Embracing Holistic Development: Unlocking the Potential of Student-Athletes
This year we celebrated the Academy’s 10th anniversary. Like many schools, our athletic program has played an important role in the lives of our students and seen some significant successes! Since our establishment in 2013, our school athletic program has produced championship teams, celebrated all-conference players and league MVPs, and garnered admiration from players, families, and fans alike. However, what truly sets us apart is our holistic approach to player development. “We are not solely trying to build athletes,” says head soccer coach, Jason Roufs. “We’re trying to build well-rounded individuals who enjoy sports, who aren’t afraid to engage in sports as adults, and who have the understanding, strength and coordination.” Our philosophy revolves around the belief that by encouraging student-athletes to participate in multiple sports until the age of 16, we foster comprehensive growth, strength-building, intellectual maturation, and the development of invaluable life skills.
Coach Roufs (far right) celebrates an incredible 2023 soccer season with his high school team after they finished as runner-up in the division tournament.
A key biblical passage for Coach Roufs comes from Ephesians 4:1-13. This text highlights the many various roles that are required for a well-functioning team. “Sports culture celebrates just a few positions. Look at the stats that are kept: most points scored, most assists, or most saves. But what gets overlooked is how every single player plays an integral part. The life skill to be learned is that the goal is not for everyone to become the highest scorer: the goal is to figure out your giftings and the role that you play best, and contribute that to the success of the team.”
Phoenix athletes participate in cross-country, volleyball, basketball, and soccer. At the heart of all these sports are two key values: 1) giving one’s whole heart and energy to the learning process, and 2) embracing mistakes as integral to growth. We acknowledge the reality that sports are temporary. Even if a student wants to go pro, it will be a temporary season in their life. But what the students will always take with them is the attitude of approaching every practice time, every game, with focus and whole-heartedness. Mistakes are normal. Necessary, in fact. What is to be celebrated is the humility and resilience to push through mistakes and come out stronger on the other side.
A great example of that this year was freshman Camden Cole, who nervously tried out for the Phoenix soccer team. Unsure as to whether or not he had the skills and experience to be on the team, coaches encouraged him to to try out, and he made the team. “At the beginning of the season I placed him all over the field, to figure out his skill set. He started out as an outside mid, then forward, then outside back,” Coach Roufs shared. “By the end of the year he was our starting goal-keeper, filling a crucial need on the team.” Camden’s coaches and teammates alike were impressed with his unwavering commitment and willingness to step into a very difficult position. “That’s the kind of person we need in our athletic program. People who are willing to give their all for the team, and trust their coaches to place them in whatever position best serves the team.”
Coach Olson instructs his high school volleyball team during a regular season match. Learning to trust the authority and direction of a coach is emphasized in our sports program.
Junior Moriah Olson says that sports have offered her valuable life lessons on leadership: “One of the key values I have learned through Phoenix sports is that leaders are servants. I have been playing volleyball longer than my other teammates and so naturally I have been put into a leadership position over the past 3 years. As a result, I have had to learn that being a leader is more than just instructing and correcting others, but it is about making sure your team is doing well as a whole (spiritually, interpersonally, interpersonally, academically, etc.). It’s about sacrificing your time and energy for the betterment of the team.”
Jr High basketball player, Nanozi Nyago, takes a free throw during a semifinal tournament game. Nanozi is learning to take lessons from her bible classes and apply them to her team dynamic and skill development as a basketball player.
Phoenix athletes also learn how scripture applies to every aspect of their lives, both on and off the court. 7th grader Nanozi Nyago says this has been the most valuable lesson she’s learned in her athletic experience with the Academy: “A valuable lesson I have learned playing with our athletics program that I have carried into other areas of my life is biblical application. Our coaches have taught me and my teammates how to apply scripture to any situation, good or bad. I’ve been able to apply this value to academic, social, spiritual, and emotional situations.”
Moriah Olson further emphasized this point. “A verse that Coach Olson often brings up on the court is Philippians 3:12-14. In volleyball, it is important that we have what’s called “a short memory”, where we learn and then move on from the mistake we made. It is a fast paced game and each rally ends in a mistake (made by your team or the opposing team). This verse is a great metaphor for the game of volleyball but it’s great for life too and I have learned to apply that “short memory” in school, at home, and with my friends. Mistakes are going to be made, it’s a part of being human, but when we can learn from them and then move on, it is going to do a lot more good than holding on or feeling shame for the mistake made.
Off-season training has begun for the 2023-2024 year for Phoenix athletes! Students are preparing to take the court and field again, representing their school and the Lord. We hope to see you there cheering them on!