Redeeming The Game

Matt Sanders

This is a space for coaches, trainers, and leaders who love the game — but don’t want the game to cost them their family, their integrity, or their soul. Here, we talk about leadership, pressure, culture, identity, and the quiet tensions no one prepares you for when you step into coaching. This isn’t about chasing wins at all costs. It’s about restoring what the game was meant to form in us — and in the players we lead. This podcast is presented by the Beloved Coaches Collective, a community committed to coaching from identity, not insecurity. I’m Coach Sanders. Let’s redeem the game — one coach at a time.

  1. 6d ago

    Can Basketball Share the Gospel?

    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

    27 min
  2. May 19

    When you Question: Am I doing enough?

    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

    22 min

About

This is a space for coaches, trainers, and leaders who love the game — but don’t want the game to cost them their family, their integrity, or their soul. Here, we talk about leadership, pressure, culture, identity, and the quiet tensions no one prepares you for when you step into coaching. This isn’t about chasing wins at all costs. It’s about restoring what the game was meant to form in us — and in the players we lead. This podcast is presented by the Beloved Coaches Collective, a community committed to coaching from identity, not insecurity. I’m Coach Sanders. Let’s redeem the game — one coach at a time.