Why Bernard King believes Knicks have a chance to topple Celtics
Knicks legend Bernard King takes a shot at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby. Q: What do you think of Knicks versus Celtics? A: It’s going to be a great matchup, the regular season doesn’t matter at all, and I think we’re ideally positioned to potentially, even though we don’t have much rest coming […]
Knicks legend Bernard King takes a shot at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: What do you think of Knicks versus Celtics?
A: It’s going to be a great matchup, the regular season doesn’t matter at all, and I think we’re ideally positioned to potentially, even though we don’t have much rest coming out of a tough series against Detroit, I think it’s going to be a tough matchup for Boston, and I think that we will have an opportunity to win in Boston.
Q: How do the Knicks beat the Celtics?
A: Pressure all passes that are going to be made. If you pressure all passes at the entry point, that is going to be very difficult to find an offensive player when he comes off of a screen, make sure you pick up [Jayson] Tatum early on so he doesn’t pull up in transition and hit the 3-point shot. We have to rebound well, and we have to get back on defense. And more contribution from the bench as well. [Miles] McBride is going to have to be consistent, we’re going to need [Cameron] Payne to be consistent.
Bernard King (l.) and John Starks are pictured at the Knicks’ game April 19. Imagn Images
Q: So you believe the Knicks can win this series?
A: You always believe you’re going to win, you never doubt that. And so yes, I do believe the Knicks can win this series. … I’m not looking past the Celtics, I’m not saying the Knicks are going to win the championship, what I’m saying is they’re well positioned to win this series.
The Knicks are a great team. They came in third in the standings. I just think that the matchups are very suitable for the Knicks to win this series. You have to make sure you control Derrick White. If you control him, then you control [Jaylen] Brown and Tatum to a large extent.
Q: Jalen Brunson is your favorite Knick?
A: I had an opportunity to meet several of the Knicks early this year at a charity event. I said to him: “One of the beauties of your game beyond your basketball IQ, I love how you have mastered the art of scoring. To do that, you have to understand defense, and you understand it very well.” I felt that I arrived at a point in my career where I mastered the art of scoring, I was 27 at the time. Brunson is 28. What he’s doing is truly phenomenal at the position of having to run the team and also making sure everyone’s involved in the offense, and still be there at the end to take the shots that matter, and make them. And he feels no pressure whatsoever. That last play for example …
Jalen Brunson reacts after the Knicks defeated the Pistons in Game 6 on May 1. Charles Wenzelberg
Q: His three to eliminate the Pistons.
A: I’m going to break that play down for a moment. He gets the ball at half-court, and [Mikal] Bridges comes up guarded by Cade [Cunningham] to look like he’s going to set a screen, and because he fades, Cade can’t double-team Brunson because that’s going to leave Bridges open for a 3-point shot. So now Brunson is going one-on-one, and the defender [Ausar Thompson] is leaning to his left, and Brunson puts his right arm out and he drives left. So the defender’s off-balance, he already has the lead position on the drive. It’s one of the greatest moves I’ve ever seen in basketball. When he makes that drive and Thompson does not have positioning on his feet properly so he doesn’t have the spacing to slide properly, so when Brunson makes that drive and Thompson tries to catch up, check out what he did — he patted the ball between his legs with his left hand, took it with his right hand, and Thompson is still sliding left! He created separation of five feet, it was amazing … pull up for the jumper with his strong hand, his left hand, and shoots the ball, and it’s too late for Thompson to recover.
That is one of the greatest moves I’ve ever seen in basketball.
Jalen Brunson hits the game-winning shot during the Knicks’ win against the Pistons on May 1. Charles Wenzelberg
Q: Is Brunson on a Hall of Fame trajectory?
A: I’m not one to project what happens six, seven years from now. All I know is that he has decided that he’s going to be a great player. And when you make that decision, that means that you’re making all the sacrifices in the offseason necessary to take your skill sets to your game to another level. I see no reason why he will not continue to build and sustain this for the remainder of his career … he grew up around the game with his dad [assistant coach Rick] … he’s great for the city, he’s great for this organization, he’s great for young kids that watch the game.
Q: To be as clutch as he is and as you were, what is required of that moment?
A: I’ll take you back to the fifth game in Detroit (first round of the 1984 playoffs) for example. No air conditioning in the building, I’m playing with two dislocated fingers, I’m playing with the flu. I did not attend shootaround. I entered the team bus, I said, “I’m sick, I’m sorry, but I have the flu,” and [assistant coach] Rick Pitino had the flu as well. I went back upstairs to my room. But I’m not going to let the team down, I know I’m going to play that night, no matter what it takes, I can’t let my team down.
