Rockbridge Academy Blog
Posts Tagged "sports"
Living out Faith on and off the Field
March 19, 2026
What was your mindset going into college sports? How did it change over your 4 years as you grew in your relationship with God?
Emma: My mindset coming into college was completely wonky. My identity as a person was in how good I thought I was as a lacrosse player. But God really used lacrosse powerfully- through riding the bench throughout my career, to change my heart and shift where my identity was, out of my performance and accolades, and into Christ. My playing time didn’t ever really pan out the way I wanted it do, but I learned some incredibly valuable lessons: what perseverance and endurance looked like, how to have joy despite my circumstances, what success really was, and how to work my very hardest solely for God’s glory even when that wasn’t being recognized by others.
Mayowa: My mindset coming into college was to just be competitive. I was very excited to get to play at the next level and really see what I was made of. And honestly, I don’t think my mindset changed over the four years. I think there was just a pivot of perspective that I felt like the way to honor God through sport was to continue try and tap into untouched potential and to keep trying to grow. I felt like God blessed me with athletic talents, and my way to be fruitful with them was to just keep working hard and keep trying to improve.
How do you live for God on the field? What does that look like? What was the development of that?
Emma: One of my breakthrough moments came at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Huddle. We had Riley Tanner, professional women’s soccer player, speaking that night. I had been wrestling with how to glorify God on the field and what that looked like. I asked her, What do you think about on the field? How are you taking ‘every thought captive’ as you play?” Her answer changed everything. She said something like, “When I am on the field, I honestly don’t think about anything. I know that I’ve put in probably thousands hours, so the muscle memory is there. I just play. I clear my mind. My way to glorify God on the field is to go 1000% whenever I play, whether I succeed or fail- to give my body as a living sacrifice.” That was hugely impactful for me because it instantly reframed what success was for me. Success was no longer dependent on how many goals I scored or how much time I played- the outcome, instead it was dependent on my effort and mindset- the process. I could give everything I had in a game or practice and I could cheer my head off on the sideline.
Mayowa: I think one of the ways that I lived for God on the court was to have sportsmanship. I think that when you start playing high-level sports you’re taught to “kill your competition”, etc. I felt like that never resonated with me. I enjoyed myself the most when my competitor was also playing very well and we could challenge each other in that way. And then I learned at an FCA huddle that the word compete literally means to strive together, and I think that’s when it all clicked for me. I think sometimes there’s a misconception that you can’t glorify God and also be highly competitive. But it’s as simple as helping somebody up after they fall while also trying to win, I think both can still exist. I think that’s how I lived for God on the court.
How do you balance living for God in and off the field?
Emma: Two parts to this question. First, when I first got to college, I set boundaries for activities I was going to participate in and those I was not (with my teammates). That helped me to still have fun, but to stay true to who I was and the kind of example I wanted to set as a Christian for my teammates. Second, in the sense of 1 Cor. 10:31, “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”, in my experience, living for God on the field has been easier to do because practice was a specific 3 hours when all I had focus on was doing my very best to glorify God. It was much easier to compartmentalize, to stay disciplined, and keep those negative or unhelpful thoughts away. In real life, post college, and at work, like Mayowa said, it’s still something I’m very much still working on. I don’t have a certain amount of hours solely dedicated to one thing. I don’t have to be up at 6am to get to practice. Things look different, I work a 9-5, so it’s been an adjustment of figuring out to translate that into normal life.
Mayowa: I think this is something I am still work on this day. Sometimes it’s hard to realize just how much time I dedicated to sports versus my faith. I think it has to be a very intentional practice of setting aside time to spend time with God and it’s gonna look different for everyone, but I think that’s the best way to balance living for God on and off the court. I think it also becomes easier once you surround yourself with like-minded people. So I loved my time in FCA as a student athlete. I think making sure I was going to weekly huddles really helped me balance living for God on and off the court.
What was it liking going from a Rockbridge environment to George Washington University?
Mayowa: I mean, Rockbridge and GW are vastly different, but I was very excited for it. I think a lot of our time at Rockbridge is spent learning how to have discussions, and coming to GW I was excited to put that to the test, especially with people that had different world views with me. I was also excited to be a student athlete and be surrounded by other young adults that were driven to play at a high level. I think at first after the initial excitement of a new environment, it it felt a little out of place till I found my people, but that’s typically how it goes anyways.
Emma: Yeah, it was definitely different. I was excited to get there, make friends and play lacrosse. I walked into college with the normal uncertainties and fears of what my life would look like, who my friends would be, and all those normal doubts. But, on the flip side, I also walked in with a strong biblical foundation which proved very helpful. More than that though, I got to college confident in my faith, my values, and in my ability to think critically, lead, and work hard, which was invaluable.
