DASH

A young man named Steven was talking in church today about playing on the US Junior Mens Team Handball Team. Team Handball is like playing soccer only with a small handball. Steven was a goalie and during an important international game [the equivalent of a World Cup game] he got a little cocky and made a rookie mistake - he took his eye off the dash.

Steven explained that as goalie you are the only person allowed in the goal area [marked in yellow above] and because your back is to the goal you need to keep your eye on the dash. In front of the goal line is a small 1 meter long mark or dash used as a penalty throw line. The goalie uses this dash as his reference point as it marks the center of his goal behind him and it lets him know where he is in relationship to the goal at all times. He can't be constantly turning around and looking for the goal he has to know where it is based on his reference point - the dash.

Back to our story, Steven bated an opposing player to take a shot, but because he had taken his eye off the dash he didn't realize he was out of position which allowed the opposition to score on him. That 1 meter mark, so small in comparison to the other court markings made the difference.

You have a dash. Each of you is defending a goal and handballs are flying at you left and right. Life is a full contact sport and taking your eye off your dash, even for a moment, can make the difference between mounting a successful defense of your goal or being taken out by the opposition.