SPORTS November 24, 2008 Issue

HOOPS AND THE SPIRITUAL SCOREBOARD

AVERY SANDER

WE'D LOST AGAIN. It was my freshman year in college, and we were several games into basketball season. I was at my wits' end.

In high school, I'd aggressively pursued every opportunity to improve my basketball skills in order to earn a scholarship to college. My day started at 4:30 a.m. each weekday morning so that I could complete a rigorous workout routine. On top of that, there were team practices after school. And I got used to enjoying victories.

I supplemented all of this hard physical work with daily spiritual study of the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy's writings. I enjoyed learning more about how my efforts on the court were glorifying God, not me. For me, time on the court was about expressing my God-given freedom, talent, and work ethic.