Looking back, what was the biggest lesson you learned playing college sports that you apply now?
Mayowa: I think the biggest lesson that I learned playing college sports that I still apply now and honestly, I think is just a general life lesson, is that you have to find ways to keep going and you have to keep showing up for yourself and for others around you.
Emma: I’m not perfect at this still, but the absolute biggest lesson I learned through playing college sports is that God is the only thing that can satisfy and fill that hole in your heart. Make sure your identity is in Christ, because in Christ, there is stability, and there is joy that is not dependent on circumstances. No amount of playing time will ever be enough, no job, title, or whatever will be enough. Only God!
What would you tell a Christian Athletes looking to play sports in college?
Mayowa: I would tell them that it is the experience of a lifetime. It comes with extreme highs and extreme lows, but there’s truly nothing like it. I would tell them to try to find an FCA huddle or an in Intervarsity group. I think my FCA huddle really enriched my time as a Christian athlete at and it has blessed me with friends and mentors that I still have in my life after graduation.
Emma: I would tell them to find a sustainable definition of success. As much I absolutely loved playing lacrosse in college and wouldn’t change anything, there were highs and lows. You will inevitably face disappointment. On the flip side, there will be incredible moments. If your success and joy is defined by the outcome of those moments, you will be riding an emotional roller coaster. One day you’ll be riding high, the next you’ll be miserable. Remind yourself that you are already successful because you are loved unconditionally by God. You’ve already won. Carry that confidence and freedom with you and you’ll play light as feather.
Mayowa Taiwo graduated from Rockbridge Academy in 2018, and studied civil and environmental engineering at George Washington University in DC. Here, she carried her love of sport from Girls' Basketball at Rockbridge, among other sports, to George Washington's D1 Women's Basketball team. Mayowa graduated with a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2023 and later completed her masters in Engineering Management in 2024 at George Washington, also. Mayowa has been working as a Project Engineer on the contact side in DC and Northern Virginia with John Moriarty and Associates in construction since September of last year.
Emma McLaughlin graduated from Rockbridge Academy in 2021. She also studied at George Washington University, majoring in Political Science while also pursuing competitive athletics. During this time, Emma translated her athletic passion from Girls' Lacrosse at Rockbridge, and other sports, to George Washington's D1 Women's Lacrosse team. She graduated in 2025 with a B.S. in Political Science with Minors in International Affairs and Human Services. Starting in November of last year, Emma has been working as the Staff Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives for the House Judiciary Committee.
House Intramurals: More Than a Game
October 25, 2023
The Athens Eagles are winning 14-13 against the Siena Rams in an intense volleyball game. Senior Timi Akinyelu executes a flawless jump serve that is received by Miss Knoll in the back row, the ball floats to 9th grader Ella Spraul who sets up junior Linus Salada and he spikes it down right past 7th grader Parker Chason as she dives for the ball. But what is this? Linus Salada calls a net violation on himself; the point goes to Athens! The Eagles continue their volleyball dominance and the entire house erupts in cheers. The school bell rings and all of the students quickly clear out of the gym as they head to 5th period. This fictional scene describes the atmosphere that can be found at Rockbridge’s campus on most Fridays during Conference Time when intramural sports take place. Capture the flag, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee are the fall, winter, and spring intramural sports respectively.
In 2021, Rockbridge Academy introduced a new House System. Every upper school student, 7th-12th grade, and the upper school teachers were assigned one of five houses. The houses are named after cities visited by Rockbridge seniors on Grand Tour. Each house has a symbol and colors taken from 5 of the 17 historic contrade, or districts, of Siena. There is the house of Athens (blue and yellow with an eagle symbol), the house of Rome (black and white with a wolf symbol), the house of Corinth (white and sky blue with a dolphin symbol), the house of Florence (pink and green with a dragon symbol), and the house of Siena (red and yellow with a ram symbol). Once in a house, the student will remain in that house for all of their years at Rockbridge. The houses are evenly divided between the grades and sexes. The House System was primarily designed to encourage and organize service among all of the upper school Rockbridge students. For example, each house is assigned mentoring with the grammar students based on the day of the week.
The Rockbridge house intramurals program was born in November of 2021 when teachers and administrators were discussing how to best use the new 30-minute Conference Time following the upper school lunch period. Now, on almost every Friday starting at noon, four out of the five houses are found competing in various sports. Each sports season consists of 6 weeks of competition. In the sixth week, the two teams with the best records play in a championship competition to determine the Intramurals House Champion. Intramurals give Rockbridge students the opportunity to play sports not already offered in the athletic program.
