My time with the Albertus Men’s basketball team has been an amazing journey. The last five years with my teammates, head Coach Mitch Oliver and other coaching staff have been some of the most memorable times in my life. We have been blessed with many accomplishments as a team. Winning four GNAC championships and getting to the NCAA tournament just as many times made the long hours and sacrifices all worth it. As a team we worked hard to achieve the goals that were set for us.
My personal journey has been much deeper than just growing on the basketball court. My mother always told me when I was younger to use basketball as a tool to get you wherever you want to go in life. That is definitely advice that I have heeded over the years and playing basketball for Albertus Magnus College while working to get my B.A. in history with a minor in Spanish, and completing the teacher education program for secondary-level certification has afforded me many wonderful opportunities. Also, as a team we participated in community service by helping out with Special Olympics and visiting Lincoln-Bassett School in New Haven.
In addition to my growth off the court in studies and service, I also have grown in becoming a man and spiritually. I can certainly point to one event during my time here at Albertus Magnus College that challenged me. I tore my ACL and meniscus in my right knee during a basketball game in November 2013. This was a trying time that really tested me while forcing me to grow up at the same time. This injury caused me to go through an entire winter without playing organized basketball for the first time since I was 3 years old. It was at this time that I leaned on Scriptures like Jeremiah 29.11, Philippians 4:13 and Matthew 19:26. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “…for I know the plans for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This scripture in particular gave me a lot of comfort and solace during a time in my life that caused me pain. It was tough for me to watch the rest of the 2013-2014 season after my surgery, but I know God was putting me through that tribulation for a reason. Thankfully, I was able to bounce back from this injury this past season.
This past season was definitely the most fulfilling and rewarding for me because of the adversity I had fought through with the surgery and rehabilitation just to play the game I love again. I found great fulfillment in doing what some said I would never be able to do again, just competing and contributing to the team in any way I could. I have the utmost gratitude for the entire Albertus community and family. I do not think I could have chosen a better institution to attend that would have allowed me to grow so much as a person inside and outside.
Julian Sanders
Class of 2015
History Education Major