Football!

The football season has started!  Since I arrived well into the season last year, this is the first "pre-season" training sessions that I have had with the team.  There are some significant differences between preseason at Wabash and preseason here.  Most notably, we are starting in the gym because it is the middle of winter.  It feels backward to start the season in the cold of winter and play into the heat of the summer, where in the states camp is in the heat of August and lasts until well into November or December.

Another huge difference is the length of the preseason.  We have 3 months in pads before we start playing games, whereas at Wabash we reported roughly a month before our first scrimmage or game, lived and breathed football for basically two weeks before school started, then still hit it pretty hard pretty much everyday before that first game.  Our first set of games here in Prague is probably the weekend of March 24th.  A lot of that has to do with only having 2-3 practices per week.  Right now we have a conditioning session that covers a few fundamentals every Monday and Wednesday for 90 minutes.  Then every other Saturday, we have long practices, 3 hours for offense and 3 hours for defense.  For those of us involved in both, that makes for a long day.  These practices right now are heavily focused on individual position periods.  This is important because of the number of new guys we have.  We have a lot of talent coming in this season and a lot of big men.  I am excited.  We just need to get these guys fundamentally sound and in tune with the offense and we should be in great shape. 

I am excited about the coming season.  We have a good playbook for both offense and defense and the personnel to match it.  We honestly have the best coaching staff in the Czech Republic.  Other teams may bring in other coaches from America or Canada, but there is something to be said for the consistency that our coaching staff brings to our team.  We are probably the only team in Czech with a coach for nearly every position.  Our head coach, Martin, is a Czech coaching veteran with over 20 years of playing and coaching in this league.  He also spends his fall coaching at Elmhurst College in Chicago.  Our offensive coordinator is Zach, my AIA supervisor.  Zach was a defensive guy for pretty much all of his playing career, but has converted fully to offense and sees himself as a spread offense believer and a Chip Kelly (Oregon Ducks) devotee.  Two things that I can appreciate. 

From a football standpoint, a lot of new guys means a lot of work to get them in shape for the season and get them fundamentally ready to play football.  From a ministry standpoint, it is a great opportunity to widen my circle of influence.  Several of the new guys are great guys who I think would be open to at least having a spiritual conversation. 

Here are some things you can pray for for the upcoming season:
Pray for open hearts amongst our teammates.
Pray for boldness for Zach and I as we further existing relationships and form new ones
Pray for our team to stay together.  We are in a dry spell right now and people have a tendency to leave.
Pray for physical health, for me and the team in general.  Football is a rough sport.

I will keep the blog updated as to the results of our season as it progresses.  I am looking forward to our season opener!

Vaclav Havel

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On 18 December, it was announced that Vaclav Havel had died.  For those who do not know, Havel was the face of the revolution that pushed communism from power in the Velvet Revolution in 1989.  He was a playwright who was imprisoned for a number of years for his activities.  He served as the president of Czechoslovakia for a time and then became the first president of the newly formed Czech Republic. 

On that Sunday night, after the announcement, one of the Czech churches in Prague set out to do a memorial on Wenceslas Square, the main square in Prague.  I went, at the urging of Billy.  The mix of emotions was rather great.  People of my parent’s generation and older were visibly shaken, upset that the face of the movement that had freed them from Communism 22 years earlier was now dead.  Many people were in tears.  People of my generation, those who were born just before the fall of communism, or soon after it, had the widest range of emotions.  Most were respectfully somber, others celebratory of the life of a man and the end of an era of which they had no part, but are directly affected by.

Memorial candles were placed at the base of the statue, as well as flowers, pictures, and other memorials.   A traditional Czech hymn was sung.  A large flag was unfurled in front of the statue.  The Czech National Anthem was started spontaneously, a rarity since Czechs aren't generally given to shows of patriotism.  A remarkable moment came when people started to shake their keys and giving the peace sign.  Shaking keys was a symbol during the revolution. I'm not sure of what, but my best guess is a simple symbol of ownership.  Ownership of something often leads to individuality, which is something that is often suppressed under Communism.

