2026 Ladies Basketball Retreat

Basketball Cultivates Virtue

On Ash Wednesday, St. Joseph’s middle school girls basketball team gathered for a retreat to reflect on the skills and virtues cultivated during their first season. During the 11-week season, they played eight games against more experienced teams and even secured the school’s first basketball win of the year!

To conclude the season, Head Coach Carissa Krautscheid and Assistant Coach/Vice Principal Mark Krautscheid organized a mini-retreat for the nine athletes to engage in fun team building activities that cultivated common ground and fostered joyful memories together. As middle school girls, a supportive community on and off the court is impactful to both team cohesion and emotional well-being.

Most importantly, the team reflected on some of the many life skills and virtues that basketball helps to build, such as teamwork, hard work, self-sacrifice, fortitude, joy, humility, overcoming failure, patience, and perseverance.

1. Teamwork

Perhaps most obviously, athletes learn the value of teamwork. Basketball requires each person on the court to do their personal best in order to contribute towards the shared mission. It is not possible to play basketball (in its full capacity) alone. Individuals still need teammates to pass to, help rebound, set screens, defend opponents, and assist with scoring. Each person brings unique talents that benefit the entire team. Effective teamwork involves identifying, valuing, and using these gifts for the common good.

“I like teamwork!” one athlete shared. “Since I do have experience playing basketball, I decided to teach my teammates how to play. This team was great and I’ll never forget it.”

Teamwork is driven by a shared mission, ultimately: glorifying God and building His Kingdom. St. Joseph’s middle school girls basketball team knew that they were representing both the school and, by extension, the Catholic Church. With prayer before and after each game at the Boys and Girls Club, and good sportsmanship in the face of adversity, it was evident that our team was playing for a higher purpose.

2. Self-Sacrifice

Leaders on the court (and in life) are able to recognize the strengths of their teammates and work to help them realize their potential. True leaders require humility to look beyond themselves and recognize the needs of others. In basketball, athletes need to work together and assist their teammates in order to defend opponents, or create openings while on offense. Sometimes it might seem like a risk to leave your post – although you had an unguarded access to the basket – however, coming to the aid of a teammate allows the whole team to be more successful. Sometimes in life, we have to give up our own security in order to make something better happen, often for someone other than ourselves.

Self-sacrifice reflects God’s own nature as self-giving, self-sacrificing love. It is a deliberate, loving offering of yourself – and your time, comfort, desires – for the good of others and in union with Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, also aiding in self-discipline.

3. Hard Work

Hard work is dedication, discipline, and a commitment to meaningful effort that contributes to personal growth, team progress, and the achievement of worthwhile goals. Hard work is sanctifying and helps us to collaborate with the holy work of God.

“Hard work has helped me to get better at sports and schoolwork, and to learn more about God,” said another team member. By getting in the routine of working hard at sports, kids can transfer that habit to other areas of their lives, such as school work, volunteering, chores, and even striving for sainthood, which is the most worth-while goal of all.

4. Fortitude

Fortitude is the mental power of endurance and patient courage when faced with challenges. Fortitude ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. Fortitude is courage that enables you to act rightly even when afraid.

In basketball, athletes are faced with the temptation to foul or to play with unsportsmanlike behavior. This team learned that they cannot control the behavior of the opposing team; they could only maintain patient courage, lend a helping hand to a fallen player, and shake hands after games – win or lose. Despite the odds, another player said she “tried to not give up. I tried to encourage my teammates even if we were losing.”

5. Joy

In his Apostolic Exhortation to young people, Christus Vivit, Pope Francis emphasized, “joy is at the heart of the experience of sport: the joy of exercising, of being together, of being alive, and rejoicing in the gifts the Creator gives us each day.” Joy is a deep, abiding spiritual well-being rooted in your soul’s union with God. 

Unlike happiness, which is circumstantial and dependent on external circumstances, joy is a gift from God that persists even in suffering. Sports certainly have opportunities for suffering, whether it be usual tiredness and exertion from exercise, or unforeseen injuries. As Catholics, we can unite our suffering to Christ. In Acts 5, we hear about how the Apostles were beaten by the Sanhedrin because of their unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, and “they left rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name” (Acts 5:41). This radical joy is an example for all of us to remain steadfast in abiding joy, despite the many trials and sufferings of life and in sports.

6. Humility and Overcoming Failure

Failure is inevitable in sports and in life. Mostly likely, you won’t win every game, and you certainly won’t make every shot or play perfectly at all times. There is a lot to learn in failure. During our team’s first game, the athletes learned dozens of elements of basketball that they hadn’t known before, even though they lost. As a new team, two thirds of the girls had never yet played basketball. However after that first game, they all had a much better grasp of what basketball is all about.

Overcoming failure is about transforming failure into opportunities for spiritual growth, humility, and deeper reliance on God’s grace. It is recognizing that failure is not the end of your story – rather, it is a stepping stone toward growth and holiness, which takes a tremendous amount of humility.

Humility is first recognizing your need for God and your dependence on God, so that you can be more fully open to the will of God. Humility is recognizing that, ultimately, you are not in control of everything in life. Humility is free from arrogance and pride. One player shared, “I’m growing in humility every year, and even though I’m not perfect, I can try my very best to be humble every day.”

7. Patience and Perseverance

Patience is the power of calmly or contentedly waiting for something you hope for. Patience enables you to endure present challenges without sadness or resentment, as you are conforming to the will of God. Patience safeguards the mind from being overwhelmed by sorrow or despair, allowing you to remain steadfast in the pursuit of good even in adversity.

Perseverance is disciplined, determined effort toward a worthy goal despite obstacles, delays, fatigue, discouragement, or temptation. Perseverance is staying committed even when progress is slow, learning from failure without giving up, and overcoming internal struggles like fear, doubt, or apathy. 

It’s hard to see progress when you’re in the midst of it. Only when looking back can you really distinguish how far you’ve come. After the team’s penultimate game, the two referees went out of their way to note how much St. Joseph’s middle school girls basketball team has improved since their first game. They shared how impressed they were, particularly at our team’s perseverance in playing a double-header against two very challenging opponents. Despite odds and adversity, the team did not give up.

Sports have tremendous potential to impart life lessons and to cultivate virtue in the lives of our students. Saint Joseph Catholic School is proud of all of its student athletes for trying something new, persevering throughout the season, and engaging in fun athletics as a community.

Head Coach, Carissa Krautscheid