Eagle Athletics

The following is a guest blog by Kirk Talley, Head Football Coach at Northwestern.  He and his wife Terri (who teaches in the Christian Ministries department) have two daughters, both are alums of Northwestern.

We desire our men to be passionate about the game of football and to have a vision of what it means to be the best they can be at their specific position.  As one looks at the photo below, they can see he is quite focused. 

During the game, our mission is to get the ball back in our possession when we are on defense, and control the ball—protect it, when on offense.  The game then, is all about the ball.  It really comes down to something that simple.  In order for us to accomplish our mission, we have to have a vision and a focus that allows us to play fundamental football each and every practice, scrimmage and game.  It is a process and one that is quite rewarding, not only on the game field, but more importantly, in the hearts and minds of our players.  We want to encourage our athletes to not only be focused on the game field, but in life as well.
Though we believe strongly in our mission, we believe there is an even more important aspect to our program... the heart.   We believe coaching the heart is important, in fact, it is so important we are called to do everything we can to protect our heart (Proverbs 4:23).  One of the greatest warriors that ever lived, King David, guarded his heart.  So much so he was called, by God, a man after God’s own heart!  We, with fervor and spirit, desire for each man to do the same, guard their heart.
And we want to do it together!

So, the best way to let you know who we are and who we want to be is to take a look at our acrostic… EAGLES. 

We believe our players are EQUIPPED to compete at a level which allows them to be the best that they can be….

AFFIRMATION is a huge aspect of this process.  Affirmation is one of the fuels we need to create the synergy needed to be our best. 

We also want to be GRATEFUL for the opportunity to play the great game
of football with each other. It is a privilege!

As coaches, we desire our men to be LOYAL to themselves, to the coaches and above all, the Lord. 

Finally, we want them to be full of ENERGY, whether on the field, flying around a football or as servant warriors, giving themselves away to someone else. 

We are one heart, we have one mission.

A Year In Review

The following is a guest blog by Mark Smith.  He and his wife Theresa are members of the Northwestern College Parent Council.

As I reflect back on my son’s (and our!) first year at NWC, it is amazing how fast it has gone. Like most first-year students, it was filled with some great times and some times of wondering if he will make it. J As the trials have come I am so happy that he has been in a place where people care. At the universities that my other two children have attended you have to work at finding people who care and really work at finding those with a Godly perspective.

My son has been challenged by the classes and is really taking the next step to becoming an adult. The friendships he has made have been awesome. We have had the privilege of hosting his NWC friends at our home where they used the hot tub and just hung out. We have watched these young adults have a great time and honor God at the same time. What more could we ask for as parents?

As mentioned, this first year has flown by and it make me feel so glad that what he is learning is going to have eternal lasting benefits. Soon I will be watching him graduate and I know that I will feel that the money we invested in him by sending him to NWC will be one of the greatest investments I have ever made. We were never promised life would be easy and it isn’t for these young people making the transition from parents telling them what to do to figuring things out for themselves – this is the transition to being adults. What a great spot to help them with this transition with a Christ-centered college!