What the Bible Taught This Savannah Banana Star About Teamwork

Published: April 1, 2026

By Mallory Mattingly

Savannah Bananas star RobertAnthony Cruz, known as Coach RAC on social media, learned about true teamwork by reading his Bible.

“God created us to be part of the body. We’re supposed to be connected to each other,” Coach RAC said on the “Jesus Calling” podcast. “When you can experience competition while being deeply connected to your teammates, it ends up being such a beautiful and a fun thing. We’ve had a team Bible study that’s met for the past two years, and we’ve met every week. And that time has grown us so much closer together. It makes the wins even more exciting because you know your teammates better. And then it makes failures a little less bad because you can be there for each other.”

“It’s such a beautiful thing when you can compete to the best of your ability from a place of gratitude, not from a space of, I’m trying to earn favor in the sight of other people,” he continued. “It’s really that verse, ‘Work heartily unto the Lord and not unto man.’ I think that’s the goal. How can we work hard out of gratitude because God has given us able bodies? How do we work out of the gratitude and then learn to serve our teammates rather than serve ourselves? I think we can still strive for excellence and play to the best of our abilities while not making it about us. And I think that’s the best way that we can compete.”

Cruz knows that when life is me-centric, things become way more exhausting.

“I think you wear yourself out when you focus on yourself so much, especially in sports,” he explained. “It’s so easy to find your identity and your sense of purpose in how you’re performing. You go two for four. You got a couple of hits. Great. You had a great day. Now you’re happy. Or, you went zero for four. You struck out three times. Oh, you’re down in the dumps now for a few days. It’s easy to allow the game to dictate your feeling of worth and purpose, and it weighs on athletes.”

Rather than focus on himself, Coach RAC looks for different ways that he can serve his teammates.

“Seeing how you can serve your teammates, asking yourself the question, ‘How can I serve my teammates well today?’ Some of that power that was otherwise out of your hands is now back in your hands,” he continued. “You have the power to do exactly what you set out to do that day, which maybe it’s not going four for four, although obviously you’re trying to do that. But when you make it your aim to serve your teammates and do that, it becomes such a beautiful thing, and you find so much more fulfillment in it.”

Along with their team Bible studies, Cruz helps lead worship nights call the Sandlot Revival that help “people feel seen, known, and invited into the life-changing hope of Jesus.”

“I was honestly nervous about what I should speak on, but after praying about it, I decided on Ephesians four,” Cruz said on Instagram following the first Sandlot Revival event last month. “The main takeaway for me is this: revival is not just some emotional moment that comes and goes. It is believers moved by the Holy Spirit to grow in their maturity in Christ. We are not to remain spiritual infants, but to grow up. And revival looks like so much more than just some emotional moments. It’s about confession and repentance and restoration. It’s about love and service and a radically different way to live.”

Their next event will be at Elevation Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 10.