"Our team has decided that our faith foundation needs to be a core function of who we are and how we relate to each other. Everything else we do should be built on that foundation of seeking Christ first and living a life that reflects who He is and who we are in Him.”
— Cheryl Jean-Paul, TWU head coach of women's basketball
University sports is facing a different season, one without championship games. In light of pandemic-related health concerns, this past June, U SPORTS announced the cancellation of six 2020 fall national championships.
U SPORTS followed up on this announcement last week. On October 15, it further announced the cancellation of 2021 winter national championships in men's and women's basketball, hockey, swimming, track and field, volleyball and wrestling.
Cheryl Jean-Paul is head coach of women’s basketball at Trinity Western University and president of women’s basketball in the Canada West Conference. She saw how the pause in championship games prompted the athletic department to adapt their focus.
“COVID-19 has enabled university athletics to slow down and pay attention to what’s happening in our world, and what’s been happening in our sport context for a long time,” Jean-Paul said.
Speaking on athletics, race and diversity
Trends in society include the recent heightened awareness of diversity and race in athletics. This fall, Jean-Paul is speaking as part of the Diversity Panel at the 2020 Spartan Sports Leadership Superconference, a virtual event streaming on October 23.
When she began first her role at TWU in 2010, Jean-Paul was one of the first Black female head coaches in U SPORTS basketball history. Ahead of this month’s 2020 Spartan Sports Leadership Superconference, Jean-Paul reflects on the importance of diversity.
“We tend to see the world from our perspective, whether that’s in sport or outside of sport,” she observed.
“We don’t often question why we do things a certain way or why we believe certain things, until someone from a different background or cultural foundation sees life differently and interprets life for us from their context,” she said.
Improving teams by broadening perspectives
Diversity can challenge teams to grow, as Jean-Paul noted, “Diversity within a team or program allows everyone to gain knowledge and understanding of the world around them, but also of themselves as they are stretched in their thinking.”
Jean-Paul believed that diverse perspectives create potential for learning. “If guided properly, this can create such a social awareness that we become relevant to what’s happening around us, and this builds into our team culture and sport identity,” she said. “That can’t be gained in the same way if you are solely surrounded by people who are exactly like you, who think, react and asks questions from the same lens.”
Inspiring athletes and leaders
When it comes to the upcoming 2020 Spartan Sports Leadership Superconference, Jean-Paul desires to inspire athletes, coaches and leaders.
Joining her on the Diversity Panel are six other coaches from various cultural backgrounds.
“We are excited to be joined by a panel of great coaches and organizational leaders who, despite having experienced the harshness of racism, have such optimism for how the sport world has a platform to change the future,” she said.
“I’m hoping attendees will find a new boldness to question themselves and their organizations for how we support and celebrate diversity through who we are as leaders, communicators and influencers,” she continued.
Jean-Paul hopes that the discussion at the conference’s Diversity Panel can become a foundation for positive change. “It would be amazing for attendees to want to be a part of that change and empower their athletes to find their voices,” she said.
Winning on many fronts
Jean-Paul is now in her eleventh season at TWU. Throughout her years as head coach, the Spartans women’s basketball teams have accumulated 103 wins and have made 4 playoff appearances.
Winning, however, is not the entire focus of Jean-Paul’s leadership.
“We celebrate our athletic accomplishments but often forget to celebrate the character of our athletes, who they are as people and what they’ve had to overcome to even get to the university level of competition,” she said.
She continued, “As an athletics department here at TWU, we are so supported to do everything we are able to do in the area of competition and training, which we are incredibly grateful for – since that isn’t a given for many schools across the country.”
“But instead of just waiting to play games, we are building into our program and culture, taking the time to gain perspective on what’s really important for us in terms of spiritual and personal growth, academic excellence and community involvement,” she said. Jean-Paul’s approach is reflective of the Spartans Complete Champion Approach™, which focuses on whole person development.
As part of the Spartans Complete Champion Approach™, emphasis is placed on leadership, academics, personal and faith development, in tandem with training for athletic excellence.
Jean-Paul expressed, “Our team has decided that our faith foundation needs to be a core function of who we are and how we relate to each other. Everything else we do should be built on that foundation of seeking Christ first and living a life that reflects who He is and who we are in Him.”
Read this story in the Langley Advance Times.
Listen to an interview with Cheryl Jean-Paul on the Varsity Letters podcast.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has five campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, Ottawa, and Bellingham, WA. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.