Each week on “Making a Difference,” our hosts interview people making a meaningful impact in their community. Today, Morgan Yonge and Greg Chapman had the pleasure of speaking with Courtney Taybron of Jacksonville University.
Courtney Taybron
Senior Associate AD of Sports Performance and Senior Woman Administrator
Website address: https://judolphins.com/staff-directory/courtney-taybron/324
What is a tip for success that you would provide someone in your same industry?
To be yourself and use your gifts to serve others as best as you can every single day.
What’s one cause you’re passionate about?
I am passionate about making a positive, holistic athletic experience for the student-athletes that I get the opportunity to serve on a daily basis. To show them love, grace, and joy- to show the light of Christ!
Transcript:
Morgan:
Welcome back to another episode of Making a Difference, where we highlight those who are making a difference and making an impact, both locally here in Jacksonville and beyond. I’m Morgan Yonge, joined as always, by my wonderful co-host Greg Chapman with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Greg:
Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for having us again. And, have a great guest this morning. Excited to introduce you to Courtney Taybron. Courtney, I don’t wanna steal your thunder, but tell us where you’re from. What do you do? And. Yeah, yeah.
Courtney:
So, Courtney Taybron. I’m originally from Wilson, North Carolina. It’s a small town, in eastern North Carolina. And yeah, I grew up playing a lot of sports, and that’s how I got to my position here at JU. Just love athletics and just kind of want to serve, student athletes and coaches and administrators as much as I can. So. Yeah.
Morgan:
So tell us about that role. What is your role? And. Yeah.
Courtney:
Yeah. So, I’m a senior, athletic director of sports performance. And so basically what that means is I oversee, strength conditioning. And I oversee that area as well as a couple other areas. So sports medicine, mental performance, and then mental health counseling. So a lot of our support systems in place for our student athletes. And then I get to directly train our volleyball team and our women’s lacrosse team. So anything with conditioning, weight room, I’m the coach on the floor, but for other teams, we have six incredible staff members that oversee their training. So we each have about 2 to 3, teams for ourselves and and. Yeah. So it’s a lot of fun.
Morgan:
That is so much fun.
Greg:
So, Courtney, when it comes to coaches ministry with FCA, something we encourage all coaches to know is their “Why.” Because it’s easy to get wrapped up in the wins and the losses and successes and failures, and we tend to wrap our identity around the success of our team. And I know in your role you have teams multiple, so, so why do you do what you do. Yeah. In the field that you’re at?
Courtney:
Yeah. It’s a great question. I like to remind myself of that often because you’re right. You can’t get wrapped into and into the team success, the culture, the wins, the losses. But I would like to say my why is to ultimately serve the Lord with my my talents he’s given me. But, love him. And to serve him is to love and serve people. So I get to do that with, I think a passion that was just dropped into my heart straight from him, because of the fire and the the love that I have for it. It has to be given, right? Nothing really for me. But ultimately, I get to serve student athletes, coaches, and then, by loving them and loving them well. Just like I’ve received, love myself, through what Christ did for us. So that’s what I like to remind myself. Coaching is just a means to be able to be a light and, to love these athletes at a critical part of their of their lives. And just be someone that they can depend on, look to and, and be able to rely on when they’re making those tough decisions and getting out to, to what they want to do after college. So far, so good.
Morgan:
What a beautiful and admirable. Why so special? Well, how do you weave your faith into your coaching?
Courtney:
Yeah. It’s a little delicate, right? Depending on where you are. Really, what what you’re allowed to do as far as public and private institutions. So it’s a little tricky. But I will say I like to live my life where I am living out essentially the fruits of the spirit, right? Enough where it’s a difference to. Hey, like, you don’t you don’t swear, or you don’t listen to this, or you don’t tolerate that, and it just opens up a conversation. I was like, yeah, you know, this is and this is why, I get to serve FCA, volunteer at JU, which is amazing, I love it. Monday nights are the best for me. And I always stay way too long because I have an early lift the next day, and I, I’m always like, man, I’m so tired, but it’s always worth it. But I get to obviously serve those in those capacities, but, I always try to open it up and live my life where they are wondering, hey, Howard, why are you a little different than than this coach or I had a coach that did this and, you know, you’re a little bit different. And so, I use that to open up, you know, that conversation. Well, and then I, you know, get to tell about my testimony or a little story and, and hopefully that gets them kind of asking some questions for themselves, and, and wanting to know more. So that’s kind of how I’ll do it. Yeah, I love it.
Greg:
Having a daughter, and coaching female sports again, it’s a story for different time. How would you, knowing the identity struggles that not everyone has, but specifically young women. How would you encourage them to be grounded, grounded in their identity in Christ before their identity in sports?
Courtney:
Yeah, it’s a great question. I think it’s something we often talk about with our athletes, when we can, especially with FCA. You have to be you have to be grounded and your foundation has to be something in something stable and something that never changes. And that is that’s Jesus. That’s the word that’s, what we tell them. That’s what we we we preach and teach to them. And so for even for myself, I have to know first, I’m a daughter of Christ. That’s first and foremost. Coaching is what I do. It’s not who I am. Same for athletes. Volleyball is what you play. It is not what you do. You win, you lose. You get the dig, you get the kill. But at the end of the day, like that does not define who you are. We cannot rely on the successes, you know, of of what the world says is the ultimate prize. We cannot rely on that because it’s always going to change. So you have to have it, rooted in something that’s stable. And so that’s something I remind myself, of. And I try to every chance that I get. Hey, you or not, your latest high jump. You or not, your, your results of this, you know, based on tournament, you’re not, you’re more than that. And so for young women, there’s so many things on social media and people there are telling them who they should be, what they should look like, how they should think, what they should tolerate. And if you start in Scripture, that’s all you need. And from there, you can actually live your life the way that God has intended you to, and you’ll never regret it. And so I try to remind them that as much as I can.
Morgan:
Oh, yeah. Fantastic answer. Thank you so much. And thank you, Greg, for for always co-hosting, being a fabulous co-host. Yes. I appreciate your time today. And viewers, thank you for tuning in to another episode. If you want more information, head on over to Living My Faith.com.
We will see you in the next episode of Making a Difference. Foodies care is a nonprofit organization here in Jacksonville, Florida. Our mission is to support other nonprofits realize and carry out their missions. We’re trying to simplify that process to have a local body that’s here on the ground and says, listen, we’re going to work with you and a partner with you.
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