Local News

Sept. 7, 2006

Student athletes learn, pray as a team

By Ambria Hammel
The Catholic Sun

Team huddles are a common sight on the playing field. In these tight-knit circles, coaches review offensive strategies and defensives moves. On the Catholic playing field, they’re also used for prayer.

Athletes in Catholic schools must find ways to balance the demands of the sport with the continued spiritual and academic development expected of a Catholic student.

The coaches often build both aspects into the athletic program. They offer or require study sessions and, at the minimum, have the team pray before each competition.

Training through prayer

“You’re praying not for the team to win exactly, but for their safety,” said Abbey Wright, one of the cheer captains at Scottsdale’s Notre Dame Preparatory. The girls huddle up to bow their heads before each football and basketball game. They also pray for the safety of their own squad and that they perform well.

Some teams even attend Mass together on game day. At Notre Dame, the cheerleaders sport their skirts and the football players parade to the chapel in their jerseys.

The football players at Bourgade Catholic High School also go to Mass on game day and are encouraged to keep God in their daily routine. The seniors help the team do that by leading prayer not only before and after every game, but after each practice as well.

Kent Lavine, who is in his first year as head coach of the varsity team, even has the young men pray for their opponents. This strategy helps them to embrace Jesus’ command to “love your enemies.”

Prayer is “an important part of their lives because they made this conscious choice to go to a school that supports their spiritual beliefs,” said Andrew Pongracz, the varsity golf coach at Seton Catholic High School in Chandler.

Equipped for the competition

While prayer may help the athletes focus, training for a sporting competition can’t be all spiritual preparation. Physical and mental preparations are vital, too.

The teams practice daily for up to three hours. Practices often begin weeks before classes resume, although the coaches encourage conditioning throughout the summer.

“I feel it’s an important part of all sports athletics to be strong and physically fit,” said Nicole Loeb, who became head cheer coach at Notre Dame this year. Loeb started a weight room program last month designed to give all 20 girls on the squad a “total body work out.”

Bernardo Garcia, a tight end and defensive end for Bourgade, described the team’s weight program as making each member “bigger, faster, stronger.” Wide receiver Nate Prenovost said he has gained 10 pounds of muscle while Nick, his brother and the team’s running back, also noticed improvement in his lifts.

The swimming and diving team at Xavier College Preparatory spends its time training in the water, focusing on strokes, kicks and dives. Coach Jeff Seaquist also arranges weekly inter-squad competitions to focus on team and strength building.

“They do maybe a tandem relay where one of them holds their legs and the other has to swim and pull,” Seaquist said. Such meets are one of few ways for the team to practice together because, much like the different exercise regimen between a cross country and sprint runner, routine training schedules for swimmers vary by stroke.

In golf, Pongracz said the preparation is more mental than physical. He emphasizes knowing the rules of the game because he said the rulebook is “bigger than the Bible.”

“I’ll just take their ball and put it somewhere and say: ‘If this happens, what’s the rule?’” he said. Pongracz hopes this helps the golfers turn a bad shot into something successful.

Classroom drills

Even if athletes come to the game physically and spiritually prepared, they can’t play if they’re not passing their classes. Some coaches also teach at the team’s school and open their classrooms during lunch for a study hall period. Some make it mandatory.

Seaquist requires the freshman to come to his classroom at lunchtime. “It’s study time for them so that they are getting their studies in order,” he said. Other teams study together before practice and tutor each other.

These support systems help students excel in the classroom so that they can focus when on the field.

What student athletes in Catholic schools ultimately find is that training and teamwork aren’t just necessary on the field and in the classroom. They are also important in the spiritual development of their souls.

Ambria Hammel/CATHOLIC SUN
TOP: The Bourgade Catholic High School varsity football players huddle up after practice.
ABOVE: Lauren Grossman, right, takes a moment to reflect and pray with the Notre Dame Preparatory cheer squad.