House Intramurals allow students to engage in physical activity, experience the crucible of self-governed competition, and enjoy the community God has placed them in.
Hours of sitting in a chair, no matter how engaging the subject and the teacher nor how diligent the student, is bound to produce restlessness. God created the human body for movement and when students are able to get away from their desks and participate in physical activity the benefits abound. Exercise reduces stress and increases cognitive function. Exposing students to a variety of sports contributes to the larger goal of developing well-rounded students. While 30 minutes of physical activity in a week is not nearly enough for a healthy upper school student, it fulfills part of the daily recommendation and helps build a positive relationship with physical activity. Volleyball in particular has shown to be a favorite activity among the students which led to a weekly volleyball night over the summer.
House Intramurals are a student-led activity. The students decide who gets to play and who does not, and the students are responsible for following the rules and keeping score. The competition between houses should be spirited, meaning everyone wants their team to win. This combination presents a low-risk but real-life opportunity to practice St. Augustine’s idea of rightly ordered loves. A senior team captain in charge of creating the team lineup may desire to win this game of capture the flag while also desiring to see an enthusiastic yet unathletic 7th grade student get to play. Another student may desire to score the go-ahead point in ultimate frisbee, but she also wants to tell the truth about stepping out of bounds on the catch. None of these interests are wrong, but having the choice to do the one that is more God-honoring is difficult. When a player gets their loves out of order they experience the consequences and hopefully, a teammate is there to encourage them in the truth and wisdom of the Word. This student-led sports competition also provides room for growth in conflict resolution. Conflicts between students have and will continue to bubble up when competing, which opens the door for following the teaching found in Matthew 18. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus lays out a preferential sequence to follow when faced with sin between Christians. First, go to your brother alone and point out their fault, next, bring along a witness or two, and finally, if needed, raise the issue to the Christian leaders. Rockbridge staff members will step in when necessary, but the desire is to see students working through these challenges.
The house system assigns teams within a community which often results in groups of otherwise segregated individuals. Even in a school as small as Rockbridge, an 8th-grade girl might not choose to interact with an 11th-grade boy, but when they score a point together in volleyball they naturally turn and give each other a smiling high five. A student involved in theater that does not normally associate with a basketball player can earn an out together on the kickball field. Even when a teacher rolls up his sleeves and whips a dodgeball across the gym at a student, that teacher begins to create a unique bond with his students. God has brought every Rockbridge student and staff member together in a Christian community. Rockbridge is more than just a school, it is a body of believers living life together. God charges His people to have fellowship with one another, and extracurricular activities are a wonderful way to build relationships and create memories among brothers and sisters in Christ.
In order for house intramurals to have the greatest impact on the culture at Rockbridge Academy, there has to be involvement. Participation from every house member, from 7th-12th grade, boys and girls, students and teachers, athletes and non-athletes is vital! Not every house member will be able to play every week, but they should at least try to play at some point in the school year. Even so, competition on the field is not the sole avenue for student involvement; the cheering section adds to the atmosphere and a lively mascot raises the excitement. Each team needs artistic students to contribute their skills when designing house swag and banners. It comes down to every house member having pride in their house and a desire to see their house rise above the rest, whether in their play, their cheers, or their designs.
Participation in house intramurals is about far more than playing games; it results in character growth, interpersonal skills, camaraderie, and growth in conflict resolution, discretion, and sound judgement.
Posted in
Upper School
The Aroma of Christ in Athletics
September 23, 2021
At Rockbridge we confess together that the primary purpose of life is to glorify God. In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul instructs the believers: “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” As a Rockbridge athlete, the goal remains the same, we strive to glorify the Lord through our sport! As we aim for this high objective we will look, act, talk, and think differently than the world. People will notice. In his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul writes about Christians being the aroma of Christ:
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
Rockbridge athletes have a different aroma because of their commitment to the team, because of the unity among teammates and coaches and because their identity is found in Christ. Imagine another team driving onto the Rockbridge campus and crinkling their noses as they sniff a few times asking one another, “Do you smell that?’ ‘What is that?’ ‘It’s different!’ ‘It smells like...Jesus!” As a result, fellow Christians will be encouraged by our conduct while non-believers will be repulsed, frightened, or confused. This opens the opportunity to share “the hope that is in you . . . with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
The Rockbridge athlete will start to smell different because he is fully invested in his team. Commitment is a virtue that is severely lacking in society. People are afraid to commit; many can only half-heartedly commit, or commit only to back out later. The Rockbridge athlete is expected to fully commit to her team for the entire season. That means buying into the coach’s program. Athletes should not question the coaches every time something goes wrong. Athletes should complete the season whether it is fun or not, victorious or not, going as planned or not.
