A number of things have struck me as I have pondered one particular sports story in our neck of the woods this week and it relates to what goes on around our sportsmen & women when real trouble strikes for them as an individual.

Where is their support? Who knew? What could or should have been done? And by Who?
What does it say about sport, the drive to win being all consuming , team & club and about not showing any weaknesses?

When it’s a season ending physical injury then we would expect him or her ( and those around him) to deal with the physical recovery challenge and the kind of support we might offer is easier to identify ………… but what about when that injury causes self doubt, fear and thoughts of “will I play again? what of my future?” …. how can we help when it is the the mind, heart & soul that have been injured ?

The news broke earlier in the week that BEN BARBA had been suspended indefinitely by his club to allow him to address issues he was facing. Ben Barba is a dynamic & exciting talent as star fullback for Sydney’s Canterbury Bulldogs, the 2012 NRL ‘Dally M Medal’ winner and due to be the face of the NRL advertising for the 2013 season interpretation. His troubles are many it seems with alcohol, domestic violence, gambling and now depression raising its head as the stress has built & built on this young man. There has been criticism of the club, of the NRL but most of all wonder that this young man was suffering such anguish. His own brother Aaron admitted he “had no idea of the turmoil faced by his brother Ben”.

I often relate to others of how we in NZ placed such high expectations on a young Jonah Lomu – that because he was such a stunning rugby winger of prodigious talent at 19 years of age, we granted him an intelligence & High IQ as well as expecting him to have a strength & maturity in his relationships – both in marriage & with his parents – and to be great with his finances ! Sadly that burden was too much and an all to unrealistic expectation. Jonah has turned out to be very, very special individual

Remember Ben Barba is only 22 years old !

All of us have a responsibility for those who are part of our team – be it in business, family, community or sport. And yes “still waters run deep” sometimes so it’s not easy to sense when there may be trouble at hand for an individual close to us, but I pose the question to myself and to those of you reading this

“what is my role in such circumstances? How equipped am I to lend a meaningful hand?”

Some of you will be a coach, a team mate, a manager, a friend – or even a Sports Chaplain – and we each have a part to play.

Sometimes it may be a major part, at other times it may be minor and distance may mean it can only be prayer that we can offer for the individual & those around him, but rest assured we do have a part in this.