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However in that huddle, with the game on the line, [Coach] Hubie [Brown] is executing a play — for Billy Cartwright. And I’m sitting there, and I’m averaging 42 points a game. I have never in my lifetime questioned a coach on any level. But I’m sorry, when the season’s on the line, and the game’s on the line, I want the ball. Period. And I yelled out: “Hubie. Do I have the right to take the ball myself?” And he finally looked up and he said, “Yeah.” What I’m telling him when I asked him that question is “I’m breaking your play.” So the ball’s not going to go to Billy Cartwright. It’s going to me. Earl Cureton is defending me, in the heat of that moment, he says, “Come on and bring it.” (laugh).
So the point I’m making is when you have someone that has the willingness to accept the challenge of providing for the team and scoring a basket when needed, when the game is on the line, when the season is on the line, you got a special player in Brunson. He’s willing to accept the pressure. And there’s no pressure. You don’t feel pressure in that moment when you take on that challenge.
Q: You spoke with KAT (Karl-Anthony Towns) too at that charity event?
A: He loves playing in New York. I said to him, “I knew that you would come here and do very well, because this stage means a lot to you.” Obviously we know he’s the best-shooting big man in basketball today in terms of 3-point shooting. With his skill sets and his passing ability as a big man, it’s amazing. So he has an all-around game, he can put the ball on the floor, he can post, he hits the 3-point shot, he can hit the jump shot, he rebounds and he can defend.
Karl-Anthony Towns addresses reporters during a press conference May 3. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
Q: What do you like about OG Anunoby?
A: He’s tough. He’s a great defender. He comes to play every single night. He plays to win. And he doesn’t mind taking on whether it’s a frontcourt player or it’s a guard, he can guard all over the entire floor, any player. He can deliver points for you as well. OG’s going to be extremely important in this series matching up against the frontline of the Boston Celtics.
Q: What do you like about Josh Hart?
A: Oh the toughness. To think that Hart is only what, 6-[foot]-4, 6-5? He can get double digits in rebounds, it’s amazing, he’ll go in there against anyone. His tenacity, his toughness is what I really enjoy about his game, and he meshes very well obviously with Brunson, and he’s very effective in doing that.
Josh Hart reacts during the Knicks’ win against the Pistons on May 1. Charles Wenzelberg
Q: Mikal Bridges?
A: Mikal Bridges is a player that’s a great, great jump shooter. And I think that he alleviates a lot of the pressure off of KAT down low when KAT decides to post because that extends the defense out to the 3-point line where Bridges is very effective in shooting from. And he’s also capable of putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket, and we’re going to certainly need him during the series.
Q: How important will Mitchell Robinson be?
A: It’s very important in terms of this series that the frontline keeps themself out of foul trouble. But Mitchell Robinson, with his shot-blocking capability and his rebounding ability, is going to be very crucial in this series when you have a [Kristaps] Porzingis and you have a frontline that the Celtics have.
Mitchell Robinson attempts a shot during the Knicks’ game against the Pistons on April 29. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
Boston has been out for a considerable amount of time. So yes, they’re rested, but when you’re rested, you become rusty. And so I don’t look for their shots to fall early on, and I think that’s an opportunity for us to really pounce on them in the first quarter.
Q: Tom Thibodeau?
A: He’s from the Hubie Brown school. What I mean by that, that’s greatness. You’re looking at greatness as a coach. He’s going to always ensure that his team is well prepared, and they’re going to execute the system, the game plan well. You have to be able to make adjustments that game so that you don’t lose that game. He’s capable of doing that as a coach.
Tom Thibodeau speaks with the Knicks during the third quarter of their game against the Pistons on May 1. Charles Wenzelberg
Q: How hostile will the TD Garden be Monday night?
A: The Celtics don’t like the Knicks (laugh). It’s going to be very hostile — you just have to hope they don’t turn the heat up (laugh). I remember during the [1984] series we came in, it was April, and the heat was on in our locker room. Come on now! I know it’s not the old Boston Garden, but I’m just having fun with that comment I just made. They’re going to emotionally support the team as much as possible to get them to a different level, and that’s what fans can do for a ballclub, take them to a different level.
Q: In 1984, what was the rivalry with the Celtics like?
A: It was always a significant rivalry that existed between the Knicks and Celtics. Everyone hated the Celtics (laugh), we didn’t like the Celtics as young players, and it wasn’t a hate toward the city or a hate toward the organization, it was the competitive fire that each team had against one another. We always wanted to beat the Celtics and we never would allow them to beat us in our house.
Bernard King is guarded during the Knicks’ playoff game against the Celtics in 1984. Boston Globe via Getty Images
Q: Game 6 of that Eastern Conference semifinals at the Garden.
