One of the duties of being a Wuerffel Trophy recipient is returning each February to welcome the new winner to the family.
One of the true joys of being a Wuerffel Trophy recipient is coming back at other times to inspire the youth of Florida’s Emerald Coast.
Past winners Tim Hiller (2009 – Western Michigan) and Deterrian Shackelford (2013 – Ole Miss) did just that recently as they not only spoke to area athletes on August 4th, but were the facilitators of Okaloosa/Walton FCA Leadership at Camp Timpoochee.
“The Wuerffel Trophy stands for everything right and good in athletics today. It was an honor to share the award’s message of hard work and serving others with student-athletes from all over Northwest Florida,” said Tim Hiller.
“I believe each of us have been given unique gifts, talents and experiences in order to give them away for the benefit of others. That was the whole goal of today, to share our experiences in order to help these student-athletes see that their ultimate impact isn’t just from athletic achievement, but rather from serving others.
“Fellowship of Christian Athletes transformed my faith walk during my college years. It was energizing to see so many students fired up to live out their faith at school, at home, on their teams and in their communities,” he added.
Shackelford echoed the camp’s foundational scripture, (Philippians 1:27): Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.
3 components of a winning T.E.A.M.
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Character: The willingness to withstand hardships while persevering through adversity. The character of a man is not defined in one’s moments of happiness but rather in how we respond to life’s challenges.
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Humility– Wearing the crown of a servant. Jesus graciously humbled himself and died on the cross in order to serve those who did not deserve it. I often like to say that Jesus was God in servant form. We are to present ourselves daily as a servant for Christ. Servanthood is not thinking of ourselves less but thinking of others more. True humility is a key component within the body of Christ.
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Integrity– “Doing what is right, when nobody is watching.” It does us no good to do well only when others are paying attention. For God judges the heart and searches the internal being of man. I gave the example of “Touching the Line in Life.” Through sports, we all have witnessed a teammate or someone that we know that seeks to “not touch the line” when the coach is not looking. Integrity is running the first rep the same as the 20th rep with the same amount of integrity and accountability for those who are counting on you. It is with this same motto that we within the Body of Christ should act and present ourselves to others. “Touching the Line in Life.”
