Rituals

Many players have rituals before a game, especially an important one. Few players dress up in a certain way, some eat things, and others listen to music before their game. But one ritual that many teams in every sport and all levels is the sign of the cross or a little prayer. They use this to boost them up and feel like they are going to play better and be safe because they have God right next to them.
Many players also make the sign of the cross when they accomplish something great. For example, when someone hits a homerun or scores a goal, the person will make the sign of the cross, point and look up to God. It is like saying thank you to God for helping them accomplish it. In addition, we also see before a game the team will huddle up and say a prayer plus they will ask God to give them the power to win and be safe from injury.
Paramus Catholic boys’ basketball team prays before every game. We will all circle up wrapping our arms around each other and pray to God. We thanking Him for everything he gave us and we ask Him to lead us to victory. The team also started a new ritual. We went to Sacred Heart Church in Rochelle Park every Saturday night before our Jamboree game the following day. The school’s pastor, Father Larry, was the priest there. Then the championship game was Friday so we asked Father Larry to continue our ritual and give us a prayer service before our championship game to help us and give us the power to become champions. That Friday Night at FDU, Paramus Catholic became 2010 County Champions. We all believed that we won it with God’s help and the prayer services and Saturday mass helped us to become champions.- John Jaramillo

A Way Out

Any sports can be used in many different ways according to the individual. Sometimes as a stress-reliever, as a hobby, or in most cases, as a way outlet from the problems one may face in life. If a person is not having the best of days, or weeks, or whatever the case may be, they may pick up a basketball, baseball, or football and just let that activity take them away from reality. A lot of people are not aware that some of America’s most talented athletes have become as successful as they are because they used their sport as a way out of life’s many issues.

Many people regard the court, or the field as their “sanctuary” for the simple fact that they can come there at any time to be away from the quarrels of life and get away, almost the same as when a Christian goes to the Church to be near God and get away from our issues in life. Many of the great athletes tend to appreciate more the sport that they play, which also shows and displays them being appreciative of God’s greatness and His creativeness in providing us with activities to engage in so that they can in hand, showcase the talents that God has so graciously blessed them with.

People do not seem to realize all the royalties that God has given us. He gives us things such as sports just as a means to escape reality since the world is filled with so many evils and dangers, and this is where our religion can tie into our sports. It gives us the strength the help us persevere when it may seem as though life is difficult and too hard to live. This shows that God knows exactly what He is doing and also that He does many of these things simply to test our faith and to see how far we will go until we are on our knees and cry out for His help. - Eddie Johnson

Sports and Conduct

Professionals and even student athletes all make mistakes. Whether it’s during a game, on the streets, or in the classroom, mistakes are made and there has to be consequences. In the pros, it’s a fine, in college you’ll probably do a lot of running or get suspended, and in high school you could get kicked off the team. The fact that these rules are in affect shows that commissioners, coaches, directors of athletics, and town and state boards of education really want athletes to succeed on and off the court and represent themselves in the right manner. This is clearly the right thing to do, but the game would go on without it. If a football player rushes for 300 yards in a game, goes and burns down a building the next day, and has even better game the next week, he’s still a good athlete and sports would still get the publicity. By these commissioners’ stepping in and setting rules it shows that they don’t just want good athletes; they want good genuine people on and off the field or court. To make a more direct analogy, a student athlete being recruited to play division I baseball decides at the end of his senior year he’s not going to go to class anymore. No college is going to want someone that’s not going to be a hard worker on the field or off the field, because odds are, if you “turn it on and off” in the classroom, you might do that on the field to. Nothing in life is a give in besides death. We have to work hard each and every second of everyday if we want to succeed, and rules and regulations like these show that all the commissioners and people with authority really do care and want the best for their athletes’ in every which way possible.- Joe Nitti