A: I remember at the start of the series Cedric Maxwell walked up to the jump-ball circle when we all lined up and shook hands, and he stood in front of my face and he said to me, “Why is it that you look like that?” (laugh) I had my game face on. And I ignored him, and I didn’t say a word. And I think that set the tone with him of what I was all about and how I was going to play throughout that series.
Boston is hoping to close us out in Game 6, and it was very important that we got off to a very good start, and so I came out shooting jump shots to ensure that I can open up the lane and open up the baseline for my other part of my game … we came out very aggressively defensively … we established [Bill] Cartwright in the low post, on the low block, and Rory Sparrow was defending very well in the backcourt … and really the fans helped to carry us to that Game 6 victory.
Q: They were chanting “MVP, MVP, MVP” for you.
A: I won’t forget that (laugh). I think I went out and got 44 in that game. We were never intimidated by the Celtics. We felt that we were on equal footing, regardless of the Hall of Famers they had on that team. We knew that we were on par with them in terms of matchups. Billy Cartwright was a great center, he matched up well with [Robert Parish], Truck Robinson matched up well with Kevin McHale, and so we never felt we were at a disadvantage at any position against that roster.
Bernard King gets fouled by Cedric Maxwell during a Knicks playoff game against the Celtics in 1984. AP
Q: Didn’t Cornbread (Maxwell) say something about you before the series began after you had averaged 42.6 ppg against the Pistons?
A: Coming out of the Detroit series, every city I’ve ever gone to with the Knicks, I always pick up the local paper, so that I get a feel of the city and culturally what’s happening in that particular city. I picked up the newspaper and on the back page — “The B” — and they spelled it out (laugh) — “The B is not going to score 40 on us.” Hmmm. Quite interesting (laugh). I’m not impacted by that sort of thing. I’m just going to go out and play each minute the same until the horn blows at the end of the game. And nothing is going to change my demeanor, nothing is going to change my approach.
Q: How much trash did [Larry] Bird talk during that series?
A: I’m going to say it very succinctly — you can’t talk trash if 40’s being scored on your head (laugh). Bird and I played against one another for 10 years. We played at the highest level. And I always heard he talked trash, but I never heard him talk some trash, he never spoke trash to me ever. Not once.
Bernard King defends Larry Bird during the Knicks’ playoff game against the Celtics in 1984. AP
Q: Cornbread and McHale were on you mostly that series.
A: I had to guard Bird. Don’t ask me why he didn’t guard me. And when you have to play against Bird, who I’ve always said publicly was my toughest player that I’ve ever had to face defending, because he’s 6-10, he can pass over the top of me, I’m 6-7, he can put the ball on the floor, he’s a great rebounder, a great scorer. … During that series, I was at a point in my career where I had mastered the art of scoring. So you were not going to stop me at that point in my career.
Q: Not even with those dislocated middle fingers with a splint on each hand?
A: I was never at 100 percent, but emotionally, and mentally, I took myself to a different place to deal with the pain factor that I felt each and every game and every play.
Q: How painful was losing Game 7 at Boston Garden?
A: It’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. Bird outplayed me, it’s very simple, that game.
Bernard King attempts a shot during the Knicks’ playoff game against the Celtics in 1984. AP
Q: If you could build the perfect basketball player, what one thing would you take from Bernard King?
A: Tenacity. Because if you have a significant and genuine love for the game, then you’re going to work as hard as possible to develop your skill sets at whatever level you’re playing at, whether it’s in youth basketball, in high school or in college or the pros. And that tenacity could take you to different levels of the game. And so if you have that habit formed, you can develop yourself into a tremendous player.
Q: You had a killer instinct. Is that something you’re born with?
A: Nooo, you’re not born with that. That’s something that you develop. It’s a drive, it’s an inner fire that you have inside yourself that you develop because you love something so very much that you want to be very good at it, and you’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that you become highly skilled and spend the necessary time and sacrifice whatever you have to sacrifice to make yourself into the player that you want to be.
Q: Why do the Knicks have such a hold on New York City?
A: It’s a basketball town. You have the Giants, you have the Jets, you have the Yankees, you have the Mets, but New York has always been a basketball town. And when the Knicks do well, New York loves to celebrate that. Historically speaking, it takes everyone back to the time when the Knicks won the championship with Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, [Bill] Bradley, [Dave] DeBusschere and those great teams. It’s a reminder and a reflection of that.
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Thank you
Q: May 8, 1970 (the Willis Game against the Lakers), where were you?
A: In 1970 I was 14 years old (laugh). I was in the ninth grade at the time.
Q: The game was blacked out in New York.
A: It was something that we talked about in the playgrounds. It was something that all of us kids, we emulated the players on the Knicks. So someone would be Walt Frazier or Earl Monroe or Dave DeBusschere, which was my favorite player growing up.
