SCORE at the NCCAA National Tournament

   

Had a great week at the NCCAA National Tournament in Springfield, MO. Saturday morning before the final games we did a  free basketball clinic for the area kids. Had a great turn out and a better time. Josh Delph, a sharp shooting guard from Ohio Chrisitan University, shared his moving testimony with the kids. He explained how he overcame a VERY difficult background by using basketball as way to stay out of trouble and a way to get out of his house. He talked about how the church next door had a basket that he would play on as a way to escape. Later after he asked Christ to come into his life, he went back to checkout the goal at the church. It was no longer there. He praised God for allowing that goal to be in his life at that point when he needed something to help him out of his tough situation. He praised God for taking the place of that goal  and though the goal was longer there, God is always there.

I thought about 1 Corinthians 10:13.... "But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so you may be able to endure it"..... God always provides the way out. The choice is ours to take it.

                                                         

                               

2 Sport Star Talks About SCORE .............. Got to see this... click link below

Jacque Carroll Signs with West Virginia Tech

Jeremy Lin Testimony

Amazing how God can use the ordinary to do extraordinary things. Kurt Warner... Tim Tebow... Jeremy Lin. Yet, Jeremy was doing his part. He was working on his game in preparation for his moment. He was growing in his relationship with God so he was prepared to handle his unique moment. We all have a unique platform. Will we be found ready when our moment presents itself. I pray I will.

"A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing." Proverbs 20:4

SCORE International Coaches Clinic

SCORE International partnered with Istrouma Baptist Church and ML Woodruff of the Istrouma Sports Organazation to provide a free coaches clinic in Baton Rouge, LA. Our clinics are designed to encourage coaches to use their platform as coach to better motivate, instruct, and connect with their student athletes. We want to encourage and equip coaches to be more intentional in teaching the biblical life lessons found in sports. Our prayer is that they would focus more on IMPACTING a life, than just coaching a game.

The SCORE staff provided 3 hours of instruction on Friday night and 3 hours on Saturday morning. Former University of Kentucky baseball coach, Keith Madison, spoke on Competition and Christianity. He challenged the coaches in attendance not to shrink from the platform they have as a coach. To understand the impact they have and to choose their words and actions carefully. That as Christians, we are called to compete harder and with a better attitude than other athletes. He also called on them to pray for "wisdom" as we are called to do in James 1:5. SCORE founder Ron Bishop encouraged the coaches to understand that none of us are necessarily "qualified" to serve. That all through the Bible, God chose people that the world would not consider to be equipped to serve. The challenge for us is that although we struggle we must continue to strive, that we may fail but we can never quit, and we will fall but we must get up. He finished by charging the coaches to understand that true success comes when we can identify our role and understand that God has gifted everyone with their own unique skills, talents, and abilities. Executive Director for SCORE, John Zeller, tackled the difficult task of dealing with officials. He encouraged the coaches to give the officials the proper respect due them as authority figures. Although we may not agree with every call they make, how we deal with them is a reflection of our spiritual "wellness" and that our athletes are watching how we handle each situation.

A special thanks to ML Woodruff for promoting this exciting event. Without his hard work and getting the word out in the community this event would not have been a success.

If you are interested in hosting one of our coaches clinics in your area please contact me at:
dconrady @scoreinternational.org

IMPACT 2011

Thank you for your prayers, your participation in trips, and your financial support throughout our first year of ministry. Your participation allowed us the opportunity to share the "word" of Christ and the "love" of Christ with people in the United States and overseas. It was truly a blessing to serve with the many different athletes, coaches, and parents that traveled with us, but the greatest blessing was to be able to serve with Becky (my wife), Faith Ann (my daughter), and Andrew( my son). I pray that you will enjoy the short video and take some delight in knowing that none of this would have been possible without you. We say "THANK YOU"!

