Pro Hoops Coach Testifies to Christ's Stability in Unstable Profession
by Doug Greengard
November 12, 2003
(AgapePress) - During her six years of being associated with the WNBA, Jenny Boucek has bounced around nearly as much as a basketball.Currently an assistant coach with the Seattle Storm, Boucek previously served on coaching staffs in Miami and Washington. Her WNBA career began in the league's inaugural season of 1997, when Boucek played for the Cleveland Rockers.
"It's really, really important for someone who moves around a lot to find fellowship when you move to a new city," says Boucek, who was forced to retire as a player after just one season because of a back injury. "I always try to find some believers that I can spend time with, either talking on the phone or sending e-mails -- and I make sure I get in God's Word every day."
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Jenny Boucek |
When Boucek arrived on the WNBA scene after a successful collegiate career at the University of Virginia, she was looking for answers to some spiritual -- and life-related -- questions. Her visits to the team's chapel services helped to address those needs."I was all alone and vulnerable and looking for some stability in a very unstable profession," adds Boucek. "The chapels that I attended while I was in Cleveland are what planted the seeds for me. The WNBA was my harvest, so I know it is a good harvest."
Now, Boucek spends her days coaching basketball and sharing God's goodness with others. She knows that there are many young women in need of the spiritual truths she began seeking several years ago.
"It's an environment where the players go through a lot of highs and a lot of lows," says Boucek. "A lot of them are out on their own for the first time. It's their first job out of college."
Boucek knows her WNBA mission is about more than winning games -- it's about winning souls. "As believers, we're all ambassadors just dressed as other things, and I'm dressed as an assistant coach in the WNBA at the moment," she says.
"It's an intense, stressful job at times. I keep my focus on Jesus, representing Him and being a light. It's a challenge, but that's my goal. Our walk is a lot more powerful than our talk, so I'm just trying to say the right thing, do the right thing, and be different and let them get curious and be drawn to the light."
Doug Greengard directs Christian Sports Minute, a ministry that uses the testimonies of sports and well-known sports figures as a vehicle to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
