Gathering at the NABC First-ever coaches' wives event planned for the NABC Convention.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Convention has long been a site of significant ministry. Every year, the weekend is filled with opportunities for coaches to encounter Christ through events such as the opening worship concert, the Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast, the FCA Coaches Luncheon and men’s Bible studies.
You're Invited!
If you are a coach’s wife attending this year’s NABC Convention, you are invited to attend the first-ever ministry event designed especially for you!
But a question often asked is, “Where do the wives fit in?”
This year, that question is being answered.
With the support of NABC Executive Director Jim Haney and his wife, Carol, a new event entitled “The Gathering” will be included in the convention’s lineup and will specifically be designed to minister to the coaches’ wives who have made the trip in support of their husbands.
“The NABC Ministry Team (which consists of representatives from five ministries, including FCA) has devoted itself to providing opportunities for coaches and spouses to bathe in the presence of God,” said Haney. “The Gathering provides spouses the opportunity to gather together, share common experiences, renew friendships and be ministered to by the Lord.”
Thoroughly understanding the life of a coach’s wife—her husband played the role of college basketball coach throughout the 1970s and early 80s—Carol Haney knows that the opportunity to reach out to wives at the convention could serve a specific and meaningful purpose.
“The convention is a great opportunity for ministry because of the timing,” she said. “The uncertainty of the future for some wives due to their husbands’ career changes brings opportunity that might not present itself at other times.”
Hosted by women who also have been in the “trenches” of a coach’s spouse, the event will cater to the specific needs and situations of such women. Hostesses of The Gathering include Connie Jarvis, wife of former St. John’s Head Coach Mike Jarvis; Julie McKay, wife of Liberty Head Coach Ritchie McKay; Pamela Haith, wife of Miami Head Coach Frank Haith; and Leona Romar, wife of Washington Head Coach Lorenzo Romar.
“The Gathering will give many wives a better understanding of the importance of focusing on fulfilling the mission that’s before them in an effort to please Christ,” Haith said. “It will allow them to interact with wives who deal with many of the same issues, and it will create an opportunity for them to develop lifetime friends and prayer partners.”
Added Jarvis: “The life and circumstances of being the wife of a coach are very unique. Only another coach’s wife can really understand the pressure that can be involved. When other people’s husbands go to work, they don’t have 12,000 people second guessing their decisions. The younger women could learn a lot from their older counterparts. Wives are naturally relational beings, and this event could be the seed necessary to grow and develop a very special and powerful voice.”
In the world of college basketball, few people are as respected as Jim and Carol Haney. Click here to read a full Q&A with the pair.
*For more stories about faith and sport, visit www.sharingthevictory.com, the official magazine of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Calendar of Events
Central AR Dodgeball Tournament April 12, 2008 NCentral AR Golf, Searcy CC April 25, 2008 Western AR Golf Tournament Danville, April 26, 2008 NWA Golf Tournament May 2, 2008 Central AR Pigskin Pigout May 2, 2008 Stancil Golf Tournament Hardscrabble CC June 2, 2008 1st Serve Tennis Fort Smith area June 2-July 11, 2008 Sam Phillips Roast, FS June 7, 6:00 pm Arkansas Day Camps June 2 - July 18, 2008 FCA Leadership Camp July 7-10, 2008 Basketball Skills Camp July 7-10, 2008 Razorback Gameday August 30 River Valley Run 15k & 5k September 27, 2008 Central AR Golf Tournament September 29, 2008
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1st Serve Tennis Camps are open to youth ages 5-16 in the Fort Smith/Western Arkansas/Eastern Oklahoma area beginning June 2, 2008. The goal of 1st Serve is to improve the health and well-being of our youth by introducing tennis as a "sport for life". Tennis is an inexpensive way for youth to have fun and exercise at the same time. All campers will be encouraged to live a drug-free lifestyle. For more information, please call the FCA office, 479-649-8815 or email to jplummer@fca.org.
