The "Edge" - What Is It?

Flip a coin and have someone call it in the air.  "Heads or tails?" you ask as the coin comes down.  Legendary football coach Frosty Westering once pointed out that there is a third side of the coin--the edge.  Most likely the coin won't come to rest on the edge when flipped in the air, but in athletics, and in life, you better be aware of the "EDGE".

We hear all the time in sports that we should "gain the edge" or "have a competitive edge" over our opponents.  What is this "edge"?  What is that advantage or upper hand that an athlete or team can possess which will raise them above their opponents and on to victory?  It's a practical question because only a limited number of individuals and teams gain the "edge" and become champions.

Certainly, the edge is physical.  Train harder, smarter, and with more intensity than your opponent, and you will find yourself on top much of the time.  There is no substitute for outworking your opponent.  The edge is also mental.  Staying focused during adversity, not making mental mistakes at crucial times, and thinking clearly when tired or under pressure, will allow an athlete critical opportunities to gain advantages that otherwise would be lost without that mental acuity.

However, the more I ask athletes what the "edge" is, the more I hear them say that it doesn't all rest on the physical and mental.  Many will say, and I completely agree, that the edge has to do with desire.  What is desire?  It's not a physical attribute.  It's not solely a mental function of the brain.  It has something to do with the heart.  There is something deep down inside of a champion that drives him or her to unmatched levels of physical training and unparalleled focus and consistency.  In fact, it is the drive from within, the heart, the desire, that even makes possible the intense physical training.  Without desire, the athlete would never dawn the doors of the gym to train.

In other words, the physical and mental are driven by the heart.  The heart (not the physical pumping heart) is the very seat of our emotions, our soul, our spirit.  The physical and the mental are steered by the spiritual.  I have people ask me regularly, "Why do you even talk about spiritual things in the midst of sports?"  My answer is, "How can you not?"  The spiritual part of us is the very motor that causes the combustion of the physical and mental.

This is not only true in sports but also in life.  The heart guides the physical and mental.  Desires of the heart cause us to do things with our hands, eyes, and genitals (physical).  Longings in our souls cause us to think certain thoughts (mental).  Our bodies and minds are guided by our souls.

Though the edge of the coin is narrow, precarious, and largely forgotten, athletes who ignite and fan the flame of burning desire and direct it to the physical and mental will gain the "edge".  Likewise, "living on the edge" requires a deep and honest look into the heart to understand what is guiding the body and mind through everyday life.