Q: Why was DeBusschere your favorite?
A: I was noted for scoring in my later years in high school, in college, obviously in the pros, but rebounding was my love, I averaged 28 rebounds a game in high school (laugh). I just loved being under the basket, boxing out, grabbing rebounds as Dave DeBusschere did.
Q: What message would you have for Knicks fans?
A: We are New York Knicks Strong.
Q: Can you elaborate on that?
A: That means that we are going to come out and play and represent ourselves as a team, represent ourselves as an organization, represent our fan base, represent the city of New York City. We are New York Knicks Strong, and we are going to play that way. And we’ll demonstrate that on Monday.
PSA campaign honors youth coaches as game changers
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (May 21, 2025) – As part of its inaugural First Tee Week celebration, leading youth development organization First Tee has announced a powerful new public service campaign titled “Dear Coach.” The campaign honors the thousands of First Tee coaches across the country who use the game of golf to help kids […]
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (May 21, 2025) – As part of its inaugural First Tee Week celebration, leading youth development organization First Tee has announced a powerful new public service campaign titled “Dear Coach.” The campaign honors the thousands of First Tee coaches across the country who use the game of golf to help kids and teens build character, confidence and resilience.
Airing nationwide on digital and social platforms, the PSA features heartfelt messages from kids that showcase the deep and lasting impact of coaches, who are often described by parents as the “unsung heroes” of youth development. Additionally, First Tee participants and alumni will be sharing their personal stories through social media and First Tee’s website.
“A great coach does not just teach the game of golf but also the incredible life lessons and values that are inherent to the sport, including believing in yourself, acting with integrity, building resilience and playing with sportsmanship,” said Jane Fader, senior vice president of marketing and communications at First Tee. “This PSA reflects the gratitude we hear every day from kids, parents and alumni about the coaches who helped them believe in themselves.”
Shot with real participants and coaches from First Tee – Metropolitan New York, the PSA is a centerpiece of First Tee Week, a national awareness campaign running May 19–25, designed to celebrate First Tee coaches and inspire communities to get involved in youth character development through sports.
In addition to the PSA, First Tee Week includes:
Community activations and coach appreciation events at First Tee chapters across the country
An alumni event at the PGA TOUR’s Charles Schwab Challenge, featuring a panel discussion on the impact of coaches
Corporate partner engagement, spreading awareness across leading sports and media platforms
First Tee coaches undergo a robust training program grounded in positive youth development research and now serve kids at 150 chapters across the globe.
Watch the new PSA and join the movement to celebrate coaches at FirstTee.org/DearCoach.
About PGA TOUR First Tee Foundation (“First Tee”) The mission of First Tee is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf. First Tee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth development organization that is supported by the PGA TOUR and many other organizations, foundations, companies and individuals. Over more than 27 years, First Tee has reached millions of young people through its network of 150 Chapters, 12,000 schools and 2,000 youth centers. Headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA, programs are delivered in all 50 United States and select international locations.
MEDIA CONTACT: Megan Hart, First Tee meganhart@firsttee.org (904) 940-4348
How outdoor sports can support youth as they navigate climate change
As climate change continues to impact the way we interact with our planet, it’s critical to consider ways we can encourage youth to participate in climate action initiatives. Young people across Canada are feeling frightened about the future of the planet. A Canadian study published in 2023 surveyed 1,000 young participants on their feelings about […]
As climate change continues to impact the way we interact with our planet, it’s critical to consider ways we can encourage youth to participate in climate action initiatives.
Young people across Canada are feeling frightened about the future of the planet. A Canadian study published in 2023 surveyed 1,000 young participants on their feelings about climate change. Sixty-six per cent of respondents said they felt anxiousness or hopelessness about climate change, while 78 per cent said it impacts their overall mental health.
There are a number of ways to approach this overwhelming emotion, considering it could result not only in poor quality of life for youth but also continued inaction for the planet.
My research in outdoor physical education leads me to consider more positive behaviour for youth in association to climate change that could likely benefit youth and the planet. The challenge is finding opportunities to develop pro-environmental behaviours and environmental stewardship with Canadian youth.
Read more:
6 ways to build resilience and hope into young people’s learning about climate change
It’s about more than time outdoors
When looking to develop pro-environmental behaviours, one way could be to simply encourage more time outdoors. But research from Germany suggests that just interacting with nature is not enough; rather, young people need to find ways to engage with nature and use the natural landscape to develop an emotional connection with the environment.
Cyclists take a break in the Whistler bike park in Whistler, B.C. in 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
According to the German study, certain sports can lead to more environmentally sustainable attitudes and behaviours from participants. Some sports in particular — like cross-country skiing, mountain biking or triathlon — increase those positive behaviours more than others. This isn’t simply because participants are alone within a natural setting; it’s because the focus of the sport is on the natural landscape.
