Redeeming The Game

Different Stories One Redeemer

Matt Sanders — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:12:00 -0500

How God Used Basketball to Shape Two Lives

What happens when two athletes from completely different backgrounds find themselves on the same team—and discover that God has been writing a much bigger story all along?

In this episode of Redeeming the Game, I’m joined by two former players whose journeys could not have started more differently. One grew up in Alaska. The other in Missouri. They came from different families, experienced different cultures, walked through different hardships, and celebrated different victories. Yet God brought them together through basketball and used the game to shape their lives in ways they never expected.

Together, we look back on the championships, the cultural adjustments, the adversity, the unforgettable moments, and the personal struggles that helped form them into the women they are today. We talk honestly about faith, identity, healing, relationships, and how the pressures of competition revealed the deeper work God was doing beneath the surface.

This isn’t just a conversation about winning championships.

It’s about discovering that our greatest identity is never found in a jersey, a trophy, or a stat sheet.

It’s found in being beloved sons and daughters who have been made righteous through Jesus Christ.

Whether you’re a coach, athlete, parent, or mentor, this episode is a reminder that basketball can develop talent—but only Jesus can redeem a life.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How two women from completely different backgrounds found common ground through Christ.
The challenges of navigating new cultures, expectations, and adversity during their college careers.
How God used basketball to expose, refine, and strengthen their faith.
Why championships were memorable—but character and identity became the lasting victories.
Lessons they’re carrying into marriage, family, and the next season of life.
Encouragement for every athlete who feels pressure to perform and every coach who wants to lead with purpose.

No matter where your story begins, God’s grace is greater than your past, your pain, or your performance.

Because while our stories may all be different…

We all need the same Redeemer.

Free Resource:

If today’s conversation encouraged you, download my free guide, “The 10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Head Coach.” Inside, I share ten lessons that transformed the way I lead, build culture, and coach from beloved identity instead of performance. The download link is available here: www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

Thank you for listening to Redeeming the Game. My prayer is that every coach, player, and family would discover the freedom of competing from beloved righteousness—not for approval, but from the unshakable identity we have in Christ.

matt@redeemingthegame.com

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Raising Competitors Without Losing the Child

Matt Sanders — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:17:36 -0500

Raising Competitors Without Losing the Child

How do we raise children who compete with excellence without believing their worth is determined by their performance?

In this special episode of Redeeming the Game, I sit down with my two brothers and my sister for an honest conversation about growing up as athletes and now raising athletes of our own.

Together, we reflect on what our parents modeled, the challenges facing today’s youth sports culture, and the responsibility parents and coaches have to develop the child before the competitor.

We discuss the pressures of travel sports, comparison, playing time, social media, success, and failure—and why our greatest responsibility is not simply raising successful athletes, but sons and daughters who know they are deeply loved by God and made righteous through Jesus Christ.

Whether you’re a coach, parent, grandparent, or mentor, this conversation will encourage you to shift your focus from performance to identity and from temporary success to eternal significance.

Because one day the games will end.

The trophies will collect dust.

The recruiting calls will stop.

But what our children believe about themselves—and about God—will shape the rest of their lives.

In this episode you’ll discover:

How to raise competitors without sacrificing the heart of your child.
Why beloved righteousness must come before athletic performance.
Practical ways to respond to wins, losses, pressure, and comparison.
What today’s athletes need most from the adults who lead them.
Why winning the child will always matter more than winning the game.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

Are you Coaching or Being Sent?

Matt Sanders — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 20:28:00 -0500

What if your gym is more than a workplace?
What if it’s a mission field?

In this episode, we talk about calling, purpose, and what it means to be sent through the game of basketball.

This conversation challenges coaches to see their influence differently—not just as instructors of the game, but as leaders entrusted with lives, relationships, and transformation.

