Picture This: My Spirituality Part V

When I am asked about Sports and Spirituality I usually say "it's a class inviting my students to learn about the spiritual life through the analogy of sports." That's a good "sales pitch." People get a small sense of what I do and they'll be sue to know—again—that it's much more than athletes pointing to the sky. I think however, the opening line of the book Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games by Jeanne Hess offers a richer, more thoughtful explanation. Hess writes, "The arena, the stadium, the court, or the field can be our connection to the One, to the Creator, to the meaning and purpose we seek from deep within." I couldn't agree more.

As written on her website,  "In Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games, author and sports coach Jeanne Hess has brought to the forefront a new language for sports. With a word, with a thought, says the author, new ways of living—and playing—can begin. Understanding the words that go into our sports language is the first step to restoring joy into the games we profess to love. And foundational to this language is her sportuality.

The introduction features both a pronunciation key and definition of the word.
Sportuality (spor-choo-al-i-tee)
noun: a way of finding joy in the games

Sportual (sport-choo-uhl)
adjective: of or pertaining to a person's ability to find joy in the games as a player, a coach, a manager, an official, or a fan.

Mat Dickey wrote, I had rather hoped the term "sportuality" was unique, but I suppose it's quite obvious if you think about it. 

If I were asked to offer a thought, I would admit the word has never resonated with me, but it can be tough to capture what we aim to do in the first unit of the course. Sportuality—a way of thinking of the relationship between sports and the spiritual life, helping young people understand and own their spirituality and find joy in all of it is exactly what we do. I suppose it's best evidenced by their response...their take aways...and their spirituality. That is what you will see here.

And so, the fifth installment of "Picture This: My Spirituality" will leave you with the images that they believe best illustrate their spirituality...or rather, Sportuality. Enjoy 

“People can do whatever they want if they just set their heart to it, and just never give up,
and just go out there and do it.” -Bethany Hamilton

"For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10

“A good attitude is essential, especially when struggling in workout or competition.
Even in an individual sport, any negativity can bring down your teammates, just as it would affect
another member of group therapy or a sibling.” —Haley Scott DeMaria 

“Deep down in my heart, I don’t believe I would ever choose God.The Bible tells us that we are chosen. I have always found this truth to resonate with me because on my own I would never choose God. I have simply responded to God’s invitation. Viewing it from God’s perspective, I was chosen. That is very humbling because I did nothing to be chosen.”
—Casey Martin

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trials because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him." -James 1:12

Be sure to check out Picture This: My Spirituality 1-4

Picture This: My Spirituality Part IV aka "In All Things, Finding God"
Picture This: My Spirituality Part III

Picture This: My Spirituality Part II
Picture This: My Spirituality Part I

Photo Credits
Sportuality

The Men and Women of Sports and Spirituality: Who My Students Meet

On the first day class for seniors enrolled in Sports and Spirituality—an elective course for seniors at St. Ignatius, I assure my students that we will not spend six months on this:

In case you can't read this, it says "Sports & Spirituality: Not just athletes pointing to the sky

I love that one of my students had the good humor and understanding to affirm that what we read, discuss and learn is much more than the gestures/rituals we see on display in sports. 

So what then, is the curriculum? What do we study? What are the learning outcomes? I'll leave that for my syllabus and course reader (available upon request). Instead, I would like to honor the men and women my students "meet" as a result of the course work. These are the athletes who make an impression on them for much more than their strength, fitness, achievements, contracts, championships, and so forth. The athletes featured here are the ones my students have singled out as individuals they are "glad to have met." While some stars are familiar to them—Serena Williams and J.J. Watt, others are new—Haley Scott DeMaria and Jake Olson. Meeting them, in this course, however means they are examined in a new way, with a new vision and speaking a new language. The way that Sports and Spirituality asks us to see and speak.

I have articles or video clips posted beneath most photos so you can share in the learning!

Jill Costello: Featured in the SI's 60th Anniversary Issue, The Courage of Jill Costello won an award for "Most Outstanding Story" at the 13th Annual Luce Awards. I was Jill's novice crew coach; she graduated from SI in 2006. She lives on in the memory and hearts of so many.

Jake Olson: I first "met" Jake through "Sports in the News" a presentation that asks students to choose what is happening in the wide world of sports that they want to teach the class and discuss. I have loved following Jake's story and success at USC. There is no shortage of video documenting this man's incredible journey.

James Conner: This year's addition to "Sports in the News" I'm not convinced Conner wasn't on this presenters' fantasy football team. However, this assignment and even mentioning fantasy football is reflective of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm. The IPP is, in short, how teachers are called to teach at Jesuit schools. The very first step is a call for Context: 

• Understand the world of our students, including the ways in which family, friends, social pressures, politics, economies, media and other realities impact them. 
• Love them, love what they love…love what you teach. 

Fantasy Football is a viable way to enter in the world of a high school student. Knowledge of James Conner can only add to that.

JJ Watt: At the conclusion of the course, I ask students who is someone they wish they had "met" in class. Two years ago, one bright and visionary student mentioned JJ Watt. I knew she was right.....and then Hurricane Harvey happened but a few months later. What he did for the people of Houston earned him the title of "The Patron Saint of Houston" as well as Co-Sportsman of the Year. I am not the least bit surprised so many students enjoyed learning more about the Texans Defensive end. Talk about fun to teach...

