Snowboarders and Late Night Bus Conversations

For as long as I can remember, I have loved learning about the lives of professional athletes. When I was a kid, I remember reading biographies of athletes like Mia Hamm, Lisa Leslie, Michelle Kwan, Shannon Miller, and Michael Jordan.  As an adult, I still enjoy learning about these athletes.  I love watching big events like the Olympics and March Madness but to be honest, the story-teller in me loves the human-interest pieces on these athletes just as much as watching them play and perform!  I am even more interested to hear the stories of professional athletes who are followers of Jesus.  I guess it’s fitting, then, that I work for a sports ministry.

This morning at the gym I was listening to a podcast from Q Ideas, a talk given by snowboarder Kelly Clark about two years ago at a Q Conference.  I already knew Clark was a believer because of an article in the Winter Olympics issue of FCA Magazine that came out in January.  But listening to her share how she merges her faith with the very non-Jesus Centered culture of the snowboarding world gave me a whole new appreciation for this world class athlete.  You can check out the video of Clark’s talk here. 

As I listened to Clark talk about finding her identity in Christ, I was reminded of a text conversation I had with a student a few years ago on a cold bus ride home from Richmond.  I was still teaching math at the time and had ridden down to the Richmond Coliseum VA 4A State Volleyball game on the “spirit bus” with a bunch of students and the SCA sponsor.  Although it was a great match and Potomac Falls played really well, they unfortunately lost that match for the state championship.  After the game, those of us who had ridden down on the spirit bus had a brief opportunity to say hi and give hugs to the Potomac Falls team before boarding the bus to head home.  The volleyball team had taken their own bus down earlier in the day, so they drove home separately. 

Shortly after getting on the highway, I texted one of the players, a senior with whom I’d developed a rapport over the years through soccer and math tutoring sessions, to once again say how proud I was of her and how well she played.  To this day, this girl stands out as one of the most hard-working students I ever encountered in eight years of teaching.  Not only was she a phenomenal athlete, making the varsity volleyball and soccer teams as a freshman, but her work ethic was truly something to be admired.  She would show up to tutoring sessions with color coded, highlighted notes and pages of practice work she had done on her own…a Type A math teacher’s dream!  Her problem in any of these areas was never ability, but rather confidence, or lack thereof. 

She responded to my text, thanking me for coming to the match.  Then said, “I can’t believe it’s all over.  I’ll never play competitive volleyball again.”  Mind you, this girl already had committed to playing Division 1 soccer on a full-ride so her athletic career was far from over.  But this piece of her life, her childhood, was finished.  This is a common reaction for a lot of student athletes, I think.  Aside from runners, most athletes will never compete at that high a level in their sports after high school or, for a select few, college.  When it all ends, so many student athletes struggle to understand what their identity is.   I remember responding to her that even though this piece of her life ending was hard, her identity was not as a volleyball player, or as a soccer player for that matter, as it was well known that her soccer career would be continuing after high school.  I reminded her that her identity was in the fact that she was created by God himself, in His image.  That was the source of her worth, not her playing ability. Little did I know at the time that God was already working on a career move for me, stripping me of my identity as a teacher to serve Him and Loudoun County in a new role.

I wonder how many high school athletes need to hear this in their last game/match/meet, whether it’s just a regular, end of the season game, or a state championship.  Identity is such an important topic for high school students especially.  In just a few short years they transition from relying on their parents for everything from rides to homework help to being able to drive themselves places and making decisions about their future college and career choices.  I’m so thankful for the opportunity I have to speak truth into these students’ lives, even for just a short season while they’re a part of an FCA huddle.  To those who partner with me regularly or have donated in the past, thank you.  To any who are interested in learning more about the work FCA is doing in Loudoun County, please consider joining us at our Victory Dinner this Sunday, April 22 at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne.  Please know that while there is no cost to attend the event, guests will be invited to partner with our ministry at the end of the evening.  We can’t wait to share how God has been at work through FCA this past year!