My college wrestling coach said he measured his success as a coach by how many of his former wrestlers were committed to their wives and avoided divorce. At the beginning of each wrestler’s college career, my coach lays out the expectations and asks the wrestler to verbally agree to devote himself to the team for the next 4 years. This method has taught his teams many valuable lessons. Commitment does not change based on feelings; life will be difficult and it requires sacrifice but it is worth it! “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up,” as Paul said to the Galatians (6:9). Commitment should not be taken up lightly, but once a person commits, he should stick to it. In one of his parables, Jesus said:
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’ (Luke 14:28-30).
The Rockbridge athlete will wear the fragrance of Christ by uniting with their teammates and coaches. This is where personal glory quickly fades in importance because the overall success of the team is more satisfying.
The Rockbridge athlete will wear the fragrance of Christ by uniting with their teammates and coaches. This is where personal glory quickly fades in importance because the overall success of the team is more satisfying. Every member of a team has a role to play and every role is vital. In this way, our teams should also help athletes prepare to be good and faithful church members. Paul compares the church to a human body, and we can use that same metaphor for a sports team. Paul writes, “there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Corinthians 12:20-22). The lead scorer, the backup player, and the manager are all working to make the team successful and through their efforts bring glory to God.
Paul continues this metaphor in verse 26, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” I was blessed to witness that verse lived out as a member of my college wrestling team. First is an example of suffering together. In my sophomore year, two of my teammates, Matt and Mike, were both among the top wrestlers in the nation, but they were in the same weight class. That meant that only one could be the starter and wrestle for our team in the conference championships. In wrestling, the starters are decided by a wrestle-off, a match between the teammates where the winner gets the starting position. Matt and Mike had wrestled each other before and they had each beaten each other at different times. I was in the room for the wrestle-off, and it was a tight, well-fought match. Mike was able to pull out a narrow victory. He had just earned his starting spot, but there was no celebration. The room was silent and downcast as everyone on the team--maybe most of all Mike--was hurting along with Matt, his teammate, whose season and hopes of becoming an All-American were now over. A united team suffers together.
We also rejoiced together. During my senior year, I was one of two wrestlers on the team that qualified for the national tournament. In college wrestling, there are ten starting spots and we had about thirty guys total on the team. There were a lot of good wrestlers on the team. A handful of my teammates had even beaten me in matches before, but now their season was over, and I was where they wanted to be. I never felt any tinge of jealousy or resentment from my teammates but instead overwhelming support and pride. There was a large caravan that all traveled from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin to attend the national tournament and cheer us on like crazy, so much so that wrestlers from other teams commented on how loud and enthusiastic our cheering section was. A united team rejoices together.
A Rockbridge athlete will surely have the aroma of Christ when she knows, believes, and trusts that her identity is in the person and work of Christ. This allows the athlete to stop worrying about winning and losing. Rockbridge athletes are able to stay calm when the referee makes a bad call or the other team is not playing fair, and to not fall into despair from a season-ending injury. None of those situations change our value because who we are in Christ is secure no matter what. Galatians 2:20 tells us our identity: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
A Rockbridge athlete will surely have the aroma of Christ when she knows, believes, and trusts that her identity is in the person and work of Christ. This allows the athlete to stop worrying about winning and losing.
Embracing this truth as an athlete was such a relief to me. No matter what happened during a competition, the Lord still looked upon me as his adopted and loved son. God doesn’t think of you less when you lose and does not think of you more when you win. My response was to give my best effort and to praise God for the opportunity. I am not saying that Rockbridge athletes should not care about the results of a competition. The Bible encourages the pursuit of excellence. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it” (1 Corinthians 9:24). I am saying that as Christians, we are not defined by the results of a competition. Feel free to work as hard as you can, take risks, and go for gold. You will fail at times but it won’t break you. It just provides an opening to give God more glory.
This distinction of being in union with Christ takes precedence over any other identifying factor. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) This line of thought can be extended to our Rockbridge teams. There is neither varsity nor middle school, neither soccer nor cross country, neither athletes nor spectators, for Rockbridge is one in Christ Jesus.
When Rockbridge athletes are committed, unified, and secure in their identity they will bring glory to the God who gave them the ability to play their sport. We will know we are achieving that goal when the aroma of Christ starts to permeate the campus. Students, parents, and coaches should all be able to smell that a Rockbridge athlete is around, and not only because they have not showered yet.
Tim Stewart is our new Athletics Coordinator and Discover Summer Director. Tim works with athletic teams and coaches, scheduling and coordinating all practices and games as well as overseeing our athletic program. He graduated from Messiah College with a BA Health and Exercise Science.
Posted in
School Culture