Devotional Playbook makes sure all WC athletes are playing for an audience of one.

Before the 2024 fall season, Director of Spiritual Formation Jake Ferrier challenged the school’s coaching staff.

Standing on The Hogue basketball court, Ferrier pointed to the school’s five state championship banners from the boys’ basketball team (1999), the boys’ golf team (2017), and the boys’ soccer team (2006, 2009, and 2011) and said, “It would be a shame if we put up more banners in these rafters but had our students leave here without being a disciple of Jesus.”

Ferrier and Worthington Christian Athletic Director Tony Earp created “The Devotional Playbook,” a manual designed to guide Warriors teams in striving for spiritual and athletic success.

“Jake did a tremendous job putting this resource together for our student-athletes, coaches, and families,” said Earp, who oversees the 21 varsity sports programs at the school. “Having a common playbook for the spiritual growth of all our teams and supporting our coaches in their efforts to disciple our kids is an incredible step forward for our programs.

“As sports teams and athletes, we often focus on our growth and ability to compete at a high level. This emphasizes the importance of each athlete’s walk with Christ, the relationship’s growth, and its impact on all areas of their lives.”

Over 77 percent of the Worthington Christian student body participates in at least one sport at the Upper School. Ferrier, the junior varsity coach and an assistant varsity coach for the boys’ basketball team, and Earp discussed the possibility of producing a manual even before Ferrier was named to his current position.

“Tony said this is priority 1A for my job,” Ferrier said with a laugh. “I’ve been so grateful for him and his leadership. It is so great to work in tandem with somebody you’re like-minded with.”

Ferrier drew inspiration for the book from a wide variety of sources, including Cru, Athletes In Action, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The manual is divided into four sections, labeled the first, second, third, and fourth quarters.

The first quarter centers on an athlete’s identity in Christ and how it is more important than success in his or her given sport. It teaches team members that their identity is “not based on your performance in your sport,” Ferrier said. “Instead, it’s God who identifies you and you are to play for an audience of one.”

The second quarter then focuses on godly characteristics that an individual athlete should display, such as integrity and compassion.

The third quarter emphasizes the collective godly characteristics teams should try to emulate. “It talks about communally living out our faith as a team,” Ferrier said. “It encourages teams to honor teammates and bear one another’s burdens.”

 Finally, the fourth quarter dispenses activities of discipleship and service opportunities that coaches could intersperse throughout the season.

“We list various one-on-one topics coaches could have with their players to check how they’re doing,” Ferrier said. “I know the girls’ teams often do team affirmations to celebrate what God is doing in teammates’ lives.”

“The playbook …  is great,” Worthington Christian girls soccer coach Luke Fields (WC ‘97) said. “It walks through systematically the Warrior Athlete’s core attributes.”  

As a basketball player at Canfield High School, Ferrier saw the influence a coach can have on a person’s life, both positively and negatively.

Not all “bad coaches” are volatile, chair-throwing versions of former Indiana University men’s basketball coach Bobby Knight. Ferrier recalls one of his first-year coaches being so non-confrontational that it became a major roadblock.

“I felt like he was afraid to lead us,” he said. “He was very tentative, very passive. He could never look us in the eyes when we had a complicated conversation.

“As a coach now, I make sure I am upfront with my players, but I also look them in the eyes because I love and care for them.”

The flip side of that was Ferrier’s experience with the school’s junior varsity basketball coach, Bob Tinkey, who became like “a father figure” to him.

“You just knew he cared for you, far beyond your contributions on the court,” he said. “He cared about how we did in classes and how our families were doing.

“My dad (Brock Ferrier) died of cancer when I was 18 and just out of high school. Tinkey and his wife were among the first people in line at my dad’s calling hours. I will never forget his holistic commitment to me as a person rather than just a player. I want to ensure we don’t overlook that here at Worthington Christian.”