It’s tournament time at Union. This week, 16 teams from eight schools in seven states have come together not just for basketball, but for for friends and fellowship. The tournament started on Wednesday afternoon and will conclude after the championship games on Saturday night. 

During a social event held on Thursday evening in the Reiner Wellness Center, we asked a few of the visiting student athletes what or who makes this tournament special for them. 

For most, it comes down to esprit de corps. “It’s my friends and the whole team,” said Jack Crary from Wisconsin Academy, a school that didn’t have an athletics program for many years. “We’re a developing team. We may not have a lot of wins, but you know, it's fun to learn with them, and it's fun to just laugh. We're not too hard on each other when we mess up because we know we're just learning. It's nice to go through this experience with them.” 

His teammate, Trent Millirans, agreed, saying, “It’s fun to play with all your friends and, and for me specifically, the guys down low. We have to make sure we're communicating with each other all the time, otherwise, the team will not succeed. It’s a special relationship you develop.” Millirans is a former Dakota Adventist Academy student. Following the closure of that school, coming to the tournament means getting to see the DAA diaspora. “It’s been really interesting connecting after a year in different schools,” he said. 

Several students said tournament means getting to spend more time with people who make the world a brighter place. For Diana Rios-Sanchez, that person is Elly Millirans, Trent’s mother and one of the sponsors supervising this trip. “Miss Elly can make anywhere more enjoyable and a place we want to be,” Rios-Sanchez said. “She really cares about us.” 

For Estella Niyomwungere from Sunnydale, that person is her coach, Baylee Lester, a former player on Union’s basketball team. “Coach Baylee is very motivating, and he's a really good coach,” she said. “He puts a lot of time and effort into finding good things for us to do to get better.” 

For Margarie DeRuyter, it’s getting to see Madi Hoffer, a friend from Maplewood now at Union, that makes the trip special. “She’s just nice to talk to, and she cares for everybody,” DeRuyter said. 

Jude Kronstedt, also from Maplewood, listed quite a few friends studying at Union who make the tournament special for him. Despite being the tallest of the Maplewood contingent, basketball isn’t his sport. He volunteered to serve as the team statistician because he enjoys any chance to come to Lincoln for both the friends and the Sabbath experience. “I really like the church services here, and vespers is pretty fun,” he said. “At home, it’s always the same crowd and we do the same things. But here, you have so many people from all the schools. It’s pretty cool.” 

Kooper Larson from Madison Academy compared Union’s tournament with another his team competed in, saying, “We play a lot more games here and Union’s facilities are a lot nicer, especially the new gym, but even your old gym is nicer. We have more fun here as well. This environment, I think, is a lot more uplifting.”

As the tournament continues, join us in not only cheering these students on, but also lifting them up in prayer. Pray for quick recovery from the inevitable bumps and bruises, protection from serious injuries, and for safe driving through the snow. Above all else, pray for a spirit of camaraderie and grace that transcends teams and schools: an experience beyond basketball. 

• See photos from the Basketball Tournament on Flickr. More photos will be added as they come in from our media team. 
• Watch games on YouTube.