Because basketball may be the platform…
but people are always the purpose.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.
I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”
No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.
If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.
👇 Free download linked below 👇
www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

https://subsplash.com/u/-9XZ3X7/give?frequency=once&next_process_date=08/11/2025&fund_id=58054b9c-b5ff-4d59-bc26-24ad56c3193e

Pressure, Surrender, and Trust

Matt Sanders — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 08:28:00 -0500

Pressure, Surrender, and Trust
Every coach feels pressure.
Pressure to win.
Pressure to perform.
Pressure to carry everything.
But what if we were never meant to lead from anxiety and control?
In this episode of Redeeming the Game, we talk honestly about burnout, surrender, trust, and learning how to coach from peace instead of panic.
Because leadership becomes lighter when we stop trying to carry outcomes we were never meant to control.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

Coaching is Transformational

Matt Sanders — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:28:00 -0500

What if coaching was never just about basketball?
In this episode, we explore the deeper responsibility of coaching—not simply developing players, but helping shape people.
We talk about discipleship, relationships, influence, and why some of the most meaningful moments in coaching happen far away from the scoreboard.
This episode is a reminder that players are more than performers, and that great coaching is rooted in connection, presence, and intentional leadership.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com
https://subsplash.com/u/-9XZ3X7/give?frequency=once&next_process_date=08/11/2025&fund_id=58054b9c-b5ff-4d59-bc26-24ad56c3193e

What My Parents Got Right

Matt Sanders — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 16:44:00 -0500

What My Parents Got Right | The Foundation That Mattered More Than Sports
Before there were wins and losses, championships and coaching, there were two people laying a foundation.
In this deeply personal episode of the Redeeming the Game Podcast, Coach Matt Sanders sits down with his parents to reflect on the values, lessons, and priorities that shaped his life long before basketball ever became a significant part of the story.
Together, they explore what it meant to raise children with purpose, the importance of character over achievement, and why the greatest gift parents can give isn’t athletic success it’s a foundation of love, faith, identity, and belonging.
This conversation isn’t really about sports. It’s about what matters underneath sports. The things that sustain us when the games are over, the trophies collect dust, and life gets difficult.
Whether you’re a parent, coach, athlete, or mentor, this episode serves as a reminder that our greatest influence often comes from the daily investments nobody sees.
Because in the end, the goal was never simply to raise athletes.
It was to raise people.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

When Players Become Coaches

Matt Sanders — Sun, 31 May 2026 20:28:00 -0500

What happens when former players grow into leaders of their own programs?
In this special episode of the Redeeming the Game Podcast, Coach Matt Sanders sits down with two former players who are now head coaches: Coach Zak Kirkman and Coach Philip Parker. One leads a women’s basketball program, the other a men’s program, but both are navigating the same calling—to lead people before they lead teams.
Together, they reflect on the journey from player to coach, the lessons they carried from their playing days, and how their faith continues to shape their leadership. The conversation explores the tension between winning and development, the responsibility of building culture, and what it means to leave a legacy that extends far beyond the scoreboard.
You’ll hear honest stories about growth, mistakes, mentorship, and the moments that revealed coaching is about much more than basketball. Most importantly, this episode challenges coaches to consider whether they are merely building successful teams or helping transform the lives of the people entrusted to them.
If you’ve ever wondered what former players remember most, how coaching philosophies are formed, or how faith influences leadership in today’s game, this conversation is for you.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

Can Basketball Share the Gospel?

Matt Sanders — Sun, 24 May 2026 18:38:35 -0500

In this episode of Redeeming the Game, Coach Matt Sanders ,and Coach Phillip Morrison, “The Basketball Missionary” — answers a powerful question asked by a coach: “Can basketball share the Gospel?”
The answer takes us all the way back to the origins of the game itself. Dr. James Naismith didn’t just create basketball to keep athletes busy during the winter. His vision was far deeper: “to win men for the Master through the gym.” Basketball was born with discipleship, purpose, and transformation in mind.
Coach Phil unpacks how the court can become more than competition it can become a place where identity is restored, relationships are built, and the love of Christ is lived out in real time. From locker rooms to practices to hard conversations with players, this episode challenges coaches to see the game as ministry, not just strategy.
If you’ve ever wondered whether sports can truly impact eternity, this conversation will remind you that basketball has always had the potential to point people to something greater.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

https://www.skool.com/jesus/about?ref=c8a5b341f1164e9c99092c6ac2d95da8

When you Question: Am I doing enough?

