The Laboratory of Sports
Bob Schindler
“I will take him out the next time down the court!”
I was playing basketball one Monday night at the church we were attending after recently moving to Charlotte, NC. Because of our move, I didn’t know any of the guys. Each week, I reached out to someone new, trying to find my place in this crowded gym.
Basketball had become my go-to sport after leaving professional golf. I love the game and, before moving to Charlotte, played 2-3 times a week at a local Boys and Girls Club. After the move, I was down to a disappointing once a week.
At the church, we had 20-25 players each night, but I ended up getting matched up against one particular player in a lot of the games. In many ways, he was a younger version of myself
On this particular night, I had gotten a long rebound and went racing down the court to make the game winning basket, insuring we were on the court for another game. Just as I was about to lay the ball in, I got pushed from behind with the hardest push I had ever experienced in my basketball days. I flew into the unprotected concrete block wall. Fortunately, I caught my balance and cushioned my fall. I was shaken but wasn’t hurt.
When I turned around to see who had pushed me, it was my younger mirror image. Turns out he was the pastor’s son-in-law.
Under my breath, I muttered, “I will take him out the next time down the court.” The opportunity to fulfill that vow came as he moved to my left to drive to the basket with the ball. I stuck out my left knee to block his path, purposely trying to trip him. He went sprawling to the floor. No words were exchanged.
We won that game but exited the court having reached our limit of consecutive won games. As I went to the sidelines to await the next game, I had the thought, “What was that about Bob?” I knew God was probing.
As I examined and dialogued with Him, it quickly became clear that my anger at the opposing player was disproportionate to the incident. What he did was wrong, but I was seething. I knew from experience to probe further. But first, I had to apologize.
I went to this young man and told him I was sorry for my actions and asked him to forgive me. “Sure,” he said a little curtly and walked away. No reciprocal apology for what he did. I was angry all over again!
After that night, I reflected on my anger. I had learned that anger is always a secondary emotion. There are always other emotions beneath the anger, something more vulnerable, harder to admit and embrace. Going further down, I came to see that the move had exposed some vulnerability in me. In that vulnerability, I was afraid about what the future held for me and my family. In addition, I was also grieving what we left behind.
The push that night exposed my vulnerability, not just bodily as my unprotected body went up for the layup but emotionally from our move. Getting to the source, I acknowledged to God what was going on – my fears, my grief. “The Father of mercy and God of all comfort” (2Corinthians 1:3) expressed his love and concern for me in that place. In that comfort, I could press on, turning away from the fear.
Former UCLA Coach John Wooden famously said, “Sports don’t build character. They reveal it.” Wooden didn’t stop there though. Wooden would then use sports to “rebuild” what is “revealed.” His famous Pyramid of Success is built on that revealing and rebuilding.
I like to think of sports as a laboratory. A lab is a safe environment in which to experiment. In these safe experiments, things come to light, things are revealed. Once lessons are discovered, they can be applied to a much broader context than the lab.
That night in the laboratory of basketball my anger got revealed. It was already there before that night. God used basketball to show it to me and expose it to others! Once out, I could examine it and learn. In my case, I could learn about what was beneath that anger. I could take what I learned there and apply it to my life which meant seeing the connection to our move and the fear and grief I was experiencing. From there, I could turn to God, find comfort and then move on in trust. God used basketball to not only reveal but build my character.
Sports are a great gift. They are full of wonders. Seeing God use my sports to become such a laboratory to reveal and then build my character is one of those wonders.