More Than the Game: Christian Team Devotions for Girls & Female Athletes
Sports have the ability to teach our girls so much more than how to serve a volleyball, shoot a basketball, run faster, or win a game.
They teach them how to fail and try again. How to handle pressure. How to work hard when something doesn’t come easily. How to encourage someone else when she’s succeeding. How to be a good teammate. And how to respond when things don’t go their way.
Somewhere in the middle of practices, games, wins, losses, mistakes, celebrations, and long seasons, we have an incredible opportunity to remind our girls of something even more important:
Who they are has very little to do with how they perform.
I’ve been coaching my daughters’ teams for a few years now, and it didn’t take long for me to realize there was so much more I could offer these girls than simply teaching them a skill they could use on a court.
One of the hardest things for me to watch is a girl want to quit because she’s embarrassed or discouraged after messing up something she just learned. I want these girls to understand that making mistakes isn’t something to be ashamed of. It’s how we learn. It’s how we grow. Learning to mess up, shake it off, and try again is a skill they’ll need long after they stop playing sports.
…But even beyond resilience, I want these girls to understand who they are.
Being a teenage girl isn’t easy. They’re growing up in a world constantly telling them what they should look like, who they should be, what they should accomplish, and how they measure up to everyone around them.
Sports can amplify those struggles.
Am I good enough? Why is she better than me? What if I mess up? Why am I not playing? What does everyone think of me?
But I also think sports give us a beautiful place to help girls work through those very things.
We can teach them that a mistake doesn’t define them. We can teach them to celebrate another girl’s success without questioning their own worth. We can teach them that confidence doesn’t have to come from being the best player in the gym.
I want to help raise a generation of girls who are comfortable in their own skin—girls who don’t have to tear someone else down to feel confident themselves. Girls who can recognize the gifts God placed in someone else and genuinely cheer her on because they know God placed something valuable in them, too.
And most importantly, we can continually point them back to who God is and who He says they are.
….Because someday, the jerseys will be put away. The tournaments will end. The stats won’t matter anymore.
The girls they become will.
That’s why I’m sharing these Christian team devotions, meaningful activities, and tangible reminders designed to help coaches, moms, and team leaders intentionally pour into the girls God has placed in front of them.
These are simply things I’ve created and used with my own teams, shared in hopes they’ll give you a place to start. Use them exactly as I did, change them to fit your girls, or let them inspire an idea of your own.
Helping Them Carry the Message With Them
I love words and devotionals, but I also love creating something that helps the message become a little more memorable.
So alongside these devotions, you’ll find the crafts, gifts, activities, and tangible reminders I’ve created to go with them.
Sometimes that might be a bracelet or keychain. Other times it might be a card tucked into their bag, a small gift connected to the Scripture, a team activity, or simply something they can look at later and remember:
Oh yeah. I remember what Coach told me that day.
The craft isn’t the point.
The truth it helps them remember is.
My hope is that these little creations give girls something tangible to connect with the biblical truth we’re talking about—something they might carry on a backpack, wear on their wrist, hang in their room, or come across months later when they need the reminder all over again.
A Starting Place for Coaches, Moms & Team Leaders
You don’t have to be a Bible teacher. You don’t have to be incredibly crafty. You don’t need a 30-minute lesson before every practice. And you definitely don’t have to recreate these ideas exactly the way I did.
Start small.
Choose a word.
Choose a Scripture.
Share one truth.
Create a simple reminder.
Give them one challenge to carry onto the court.
That’s it.
Each More Than the Game devotional is meant to give you a starting place you can adapt for your own girls.
What You’ll Find in Each Devotional
THE WORD
One word or theme for the girls to remember.
THE WORD OF GOD: A Scripture that anchors the message in truth.
THE DEVOTIONAL: A short message connecting that biblical truth to something girls may actually be experiencing.
THE GAME: A practical connection between the message and being an athlete or teammate.
THE CHALLENGE: One simple way to put the lesson into action.
THE CREATION: A craft, gift, activity, printable, bracelet, keychain, or other tangible reminder designed to help the message stick.
Use all of it or just the pieces that work for you. This isn’t about putting together a perfect presentation.
It’s about planting seeds. And if I could give you a word of encouragement, I many times allow my overcomplicating to keep me from actually doing this. Don’t overcomplicate, pray and do.
More Than the Game Devotional Library
This collection will continue to grow as I share more of the devotions and creations I’ve used with my own girls. Bookmark this page and come back whenever you’re looking for a new idea to use with your team.
Plant the Seeds Anyway
We may never know which conversation sticks. Which Scripture she remembers. Which note she keeps tucked away. Which bracelet she notices on a hard day. Which little keychain reminds her of something she desperately needs to hear again. Or which five-minute conversation becomes a truth she carries into adulthood.
Plant the seeds anyway.
Because this was never just about volleyball—or basketball, softball, soccer, dance, cheer, or whatever sport brought your girls together.
It’s about recognizing the opportunity we’ve been given to speak truth into a generation of girls who are constantly being told who they should be. We get to point them somewhere different.
Back to their Creator.
Back to truth.
Back to who God says they are.
We’re coaching more than athletes. We’re helping shape women.And that will always be more than the game.
Devotionals
PURPOSE: You Are God’s Masterpiece
Scripture: Ephesians 2:10
God created each girl intentionally and for a purpose. This devotional focuses on identity, comparison, confidence, and learning to see yourself—and your teammates—through the eyes of the One who created you.
Team Challenge: Don’t compare—encourage.
The Creation: A tangible reminder of Ephesians 2:10 and the truth that she is God’s masterpiece, created on purpose for a purpose.
[Read the PURPOSE Devotional + Creation →]
LOVED: Loved So You Can Encourage
Scripture: Romans 8:38–39 & 1 Thessalonians 5:11
God’s love is constant, unchanging, and nothing can separate us from it. This devotional helps girls understand that when they truly know how deeply they are loved by God, they can stop looking to others for their worth and begin using their words and actions to build up the people around them.
Team Challenge: Know you are loved—and make sure someone else knows it too. Look for opportunities to encourage, include, and build up your teammates.
The Creation: A tangible reminder that God is LOVING. I am LOVED. So I can ENCOURAGE. When she knows where her worth comes from, she can freely use her words and actions to remind others of theirs.
CHOSEN: Live With Confidence
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9 & Hebrews 10:35
God calls us chosen—not because of our performance, popularity, accomplishments, or whether someone else chooses us. This devotional helps girls understand that their identity is already secure in God, giving them the freedom to stop seeking approval, walk confidently in who He created them to be, and help others do the same.
Team Challenge: Don’t let who chooses you determine your worth. Walk confidently in who God says you are—and help your teammates do the same.
The Creation: A tangible reminder that God is FAITHFUL. I am CHOSEN. So I can live with CONFIDENCE. Her confidence doesn’t have to come from making the team, getting the position, being included, or receiving someone else’s approval. She can be confident because she already knows who she is and Whose she is.
[Read the CHOSEN Devotional + Creation →]
BELIEVE: Dream Big With God
Scripture: Ephesians 3:20
God is purposeful, and He has created each girl with unique gifts and a calling that reaches far beyond the volleyball court. This devotional encourages girls to dream big with God, recognize the gifts He has placed within them, and trust that His plans may be even greater than the ones they imagine for themselves.
Team Challenge: Dream big with God. Use your gifts. Take brave steps. Believe He can do more than you can imagine.
The Creation: A tangible reminder that God is PURPOSEFUL. I am CALLED. So I can BELIEVE. She doesn’t have to have her whole story figured out—she can trust the One who does.