Moment of Silence

Sports connects everyone in a special way or form that no one can explain. During practice and/or games players and fans all feel like were all united. We celebrate together, mourn together, and even get mad together. Sports are one of the few things that unite all of us no matter what race, sex, or age; we don’t even need to know each other.
Moment of silence is a short period of a silent prayer, reflection, or meditation. It is a gesture of respect for a particular person or event who recently died. In sports we see this all the time, during recreation games, school games, and even professional sports. It is usually one minute of complete silence to remember the great things that person or those people had done.
When the World Trade Center fell, the New York Yankees started a moment of silence during the seventh inning stretch. During the moment of silence they play the national anthem. Everyone felt united, each person mourn, hugged, and cry together. No matter what team you like or play, this reminds us that we all are brothers and sisters, we should support each other when we are place in tough situations. During that year (2001-2002) many New Yorkers will go the baseball game so they would not feel like if they were alone, the game will help them cheer up and feel wanted and love. The moment of silence also helps the family and friends that are mourning because of there lost ones and feel the support of everyone that is surrounding them.
Last year, Paramus Catholic soccer team lost a player that was with them four years ago. Many of us were close friends of Joe Karcz. Sadly he past away in a car accident. So every home game we had a moment of silence and also we wore a black band around our right arm. The band represents Joe Karcz. We dedicated that year to him. Last year was the first time in school history that the Boys’ Soccer Program won league championship, in addition, we beat Don Bosco for the first time, and was rank 2 in Non-Public High School for the State Tournament. We believed that Joe Karcz helped us to go that far. Without faith and God’s help we would never had gone this far. - John Jaramillo

PRAYER AND SPORTS

In the world of sports, many teams, athletes, coaches, and others that are involved in the world of sports sometimes look for guidance in order to perform well and excel at whatever task that is at hand. When searching for guidance, a lot of athletes will look to God to provide the strength and help that they need.
Many times, teams or individual athletes have certain prayer rituals and religious activities that they will carry out before engaging in their sporting event. As an athlete myself, I can honestly say that I too pray before basketball games, and sometimes during games as well. Any athlete who does this would tell you that it provides a sense of comfort and relaxation after communicating with God, making their job a lot easier to handle.
Not only are prayers said when players are looking for help or guidance, but also when a former player has passed away, teams and organizations will fellowship with each other and engage in prayer asking God to provide peace for them and for the loved ones family. Also, out of respect for the former teammate that was lost, teams will pay tribute to them by most of the time having a black stripe placed on a jersey, or the jersey number of the former player placed near the shoulder of the jersey.
Prayer in sports is actually a common thing. Many of the best athletes in the world look to God and talk to him through prayer before going and performing. As you can see, these athletes give credit to God and to prayer for them being so successful at what they do, and it is evident in the way they perform.
If you have faith in God and pray, you can achieve a great amount of success, especially in the wide world of sports. - Eddie Johnson

Importance of Sportsmanship

From when you’re 5 years old until you become a professional athlete, sportsmanship is something highly encouraged. At your first t-ball practice I’m sure your coach told you not to make fun of or hurt anyone on your teams or the opposing teams’ feelings. That escalates as you get older also. We see it in high school sports, college sports, with the pros, and even as young as with middle school kids. Not only do you not ridicule anyone, but you go out of your way to clear up any unintentional damage and therefore avoid tension. To make a direct analogy, you commit a real hard, yet clean, foul in basketball and your opponent goes to the ground. More times than not, you’ll throw your arm out pick the kid up, and ask if he’s alright. Although a lot of coaches discourage “showing love” on the court or field, this has a field of its own. Its all part of the game and it might happen again, but being the bigger person and showing you didn’t mean anything by it goes a long way. This all starts with that very first t-ball practice. If it wasn’t for that coach pointing you in the right direction, you may not think twice to do the right thing. The most competitive good athletes are the ones that go out of there way to make anyone around them feel that much better. These little acts of sportsmanship start with that T-ball practice, grow to shaking hands before the first pitch or opening tip, and peak at game time when you make the decision to make someone feel better about something you’ve done that may have hurt them. When it comes down to it, a good coach here and there, growing up in a good household, and just believing that helping someone get up off the ground isn’t going to kill you, will make you that much better of an athlete, person, and overall competitor, because if you think something so miniscule like that will take you out of game, than you’re not going to be successful. So believe in yourself, take that extra step, it won’t kill ya, it’ll make you stronger. (That’s Kanye’s)- Joe Nitti