Why B3rd Exists

Two constants have shaped my life: faith and sport. From an early age, I learned that both have the power to form us—one eternally, the other profoundly. Growing up, my family attended church every Sunday, a rhythm that continues today with my wife and our seven children. We do this not out of routine or obligation, but because we believe we were created for worship. When worship is rightly ordered, everything else begins to make sense.

Yet for much of my life, faith and sport existed side by side rather than fully integrated. I loved God, and I loved competition, but I did not always understand how deeply the two were meant to shape one another. Over time, God began to reveal that sport is not neutral—it is a powerful formative space. It shapes identity, values, habits, and desires. The question is not whether sport is forming us, but what it is forming us into.

This is where the heart of B3rd was born.

Being “B3rd” is not a slogan or a clever play on words. It is a way of life rooted in the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:36–40. When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus makes it clear: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind first; love your neighbor as yourself second. When God is first and others are second, I naturally become third. Not “bronze medal” third—but humbly third. Ordered, surrendered, and free.

At its core, B3rd is about order. When life is out of order, pressure, pride, and anxiety take over. When life is rightly ordered—God first, others second, self third—clarity replaces chaos. Purpose replaces performance-driven identity. Excellence becomes an act of worship rather than a pursuit of validation.

B3rd Athletics exists because sport desperately needs this reordering. Too often, athletes and coaches are taught—explicitly or implicitly—that their value is found in results: wins and losses, stats and scholarships, recognition and reputation. When identity is built on performance, joy is fragile and purpose disappears the moment success fades.

B3rd challenges that narrative.

We believe identity must come before performance. Faith must shape how we compete, not simply be added on after the fact. Excellence must be defined by faithfulness, integrity, and obedience—not comparison or outcomes. Sport, when properly ordered, becomes one of the most powerful environments for discipleship and formation.

This is not about using sport as a tool to get people into church. It is about restoring sport to its rightful place under the lordship of Jesus Christ. When that happens, competition becomes formation, work becomes worship, and coaching becomes a calling to shape hearts, not just skill sets.

Faith, life, sport, and coaching were never meant to be separated. B3rd exists to bring them back together—rightly ordered, Christ-centered, and purpose-driven.

-Coach Field