SCORE Hosts Clinic in Antigua

SCORE International partnered with Mid Continent University to provide a basketball and soccer clinic in Antigua. The clinics were done in conjunction with the Antigua/Haiti World Cup Qualifier match. Over 600 athletes participated in the event which culminated with a city wide rally in the soccer stadium. Local club coaches as well as former World Cup coach Hannibal Najjar worked along side coaches from the U.S. to provide sport specific skill instruction. During the training sessions coaches took the opportunity to teach life skills learned through sport as well as sharing what having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ meant to them in their daily lives. Following the skill instruction the coaches joined the athletes in the stadium. Ron Bishop, the founder of SCORE International, shared his experiences as a athlete and a coach. He told the crowd of how difficult it is to make a team. The sacrifice, commitment, and self discipline required by an athlete in order to have a chance to be selected was great. Then once you make the team, how difficult it was to get into the game. He contrasted that with what it takes to make God's team. That making God's team was simple. It was a gift. All they had to do was accept the gift...... to accept Jesus Christ. God truly blessed the message as hundreds made decisions to join the "winning" team, God's team. We were able to encourage them to go and be an impact player in the game of life. Food and t-shirts were given to the athletes and coaches that participated and SCORE donated over 100 basketballs and soccer balls to the local teams.

SCORE International hosts Liga Teresa Duran

Teresa Duran and David Conrady after win at Bryan College

SCORE International was blessed to host a team of women basketball players from the Dominican Republic. The team was comprised of ladies from all over the country, several of which play on the "National Team" and ranging in age from 17-45. They came to Chattanooga to play some of the area colleges and have a chance to experience the "Scenic City". The team was led by the most decorated female athlete in the history of Dominican Republic athletics; Teresa Duran. Teresa played on the National Team for 23 years. She played her first game at the age of 15. She has been a part of three World Championships and six Central America Championships. She has been Dominican Athlete of the Year 19 times and was voted Player of the Century in 2000. Duran scored 61 points against Puerto Rico and was the top scorer in 25 international tournaments. Today, she is a great ambassador for women’s sports all over the world and is a member of the Dominican Republic National Sports Ministry.

"This is the first time SCORE has hosted a team in the United States. We are very excited to have played a part in bringing this exceptional team to our area and for them to have the opportunity to experience our culture first hand" said the founder of SCORE International Ron Bishop. "For over 27 years SCORE has taken teams overseas. One of the exciting things about this group is the fact that they have all played against our teams while we were down playing in their country. So they know who we are (SCORE International) and what we are about".
National Basketball Director David Conrady said the goal of this trip was twofold. "Obviously we wanted to give these ladies the chance to experience the game in our country as well as our culture, but our main purpose was to show them the Gospel "lived out". Through playing against our teams in the Dominican they have had the opportunity to "hear" the life changing message of Jesus Christ. We really wanted them to "see" what that looked like on a daily basis. One of my favorite quotes says to share the Gospel each day and when necessary use words. They have heard the "words" of Christ; we wanted to show the "love" of Christ".

The team played 6 games going 4-2 against Bryan College, Covenant College, Chattanooga State, Motlow State, Truet McConnell and Tennessee Temple. When not playing or practicing the ladies had the chance to experience some of the best Chattanooga has to offer. With Gene Fitzgerald as the trip leader, they visited the Tennessee Aquariums, the IMAX Theater and Rock City, they watched practice at UTC and Lee University, they took in the UTC vs. Furman football game, they watched the Lady Mocs and Mocs exhibition basketball games, they attended Chapel service at Chattanooga Christian School and Temple University, they visited New City Fellowship Church and White Oak Baptist on Sunday, and they shopped. On November 2, each team member was recognized by Hamilton County in a special ceremony during the County Commissioners meeting.

Each day we provided the team with a devotion speaker. Each speaker was able to speak Spanish. "It was important for us to get people in front of them who could communicate directly to them, without the use of an interpreter" explained Conrady. SCORE was able to provide each team member with their own copy of the New Testament in Spanish. Gene Fitzgerald commenting on the trip said “I don't see how it could have gone any better. God really did a work in the hearts of these exceptional ladies. When I gave them the New Testaments there wasn't a dry eye in the room".

This trip would not have been possible without the support of Tennessee Temple who provide rooms for the ladies, New City who provided the vans for transportation and White Oak Baptist who provided the use of their bus, the Coca-Cola bottling company for providing assistance with drinks and tickets to area attractions, several area restaurants who provided discounts to meals, and Gene Fitzgerald for his tireless work putting this trip together.