Coaching for Something Bigger Than a Win
Being an athlete is all about pushing for personal excellence and, ultimately, the win. However, you’ll find a more comprehensive perspective in play on TCJ’s soccer field.
Head Soccer Coach Alexa (Goodwin) Pittman of the Lady Eagles says she pushes the Lady Eagles to play for something bigger than the win.
The win is a worthy goal but learning to honor God while pursuing the win is what is really at stake. She believes that is the most important lesson for a Christian athlete to learn.
Alexa Pittman is a 2019 grad of TCJ’s B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies and was the very first student athlete signed to the inaugural team of TCJ’s women’s soccer program in 2015!
Looking back, she says she didn’t realize just how special the environment at Trinity was and how it helped her be successful on and off the field.
“The environment was the best part of my time at TCJ. Yes, I loved soccer, but as a coach now I visit a lot of schools, and there really isn’t much out there like Trinity. My professor, Dr. Christmas, even officiated my wedding! The faculty here really want to see students flourish spiritually more than anything. To have professors that truly pour into you like that is rare.”
As a student, Alexa tailored her Interdisciplinary program to pursue courses that developed her interest in ASL, education, and athletics. She has used her skills in a variety of areas including as a sign language interpreter (she signed the national anthem at a Jags game), a paraprofessional and then teacher in Special Education, and a head coach position at Baldwin Middle-High School.
In early 2024, Pittman accepted the Women’s Soccer Coach position at TCJ.
Pittman jumped heart-first into the Lady Eagles program.
From prayerfully recruiting skilled individual players to building a team that understands that their identity is in Christ, her desire is to maintain a spiritually healthy team environment. She loves to talk about how God has answered prayer and brought ladies into the program in unique ways that she could have never orchestrated.
Her unique history with the TCJ soccer program enables her to lead the current team with a balance of historical context and excitement for the future.
Having literally helped lay the sod on Talon Field as a student athlete (the same field the current team uses for practices and games), she appreciates what it takes to grow a program from the ground up.
“We {the 2015 Lady Eagles team} literally laid the foundation for the program I am now coaching… it makes it possible for me to give my team good perspective.”
When the temptation comes to focus on negatives or inconveniences, she reminds the team about the bigger picture: glorifying God.
“The Lord gifted us with these talents and desires. We can utilize our sport as a form of worship. When we have the mindset of praising Him no matter what, we can have victory no matter what. We cannot simultaneously be petty or vindictive. In a way, the pressure is off – it’s not what I’m doing that brings the win because I’m not good enough in and of myself.”
And that is what she means when she says the Lady Eagles play for something bigger than the win.
Personal skill used as worship is an uncommon concept in mainstream athletics.
In fact, Pittman says it’s exciting to witness the mental shift when student athletes realize that their faith can influence their game and they can use it to offer worship to God. She believes it is vital for coaches to lead by example by modeling Christ-honoring behavior that glorifies God.
“A lot of it {teaching how to play with a bigger goal in mind} is watching us coaches putting it into practice. It looks like going into prayer and praising Him after every game, every practice. It’s taking accountability when we don’t respond correctly to an outcome. If we as coaches don’t glorify God in our response, we need to go to the team and apologize and do our best to correct our behavior. Being vulnerable as a coach is super important… when we are following Christ, He will convict us.”
The Lady Eagles routinely participate in group projects that give back to the community, including Coach Pittman’s personal favorite project: volunteering as a team in the elementary reading program at nearby Trinity Christian Academy.
Coach Alexa Pittman met her husband, Brenner (Assistant Coach for TCJ Lady Eagles Soccer and TCJ Class of ‘20), when they were both students at Trinity. They have two children and together they dedicate countless hours to the Lady Eagles Soccer program.
Read Coach Pittman’s bio here >>> https://trinityeagles.com/sports/wsoc/coaches/Alexa_Pittman
