CRUSADER CONNECTION

1. Zshu Asis
2. Riley Basick
3. Jessica Baugh
4. Levi Berg
5. Kaitlyn Bishop
6. Gabriel Burch
7. Kayle Conover
8. David Denson
9. Abby Doty
10. Devin Erickson
11. Alexis Felber
12. Jordan Isaacs
13. Anthony Killy
14. Payton LaFine
15. Joshua McCorkle
16. Nicole McKnight
17. Olivia Miramontes
18. Ian Nemeth
19. Amanda Paik
20. Charlie Robertson
21. Emma Stone

Extra Curricular activities hold special places in our lives.  We all have them, and look forward to them. We go to them when we are not in school, at work, or anything else we have to do. They are activities we volunteer for, and they are meaningful. That being said, we inevitably end up obtaining new knowledge of ourselves, and whatever else that activity involves. Personally, praise band is an extracurricular activity that has been meaningful to me in innumerable ways.
    
To start, praise band has brought meaning to my life in such a way that I can play for people. It has given me a crazy feeling of satisfaction when people sing along to the music that we make. In a musical sense, not much is more fulfilling (in my opinion) than to see all of your hard work and preparation pay off in the form of voices. Praise band has also allowed me to connect with people in school that I would not have previously connected with. I have gotten song requests from people that I do not normally talk to. I’ve even had the privilege of talking to people after chapel about my journey in the world of music, and showing them guitars.
    
Next, praise band has brought meaning to my life in such a way that I can praise God by simply doing what I love. God has given me a love for music, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. The way I see it, I am simply returning the favor and saying “thank you” in the form of a song. He has also blessed me with people to make music with. The fact that I get to do it with people I have grown tremendously close to in the last three years is a bonus. I believe that making music with others for God brings Him even more glory than if you were doing it by yourself.
  
Finally, praise band has brought meaning to my life in such a way that it has taught me more about myself than sports, school, or anything else could have ever taught me. In the past three years, I have learned some valuable lessons, and made some mistakes that ultimately made myself, and the band, better. I have learned to be comfortable in front of crowds. When I first got up on stage, I was shaking in my shoes. Now it is a breeze. I have gotten to the point where it almost does not even phase me. I have come to enjoy it. I have also learned that preparation is needed in order to have success in the world of music. That has been a rather important lesson if I must choose the most important. My skills in working with other people to have success have certainly grown. Praise band has come to be a source of betterment in my life in music.
    
​Overall, praise band has brought meaning to my life in a way that I can play for people, play for God, and it is always teaching me new lessons. I am forever thankful for this opportunity, and the honor that it is to play in this band. It has made me a better person, and taught me to use my mistakes to progress as a musician, and person altogether.  Praise band has been the extracurricular activity that has led to a more satisfying, and rich life.

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While other local schools have had issues with weather and cancelled baseball games this season, Grace Christian Academy has played every game on its schedule.  Of the games Grace has played this year, they have played 6 games: 5 home dates, with one date being a double header.  What has allowed this to happen when other area schools have cancelled (see Coaches, Athletic Directors React to a Series of Cancellations)?  The answer is simple, will-power and determination.

This will-power is best demonstrated by GCA’s head baseball coach, Jeff Cross.  Coach Cross has the belief that games are not scheduled to be cancelled, but rather the games are scheduled to be played.  Cross spends hours preparing GCA’s baseball field to ensure that games can be played.  This past week his persistence has paid off with him being able to play games on two days when no other area school played.  GCA was able to play games on Tuesday, April 3rd (Rain) and Thursday, April 5th(Snow) because Cross has put in field maintenance efforts to ensure that his fields will be playable within minutes of weather letting up.  By replacing the infield surface and working with the mound and the home plate areas, Cross and his team are able to quickly work on any wet spots as soon as weather breaks.

Some might say that the cold has been the actual cause of other games being cancelled, but Cross has an answer for this too.  Cross recently posted, “Tenacity and grit; something most people don’t practice or even know what it could look like.  Today (Tuesday, April 3rd), every baseball game was cancelled in the area on the forecast of inclement weather, GCA baseball played their game!  Now Grace did not win the game and they could have cancelled the game and no one would have said anything, however I am trying to teach our young men that things can be done even though no one else thinks it can be done.  I want our players to live with tenacity and grit so that someday they can use it in their adult lives.”

Too much emphasis is often put into the cold weather of spring sport games.  Football playoff games are played in equally cold weather and the potential for injury is greater based on the fact that the sport is a collision sport.  Cross ensures that his mound and field areas are safe for players and then he lets teams play.  Does this make his players uncomfortable?  Probably. However, it is stretching them to do something that nobody else thinks they can do.  Is this not the true purpose of a coach?  Is a coach not supposed to stretch his or her players to do more than they think they can?

GCA, with leaders such as Cross, understand that a lot can be learned through sports.  Cross understands that he has to do hard work in order to allow for opportunities to exist for his athletes to learn these lessons.  He puts in the work so that the games that have been scheduled can be played.  He puts in the work so that his players can do things that others do not do, nor do they think they can do.  He puts in work so that his players can become better men.  He does all of this while he could just as easily cancel the game.  Cross does not cancel because that is the easy thing to do and he does not want his players to learn how to avoid things by doing things the easy way.  He wants them to learn how to do hard things by learning how to persevere through adversity and overcome others telling them that things cannot be done.  He does this by ensuring that his players can play even when nobody else does.