The Spirit of Ricks

Ricks College Division of Education Convocation Saturday, April 25, 1998

"There are many things in life that will catch your eye. But only a few that will capture your heart. Pursue those."

This is one of my favorite quotes, first told to me by my roommate Shannon Jones. Ricks College has truly been a place for me to pursue the things I love. One of those things is basketball. I’ve had the incredible opportunity of being a part of the women’s basketball team here at Ricks. And I’d like to share some of the special things I’ve learned from this experience.

My first season was all about learning experience. It concluded on March 8, 1997 with a loss to North Idaho in the championship game of the Region 18 tournament in Couer d’Alene. More than anything, I wanted to win that game and go to the national tournament. We had worked so hard, and I just didn’t understand. Why didn’t we win? It was right there, within our grasp. I didn’t have an answer.

But as I stood on that court and looked into the tearful eyes of my teammates while North Idaho celebrated, I knew something. The Lord cared about us. The church was true. And this was happening for a reason.

From that moment, our goals as a team were clear. We were going to win the conference and host the regional tournament in Rexburg. We would be the team celebrating and going to nationals in Salina, Kansas. We had the desire and the love, so we went to work.

It wasn’t easy. We struggled through the uncertainty of a coaching change, the difficulty of pre-season conditioning, and the usual ups and downs involved with competition. The preseason games went well and we won by large margins. Finally, we had the chance to redeem our loss against North Idaho in the first conference game of the year. We were so excited for that game. We were going to show them that we were the team to beat. But we lost by a basket. And again, we were crying. We felt like it was the end of the world as we sat in the locker room, defeated.

Then Coach Woodland eloquently put things into perspective...
"Girls, is the church still true?" She asked. Is the atonement still real? Do we still love each other?"

We felt the comfort of the spirit, and she continued to tell us that when we looked back on our season, we weren’t going to remember the wins and losses. We would remember and cherish the relationships we had with each other. That’s something Coach Woodland and Coach Grant instilled in us throughout the year--to love each other, above everything else, and not get caught up in the immediate.

We came back from the loss and went on to win the conference, host the tournament, and go to nationals. But we weren’t finished. We had another goal to accomplish--a national championship.
We won our first game of the national tournament in Kansas and faced Central Arizona in the second round. They were ranked second in the nation, and we knew a victory would take all we had. We gave it everything, and had a ten point lead with only 10 minutes left in the game. But Central Arizona fought hard and all we had wasn’t quite enough. Our 21 game winning streak and our dream of a national championship was over.

Again, there were many tears in the locker room. And again, Coach said what we needed to hear. "Girls, is the church still true? Is the atonement still real? Do we still love each other?"

Then, as we were getting changed, Sharee Youngstrom cracked smiles through our tears. She said, "You know, I thought I’d hate you guys if we lost. But nope, I still love ya."

Still, it was hard to come back and play the next two games after such disappointment. Maybe it would’ve been easier if we hadn’t set our goals so high. After all, we’d had a terrific season by all standards. But easier isn’t better. We believed in what Teddy Roosevelt said,

" Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

In our final game of the tournament for 5th place, everyone played and we won by 27 points. A great way to end the season with a 33-3 record. So why were we crying when the final buzzer sounded? It was because we knew it was our last game together and we loved each other so much it was hard to see it end.

That night we watched Central Arizona beat undefeated Trinity Valley to win the national championship. It was hard knowing we could’ve been there, celebrating, hugging each other, and jumping around on the court. But we also couldn’t help but be happy for those girls, because it was their goal too.

Then, as they were about to start cutting down the net, something amazing happened. Their little point guard with the Nike swoosh shaved on the side of her head, stopped her teammate who was about to climb up the ladder. She said, "Come on you guys!" And we were shocked as the entire Central Arizona team left their celebration and their glory to come over to the sideline and give us hugs and thank us for supporting them. Not something you’ll see every day in athletics. But it’s what playing basketball, and life, is all about. It’s loving each other. Those Central Arizona girls had a national championship, but we had something even more precious--testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Like Coach Woodland told us, winning that championship game was probably the best things they’d ever experienced. Yet we could experience something greater every day as we felt the spirit when we prayed. This is a precious gift we all have. And we have an obligation to share this gift with our brothers and sisters who cross our paths. This will bring us true happiness and peace when we don’t get the worldy things we think we need.

Yes, as a great philosopher once said, life is like a box of chocolates. We never know what we’re going to get. :) But we can have faith that the Lord does. And often the disappointments in our lives are actually the catalysts that lead us to even greater success. That was certainly the case for our basketball team.

We thought was had to have a national championship, but the Lord had other plans for us.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said,

"Most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey--delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

Ricks College has been a beautiful vista on the ride of my life. The greatest thing I will take from my experience isn’t about basketball. It’s not the feeling of playing in front of a great crowd in the Hart gymnasium, winning the region championship, or going to nationals. It’s not even the exhilerating feeling of seeing Ricky Bower hit the game winning shot in the regional championship and rushing down onto the floor. And it’s surely not the things I learned in english, chemistry, or anat. & phys., as great as they were. All those things are a wonderful part of my Ricks College experience, but the greatest thing I’ll take with me is the love I’ve felt from so many people, and most of all, the Savior. It truly is the relationships that touch your heart in a way that can’t be forgotten.

I was a part of the basketball team, but we’re all a part of something here--a ward, a family home evening group, a class, an apartment, a simple friendship. That’s what it’s all about. That’s the spirit of Ricks. And we’ll have it forever.

--Kaly