Heart of a Coach
November 2009

Marci Jobson Baylor University Women's Soccer Coach

Chosen Attribute: Patience

Dictionary definition: "An ability to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay. A quiet, steady perseverance."

My definition: "Having the mental capacity to wait for the things that you want and are trying to achieve. It is the journey to the destination. You want to get to the destination, but patience is the waiting and growing stage before you get there."

Favorite Scripture that deals with patience: Galatians 6:9 – "So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up."

Why I chose this passage: "This verse explains that you can't grow tired of doing the right thing because, in the proper time, if you trust God, give it to Him and honor Him with your gifts, He will lift you up."

"When I was able to let go and let Him take care of it, I played the best that I ever had."

How I've learned patience through soccer: "Coaching has helped me develop plenty of patience. We're definitely in a place — building this program at Baylor — where we haven't fully arrived yet. We've had to have patience and work hard every day. The players are learning the system and what we're trying to do, and I've had to be patient knowing that we may only see small fruit from our labor here in the beginning stages.

"As a player, I was put in situations in which I really had to trust God and keep trying to do the right things, living the right way and trusting that, in His timing, things were going to be the way He wanted them to be. There were so many times — when I had a broken jaw, a torn ACL or other issues — that I went to God through prayer and journaling. I just cried out to God and told Him that I trusted Him with my career. When I was able to let go and let Him take care of it, I played the best that I ever had."

How I've learned patience in life: "When I had a baby, I really thought it was going to be a struggle for me with having so many responsibilities. But really, my son has taught me to be so much more patient. This has revealed a completely new compassionate and understanding side of me that I never had before. I find myself listening more instead of just rushing through and wanting the answers. It's been an amazing blessing."

About the Coach Alma Mater: Southern Methodist University Playing Career: • Member of U.S. National (2005-07) and World Cup (2007) teams • Played professional soccer with the Atlanta Silverhawks and Charlotte Eagles (W-League), Atlanta Beat (WUSA) and the Turbine Postdam (German Bundesliga) • College career consisted of time at SMU (1996-97) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1994-95) Coaching Career: • Now in her second season as Baylor's head coach after three seasons at Northern Illinois. FCA Involvement: As a student-athlete at Southern Methodist University, Jobson was impacted by the FCA ministry. "In college, FCA played a huge role in my life and was a great turning point for growth in my relationship with Christ," she said. "It was the time I started walking with God." As a coach, Jobson encourages her players to attend Huddle meetings so that they can meet and fellowship with other Christian athletes and become a stronger team. She and her husband, Paul, have also enjoyed the friendship and ministry of FCA's Ben Johnson and his wife, Katherine, whom Jobson credits with playing a sizable role in the spiritual growth of the Baylor athletes. Chaplain Quote: "Marci is committed to the Lord, the Head Coach of her life. I have watched her grow in a way that she has become totally dependent on Him, and that has enabled her to be a success as a Division I coach, a wife and a mother." – Katherine Johnson, Baylor University Chaplain

--For more stories about faith and sport, visit www.sharingthevictory.com, the official magazine of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. To subscribe to STV, click here.

Photos courtesy of Baylor Media Relations.