Christian Athletes at Myrtle Grove Christian School
by Aileigh Kenny
8th Grade Student, 2024 – 2025
At Myrtle Grove Christian School, our sports are surrounded by Christ. This helps our athletes with confidence, teamwork, respect, and love in every sport. During the basketball seasons, God showed his love not only to our players, but through our players. Christian athletes at
MGCS are encouraged to pray and focus on God by going to him whether we win or lose. God showed His power through this basketball season when the Girls A team constantly prayed over opponents as well as MGCS teammates during a season that included many losses and injuries. He helped us heal physically and emotionally. We said this one particular prayer at every practice and game:
“God, thank you for this game I love, and for the strength to play it.
I need my coaches, teammates, and opponents, although I may not say it.
Please keep us safe from injury, as on the court I go.
Give me grace in defeat and victory, your matchless love to show.
Bless all who helped invest in me, whose wisdom helped me grow.
I know it’s just a game, dear Lord, but how do I love it.”
By stating these words with my teammates while holding hands and bowing my head humbly before God, I felt a closeness and a spiritual connection with this group of Christian athletes. I felt like we were more powerful and united, which made the rough times easier.
Throughout the 2024-25 basketball season we struggled through the losses and injuries, but the thing that kept us going was God. His love and strength for us individually and as a team kept us together, growing stronger. We found ourselves pouring our trust into Him when we had big mistakes, losses, and injuries. These struggles could have brought our teams and players down, but instead they built us closer together to God and each other. Whether praying for quick healing over those who were hurt or the strength to keep going when we already knew the game was over, our relationship with Him grew stronger.
Several MGCS 8th graders have said that playing in a Christ-centered environment has helped them tremendously by giving them confidence on the good and bad days that come with any sport. Eighth-grader Indie Boneske relies on her faith to keep her balanced during competition.
“Whenever I get upset, whether we are winning or losing, I always find a moment to pause and ask God for patience and strength. Strength not only so I don’t get upset at the team, but also to focus and win the game no matter the score or if we are having a day off. God also helped me welcome the new players on the team and have patience with them throughout the season. ”
Hadley Coe, an eighth-grader on the volleyball, soccer, and cheer teams, echoed this sentiment. “God has given me the strength and confidence to play. He helped me push through when I faced hardships in soccer.”
Similarly, many 7th graders said that worshiping God has brought them closer to the senior players and that through prayer, they have created a teamlike, spiritual connection with God. Grace Boyd stated, “Throughout the season at MGCS, going to God and looking for help led me to have more of an impact and a voice on the team. God also listened to our team as we reached for more teamwork and deeper connections together so we could play better on the court.” Students are discovering they have two coaches on the sidelines; their actual coach and their spiritual coach.
From a coach’s perspective, praying before games has an impact on students and athletes; they also see God helping their teams and players. In our current culture, the focus on individuals can remove the thought that God should be in the forefront of each game. Coach Thorton, athletic director and boys’ soccer/basketball coach, said, “I pray before each game so the parents and athletes can have a reminder that they are here playing to honor God and they are playing for God.”
Being an athlete in a Christ-centered setting is one of the benefits to playing sports at MGCS. By relying on Him during our competitive moments, we also learn to rely on Him in other parts of our lives. He is the ultimate Warrior on our rosters.