Statue of St. Wenceslas

Base of the Statue

The ceremony then marched down Wenceslas Square and across the river, backtracking part of the march made by the Protestors of the Velvet Revolution in 1989.  On their way across the river, they passed a memorial to the protestors that was erected where they encountered the state police.  One day of protests and marching in 1989 led to violence.  The next day they were allowed to walk right though to the square.  

The memorial march ended on the river front there an impromptu concert and memorial was organized.  A musician played and a few people got up to speak, including the French ambassador to the Czech Republic. 

A few days later, the Czech government declared a week of national mourning leading up to Havel's funeral on Friday.  Business went on as usual, with the exception of the entertainment industries.  Theaters, cinemas, and casinos were all to be shut down. 

Memorial to the Velvet Revolution

I returned to the square on Wednesday and then again on Friday to see that the circle of candles and memorials continued to get larger.  The Czech Government declared three days of national mourning, which culminated in Havel's funeral on Friday, December 23.  The funeral was attended by Bill and Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State who was born in Prague.  The funeral was followed by memorial concerts.  Havel was known to be a fan of Rock and Roll music.  The funeral and concerts were broadcast throughout the city on huge screens set up.  

Havel Concert Broadcast on Wenceslas Square

The entire week was a remarkable thing to witness, especially from the standpoint of an American.  Havel was a giant here, the likes of which America itself has not seen.  Havel is often seen as a better revolutionary than a president and was often said to be more popular outside the Czech Republic than within it.  However, in light of his passing, one can only look back on the life of an artist who became a revolutionary who then became a president.

Perhaps the greatest testament to the man was the presence of two men at the initial Sunday night memorial.  One man was openly protesting something (I'm not sure what, I could not read his sign).  And another man was standing at the front of the crowd saying "It did not work.  Our country is a wreck," not realizing that the freedom he had to say that was possible because of Vaclav Havel, the principles he stood for, and the cause he represented.

Christmas in Prague

The city of Prague does a lot for Christmas.  The Christmas markets here rank in the top five around the world.  It was fun to go down to the markets, try all of the food, and see what everyone was selling.  The Christmas trees and lights around Old Town Square were absolutely amazing.

My brother Seth asked me how Czech Christmas was different than American Christmas.  Not an easy thing to sum up in a facebook conversation, so I will flush a few things out here in my blog.  Now keep in mind these are not all of the differences, but these are the ones that I either noticed or took part in myself. 

The Day

The major gathering day for Czechs is actually Christmas Eve.  This is when people gather to have their meal, open presents, and enjoy most of the Christmas traditions.

The Food

The traditional Czech Christmas Eve meal is a first round of soup, followed by a main course of fried carp and potato salad.  The carp is a longstanding tradition.  Often, families will buy their carp some days or weeks in advance and keep it in their bathtubs until it is time to dispatch it for dinner.  Carp vendors begin to pop up about the second week of December selling fish out of large pools (think kiddie pools with deeper sides).  You can either take your fish home and put it in the tub, or the vendor can butcher and scale it for you on the spot. 

If you put a scale from the fish under your dinner plate, then put it in your wallet, supposedly you will have good fortune in the next year. 

Santa

They do have a Santa looking character that comes out in December.  His name is Mikulas (St. Nicolas).  He appears on the eve of December 6, which happens to be St. Nicolas day on the calendar, with Andel (angel) and Cert (little devil).  This trio makes the rounds to various houses.  Good kids will recite poems and songs for the trio.  Kids receive little gifts and sweets if they have been good or coal or a raw potato if they have been bad.  While gift giving is involved, as well as a Santa looking figure (actually should be reversed, Santa is a Mikulas looking figure), there is no connection with the Christmas holiday.

So who delivers the presents on Christmas?  That would be Ježíšek, or baby Jesus.  No one knows what Ježíšek looks like because no one has ever actually seen him.  He arrives usually after dinner on Christmas Eve to deliver the presents.  The kids are usually otherwise occupied elsewhere in the house (depending on the ruse employed by Ježíšek’s accomplices, the parents).  Once the drop has been made Ježíšek rings a bell hanging on the tree and leaves. 

