Close

How to Know God

Do you ever wonder what Christians believe? Who Jesus is, what he did and why it matters? Get answers to these questions and more.

Spiritual Growth

Take the next step in your faith journey with resources on prayer, devotionals and other tools for personal and spiritual growth.

Life & Relationships

Explore resources to help you live out your life and relationships in a way that honors God.

Bible Studies

Find resources for personal or group Bible study.

Share the Gospel

Learn to develop your skills, desire and ability to join others on their spiritual journeys and take them closer to Jesus.

Help Others Grow

Help others in their faith journey through discipleship and mentoring.

Leadership Training

Develop your leadership skills and learn how to launch a ministry wherever you are.

Video

Browse videos designed to help you grow spiritually, share your faith, and lead others well.

Language Resources

View our top Cru resources in more than 20 languages.

Quizzes & Assessments

Have some fun taking various quizzes and assessments to learn about yourself and others.

Campus

Helping students know Jesus, grow in their faith and go to the world to tell others.

City

Reflecting Jesus together for the good of the city.

Inner City

Partnering with urban churches to meet physical and spiritual needs.

Athletes

Striving to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport and in every nation.

Families

Equipping families with practical approaches to parenting and marriage.

High School

Reaching students and faculty in middle and high school.

Military

Bringing hope and resources to military families worldwide.

Locate Cru Near You

Explore Cru's global presence and discover how you can get involved in communities worldwide.

Events

Whether you're interested in conferences or local gatherings, there's an opportunity for you. Explore upcoming events and find your place to serve and grow.

Mission Trips

Explore domestic and global mission trips with Cru—serve, grow, and make an eternal impact. Opportunities for students, families, and professionals.

Internships

Explore Cru's internship opportunities—serve globally or locally, develop your skills, and make an eternal impact. Apply today!

Careers

Explore full- and part-time ministry careers with Cru—use your skills to impact eternity. Apply today!

Volunteer

Explore volunteer opportunities with Cru and use your skills to impact lives for eternity.

International

Explore global mission opportunities with Cru—serve, grow, and make an eternal impact.

What We Do

How we seek to journey together with everyone towards a relationship with Jesus.

Donor Relations

Answers to questions on donations, financial policies, Cru’s annual report and more.

Our Leadership

Learn about Cru's global leadership team.

Cru Partnerships

When the global church comes together then powerful things can happen.

Storylines

Showing God in action in and through His people.

Press

Access Cru's latest news releases, media contacts, and background information on our global ministries and leadership.

0

When the Seniors Don't Lead Your Team

They are the ones who create the culture for the team. They determine how the players will interact with their coaches. They model how the athletes will conduct themselves in and out of practices. They handle conflict and correct attitude issues. They are the ones younger players trust, look up to and turn to for instruction. They set the team’s direction for the season.

They are the seniors.

But what happens when the seniors don’t embrace their assumed responsibilities? Who leads the team then?

Clemson forward Jaron Blossomgame was forced to wrestle with these questions last season as a redshirt sophomore. As his teammates looked to the oldest players in the locker room for leadership, they didn’t find it and were forced to look elsewhere for direction, ending the season with frustration and a barely winning record.

“I felt like it wasn’t my place”

“Guys looked up to me and this one other guy; we were both underclassmen,” Jaron remembers. “I kind of felt like it wasn’t my place to set up to lead, you know, be that guy, the leader, because we had two seniors and I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes. Unfortunately, the confusion faced by the Clemson Tigers is not uncommon in collegiate basketball.

“Guys are just afraid to lead,” says Athletes in Action staff member, Luke Simons. “They don’t know how. They don’t know what leadership actually is, and they don’t want to stand out.”

Luke’s own experiences as a player and coach, as well as conversations with collegiate coaches, lead him to conclude that many of these young men are hesitant to step up into leadership because of a fear of disapproval from teammates and a fear of failure.

