2012 Dodgeball Champions

I am proud of our champions! I am excited that the other team finished 8th out of the 10 competing. Elmira has had a long history of being less than stellar at dodgeball. This group of kids worked well together, showed discipline, listened well, and had a ton of fun. Many good conversations were had on the bus and throughout the season. I pray for each one of these students!

Below is the Championship Elmira squad. Below that all the kids that showed up from across the county for dodgeball. And finally below that the championship sponsor the Farm Store (where the trophy will be displayed for the next couple weeks.) Thanks to the Farm Store for you support of Elmira Campus Life and the dodgeball team, also thanks to all the parents who made that gym rock and stayed engaged the whole season, and Stacy Cornelius for cupcakes!

Dodgeball 2012

What an interesting season! 2 kids suspended by parents due to grades, 2 kids flaked out, one girl has her foot in a cast, another broke his arm two weeks ago, and one student was sick for 3 weeks. Luckily I found a couple replacement girls and for the first time Elmira fielded a full squad of 8 on the dodgeball court. The result 4-0 on the day. The other dodgeball team has their best result going 2-2. While the records aren't important from a ministry perspective they are from a moral perspective.
Last year Elmira had only one team and didn't win a single game. Sure they won a match here and there but never the whole game. This year @ 9-7 and 5-11 the two teams are doing well and moral is good. Every now and again a kid from the team that is 5-11 will say I stacked the better team. I try and explain if that were true they wouldn't have 5 wins.
Besides building relationships, which team sports do very well, I get to talk to students about their motivation. Why are you playing dodgeball? To have fun? You have a friend who plays it Your competitive and want to win? You love the sound of a dodgeball hitting another in the face? The reasons vary but the overarching theme is if you aren't motivated correctly how can you even think about success? Where does the best motivation come from? Then the conversation continues.

CHECK FACEBOOK FOR VIDEOS.

Duck Game vs WSU

I had the privilege to take four of my students to the duck game vs Washington State. It was fun and a good bonding time with two freshman and two sophomores. The two sophomores Stacey and Ashley (sitting next to me picture right) are Beaver fans. I was hoping to convert them to duckonianism and I believe that would make Jerry happy. I had a good conversation with Stacey on the drive home about the heart of God. The three girls attend (or loosely do) some church. My goal is to get these students into relationship, or deeper relationship, with Jesus Christ. I never force anything on them, just discuss and support them regaurdless of their decisions. Unlike as a duck fan, For Jesus I am not in the conversion business. I am in the relationship business and Jesus decides what areas of life are in need of revision. I simple guide and encourage with the leading of the Holy Spirit. On the Jesus end I think these students are experiencing Christ love and moving slowly closer to Him. On the Duck conversion thing....their still beaver fans :)

Dodgeball Season

Dodgeball is officially underway! I guess finals week, after a week with 1 and a half days of school (due to weather closures) effects teenagers focus. The two Elmira teams were a combined 1-7 this last week. I had one team of 5 with 4 students studying for finals. The other team barely listened to their coach. Going to ride them a bit harder at practice so they can learn a bit more abut the value of discipline. Can't find a better teacher for discipleship than first instilling discipline into the students. One team has athletes on it and the other does not, and it is interesting to see how the demeanor of both teams is different. Dennis Coaches Elmira 1 and I coach Elmira 2. Dennis' team got me this week, but this week I intend to beat mercilessly on his team.....In LOVE!

The BULL

My Student Leader for the Middle School All Nighter Xavier having a crack at the Bull!
More video's available at Facebook.com/elmiracampuslife

I have been a bad poster

New baby go figure! Though we have had a lot of events. Dodgeball starts for the first week of finals week. Club begins tonight! We had the middle school all nighter as the pic below indicates. I took 34 FRMS students. Also minute to win it will return to the cafeteria on Wednesdays. Hopefully I will insert more information soon! Mechanical bull was a huge attraction until we burned out the motor...hopefully someone can help Todd out and get that thing back up and running. Despite the setback to his Bull, Todd brought the message to each of the groups as they came through.

Pray for me I have a bit of a cold!

Numbers

Busy Month! Baby should be here soon, and that adds to the business. Two club stories to bring up. We did an event called bigger and better.This is where we drive students around in small groups 4-8, and barter with people in the various neighborhoods of the community. I gave each group a spinning top, worth 5cents, and they then must trade that for something bigger and better than the top. With each item traded the students proceed to another house and repeat the process. It teaches the kids a thing or two about value, the giving nature of human beings, and how to approach strangers. It is funny to watched the mixed groups, of guys and girls, as the guys figure out pretty quickly that the girls usually have a higher success rate when they are the ones doing the talking. Needless to say the group that returns with the biggest and best item is the winner.

The group I had ended up winning. What did all the trading produce? My group ended up with an old cell phone and a classic bicycle (worth well over a hundred dollars). Other groups produced a small flat of Gatorade, two video games, a inflatable queen mattress, and a book (this group got stuck with three trades that were all hats). I had each group pick another group besides themselves that they believed to be the winner. Imagine my shock when my group as winner had the opportunity to pick their prize and initially picked the Gatorade. Is your item really the biggest and best? They relented and took the bike.

The event proved to be some problem as we had enough car space for about 22 students which means of course 26 show up. Which means we do some delicate "recalculations" of vehicle seating capacity. This ofcourse makes it all the more amusing when your kids get a bike. "How are we going to get this back Skyeler?" My simple reply, Figure it out. The ride back to the highschool was interesting. This was a good bonding time for my volunteer staff and myself with the students.

Last weeks club I expected numbers to be down with football continuing (falcons in quarterfinals in State football) and basketball starting. 26 students showed up to club. I will upload pictures of this club in another post. The problem I need prayer for is volunteers. As numbers pick up the relational ministry of Jesus Christ through campus life becomes strained. We get too many students to keep up with. I love numbers and would rather have this problem than no students, but want to serve them the best we can. They get the gospel presented to them, but in order to discuss it with an adult or student leader there needs to be enough to go around.

Dodgeball is about to begin, and we had our first practice/tryout Tuesday. I may have 2-3 teams worth of students. I look forward to this opportunity to build relationships with these students through coaching.