Examine Your Heart Without Losing Your Joy

Every coach knows the value of the film room. It’s where you see the missed assignments, the lazy transitions, and the technical errors that the heat of the game obscured. Without film study, a team stops growing. But there is a spiritual version of film study that many coaches find either terrifying or exhausting: self-examination.

However, a coach who never examines their heart is a coach who will eventually develop a limp and lose their ability to run. To lead your players spiritually, you must learn how to examine your soul, confess your sin, and then, forget yourself!

Here is a four-step game plan for spiritual self-examination from Hubbard’s excellent article that I’ve adapted to speak more acutely to coaches.

• Schedule the Film Session

In coaching, if it isn’t on the calendar, it doesn’t happen. The same is true for your soul. Hubbard suggests that self-examination becomes a “cloud of condemnation” when we do it constantly and vaguely. We walk around with a heavy sense of not being good enough without ever identifying why.

The Play: Don’t spend all day looking inward. Instead, set a specific time, perhaps 20 minutes once a week, to sit before God. By scheduling it, you free yourself to be “self-forgetful” and fully present during practice and games, and more importantly at home with your family and friends, knowing you have a dedicated time to deal with your heart later.

• Use the Right Playbook

You wouldn’t grade a player’s performance based on a feeling; you grade them based on the right and known expectations. Similarly, don’t examine your heart based on your intuitions.

The Play: Use Scripture as your mirror. Ask God to search your heart (Psa 139:23). Hubbard suggests focusing on specific callings or concerns.

• Callings: How am I doing as a Christian coach? A husband/wife? A dad/mom? A leader?
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• Concerns: Why did I get so angry at that official on Tuesday or that parent on Thursday? Why did I feel a pang of envy when my rival got that recognition? Let the Bible define what is misassigned in your heart.

• Cut the Tape and Repent

The point of film study is to identify the error so it can be fixed. In spiritual life, this looks like confession and repentance regarding our sin. When you recognize a certain way you have been drifting—perhaps you’ve made your identity about your winning percentage, or you’ve been harsh with a player to feed your own ego—don't hide it!

The Play: Acknowledge it clearly. Pray something like this: “Lord, I have been seeking my glory more than yours. Please forgive me for that and help me be a better steward of these souls you’ve placed in front of me.” Confession isn’t about groveling; it’s about honesty. John 1:9 says this, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Because of Christ’s work on the cross, you can admit your sin without fear of being cut from God’s team.

• Get Back on the Field:

The biggest mistake a coach can make is staying in the film room forever. If you stay there, you’ll be too paralyzed to coach the next game. Hubbard writes, “The end of self-examination is not self-consciousness, but Christ-consciousness.” The goal is to see our sin so we can see our need for a Savior. Once you have confessed, you must move into thanksgiving.

The Play: Receive the “win” of God's forgiveness. Then, forget about yourself. Stop wondering if you’re doing enough and go love your players, staff, family, and friends. Go walk in confidence knowing that in Christ, “We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph 1:7).

The Bottom Line

Self-examination is a tool, not a prison. When done correctly, it clears the sins and obstacles of pride, envy, and anger that choke our growth. So, coach, take the time to look inward this week. Identify the sin, lay it at the feet of Jesus, and then get back on the field with a heart that is light, forgiven, and ready to lead.