Matt Sanders — Tue, 19 May 2026 08:28:00 -0500

In this powerful conversation, Coach Sanders is joined by fellow basketball missionary Coach Phillip Morrison to unpack one of the deepest identity battles coaches, leaders, and people face every day living from the “I am nots” instead of the truth of what Father God says about us.
Drawing from the teachings of theologian and teacher Baxter Kruger, this episode explores how so many coaches silently wrestle with thoughts like:
“I’m not enough.”
“I’m not doing enough.”
“I’m not worthy.”
“I’ll never measure up.”
But the Father’s voice tells a different story.
Through a beloved identity and righteousness lens, we discuss what it means to live as sons and daughters — fully loved, fully accepted, and enough because of the finished work and sacrifice of Jesus. This episode is an invitation for coaches, leaders, parents, and athletes to stop striving for approval and begin leading from belovedness instead of performance.
If you’ve ever questioned your worth, your calling, or whether you’re doing enough, this conversation will remind you that your identity was never meant to be built on wins, productivity, or validation from people, but on the unchanging love of the Father.
You are not what fear says.
You are not what performance says.
You are who the Father says you are.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

Righteousness over Reputation

Matt Sanders — Sun, 10 May 2026 17:12:00 -0500

So many coaches spend their lives trying to prove themselves to parents, administrators, other coaches, and even themselves.
But what happens when your identity is built on reputation instead of righteousness?
In this episode of Redeeming the Game, we talk about the exhausting pressure of performance-based leadership and the freedom that comes when you realize you are already accepted by God.
This conversation is about leading from security instead of striving,and how beloved identity changes the way we coach, correct, and live.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

More the Wins: The Legacy of a Transformational AD/Coach

Matt Sanders — Sun, 03 May 2026 16:44:00 -0500

More Than Wins: The Legacy of a Transformational AD
What does it really mean to win in athletics?
For 25 years, today’s guest served as an athletic director, leading coaches, building programs, and impacting countless athletes across basketball, baseball, and football. But her greatest legacy isn’t found in championships, records, or trophies it’s found in people.
In this powerful conversation, we go beyond the scoreboard to explore what transformational leadership truly looks like. From the early days of defining success by performance… to a deeper shift rooted in beloved identity… this episode reveals how leadership changes when you stop leading to prove something—and start leading from who you already are.
If you’re a coach, athletic director, or leader who wants to build something that lasts, this conversation will challenge and encourage you.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

Identity Before Performance

Matt Sanders — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:16:00 -0500

What if you didn’t have to prove anything this season?

What if you coached from a place of being already accepted?

That changes:

your tone
your patience
your leadership

You don’t coach for approval. You coach from identity. And when that shifts…Everything else starts to follow.

This is where coaching starts to change.Because when your identity is secure…You stop using the game to build yourself. And you start allowing God to send you through it.Not just as a coach.But as someone being used to shape lives.

If this is where you’re at right now…

If you’ve felt the pressure, the weight, the need to prove…

You were never meant to find your identity in the game. You were meant to bring your identity into it. You are beloved. And from that place…you lead!

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

What The Game Revealed in us

Matt Sanders — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:44:00 -0500

What if the game is doing more than just developing players?
In this episode of Redeeming the Game, I sit down with two of my former players to reflect on their journey—from who they were when I first met them to who they are becoming today.
We talk about when basketball became more than just competition, the challenges and growth they experienced along the way, and how God used the game to shape their identity, discipline, and faith.
This is an honest conversation about transformation how the game can expose, refine, and ultimately point us toward something deeper.
For coaches, trainers, and players alike, this episode is a reminder: Basketball is a tool.
And in the right hands, it can be used for far more than performance.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

Hard Conversations That Build Athletes

Matt Sanders — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 16:44:00 -0500

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

Lies we believed about coaching

Matt Sanders — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 20:00:00 -0500

The lies we believed about coaching.

Today’s episode is a little different.
I’m sitting down with two guys who not only train at a high level…
but have also been completely transformed in how they see coaching, identity, and the game itself.

And today we’re talking about this:
What’s the lie we believed about coaching… and what happens when that gets exposed?
The game was never meant to define you.
And the moment that lie starts to break…
everything about how you coach begins to change.

This is what it looks like to start redeeming the game.

matt@redeemingthegame.com

The 3 Things Every Player Actually Needs

Matt Sanders — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 17:00:00 -0500

Most players don’t need more drills.

They need something deeper. We default to skill development.
Shooting reps. Ball handling. Conditioning.
But we often neglect the foundation underneath it all.
And when players struggle, it’s rarely because they don’t know enough.
Every player needs three things:
1. Stability
📖 Hebrews 13:8
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Players thrive when their coach is steady.
If your mood rises and falls with the scoreboard, your team feels unsafe.
Beloved coaches are anchored.
2. Truth 📖 Ephesians 4:15 “Speaking the truth in love.”
Truth without love humiliates. Love without truth weakens.
Growth happens where honesty and care coexist.
3. Belief Jesus called fishermen “fishers of men.”
He saw beyond current performance.
Beloved identity means you see players not just as they are but as they’re becoming.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.

