Hailey DeGroff | The Chronicle
Before the whistle blows, before the crowd fills the stands and before the final score is decided, some Mason High School (MHS) athletes take a moment to pray.
For these students, competition is about more than wins and losses. Prayer offers players an opportunity to ask for protection, find peace before a game and remember what matters beyond the scoreboard. Although their faiths and personal experiences differ, each athlete describes faith as an integral part of their relationship with their sport.
Junior Jake Koelling, a Varsity football and Varsity baseball player, said he vividly remembers the prayer he said before Mason’s final football game of the season against Colerain on Oct. 23. As a Christian athlete, Koelling said he focused his prayer on his performance, his teammates’ success and, most importantly, the seniors hoping to finish their season strong.
“I remember kneeling on the 50-yard line about 20 minutes before the kickoff, just asking God to send these seniors off on a high note and give these seniors something they can remember,” Koelling said. “I remember asking God to just let me be a playmaker and allow me to have the strength and courage to do something special that night. This specific prayer has stuck with me, and I think it will for a very long time, especially knowing we were able to win and end on a high note.”
MHS Varsity football players Jake Koelling (0) and Ben Ramirez (52) bow their heads in prayer before taking the field.
Koelling said the prayer remained meaningful to him regardless of the game’s outcome. The Comets secured a 42-33 victory, bringing their season to a close. For Koelling the most memorable part of the night was seeing the seniors finish their final game with a win.
Prayer extends beyond memorable games. Koelling said on game days, he begins praying as soon as he wakes up, asking God for a calm day and protection from injury. He said his family is also among his first thoughts, particularly his parents and the sacrifices of time they have made to support his athletic career.
Senior soccer player Kareem Mamlouk, who plays forward, also turns to prayer before each game. Mamlouk is Muslim, and he said that he asks Allah for strength, protection and guidance when he plays, using prayer to place his trust in his faith before stepping onto the field.
“My prayer is a way for me to put my faith first, before stepping onto the soccer field and ask for guidance to do my best,” Mamlouk said. “My faith gives me reassurance when I step onto the soccer field, and it reminds me to always give my best and be grateful for the opportunity to play.”
Mamlouk said the prayer provides him with reassurance as he prepares to compete. Rather than focusing only on the outcome of a game, he said his faith helps him approach the sport with gratitude and trust. The connection between his faith and soccer extends beyond game day. He said he views each opportunity to step onto the field as a chance to put his beliefs into practice while giving his best effort.
For athletes, the end of a game does not always bring the outcome they hoped for. Injuries and disappointing performances can challenge the way they view themselves and their sports. For senior volleyball player Reaghan Richardson, said her faith in God has helped her understand that success is not defined by everything going according to plan.
“My faith has shown me that success can be everywhere in my life,” Richardson said. “Not everything has to be aligned perfectly for me to be ‘successful,’ because God has continued to show me that there is always good in my life”.
Richardson said that this perspective developed as she faced uncertainty about her future in volleyball. Richardson said she hoped to pursue volleyball at the collegiate level, but she said that as that dream began to fade, she struggled to understand who she would be without volleyball.
“At first, finding my identity was really hard because I wanted to pursue a college career with volleyball,” Richardson said. “But as that dream drifted away for me, I started to realize that I wanted to accomplish other things in college and just other things in my life in general. I knew that dedicating 4 busy years of my life in college to play volleyball wouldn’t allow me to pursue that”.
Richardson said volleyball played a major role in shaping her future; her faith provided guidance when her plans once began looking different than expected. Rather than measuring her identity solely through volleyball, Richardson focuses her purpose on something much bigger.
Some people use their faith not only as a constant comfort, but also as a calming tactic before competing. MHS dancer Misha Rajan’s faith, Hinduism, plays an important role in helping her find her calm before stepping on stage, especially during high-pressure performances, like nationals.
“I would say my religion has helped me feel calmer before performances, especially before nationals when the nerves are running high,” Rajan said. “Just taking a second before we step on stage to pray just calms down those nerves and makes me feel more confident and more grounded before we step out on stage”.
Rajan uses this moment of reflection to quiet her nerves, center herself, and feel more focused before performing. Her faith acts as a calming reminder that she is capable, and steadies her through the stress that comes with competing.
For some athletes, preparation goes beyond warmups, team talks and game plans. Faith can also play a role in how they approach competition, giving them a reminder of what matters beyond the final score. Sophomore Liana Kim, a Varsity girls soccer player who plays wing, has a specific reminder that comes with her onto the field in a small but meaningful way.
“Going into a game, I always have a cross on my right wrist as a constant reminder of the strength God gives me, even in hard moments,” Kim said. One of my favorite verses is Colossians 3:2, which says, ‘Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on Earth.’ This helps remind me that however passionate I may be about my sport, at the end of the day, my relationship with God is what truly matters.”