To explain a bit further, soccer, for example, is typically played outside but often on a manicured, sometimes artificial, field that is in many ways devoid of any natural influence.
Alternatively, mountain biking requires participants to ride on trails that take them directly through forested areas or spaces that are selected based on their unique natural landscape. As athletes participate in sports more frequently and spend more time within nature, they then develop a stronger emotional connection to the space they’re in. This leads to pro-environmental behaviours and attitudes, which can then generate environmental stewardship.
Read more:
Earth Day 2024: ‘Green muscle memory’ and climate education promote behaviour change
Rock climbing
Within rock climbing groups and organizations, there is evidence suggesting members frequently participate in beneficial environmental stewardship projects. Outdoor rock-climbing groups typically manage spaces — sometimes privately owned, but frequently under government jurisdiction in provincial or national parks — to ensure safe and responsible climbing practices. Climbers rely on ropes, equipment and bolts to ensure safety as they’re climbing.
But another obvious factor is the rock face they climb. The connection to rock and the climbing routes over those rock faces help foster a sense of environmental stewardship within climbers. Similar to mountain biking, the process starts with an introduction to the sport, but slowly develops into more care and attention paid to the natural spaces where climbers practise their activity.
A climber on the massive rock face at Stawamus Chief Provincial Park in Squamish, B.C., in 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
One American study indicates that rock climbing organizations often find opportunities to clean up the areas where they climb, and also look to maintain the natural features of that space.
The research finds that for climbers, the challenge is to maintain natural spaces and keep the rock as pristine as possible. This also extends to conservation efforts to ensure that space maintains its use for climbing as opposed to turning it into a more urban or commercialized area.
The joy that participants received from the sport of climbing initiated this environmental stewardship and maintained progressive action in local environmental initiatives.
Element of physical risk
One thing to note is that climbing and mountain biking do involve an element of physical risk.
Doing some research on these sports can help youth assess risks alongside what can be gained from participating. But it’s also important to acknowledge that encouraging young people to foster deeper connections to nature as opposed to having simple interactions with outdoor spaces doesn’t mean they have to cycle down a mountain or climb a massive rock wall.
Risk cannot be completely eliminated from outdoor sports and recreation, but there can be great social and personal benefit from participating in these types of activities.
Instead of a high-risk sport, educators and outdoor leaders can influence participants with simpler actions. I am aware of outings involving outdoor hikes, or taking time at night to gaze at the stars and listen to the sounds of nature, that have sparked in young people an interest in outdoor spaces — and caring for them.
Îyârhe Nakoda guide and Knowledge Keeper Travis Rider, centre in blue shirt, speaks with participants in the Rockies Journey camp run by the not-for-profit organization Howl in Kananaskis, Alberta, in 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Such experiences can then lead young people to continue to explore outdoor adventure and sport, that can , significantly, foster an appreciation of natural settings through direct interaction as well as a positive sense of community. This can be a starting point to help alleviate feelings of hopelessness to climate change.
Read more:
Teachers need bolder action from our school boards to educate in and for a climate emergency
Addressing potential harms, amplifying benefits
Despite the benefits of participating in outdoor sports, there is a need to acknowledge that participation can have some negative impact on the environment.
For example, interaction with nature through sport can impact natural habitats and has the potential to alter behavioural patterns of animals. Furthermore, there is a risk of erosion of natural spaces, as well as the slim potential for the movement of invasive species.
This being said, it’s critical to consider what we can gain from supporting youth to participate in outdoor sport and education when such activities are planned with attentiveness and care.
By Emily Tuttle You’ve seen it before: dozens of five-year-old girls running around on a soccer field dressed in purple jerseys, worried more about picking dandelions than putting the ball in the goal. The game doesn’t stop at five. As these children grow up, weekends are full of traveling to the next state for a […]
You’ve seen it before: dozens of five-year-old girls running around on a soccer field dressed in purple jerseys, worried more about picking dandelions than putting the ball in the goal.
The game doesn’t stop at five. As these children grow up, weekends are full of traveling to the next state for a tournament. And parents continue to swipe their credit cards for uniforms, team fees, hotels and anything needed for their child to succeed.
But should success be the end goal for Christian parents to teach their kids? Should a love for sports and showering children with opportunities be valued over weekly involvement in a local church?
The National Survey of Children’s Health in 2022 found that about 54% of children ages 6-17 play on a youth sports team or take lessons after school or on weekends. Additionally, a Lifeway research study found that 39% of evangelical churchgoers said it was OK to miss church for youth sports a few times a year, and 8% said that missing many times a year was fine.