“One of the most graceless places”

“A men’s Division I locker room is probably one of the most graceless places,” he says. “If you’re going to stand out and call yourself a leader and you make any mistake at all, those guys just take that as license to say, ‘Look, I never have to listen to you again.’ Guys know that, and they’re just so afraid to step up.”

After many discussions with other AIA staff members about how to address this need felt by so many coaches and players nationwide, the solution became clear – present an opportunity for student athletes to learn about real leadership, from a biblical perspective.

Simons, along with a team of others, began to research and develop a leadership curriculum. They put together a program and created resources designed to empower collegiate basketball players to lead their teams with confidence and integrity.

In May, Jaron, his teammate Donte Grantham and 15 other Division I athletes arrived in Xenia, Ohio, in an effort to bridge that leadership gap as part of the first-ever Athletes in Action Captains’ Camp.

The event began with a “broad view” look at leadership – what leadership is and why it matters. Speakers like CBS Sports’ Clark Kellogg, Aaron Craft of the Santa Cruz Warriors, and Fairmont State assistant coach Joe Mazzulla shared about quality leadership from their experiences both in and out of the collegiate basketball locker room.

Clemson player Donte Grantham (left) and Murray State player Jeffery Moss (right) after experiencing the AIA Challenge Course. Photo courtesy Athletes in Action.

“The things I wish I had known”

“Captains’ Camp was a great opportunity for me to share the things that I’ve learned throughout my years – places that I’ve fallen short and things that I wish I had done better,” says Aaron Craft. “I can pass on to these guys the things that I wish that I had known when I was in college.”

The content then turned from theory to real life application as the players were asked to share examples of conflict or everyday issues that their teams encountered, and work together to discover better ways to handle the situations.

The speakers were there to provide insight about how they would handle the players’ situations and to share leadership experiences from their own locker rooms. The players also swapped ideas and stories with each other, laying the foundation for relationships that will continue throughout this upcoming season as many of the attendees face each other in competition.

“The great thing about it was meeting new guys [and] knowing their experience with their teams, so we could get their opinions and try to address it with our team,” says Donte.

“I learned a lot about trust this weekend”

The goal is that the lessons learned in Xenia and the friendships built between captains will impact these players and their programs into the future.

“I learned a lot about trust this weekend,” says Alec Peters of Valparaiso. “It was amazing, coming together with a group of guys I’d never met before, and then in four days creating a friendship and creating a bond.”

Jaron points out that same experience of encountering fast, deep friendship.

“We didn’t want to leave at the end. We had so much fun bonding together and everything was really beneficial for us,” he says. “We saw the meaning in everything, the point of doing all of the activities. It was really good, really creative, a good brotherhood among the players and the teachers there. Some of the guys still communicate with each other on a daily basis.”

Simons says plans to make captains’ leadership training available to many more collegiate athletes have already been set in motion.

“The content works for any sport”

“This template, the presenters and some of the context would change, but the content works for any sport,” he says. “Hopefully in the process, we’ll have the opportunity to help them grow, or maybe even help them come to know Jesus.”

For now, Jaron and Donte’s hopes are for this next basketball season and the role they hope to play in their locker room.

“A lot of guys look up to [Donte and me] and we’re going to go into the season with the mindset of, ‘We are the leaders, and guys are going to look at us differently than with everybody else, so we have to put on a good representation of being a leader so these other guys will follow along behind us,’” Jaron explains. “We’ve got a lot of young freshmen coming in, and we’ll just set a good example for those guys.”

Players were encouraged to remember that, even more than age and experience, attitude and a desire to serve the team are the necessary requirements for a leader.

“I think I’ll lead differently by speaking up,” says Jaron. “I won’t feel like just because I’m not the oldest guy I can’t say something. This year, I can be that guy to step up and say something, [to have] the courage to say something at a team meeting, or if somebody’s been messing around on and off the court, be able to confront them in a way that won’t ruin the relationship.”

Learn how to have a personal relationship with God, like Luke.

Since 1951, Cru has helped individuals who grapple with integrating faith into daily life by offering practical steps and community support. As a result, countless people in over 190 countries have been empowered to move from passive belief to active faith.