Pastor Coach: Building Champions While Serving the Lord

By Ondra Waddy

At a time when today's society needs more positive role models for their student/athletes, Ondra Waddy sets a shining example. Through his passion for the game, an uncompromising faith, and a love for teaching, he galvanizes the next generation of athletes to maximize their God-given talents--on and off the court.

In Pastor Coach, he shares his remarkable life story of how Jesus Christ transformed his life at an early age, gave him purpose, and later called him into the ministry and the coaching profession. This book is about how one man's Christian faith, his devoted wife, and his life-changing calling intertwine to bring about God's winning game plan.

His incredible journey includes many wonderful testimonies, witnesses, and encounters with people whom God purposely placed in his path--many of whom were young players searching for direction and a sense of purpose. Through reading Pastor Coach, you will learn many effective strategies of servant-leadership, character building, and intentional mentorship while applying God's principles. Whether you are a coach, athletic director, educator, business leader, professor, pastor, or mentor, you will enjoy this work.

Nike, one of the largest sportswear manufacturing brands in the world, has a marketing slogan: "Just do it!" As you journey through this book, his prayer is that you will be compelled to accept your individual call, obey His Word, and "Just do it!" when it comes to God's will.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886169089

Book preview

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Pastor Coach

Building Champions While Serving the Lord

Ondra Waddy

ISBN 979-8-88616-907-2 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88616-908-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Ondra Waddy

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

The Life of Pastor Coach

A New Beginning

Your Gift Makes Room for You

Welcome Back, Waddy!

At the Helm

Going to the Next Level

A Higher Calling—Here Am I

God's Playbook: A Recipe for a State Championship Run!

The Best Is yet to Come!

Coaching Record

About the Author

To my beautiful wife, Patsy, who has provided inspiration, unending love, and incredible support along our journey together.

To my oldest son, Joshua; only daughter, Ashley; and youngest son, Isaiah—ya'll are the reasons why I aspire. Thank each of you for thriving in your God-given talents, and may your seed also flourish in His will for years to come!

Acknowledgments

First, I would like to thank my mother, Willa Waddy, and my father, Johnell Allen, who always made me feel incredibly special while they were here on earth. I still hear their voices and feel their kisses.

To my grandmother, Sarah Shepard Allen Lacy. Thank you for being my rock! I am what I am because of your spiritual influence in my life.

I would also like to thank my former pastor, Dr. J. V. Williams, for taking me under your wing, teaching and training me for this ministry, and equipping me to reach for blessings I never imagined.

To my cousin, Jarmen Keith Hawkins, who left an indelible mark in my life before crossing that river from earth to eternity.

Thanks to all my coaches who poured into my life from the time I started playing at the age of five until I couldn't play team sports any longer. You are the reason I chose this profession: to give back and pay it forward.

To my first-grade teacher Ms. Kathy Bruce. Thank you for setting the bar high as an educator and sowing into my life; I'm forever grateful.

And to every coach, colleague, co-laborer, and friend that served with me through the years; it was an honor and privilege. (Special shout-out to Coach Bubba Griggs; we miss you.)

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my incredible family—too many to name! I am so blessed to have had the parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and cousins who surround me with compassion, correction, instruction, and dedication. I am forever indebted to you all!

What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player. (John Wooden, legendary coach)

If you have achieved any level of success, then pour it into someone else. Success is not success without a successor. (Bishop T. D. Jakes)

The Life of Pastor Coach

I want to inspire coaches, athletic directors, educators, business leaders, professors, pastors, mentors, and anyone who aspires to impact the lives of our younger generations. This book will be about how one man's Christian faith, his devoted wife, and his life-changing calling intertwine to bring about God's game plan. This incredible journey includes many wonderful real-world experiences and encounters with people whom God purposely placed in my path—many of whom were young student athletes searching for direction and a sense of purpose.

I have been a public high school head basketball coach for twenty-one years in the state of Texas with four-hundred-plus wins, fourteen playoff appearances, three regional tournaments, and a state finalist in 2017. My wife, Patsy, is also a middle school educator with eighteen years of teaching experience. We have been married for twenty-eight years. Patsy was my high school sweetheart…and still is to this day!

For over ten years (2008–2018), I also served as a bi-vocational pastor at a local Missionary Baptist Church, while teaching algebra in the classroom, and coaching the varsity boys basketball team and boys'/girls' cross-country teams. As if that was not enough, I was a full-time husband and father of three very active children: Joshua, Ashley, and Isaiah.

During this busy time, I learned for myself—and not just words I heard from my devout Christian grandmother—that no matter what, God is not going to put more on you than you can bear. While some believed my plate was full, I discovered how His grace was sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

Through reading Pastor Coach, you will see many effective strategies of servant-leadership, building strong relationships, and intentional mentorships while keeping God first. Ultimately, We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10 KJV). Nike, one of the largest sportswear manufacturing brands in the world, has a marketing slogan: Just Do It. As you journey through this book, my prayer is that you will be challenged to accept your individual call; obey His Word; follow His way; and when it comes to His will, Just Do It!

Chapter 1

A New Beginning

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It was a Tuesday night in my hometown of Freeport, Texas, when my life changed forever. I was twenty-one years old, and I was home from college for the summer of 1993. I decided to do something that I hardly ever did since I graduated from high school: I got into my Chevy S-10 truck and drove to church for midweek prayer service and Bible study. This was the same church I grew up and was baptized at. My grandmother served at this church for as long as I could remember and even so did generations of our family before her.

What made me do this? Up until that point, I was a Sunday Christian only. I had tried to maintain attending church on Sunday mornings while I was away from home at college. Though I must say, it was difficult at times, especially when my Saturday nights turned into early Sunday mornings—you catch my drift.

But things were about to change. In fact, they were already changing. God was working on me and encouraging me to get off the fence during the semester leading into this summer. I could remember often being unable to get a good night's sleep because of my guilt and shame. As a result, I began to seek the Lord in a way that I never had before. I needed Him. I was far away from home in the Texas Hill Country, a place that was culturally foreign to me. Trying to make the adjustment from being a high school basketball star athlete to being a collegiate role player was not easy either. And on top of all that, my girlfriend became pregnant. Immediately, I knew I was lost, did not know what to do, nor did I know who to turn to.

So I got out of my truck, went into the church, sat down at the table in the fellowship hall, and noticed that I may have been the only twenty-year-old in the prayer meeting. The crowd was different from the congregation on Sunday mornings. The small group of about twenty consisted of ministers, deacons, missionaries, and a few adult lay members. My pastor came out and opened the service with an invocation. Several people prayed and sang hymns. Then our pastor delivered an inspiring interactive Bible study lesson where the members asked questions, and the pastor proceeded to break down the Word of God for us even more. It was amazing and so fulfilling!

When one is seeking the Lord and the Lord is seeking you at the same time, incredible things begin to happen. The Bible says, "Taste and see that the Lord is