The Bible makes it clear that the church should not neglect to meet together. However, these statistics demonstrate that church attendance declines as youth sports demand more time, which concerns church leaders.
Jim Knauss, director of discipleship and theological development at Heritage Bible Church in Greer, South Carolina, often counsels parents on this issue. To get parents to think critically about rigorous sports involvement, he asks quantitative questions like, “How many Sundays are you missing at your local church a year?” or “How many nights do you eat dinner as a family a week?”
A young Kaley Matney talks to a coach during a beach volleyball game.
“What is this doing to your family and the kid’s childhood as a whole?” Knauss said. “Is half of the kid’s year spent in a hotel room?”
Sports can provide children with countless opportunities, teaching them discipline and leadership. But the adverse effects of travel sports on young athletes, especially if they miss church, may not be worth it. What priorities does it communicate that parents will skip Sundays in their church for a youth team?
For many athletes, this trade-off influences them personally. Kaley Matney, a junior setter on Cedarville’s volleyball team, began travel volleyball in fourth grade, and her story mirrors many others. On indoor and beach volleyball travel teams, church fell by the wayside when Matney was in middle school.
“There was no importance to church,” Matney said. “It was kind of like, ‘I’ll go when I go, and if I have travel stuff, I won’t go.’”
She also struggled to balance family time. Although she had plenty of time with her mom while traveling, she did not get as much with her dad or brothers.
Parents often justify missing church and family time with their aspiration of getting their child a scholarship. However, i9 Sports says less than 2% of high school athletes receive athletic scholarships, and according to the NCAA, these scholarships often consist of about $5,000 or less.
Aspen Institute’s most recent youth sports survey says that the average family spends $883 annually on one child’s primary sport. The scholarship amount hardly covers the money spent over many years, begging the question: What is the bang for your buck?
If parents have excess money to put their children through these programs, they provide value. However, from a greater perspective, it is vital to consider sport’s ultimate purpose or goal.
Matney believes sports are for believers to glorify God through the abilities he has blessed them with. After playing volleyball at Cedarville for the past three years, Matney has experienced a different “why.”
“Since being here and since growing in my faith, that answer has changed a lot,” Matney said. “Ultimately, volleyball and any type of sport is a gift from the Lord.”
But if a parent and athlete’s goal is to glorify God and not themselves, how do their hard choices communicate what matters deep down? Matney believes that if people are missing opportunities to be in church and grow their faith, they need to step back and assess their motivations and priorities.
“The danger there lies in having an earthly perspective rather than an eternal one,” she said.
Matney thinks of the quote, “What one generation finds optional, the next finds unnecessary.” If children grow up in a household where parents don’t prioritize discipleship and attending church, they will likely do the same for their children. This effect is monumental: generations of parents who forgo church for a conflicting event grow generations of children who do not even consider attending a church in the first place.
Parents are the main agents of discipleship for their children and should instill in them a love for God and his church. When they understand the church’s value, attendance is not rote weekly repetition but done out of love and desire.
“It starts first by being discipled in the home: what your parents are doing and what you’re doing for yourself,” Matney said.
A young Kaley Matney rises up for a hit while playing club indoor volleyball
This is not to say we should all boycott AAU and club volleyball. When placed in their rightful position, there are benefits to playing sports in adolescence.
Knauss loves sports and says that his children are involved in them year-round. However, they do not participate in leagues that don’t allow them to eat dinner as a family or strictly require Sunday tournaments.
“What I want my kids to learn is: how do you follow well, how do you submit to the authority of a coach, how do you treat your fellow teammates with respect and encouragement, especially when they’re not doing well,” Knauss said. “These are the things I want to get out of this to glorify God in a way that is helpful and consistent with His Word.”
So where is the balance? Is there a way to do both?
Knauss and Matney both believe parents should seriously consider why they put their children in sports and whether that reason is eternal or temporary. Using sports to glorify God in a way that aligns with His word, not just personal priorities or pride, is vital.
Kaley Matney has played three seasons of volleyball at Cedarville.
Sports have the power to shape character but should never replace the power the Bible and the church have to transform hearts. Sports are a gift, not the goal, and having a biblical view of them will allow us to see God as a giving Father who wants his children to enjoy life.
Emily Tuttle is a sophomore journalism major and the sports editor for Cedars. She is passionate about Philly sports, weight lifting, and all things silly.
Photos provided by Logan Howard, Scott Huck, and Kaley Matney
Windermere-based NXT GEN flag football team qualifies for Junior Olympics in Houston
At its core, sports always should be a meritocracy. Those who dedicate the time, put in the work and reach the pinnacle of their respective craft should be the ones who earn the opportunities to compete at the highest levels. This baseline truth — that if you work hard and develop your talents, you will […]
At its core, sports always should be a meritocracy. Those who dedicate the time, put in the work and reach the pinnacle of their respective craft should be the ones who earn the opportunities to compete at the highest levels.