I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”

No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.

If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇

www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

matt@redeemingthegame.com

You Don't Have to Carry This Alone

Matt Sanders — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 17:00:00 -0500

Somewhere along the way, many coaches learned to carry everything quietly.
The pressure. The expectations.The weight of leadership.
But carrying it alone was never part of the calling.
Coaching trains you to be strong for others.
But strength, when isolated, eventually becomes heavy.
Beloved identity reminds us
that we are sons and daughters before we are leaders.
And beloved sons and daughters were never designed to walk alone.
I’ve learned that isolation doesn’t mean absence of people it means absence of shared formation.

👇 Free download linked below 👇
www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

Leadership Loneliness is Real

Matt Sanders — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 17:00:00 -0600

As a coach, you’re expected to be strong. Confident. Certain.
There aren’t many places where uncertainty feels safe.
Over time, isolation doesn’t come from distance —
it comes from carrying things alone.
Loneliness isn’t a leadership failure.
It’s a signal —a reminder that formation happens in community.
Secure leaders don’t hide their humanity. They steward it.
Beloved identity reminds us that we were never designed to lead in isolation.
Strength is not independence.
Strength is knowing where you can be honest.
If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.
I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”
No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.
If you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇
www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

Winning… But Losing at Home?

Matt Sanders — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 17:00:00 -0600

No coach ever plans to neglect their family.
It doesn’t happen in one decision —it happens in small compromises
that slowly become normal. I told myself it was temporary.Just this season.
Just this push.But seasons stack.
And what we don’t protect eventually pays the price.
You are a beloved son or daughter before you are a coach.
And your family does not exist to support your calling —
they are part of it.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self as a coach, these are the 10 things I’d tell him first.
I put them all into a free guide called “10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Coach.”
No fluff. No playbooks. Just real lessons from years of coaching, leading, winning, losing, and learning.
if you’re early in your coaching journey, or you want to coach with more purpose and clarity, grab it for free below.

👇 Free download linked below 👇
www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

The Cost of Always Being Available

Matt Sanders — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 17:00:00 -0600

Somewhere along the way, availability became the standard for care.
If you weren’t answering every call, every text, every late-night concern —it felt like you weren’t doing enough.
But constant availability has a cost. I believed being available made me a better coach.
And for a while, it did. But slowly, availability turned into expectation, and expectation turned into exhaustion.
I didn’t lose my passion —I lost my margin.

What the Game Reveals Under Pressure

Matt Sanders — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:00:00 -0600

Pressure doesn’t change who we are —it reveals what we’re leaning on.
The game has a way of exposingwhat’s been holding us together all along.
I’ve coached in moments where pressure made me sharper…and moments where it made me smaller.
Short-tempered.Reactive.Tight.
That’s when I realized pressure wasn’t the problem.
It was showing me where my identity was anchored.
👇 Free download linked below 👇
www.redeemingthegame.com/10things

Urgency is Not Leadership

Matt Sanders — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 19:00:00 -0600

What in your leadership feels urgent
but isn’t actually important?

And what is your urgency communicating
to your players, your staff, and your family?
Beloved coaches lead from rest —
not from scramble.
Urgency says, “If I don’t act now, I lose.”
Beloved leadership says,
“I can wait — because I’m not trying to prove anything.”
Calm is not complacency.
It’s confidence rooted in identity.

Winning Practices, Losing Peace

Matt Sanders — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 18:30:00 -0600

Practice reveals what you truly value. This episode breaks down how to design practices that shape decision-makers, competitors, and men—without burning out your team or yourself.

When Coaching Becomes Performance

Matt Sanders — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 18:00:00 -0600

Wins and losses are loud, but they don’t get to name you. This episode speaks directly to coaches whose identity has been tied to results, seasons, and expectations—and offers a better, freer way to lead.

You Are More Than Your Record

Matt Sanders — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 17:30:00 -0600

Why The Game Needs Redeeming

Matt Sanders — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 17:00:00 -0600

In this first episode, we will set the foundation for the journey we will go on. Coaching was never meant to cost you your soul, family, or your identity. We will explore how the game drifted from its original design-and how God is inviting us coaches back to lead from our Beloved Identity not pressure.