Providence Cristo Rey athletes learn about motivation and leadership

Coach Shane Tyree diagrams a play for members of the girls’ basketball team at Providence Cristo Rey High School in Indianapolis. In its third year in existence, Providence Cristo Rey continues to develop its sports program to give students the experience of learning life lessons from athletics. (Submitted photo)

(Editor’s note: When it relates to sports, the approach of well-established Catholic high schools in the archdiocese has usually been marked by competition, character, sportsmanship and faith. In the past five years, two new Catholic high schools in the archdiocese—Seton Catholic High School in Richmond and Providence Cristo Rey High School in Indianapolis—have experienced the challenges and joys of starting sports programs for their students. Read the related story: Building sports programs at smaller schools creates another foundation for life.)

By John Shaughnessy

Michelle Stevens smiles as she talks about what makes playing high school sports so special for her.

“It’s just about the experience,” says Michelle, a 17-year-old junior at Providence Cristo Rey High School in Indianapolis. “You win, you celebrate. You lose, you still have fun as a team. The biggest parts of athletics are communication and teamwork.”

Sitting nearby, Jude Okpalannaka nods at Michelle’s answer and then offers his own perspective from playing basketball the past two years at Providence Cristo Rey.

“What I really like is I never stop learning about the game,” says Jude, a

17-year-old senior. “Before last year, I had never been in a regulation basketball game. With street ball, it’s all about you. With our team, it’s all about what we do as a team. We have people who never touched a basketball before. This has taught us motivation and leadership. It’s fun.”

When Jude made that comment in early February, his basketball team had a record of four wins and 10 losses.

Welcome to the sports program at Providence Cristo Rey, a private Catholic school that opened three years ago in Indianapolis and now has about 75 students in four grades. It’s a sports program that’s still essentially in its infancy, a program whose main concern is giving students an opportunity to experience high school athletics.

“I don’t think we push wins or losses here,” says Andrew Dishman, the boys’ basketball coach and the school’s athletic director. “We want them to have the experience [of playing sports in high school], enjoy it and get those leadership skills that all athletic programs hope for.”

It’s a hope that comes with challenges and disappointments.

The disappointments come in telling a student who has an interest in playing a sport that there are not enough other students who have an interest in that sport.

“I have a girl who likes tennis, but there’s not enough interest from other students,” Dishman says.

Since Cristo Rey opened in the summer of 2007, Dishman has had the responsibility of creating an athletic program at a school where students also work one school day a week in a business setting to help pay for their education.

“Initially, the biggest challenge is the interest of the students—what they want to do,” Dishman says. “Then it’s going out and making those contacts to get the schedule together to provide what they really want to do.”

So far, Dishman has established a girls’ volleyball team, a co-ed soccer team and a co-ed cross country team during the fall season. Boys’ and girls’ basketball are played during the winter season, and there’s hope of having a girls’ softball team this spring.

The girls’ volleyball team offers a prime example of the trials and triumphs of starting a sports program at a new school.

“Our first year, we only had six volleyball players,” Dishman says about a sport that needs six players on the court at a time. “The second year, we had 12. This year, we had eight. The girls took their lumps, but they came back every day to practice and worked to improve. I’m always impressed that our kids never give up. We have great kids, and they work hard and they balance a lot. To play a sport takes a lot of dedication.”

Even with all the challenges, Michelle Stevens says her two years on the volleyball team have provided a valuable experience with her teammates.

“Just knowing you have someone to relate to in terms of work, school and sports,” she says. “My teammates know what it’s like to have a busy schedule, and to schedule studying and homework around games and practices. With this being a new school, we were still learning the techniques of volleyball, but we were learning and trying a new thing.”

Alonzo Webb has enjoyed a similar experience as part of the boy’s basketball team.

“I really like it,” says Alonzo, a 15-year-old sophomore. “I come from a rough neighborhood, so to speak. We all come from the same place. We all know what each other is going through. I like going on away games and having fun, and seeing the competition and the sportsmanship from other teams.”

Then there are the special moments when everything comes together for a team. Dishman beams when he recalls a come-from-behind win for the boys’ basketball team this year. Still, another kind of success is even sweeter to him.

“I always enjoy the phone calls and e-mails from parents at the schools we play,” Dishman says. “They say, ‘I was really impressed by the way your athletes competed and the respect they showed.’ That’s what I enjoy overall.” †