By Xander Welty ’21
THE ROUNDUP
Two of the biggest parts of Brophy’s life on campus are religion and athletics.
Incorporating religion into sports can be a tricky thing to do, but a lot of the teams on campus find time for some sort of religious activity before, during, or after they play.
Whether it be prayer, retreats, or spending time in the chapel, teams utilize a variety of different methods to make religion an important part of what they do.
Jack Taylor ’20 plays for the varsity football team and says that religion is a big part of how they operate as a program.
“There is always a thought that you are playing for something bigger than yourself,” Taylor said.
He also emphasized that there is a focus in the program around using football to grow closer to teammates and strengthen their relationships with God.
“It isn’t about the final score but more about building relationships with your teammates and God as well as leaving it all out on the field,” Taylor said.
The basketball team also tries to have this same mindset and make religion an important part of their program.
Varsity basketball head coach Mr. Matthew Hooten thinks that the basketball court itself plays a big part in religion being implemented into basketball.
“I think it very literally starts with the space that you are in,” Hooten said, “when they redesigned the court at Brophy, the placement of AMDG on the court was very purposeful.”
Coach Hooten says that they use this attitude and way of life in every practice or game that they play in.
Along with the court, the basketball team and the football team both have a similar goal of playing for something bigger than themselves.
“You have to play for a greater purpose and there has to be a deeper meaning,” Hooten said, “and I think we are very fortunate to be a school that promotes the idea of ‘for God’s greater glory’.”
This is very apparent in the way that the basketball team plays as they are extremely selfless and that plays a big part in why they are so successful as a program.
Brian Paul ’19 a player on the varsity lacrosse team claims that religion helps the team get through challenges and adversity.
“Coach Widbin has always emphasized finding joy in the unenjoyable and taking every challenge as an opportunity,” Paul said.
This mentality went along with the team motto last year which happened to be Psalms 118:24.
“We know God gave us all the opportunity to be on the field together,” Paul says when talking about the team motto from last year’s season, “and I think as a team we just try to make the most of it.”
Making religion an important part of the team helps players play for one another as opposed to playing for themselves.
The way teams highlight religion and incorporate it into their programs could be a big reason why so many teams at Brophy are very successful.