Our Mission
At B3rd Athletics, we believe God uses our pursuit of excellence through competitive sports to help each individual grow in faith, knowledge, and leadership. Our mission is to inspire more coaches and athletes to lead with Christian values through intentional mission driven programs. The sports classroom is still one of the most impactful educational tools in the world, but it's time for some improvements. All over social media you see individualisms impact on athletic culture and this philosophy has to go. It bears no fruit and the long-term results are horrible for society. Join us and impact the world via sports!
Our Story
When I got back into coaching full-time in 2013, my wife challenged me and said, “I needed to do more than just coach basketball.” She pushed me to impact the eternal nature of the person, which meant I could not just coach the 16-year-old standing in front of me but instead coach the 40-year-old that God wanted them to be. For us, sports has always been a platform, not a purpose, and a powerful instrument in the Christian journey.
Over the years, what we did has developed into the journey to becoming 3rd, but initially, it was all about coaching hard and loving each individual within our organization. From there, we set out to define the characteristics and habits essential to succeeding in sports and growing in our Christian walk. Each week, this program will shape us into who God desires us to be while positively impacting how we treat others and the culture of our teams. While it is not an overnight change, I hope our success will inspire others to join us in the Journey to Becoming 3rd.
In ten years, we played in 7 final fours, won 3 State Championships, won over 300 games, and had athletes move on to play in college each year. While none of this happens if we don’t have talented players, often, the biggest challenge to coaching talent is the egos they come with and the culture of individualism that plagues our society. Having young men and women collectively come together for one common goal is very difficult without a mission-driven approach.
MEET OUR TEAM
Tanner Field
Tanner is a devout Christian husband and father. He has been married to his wife, Andrea, for 20 years and they have seven incredible children.
As a couple they believe that a focus on God and family is foundational for a successful life, and such a foundation is necessary for a winning culture. The players in their program are extensions of the family and the relationships crafted over the years are what have produced a virtuous environment and winning record.
Aaron Marez
Aaron is a life-long Christian believer and third generation pastor. He has been married to his wife, Denisse, for 11 years and they have two children.
For more than 18 years he has served in various pastoral ministry positions across the country, including but not limited to youth minister, associate pastor, campus pastor, as well as executive pastor, and coach! For the last 7 years Aaron has worked alongside Coach Field as an integral part of the culture building process in the role of character coach at TWCA.