I was lucky enough to spend Christmas Eve with the family of one of my players.  I was able to take part in the traditional meal (cod instead of carp) and see “Ježíšek” in action.  The parents tried their hardest to get their 3½ year old to leave the room but he was not having any of it.  He knew once he left, Ježíšek would do his business and their son wanted to see it happen.  Eventually, they got him to leave, Ježíšek delivered the toys, rung the bell, and presents were opened. 

I spent Christmas day with Billy, my director, and his family for a more traditional American Christmas.  Billy’s kids are always entertaining to be around and he and Adrianne, his wife, made an amazing meal. 

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas with your family and friends.  I pray that God blesses you in this new year!

My Week

Now that school has started, my schedule has become a little more regular.  I thought I would give you a window into what my week looks like.  Normally, I would just give you a view of one day, but I have no one single day that looks like another.  The majority of my week is spent in ministry to either the students at the sport university or working with and ministering to the Prague Lions.

Our AIA group meets twice a week.  We meet together for prayer on Tuesdays at 9:00am and gather for our weekly staff meeting on Fridays at 10:00am.  About every other week, we have a "family dinner" following our staff meeting.  On Mondays and Wednesdays I have Czech class from 10:15am-11:45am.  Czech is a very hard language to learn and by the time my STINT time is up here, I hope to be able to be able to at least understand the coaches when they are talking.  Currently, I can order food, read most of a menu, shop for groceries (notice the food theme here), as well as a few general pleasantries.  Some of the first words I learned here, even before I started classes, were numbers and directions.  Both very important for playing football. 

The bulk of my afternoon time is spent generally at the university.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons are generally when I spend a ton of time at the university.  My time at the universities is spent meeting with students, hanging out, and just being present at the school.  I usually eat lunch at the school with some students at least twice a week.  I also utilize the weightroom at the university.  I have developed a good relationship with the guys who open the weightroom, so I can usually get in for student price, or even free sometimes.  I try to lift Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:00 or 5:00.  Lifting is one of the ways that I am able to engage a different group of students.  Lifting requires interaction and cooperation with spotting, so it is a good way for me to get to know some people.

Athletes in Action teaches a conversational English class that meets at the university at 1:00pm and 7:30pm on Tuesdays.  We each take turns planning a lesson that both classes teach from.  Currently, we are expecting a lot of people to come out for each English class, so I am going to both.  In the future if numbers dwindle, I might have the option to just teach the afternoon class.   The class is purely conversational.  Our lesson plans range from current events to sports to whatever people want to talk about. 

Evening Conversational English Class

I try to spend some time each week devoted to general ministry stuff.  That includes a weekly evaluation sheet, support raising, blogging and writing my prayer letter.  Lately, a lot of that has been happening on Monday afternoon.  Somewhere in there I try to spend some time watching film for the Junior team, preparing a small practice plan for our offensive line. 

The Lions typically had 3 practices per week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights from 5:50-8:30.  We usually left the practice field by around 9:00 or 9:30 once we have wrapped up all of our meetings and all of the guys have showered and left.  Now that the season is over, I attend our team's Nabor (cross between recruiting and try out).  I sometimes help with conditioning or blocking drills, but mostly I just go to start getting in shape again for our Senior season and to meet and hang out with the few senior players who show up.  These practices are at 6:00pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.  

The pace of life might appear to be slower here to an outsider, but a lot of that is because of public transportation.  I generally allow for an hour to get to practice, 45 minutes to get from my house to Billy's for the staff meeting or to the university.  Public transportation is an awesome thing, but you at times have to realize that you are at the whim of the bus/metro/tram schedule.

I use the word "generally" a lot when I talk and write about my schedule.  Meaning that while my schedule is slowly taking shape and some structure does appear to be forming, it is still fairly varied.  So that is my schedule as of right now. You kind of have a window into the organized chaos that is my life here in Prague.

