The Titans

Failing Forward

Late last year we tried to pilot our first rendition of Treign Up Titans - a new sports approach to help churches create a team of kids from their congregation and integrate them into local leagues. There were a lot of benefits to this approach that we liked which we felt would help to bring churches to the forefront of an industry that they continued to compete with for time and attention. We believed there was a way for churches to use sports to increase the impact that they were having on families and for deeper relationships to be built among and between the families participating. There was also the opportunity to use sports to train in truth. So, a ton of pros to this model.

So, we went and tried it with a local church and….

It did not go well.

What was cool is that the church was able to quickly pull together multiple teams. There was a lot of interest in this from them. We even got a lot of interest from our league partners. But, this is where we got stuck. After initial calls and a general “yes, let’s do this”. This is where it all went downhill. The first league I called after a great initial conversation in September of 2022, never got back to me after a few phone calls, texts, and emails. Another league partner said they had to get approval from their board and we still have not heard back from them. Then, the one we decided to pilot with completely ghosted us after agreeing to a partnership for an entire month leading up to the start of the season, leaving us with no information to tell all the parents that signed up.

What a mess!

But that is what happens. You learn and adapt.

From this last iteration, we learned if we are going to do this, we were going to have to do it underneath our umbrella. And so that is what we’re going to do. The demand and need is there. Last week we pushed out a survey to about 120 parents in our area to ask them about their youth sports experience. We had a surprising 40 people respond (which is a great response rate) with over 80% of them saying that they really wanted to integrate their faith into sports.

The Incubator

In the marketplace today, just about every single sports league says they are focused on helping to build character. And, from our experience, 90% of them do a good job. I grew up in local leagues, and our kids have done local leagues. They’re well-organized and do a great job of creating a community where the kids can play, learn about the sport, and have fun. However, it is my opinion that it is not really possible to improve one’s character outside of the Christian worldview. Just building character for character’s sake is not what we’re on this Earth to do. And that is a really important point to be made.

It’s also critical to see how powerful sports can be, especially for boys, It is the perfect incubator for so many things because it has the secret sauce needed for any learning: Engagement, Attention, and Necessity.

What a waste to not use this space for the discipleship of boys.

And that is the problem, most of these leagues do not allow you to openly discuss the most important thing in this world: Jesus.

It is also the PERFECT place to help with affirming our boys into manhood. We’ve talked a lot about rites of passages before and how our culture has swept that idea under the rug. But, sports has most of the components already in place for it to be the new place. James Hollis describes 6 parts of a rites of passage experience for boys that existed between almost all cultures throughout history:

1. Separation.

2. Symbolic death.

3. Impartation of wisdom.

4. Trial.

5. Recognition by community of men.

6. Rebirth? Return to serve.

I think about Remember The Titans when the team starts the season for two-a-days and all pack into a bus and head out to another location where they become separated from their local community and family with 5-10 other men who are committed to the development of those boys. Throughout camp, there is an importation of wisdom from the men to the boys. There is a trial. Something hard that the whole team experiences together, and unfortunately, something that not everyone is always able to complete. But for those that do, in the end, the community of men recognizes and congratulates their boys for their endurance and toughness and from the integrations of their learnings into their very being of which they’re now able to return to the community to serve and give back.

And this is a vital part that our culture is missing. In the name of inclusion, it’s also lost the importance of protecting a space where males can do this with only males. We plan to ensure that this is the case and that we use sports as a way to re-integrate the rite of passage in a unique way back into our communities.

With that said, here is an overview of a new Titans model which will have camps and AAU leagues starting in 2024.

The Titans

Our mission is to use sports to train boys to be courageous holy spirit-filled men and unleash who advance God’s kingdom on earth.

Our Declarations

Our identity lies solely in Jesus, not our sport.

Our sport is the training ground to influence the world for the sake of the Gospel.

Our power to fulfill this mission comes from The Holy Spirit as we continually seek to experience His presence

We are men who have been called to a leadership that is marked by courage, humility, and self-sacrifice.

We are men who prioritize our relationship with Jesus, our wife, and our kids over any other call.

We will not accept mediocrity in any aspect of life, including our sport.

“But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” - Hebrews 10:39

What Separates The Titans?

We use sports to train and unleash boys' God-given identity

Our primary objective is to use sports to establish and unleash each player's God-given identity. We see it all of the time in youth sports (myself included). Players and parents get so wrapped up in the sport that the sport becomes our identity. Unfortunately, when this happens, we can lose sight of the bigger picture at play. Whether a player has a long and successful sports career or not, our playing days will come to a close. We aim to teach beyond the field. We believe that each kid is a child of God. We believe they have unique gifts that are necessary to be unleashed in order to partner with God's work here on earth. Sports are the greatest training ground we know for young boys to fulfill this mission.

We use sports to train boys in truth

We believe that the enemy's primary function is deception and that he is doing everything in his power to hold us back from the will that God has for our lives. We plan to use sports to teach the truth of who Jesus is, the power that he's given us in the holy spirit, and what it means to be a man. We believe the leadership God has called men to is a leadership that is marked by courage, humility, and self sacrifice.

We use sports to connect families and develop lifelong friendships

Youth development should not come at the expense of the family. A child succeeding in their sport should not come at the expense of the spiritual health of the family, the marriage, or the father's relationship with their son. Conversely, we want to use sports to build a tribe of fathers who love, encourage, and model for their sons what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus, a great husband, and a great dad. This tribe will also serve our boys by integrating other mentors into their lives. Our schedule will not require long nights away from family. Our goal is to bring the family together. We believe we can accomplish in 2 nights per week what others may need 5 for. This requires efficient practice plans, great communication, and attention to detail by every player, parent, and coach. We want to create an environment that catalyzes deeper relationships within families and between families. Our desire is for boys to have a tight-knit group to lean on, to give encouragement, to pray for each other, and to push each other to become the man God has called them to be.

We provide a high-level competitive sports environment that maximizes athletic development

We are not just a feel-good story with good ideals. Our goal is to compete. Whatever we do, we should do excellently. This is a necessity for the success of our program. Although winning is not the primary objective, we believe it will be a natural byproduct of the culture we establish. Our training will be in line with first-principles of motor learning and skill development which will incorporate all high-performance models and science in sports psychology, motor learning, kinesiology, leadership, and much more. Expect your son to go through a transformational experience in body, mind, and spirit.

2024

Our plan is to have our first Titans experience to be a 3-day basketball camp at the end of December 2023.

AAU Basketball team will be in the spring of 2024.

Football camp in the summer of 2024.

AAU Football in the fall of 2024.

During these experiences, you will visibly see your sons doing the following:

• Learning about the Bible

• Praying over one another

• Learning identifying, and practicing the gifts of the holy spirit

• Writing letters to their mother with their fathers

• Having fathers praying and prophesying over their boys

• Being affirmed in front of their teams by their fathers

• Integrating their beliefs into how they play the game

Please reach out if you are in the Richmond area and are interested to learn more!

We believe that God has more in store for our boys and that he will use them in mighty ways for his glory!

Train. Discipline. Encourage.