When You Strip and Protect …

A few weeks ago, prior to a football game, I heard this statement from the head coach while talking to players about the possible rain showers and how they should play if the showers came. The words stood out to me:

If the rain comes, strip and protect.

~Terry Bowden, Akron Head Coach

He said this was how they’d win. I don’t know the outcome of the game but this statement made me think and thinking usually equals a blog post at some point when it’s thoughts I think those thoughts could be of encouragement to others.

Strip = to get the ball from the other team

Protect = to keep the ball from the other team.

Strip it away as the offense; protect it as defense. When the offense has the ball and is running down the field in the wet, muddy atmosphere, Akron players needed to strip their opponents of the ball and then protect that same ball while running it down the field to the necessary end zone for a touchdown. Should there be any tackle, protect that ball from getting intercepted. This is what I understood him to be saying.

Can we get a little deep? Can we take this out of just the context of football?

In life, we have gifts we’ve been given. We have talents and skills, abilities and things we are good at that maybe others aren’t. Sometimes we let others take advantage of us and run with our talents and abilities. We need to stop doing that. And when we notice someone is, we need to strip them of that abuse and protect it as we move forward.

I also think of relationships and how people so often try to interfere with our relationships with others. Instead of allowing folks to get inside your relationships, you need to strip them of that right, and then protect your relationship going forward. There is no reason the world needs to be involved in your relationships with others. Stop allowing everyone’s opinion to dictate how you live.

As I moved about my week, I started seeing opportunities for me to strip others from something that was mine and protect it as I walked away. I was able to take back land so-to-say that was mine all along. I was able to regain my confidence in some areas where I had given it up because of feedback from others or situations that had happened.

Tonight isn’t about making a profound statement to you but more an effort to get you thinking: What have you given up to others and allowed others to take from you? What have you let go of that you never should have allowed to walk away? Strip and protect. Thanks Coach Bowden!

 

Until next time,

~Shell