The Oline

One of the aspects of my job here with AIA is that I get to play offensive line for the Prague Lions Senior Team in the spring and I get to coach the Prague Lions Junior Team offensive line in the fall.  The Junior team is more or less high school aged guys.  Since it is the fall and we are slowly wrapping up our season, I thought I would introduce you the guys I work with on the junior team.

My ministry opportunities with these guys range from very limited to plentiful.  I pray that God puts the right guys into my life for me to influence so they in turn can influence the others.  Often my ministry with the guys consists of the bus or metro rides home, so where guys live can play a large factor into how much time I get to spend with them. 

Our starting line up consists of Michal at left tackle, Olda and Petr at left guard, Robin at center, Tomáš at right guard, and Pepa at right tackle.  Our backups consist of Jakub, Vojtech, Marco, and Mara. 

Michal is a huge man.  His first season of football was actually last senior season.  He is probably 6'5" 300lbs.  He is a very good offensive lineman.  If I get him to show up to the weightroom consistently, he could be dominant.  He has a real chance to become the next elite offensive lineman from the Prague Lions.  He could probably play low to mid level NCAA Division I if he were American or he applied himself to the goal of playing University level ball in America.  He is a very quiet kid who only speaks when he absolutely has to.  He is extremely coachable.  Just from the time I have been here, he has improved so much.  He has been having some shoulder problems and has finally sought counsel of a doctor here.  He is having surgery at the end of the month.  My prayer is that the surgery is successful and the recovery time short. 

Olda is one of the newest members of our team, having joined us for only one or two spring practices.  He worked his way almost immediately into the starting lineup.  He and Michal have an interesting dynamic on the left side of the line.  Olda is one of the goofiest kids I have ever worked with.  He is always trying to crack a joke or twist something you say into something that makes you look foolish.  Petr has started a game at left guard and is giving Olda a run for his money for the permanent starting spot.  Petr is a big smiley kid who, given a few more game reps, will also be an excellent offensive lineman.  He is always in a good mood.  His technique has gotten a lot better, but it still has a way to go.

Robin is our center.  Robin is a guy who I spend a lot of time with both on and off the football field.  He is a very talented and smart football player.  He knows a lot about the game.  He was the starting center for the senior team for a couple of games, as well.  Robin is very chatty.  He and his friend Marek (a wide receiver for us) were the first two Lions football players I met when I landed here in May.  They come to our AIA Conversational English classes.  Throw Michal, the left tackle, in with Robin and Marek and I refer to them as the three stooges.

Tomáš is currently our right guard.  I say currently because he can and has played every position on the offensive line.  After three days of football camp in August, he had played every offensive and defensive line position (9 different positions in our system) and played them well.  Tomáš gets very little attention from me simply because he does things right.  He is always looking to improve and is one of the very few guys who is not afraid to ask a question.  I think he even turned a corner in our last game against the Bobcats.  He has gone from blocking guys to dominating them.  He had 3 pancake blocks in the second half against the Bobcats.  He is not a huge guy (around 6'), but his technique is better than most and that puts him in a position to dominate guys twice his size.  He is one guy with whom I wish I could spend more time. 

Pepa is our right tackle.  I spend most of my time trying to get Pepa to be angry and aggressive, to no avail mostly.  Pepa is a good friend who attended the Multikemp over the summer and provided me with a bunch of help.  He is very patient.  Football wise he is getting a lot better.  He still has a ways to go, but he has a lot of upside potential.  He is one guy who I wish I could get more time to hang out with.  He lives outside of Prague, so that makes it very hard to work with him outside of football and follow up things like the Multikemp.  Pepa is one of those guys who seems so open at times and so closed off at others. 

Vojtech is also a new lineman.  He came to us late, so he was only eligible for one season of Junior ball.  He is a guy that I do not know well on a personal level.  I pray for continued meetings with him because he is unsure if he will continue his football career at the senior level.  Technique wise I think he has improved the most, especially considering that he had played no football before this season.  He is a rare guy who can set to a perfect pass set and keep his feet wide enough to keep the defensive lineman in front of him.  We tried him at tackle this year, although if he continues to play for us, I could see him working in at guard. 