Bethany Hamilton: I can't quite put my finger on it, but boys and girls—no matter what sport they play—are interested the story of this Soul Surfer. Maybe it's because the movie was released when they were at an impressionable age (2011). Regardless, she is unapologetic for her faith and not one student seems to challenge her words or rebuff her devotion.

Serena and Venus Williams: It is an honor, a privilege and a delight to teach about the Williams sisters. Race, gender, excellence, ascesis, soul force, equality and justice, fashion and flare, sisterhood, motherhood...the list of themes goes on. I use "Venus and Serena," a video recommended by a former student (thank you, Sydney!) and will be showing "Venus vs" in my Ethics class in January.

Haley Scott DeMaria: Our 80-minute class periods begin with what I call "the Silent 10." Students read a Sports and Spirituality book of their choice, in silence for you guessed it, ten minutes. One student picked from my S&S library. I had no idea if "What Though the Odds" would resonate with her, as its the story of a swimmer who experienced hardship and tragedy and found hope and healing through her teammates and the larger Notre Dame family. She was so inspired by DeMaria's message and her story that she said it ought to be required reading for the course. What a gift....and it became one that kept on giving. Haley actually came to SI to speak to my class and followed up our time together with a Skype session. Still amazed that all of that happened....

The Fordson Football Team: A colleague asked in the faculty room just the other day, Where do must Muslims live in the United States. I was able to provide an answer right away, thanks to this documentary. The largest Arabic speaking population can be found in Dearborn, Michigan. Their religious and cultural practices are tightly bound, as evidenced in this documentary. My students love learning about a community that is unfamiliar to them through something  as familiar as....football.

Bo Jackson: The final unit of the course is "Story, Saints and Sportsmen and Sportswomen." One of the essential questions is What is the relationship between story and spirituality? I dare say Bo Jackson is essential to answering this question. After all, the "30 for 30 You Don't Know Bo" is subtitled "The Legend of Bo Jackson." The legend lives on...and looms large.

Eric Liddell: Teaching about the Muscular Christian is a non-negotiable. I have his beautiful words: I believe God made me for a purpose. He made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure and a personal connection to him in my life to thank for the gift of this course. His story, his witness is the gift that keeps on giving.

“We might not have the same gift as others, or the same success,
but we are asked to make an effort with what we have been given.” - Running for God

I am hoping to offer Sports and Spirituality as an evening course for parents in Spring 2019. It is exciting to me to share these life stories with adults and gain from the own collection of beloved athletes, spiritual heroes and saints.

Photo Credits

Bethany Hamilton: Be a Light for Him

If I woke up every day and asked myself "How can I be a light for Him?" I might live differently. I believe I would be more honest and kind to all those I meet. I wonder: Would seek and find more joy? I hope that I would radiate something so powerful that others would inquire about its source: What is it that illuminates your vision, guides your path and leads the way? Perhaps this light is what countless young people see in professional surfer, Bethany Hamilton. It's hard not to.

Being a light for Him is a question that Hamilton, the subject of the 2011 movie, "Soul Surfer" prayed about, intensely before she lost her arm in a shark attack on Halloween night in 2003. As seen in the video posted here, she had given her life to Christ at an early age. For as close as two weeks prior to the attack, Bethany and her mom were prayerfully discerning how she could glorify God through surfing. I love her prayer; it resonates with the four letters we invite every student at St Ignatius College Prep, where I teach, to place at the top of their work: AMDG. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. For the Greater Glory of God. Do what you do for God, to magnify God's greatness. 

Bethany was very specific in her prayer; she wanted to be more than just a surfer—she wanted to be a light for Him. Though she did pray that her surfboard could serve as a platform to be that light, she never imagined how it would come to be. Bethany is lucky to be alive; she lost 60% of her blood in the attack. And for anyone who surfs, they know it's hard enough to get up, stay balanced and ride waves with two arms, let alone one. 

I teach two sections of class called "The Challenge of Scripture" to sophomores. Though the Word can sometimes be foreign, strange or unfamiliar, when it is put in context, when it relates to our lives and when it's heard with open minds and hearts, it nourishes us in a way that little else does. We teach that Scripture can serve as: 
1. a bridge
2. a mirror
3. a light

As a bridge, the Word of God connects us to each other. It carries us over rough waters and to new places. As a mirror, it helps us understand who we are. It can reveal what we need to see in ourselves and often cannot. As as a light, it can guide us through the darkness. It can illuminate what God has in store for us and for all of God's children. 

And yet, I once heard you may be the only Bible a person will ever read. Well, for those who only learn the story of Bethany Hamilton, they will know how Scripture can work as a light and what today's Gospel is really all about. She is not shy about having just one arm; in every picture of Bethany—be it in a bathing suit, her wedding dress, or in a crowd, she does not hide her missing limb. She radiates a joy and light of love, God's great love that offered her consolation and the continued gift to be one with the water in surfing—one of the most spiritual of all sports. 

As my students and I read and prayed with today's Gospel, I offered prayers for Bethany Hamilton and for her family. I showed the Youtube video in class and let the Word come to life...and light.

Luke 8: 16-18
Jesus said to the crowd:
“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.
Take care, then, how you hear.
To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,
even what he seems to have will be taken away.”

Photo Credits
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