This baseline truth — that if you work hard and develop your talents, you will earn the opportunity to be successful — is one of the biggest lessons that can be learned by youth athletes and one of the biggest motivations for parents to place children in youth sports.
It also is one of the reasons why the parents and coaches of NXT GEN, a youth travel flag football team based in Windermere, are rallying together to help fundraise and send this team of fifth- and sixth-graders to Houston this July after they qualified to play in the first flag football competition at the 2025 AAU Junior Olympics.
“For us as parents and coaches, this opportunity is really special to see,” NXT GEN parent and assistant coach Michael Woodall said. “These kids have worked so hard for about half their life at this point to grow as athletes and to have the chance to play in the Junior Olympics — which is something we didn’t even know was ever going to be an opportunity until a couple of years ago — and go there and win a medal, it’s pretty special. I don’t know if they’re really going to be able to appreciate it until they get there, but once they do get there, I think they’ll understand it.”
This collection of 10 and 11 year olds, who have been playing competitive sports together since they were 5, are no strangers to winning. In fact, beyond qualifying for the first flag football Junior Olympic competition, NXT GEN actually claimed the AFFL Youth World Championship and the 2024 Under Armor National Championship.
Led by the Woodalls — Michael and his wife, Kelli — it’s easy to see why the parents and coaches of NXT GEN quickly got to work on brainstorming different ideas to raise the money needed to help fund the expenses of sending the team to Texas for the competition. With the help and generosity of various donors from local businesses, the group gathered enough items to raffle off a YETI cooler full of more than $2,500 worth of goodies — such as gift cards, YETI products, a round of golf for four and much more.
RAISING THEM RIGHT It makes complete sense for parents to rally together and do their part to help give their children a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But when it comes to this group of young athletes and the amount of time dedicated to developing their skills, chemistry and the discipline they have in their approach during each competition they’ve participated in, the amount of effort put in by the NXT GEN community becomes even more reasonable.
The idea of reinforcing these types of characteristics in this group of fifth- and sixth-graders by rewarding their hard work and achievement with this opportunity is a no-brainer for any parent. That no-brainer takes an even bigger step forward when the players start talking about the opportunity to play in this historic event.
“I feel so blessed that we have this opportunity to play in the Junior Olympics,” NXT GEN player Tyler DeBakey said. “It’s even cooler since it’s the first time Junior Olympics is hosting a flag football tournament. We’re just blessed.”
That type of humble and grateful mindset is prevalent in this collection of athletes, and it is at the heart of everything the NXT GEN coaches want to teach these athletes.
“At the end of the day, when they leave here and go on to middle and high school athletics, and life in general, they’re going with understanding of the concept of discipline, the understanding of what it takes to be a good teammate, to be coachable,” Michael Woodall said. “These are good group of kids, and they’ve allowed us as coaches and parents to lay the groundwork for the future. As they get older and grow up, it’ll be up to them to take that as far they want to take it.”
Because these core tenants are so woven into the fabric that makes up the NXT GEN community, it often is what makes the team stand out among its competitors.
“The biggest compliment I ever get about our team is how disciplined they are and how humble they are,” NXT GEN parent and coach Thomas Ochoa said. “They really respect their opponents, and in this era — where everybody is focused on being flashy and they’re dancing and throwing stuff in the opponent’s faces — this group is the most humble and disciplined bunch you’ll see out there.”
GOING FOR GOLD Developing this humble and disciplined culture isn’t just making mom and dad happy, it’s also one of the main reasons why NXT GEN has been so successful on the flag football field.
“When we show up at a lot of these tournaments, we’re never the biggest team,” Michael Woodall said. “Still, despite certainly not the betting favorite going in, more times than not, we leave those tournaments with the trophy. From my perspective that comes from the effort these kids put forth on the field, in practice and just their dedication to making sure they understand the things we’ve been working on for so long.”
This culture of humility and discipline — along with monumental-sized support from the NXT GEN parents and the winning that naturally comes with it — has allowed this group of players to do something that isn’t very common in any level of sports now-a-days: Develop chemistry. And not the microwaved version of chemistry, no, this is that spend half-of-your-life-as-teammates type chemistry. The type of chemistry that might just carry a team to a gold medal at AAU Junior Olympics.
“Our team has the potential to win it all,” NXT GEN quarterback Jax Ochoa said. “Because we’ve been together for such a long time, we have so much chemistry with each other that it helps us play better.”
That type of confidence isn’t just coming from the quarterback, because of the level of chemistry this group has developed and the amount of work they’ve put in, this level of confidence is exuding from the entire team.
