Set upon high places

People attending the Church of Christ, Scientist, in Kent, Ohio, have gotten used to the sight of a 6-foot, 2-inch Kent State University student in sneakers sprinting up to the main door of the church.

He is Trevor Huffman, an education major specializing in English, who made an impressive debut as a combination point guard and shooting guard on the Golden Flashes team, which reached the NCAA Division One tournament for the first time in its history. We talked with Trevor just after he had returned with the Golden Flashes from a tour of Italy and the Netherlands.

"College athletes who really want to do well," says Trevor, "have to think beyond the strenuous training sessions and the sacrifice of recreation time. They need a deep commitment to excellence in everything they do—including academic studies. Division One basketball is about teamwork. Unselfishness. Running with the ball in every corner of their lives.

"I think you'll guess that I'm not talking about players for whom college is nothing more than a stepping-stone to an NBA career and a multimillion-dollar contract. Some of us may land up there, yes, but most of the guys I play with have other goals in life. They are also ready to hit the books, make their academic grades, and balance out their lives.

"If I become a teacher. I'll probably coach school teams on the side. My dad was a high-school basketball coach in Flint, Michigan, where I grew up. This explains how I came to play the game quite seriously as early as third grade—and it's never slowed down. The other game I love is soccer; but right now there's no time for that."

Bible study

Trevor emphasizes that there's much more to his college basketball career than putting 50 percent of his spare time into team practices—grueling three-hour, six-days-a-week sessions, combined with one-hour weightlifting sessions three times a week.

"Prayer, Bible study, and church-going are always part of my preparation," he says. "I pray to know God better. To recognize God's contribution to every part of my college experience, including the sport.

"I'm usually the first one in the locker room before every big game. I keep a Bible there. My page mark is in Psalms, and I just let those truths flow through me. The promises are so rich. Take Psalm 18, for example, which could have been written for basketball players: 'It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. ... Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip' [verses 32, 33, 36].

"I was a bit embarrassed to be seen reading the Bible in the locker room, until I realized that there's nothing wrong with showing that you believe in God. I don't have anyone complaining to me. We don't talk about it much, but we're all looking for agility, sure-footedness, strength, and endurance. And it's becoming clearer and clearer to me—and I suspect to some of my teammates—that those qualities are derived from God, and no other source.

"Division One basketball is quicker, faster, and harder than anything I've known before. The players are stronger, taller, and more athletic. But we play because we love basketball, and that makes a big difference."

Connecting with God

"If you can connect with God through prayer before a game, it wipes out all negative thoughts and sets you up for jump shots that are fearless and positive. It's when I know I'm assisted by God that I play my best and feel really confident in what I'm doing. Expressing God's qualities on the court is what helps me the most. And that includes a healthy regard for one's opponents. Love may feel like too soft a word to use in the heat of a tough match, but there's much to be said for respect and fairness and concern for others' well-being.

"My dad was, and in some ways still is, my best coach. Ever since I was little, he would say 'Go chase your dreams and never settle for anything less.' He never tells me what I'm doing wrong when he watches my games. He just suggests what I need to work on, that's all. Quietly, he says things like 'Check on your left hand,' or, 'Work on your pull-up jumpers.'"

Trevor admits to being the humorist on the team. "I'm pretty goofy," he says, "which is a way of making sure we don't get too serious. But, you know, playing sport at this level in college teaches you more than you could ever have imagined about life. It encourages determination, discipline, teamwork, concentrated effort, unselfishness, respect for authority, and so on. This will probably become even clearer to me when the time comes to graduate and I have to apply these things in other arenas, such as a job and marriage.

"My basketball career took off after the family moved to Petoskey, Michigan, where it happened that nobody had ever gotten a Division One basketball scholarship. Up to that point, very few people believed it could be done. So I kept at it, and trusted in the plan God had for me.

"Now I'm learning and growing every day in this college experience; and I'm enjoying my basketball, even though it's never easy. I just keep working on my jump shots, making sure the honor and glory go to God."