Jakub is a guy who got a lot of time on offense and defense this year.  He is one of the few people who tries to help the team by finding sponsors, as well as recruit other people to come out and play.  He is a big kid who needs to be a little more aggressive.  He is one guy that I do not know very well outside of a football context.  I think he could be a leader.  He has the heart and determination to help and lead people. 

Petr is a big, smiley kid who is a lot of fun to hang around.  He was one of the first Lions guy that I met when I arrived.  He likes to have fun.  He is a young guy who still has another year or two of junior football left, which is good because he has a lot of potential.  Petr comes to almost all of our events, both football and AIA related, so I have gotten to know him pretty well.  He is well liked by a lot of people, so I hope that by influencing him, I may be able to influence more through him. 

Well that is a brief overview of the nine guys that I work with the most with the Prague Lions Junior team.  The season is over and I hope and pray that many of them will decide to continue to play for us at the senior level.  All of these guys are a lot of fun to coach and hang out with.  Please pray that I am able to keep in contact with them over the offseason.

The Team

Hey Guys! In my last prayer letter I said I was going to try and start using this blog a little bit more so that i could go into more detail about my life and ministry here in Prague. I figured a good first post would be to introduce you to the people who I work with. These are also the people who receive several mentions in my prayer letters.

First up is Billy, his wife Adrianne, and their three kids. Billy is our country director here with Athletes in Action. He heads up our weekly staff meeting, organizes various team tours sent from the States, represents our ministry on a regional level and about a thousand other things. He has set the vision, goals, and strategies for our team to follow. On top of all that, he is a PhD candidate at the Charles University School of Physical Education and Sport, which is the university where we do a lot of our ministry. He is also a professor at the university. One of the things we try to do here in Prague is become insiders in the culture here. Billy does this through teaching at the university, amongst other things. His position and past activities have garnered a huge amount of favor from the administration. So when we need to schedule our conversational English classes or want to do a special event, we are more able to do that because Billy is a constant presence and has a good relationship with most of the people in power. Billy is also an active runner, competing in many distance races.

Adrianne is Billy's wife. She does a lot in terms of taking care of her family of three children.  She also disciples Becca. Her and Becca are looking to continue a seekers Bible study at the university with a handful of open girls. Adrianne is also helping Becca form relationships on the basketball team, training her on how to do ministry here in this culture. Adrianne makes sure that everyone is taken care of. She is immensely helpful to new staff (Me a few months ago and Becca now) transitioning into the ministry and culture here in Prague. One of the things she did for me was take me on a tour of the supermarket, making sure I knew enough words to at least put together a decent meal with proper ingredients. It is very handy to have words like maso (meat) and máslo (butter) in your vocabulary.

Becca is the newest addition to our AIA team here in Prague. She comes to us from Tennessee by way of Taylor University in Indiana. She arrived a little over a month ago and jumped right in with the Sparta women's basketball team. Her arrival comes on the heals of an AIA women's basketball team being here and working with her team. AIA has had a long relationship with the Sparta basketball team, so Becca comes at a good time to do ministry with the team. We are also praying that she and Adrianne will be able to continue a seekers Bible study that was started by Jenny, a STINTer whose time in Prague ended just hours before Becca's started.

Martin is also a fairly new addition to our team here in Prague. Martin is actually from Slovakia. He is also one of my roommates. Martin is a valuable member of our team because, among other things, he speaks Slovak, which is a language very closely related to Czech. He is able to communicate with students at the university better than I can. He also has a better understanding of the culture here in Czech. He is a quiet guy with a prankish nature. Martin is a full time staff person who is being trained by Billy. Hopefully when Martin's training is done he can either stay here in Prague with us and be apart of our sports ministry, or go home to Slovakia and bolster the ministry there.

