Heart of a Coach
Andrea Mangrum
Softball Coach
East Tennessee State University
Selected Struggle: Handling Failure
Dictionary definition: “Nonperformance of something due, required or expected.”
My definition: “A way of measuring success.”
Favorite Scripture that deals with commitment:“I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13
Why I chose this verse: “This passage has been my source of strength since I was a little girl. It reminds me that no matter what comes my way, with God I will have the strength to get through it and accomplish my goals. As a coach and athlete I have to deal with failure on a regular basis. I read this verse, and it encourages me to ‘fail forward’ and look at failure in a positive manner.”
How I deal with failure in my life: “When I was 17 years old, I was raped and became pregnant. At the time, I was the president of my high school’s FCA and in the middle of my senior year. I had been on fire for God and became confused as to why this happened to me. I was raised in a strong Christian home, and abortion hadn’t been an option for me ... until the day I found out I was pregnant. No one knew but my mother and me. “I went off to college and actually thought my past would just disappear. But it didn’t. Little did I know, however, that four years later I would be a Huddle Leader at an FCA Camp and that God would rock my world and release me from my past. I could not hide my sin anymore, and for the first time, my past really did disappear. God’s grace and forgiveness washed me clean. “This struggle molded me into the woman I am today, and I have realized that my failures can now encourage and help those who cross my path. I have shared my story with so many people and have seen God receive the glory for something the enemy meant for destruction. God has used it to save one of my college players from making the same mistake, and He has used it to strengthen my relationship with Him.”
How I deal with failure in coaching: “I honestly know I can do anything in life with Christ as my source of strength. My past failures have strengthened me and given me the motivation to be a leader for my team. I feel that over the years God has prepared me to be a mentor to the college athletes who surround me. A level of maturity had to set in for me before I was confident enough to share my past failures with my players and the athletes I work with at ETSU’s FCA. But I love being a positive influence on my players, and I am a firm believer that God has placed me where I am for a reason, and I do not take that lightly. I know He has a plan for me and my team.”
About the Coach
Coach Andrea Mangrum is in her third season as the head softball coach at East Tennessee State University. In 2007, she led her team to 10 conference wins and a fourth place finish in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
As an athlete, Mangrum was a member of ETSU’s inaugural softball team in 2001. She has been involved with FCA since junior high and continues to stress its importance in her life as a coach.
“FCA enables me to pour my life out to my athletes off the field and share my faith with them,” she said. “My players are my ministry, and I am so proud that over half of them attend FCA each week.”
Mangrum is married to her husband, Joel, who coaches baseball at Milligan College (Tenn.).
“Slowly, I have been learning that failures actually serve a wonderful purpose when you trust God.”