal Alouettes, Steve Kearns of the Hamilton Ticats, Dave Hudson of the Toronto Argonauts, Lorne Korol of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Barret Kropf of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Rodd Sawatzky of the Calgary Stampeders, Brent Kassian of the Edmonton Eskimos, and Dave Klassen of the B.C. Lions; and we thank you for all of your guidance and wisdom that helps us become not only great football players on the field, but great men off the field as well.