Finally, we have Zach. Zach is the guy I work with the most. He has been referenced numerous times throughout past newsletters and blog posts. Zach is a full time staff guy here in Prague. Zach is the offensive coordinator on the Prague Lions senior team and the head coach of the junior team. From a football standpoint, he is heads and shoulders above every other coach in Prague. We place a high emphasis on doing things the right way, not taking shortcuts like other teams in the league, or even the league itself. Zach is all in in the ministry here in Prague, to the point that he is fluent in Czech, not an easy task. His insider role is with the football team. He has made himself an indispensable member of the Prague Lions coaching staff and organization as a whole. He has a passion for the Lions players and the organization as a whole. He takes his role on the team seriously, always having comprehensive practice plans ready, as well as searching for sponsorship for our team. He desperately wants to see Lions guys succeed both on the football field and in life. He has put together a leadership program for the Lions Junior team (high school age) called Srdce Lva (Heart of the Lion). Zach is trying to change the culture here with the football team and is having success. I mentioned some of his work and successes in an earlier blog post.

Well that is a very brief introduction to our team. You will probably see me mention these people in future blog posts and newsletters. Please continue to pray for us and our work here in Prague. We are in the midst of our kickoff week at the university and have experienced a ton of success in the responses we are gathering from students. I will detail more of that in my next newsletter. Praise God because He is moving here.

Micah

Season Update

Hey Guys,
Our season here in the Czech Republic has come to an end. The final for the Czech League championship will be this friday. My team was not apart of the playoffs. Our season kicked off with two games before I arrived in Prague. The Lions lost both games by a significant amount. Those games were against the Prague Panthers and the Prague Blackhawks. The Blackhawks are the team that broke away from the Lions two years ago. Most of our experienced players now play for them, with a few of the better ones going to the Panthers.

My first game here was against the Ostrava Steelers. We ended up losing that game in overtime 12-6. A winnable game. Our kicker was not at the game. If he was, we would have won the game 7-6 in regulation. The next game was against the Bratislava Monarchs. We lost this game 51-0. Despite the score, this was a winnable game. We threw something like 3 pick 6's, as well as a few other interceptions that gave the Monarchs a short field. On the occasion that we didn't turn the ball over, we were three and out. The next game was against the Panthers again. We lost 48-0. While it was a difficult game, we improved so much. The following week, we played the Brno Alligators. Once again, we should have won this game, but we fell 15-7. In this game, we lost our first two running backs to injury. One dislocated his elbow 2 inches, while the other one had a significant concussion with a shoulder injury. We lost these guys on consecutive plays. With those injuries, we rolled into our last game of the season, against Ostrava, with a third string running back who is still eligible to play in the upcoming Junior season. Not wanting to risk his health for his main season, we played a pass based offense. We ran the ball literally 3 times. With an severely one sided offensive attack, we lost 35-16.

Despite these setbacks, our team made great strides this season. We had three games that we were capable of winning. Often our immaturity as a team proved to be our downfall, as we got comfortable and were eventually overtaken. As unimaginable as it may seem, we are one or two pieces from returning to title contention next season. We are actively looking for those pieces.

Right now, we need money and sponsors. The three year plan put together by Zach, and our head coach Martin, is a solid plan to return us to our former glory. We just need money. Money for equipment and personnel. An American quarterback would be a God send.

Please pray for the Lions as we continue to build for the future. As the team goes, so does part of our ministry. It all sounds very material, but it is hard to work on any plan without money. There is very little to prevent our guys from jumping ship to another team, so success in the near future is vital. If guys move to another team, then my ability to affect them on a personal level is greatly hampered. Connections that I have made and relationships that Zach and I have been working on are constantly at risk.

Pray for the guys on the team as well. Pray that they be patient in our search for success. Pray that they stick with our team through our struggles. Also, pray for their spiritual welfare. We have a couple of guys who are close to being saved. I hope and pray that The next prayer letter I send out will have a story along those lines.

Thank you all for supporting my ministry and praying for the work that we do here in the Czech Republic. Feel free to drop me a line at micahlembke@gmail.com or on facebook.