“I know this team works really hard,” NXT GEN receiver Wade Woodall said. “We’ve been around (one another) for a really long time — some of us for like half our lives — and I just think that’s going to help us. I think we’ll be one of the best teams out there.”
The confidence doesn’t stop with the players. The coaches know this group of athletes have what it takes to make some noise this summer in Houston.
“They’ve always performed well under pressure, so I don’t think the stage will be too big for them,” Michael Woodall said. “Hopefully, they can put it all together and bring home the gold.”
If NXT GEN does end up bringing home that inaugural gold medal, it’ll be a special moment for the trail-blazing team.
“Considering the fact that this is the inaugural flag football event at the Junior Olympics, it makes it that much more special for this group,” Thomas Ochoa said. “We’ve won the inaugural world championships before, so to be the first to do it again and to lead the way at this level, it’s really special as well.”
NXT GEN receiver Wade Woodall cut across the field during a practice.
Butte Sports SlateMay 18-24WednesdayCollege track — Montana Tech qualifiers at NAIA Outdoor Championships meet, Marion, Indiana (Indiana Wesleyan University Track & Field Complex).ThursdayPrep tennis — 8 a.m., Butte Central qualifier at state Class A tournament, Billings.Prep track — 2 p.m., Butte High qualifiers at state Class AA meet, Kalispell (Legends Stadium).College track — Montana Tech […]
Butte Sports Slate May 18-24 Wednesday College track — Montana Tech qualifiers at NAIA Outdoor Championships meet, Marion, Indiana (Indiana Wesleyan University Track & Field Complex). Thursday Prep tennis — 8 a.m., Butte Central qualifier at state Class A tournament, Billings. Prep track — 2 p.m., Butte High qualifiers at state Class AA meet, Kalispell (Legends Stadium). College track — Montana Tech qualifiers at NAIA Outdoor Championships meet, Marion, Indiana (Indiana Wesleyan University Track & Field Complex). Friday Prep tennis — 8 a.m., Butte Central qualifier at state Class A tournament, Billings. Prep track — 9 a.m., Butte Central qualifiers at state Class A meet, Kalispell (Legends Stadium). Prep track — 9 a.m., Butte High qualifiers at state Class AA meet, Kalispell (Legends Stadium). College track — Montana Tech qualifiers at NAIA Outdoor Championships meet, Marion, Indiana (Indiana Wesleyan University Track & Field Complex). Legion baseball — 6 p.m., Butte Muckers vs. Gallatin Valley “B” in Helena. Saturday Prep track — 9 a.m., Butte Central qualifiers at state Class A meet, Kalispell (Legends Stadium). Prep track — 9 a.m., Butte High qualifiers at state Class AA meet, Kalispell (Legends Stadium). Legion baseball — 10 a.m., Butte Muckers vs. Great Falls “B” in Helena. Sunday, May 25 Legion baseball — 3 p.m., Butte Muckers vs. Kalispell “B” in Helena.
Lady Gaga Wins 2025 Sports Emmy for Pre-Super Bowl Performance
Lady Gaga took home a Sports Emmy on Tuesday night (May 20) for her pre-Super Bowl performance of “Hold My Hand” in tribute to victims of the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Eve, Hurricane Helene in Florida and Georgia in the fall, and the January wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles County. In a […]
Lady Gaga took home a Sports Emmy on Tuesday night (May 20) for her pre-Super Bowl performance of “Hold My Hand” in tribute to victims of the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Eve, Hurricane Helene in Florida and Georgia in the fall, and the January wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles County.
In a pre-taped segment that aired ahead of the Fox broadcast of Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, the pop superstar performed behind a piano on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, introduced by NFL legends Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Terry Bradshaw. She sang a stripped-down version of her Oscar-nominated Top Gun: Maverick single “Hold My Hand” as various police officers and firefighters looked on around her.
Gaga earned the 2025 Sports Emmy for outstanding music direction alongside her fellow producers Seth Dudowsky, Bill Richards, Joel Santos, Jesse Weiss and Brad Zager, as well as music editor Joe Nargi.
In the category, they were up against Prime Video’s Evolution of the Black Quarterback, HBO Max’s The Lionheart, ESPN+’s Noche UFC: For Mexico, For All Time, and Netflix’s The Turnaround.
After winning an Oscar for best original song with “Shallow” from A Star Is Born and 14 Grammys over her career, Gaga is now only a Tony shy of the coveted EGOT honor. While there is debate over whether only the Primetime Emmys should count toward the EGOT, the Emmys social accounts were trumpeting Gaga’s three-letter accomplishment on Tuesday night after her Sports Emmys victory.
“Putting the ‘E’ in @ladygaga’s E-G-O…she’s just short of the T!” read a post on @TheEmmys X account.
