Dominic Amorosa: Building the Kingdom Through Basketball
Have you ever been called “Coach”?
It’s awesome. I imagine it’s like being called “Dad.” There is something about it that communicates trust and respect, both of which I am terrified to betray. When I am called “Coach,” that is what I want to be: it calls the best out of me. For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of being an assistant basketball coach under Head Coach Dominic Amorosa. He’s earned the title; he’s earned the trust and respect. In three years of coaching, I’ve learned a lot more than I bargained for about basketball and about being a good man. Coach Amorosa has this great ability to create a unified vision, to lead by example, and to invite greatness out of those around him: coaches and players alike. He’s the kind of man that we want our players to eventually be, and he leads them towards that end well.
Coach Amorosa fell into coaching. In his first year out of Notre Dame, he participated in the ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) program and was assigned to Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the only male teacher. Coaching a team for a colleague eventually led to coaching junior high teams. That eventually turned into a desire to coach at the high school level. Even from the beginning of his time as a PE teacher, Coach Amorosa has understood that sports are such an easy way to form a commitment to doing justice. In one of his first coaching jobs, he had his PE students play sports alongside folks with special needs. In his 14 years of coaching at Strake Jesuit, he has found several ways to help our athletes understand that it’s about so much more than basketball: it’s also about being a good man. And a good man is committed to doing justice.
Countless times, Coach Amorosa has said to our team that “Winning may be our goal, but it is not our purpose.” I asked him recently what our purpose is, then. He said, “Trying to help a kid develop and reach his full potential. And basketball is our tool to do it. Can we make them care about other people, be physically fit, understand their role, sacrifice for the team, and celebrate others’ success?”
That’s the purpose of Strake Jesuit Basketball. In my opinion, at the heart of it all is that sacrifice piece. When you are competing for one of five spots on the court, it takes a lot of humility to embrace your role and to celebrate others’ success. It can feel like shooting yourself in the foot. But it is something that Coach Amorosa ruthlessly demands of our players on and off the court. He demands that they prioritize the team over themselves. He demands that they accept their role for the good of the team. He demands that they care for one another and celebrate their unique contributions to the team. He demands that they be Men for Others. That’s bigger than basketball. If they can do those things when winning and losing is on the line, I bargain they can do it in their daily lives.
A key element of being “committed to doing justice” is to do something: Action. And to ensure that our players are committed to doing justice as men, not just as basketball players, Coach Amorosa asks them to apply those same virtues beyond our practices and games. He has players mentor and tutor grade school students at local schools (picture a six-and-a-half-foot 17-year-old sitting and reading to a grade schooler, or the star point guard letting his guard down to help a kid through a math problem). He organizes food drives around Thanksgiving, during which players have to bring food donations as their “ticket” to practice. He has held a toy drive for families in need near Christmas time. And perhaps my favorite, he has had our team host practices and half-time games for Basketball For All (an organization for athletes with special needs). In each of these, our players learn to take themselves a little less seriously and to harness the immense power they have as athletes. Just by giving their time, attention, and abilities to others, they make a world of difference. I’d argue that our team is at its best when our guys are using basketball and their athletic ability for someone else’s good. It creates joy. It’s a snapshot of the Kingdom of God.
At the end of the day, Coach Amorosa recognizes that we are just a piece of the journey: we have four years to use this powerful tool of basketball to shape young men. To quote the profile of a Graduate at Graduation, we hope that by the time a player leaves our program, he “[recognizes] selfless service to others as more fulfilling than individual success or prosperity, he takes his place in communities as a competent, concerned, and responsible member” (Strake Jesuit Grad at Grad). We hope that they both understand their immense gifts and, more importantly, build a habit of doing something with them for the good of the human team. That is what we are all called to do.
Looking at the way Coach Amorosa cultivates a commitment to doing justice through basketball reminds us of our call to do the same in our everyday lives. We are called to understand the unique gifts that we bring to the table. We are called to embrace our role in the human family. We are called to sacrifice for others. We are called to celebrate the success of others. We are called to be committed to doing justice.
For Coach Amorosa, it’s about so much more than basketball: It’s about coaching our students to be servant leaders and to build the Kingdom of God.
Back
It’s awesome. I imagine it’s like being called “Dad.” There is something about it that communicates trust and respect, both of which I am terrified to betray. When I am called “Coach,” that is what I want to be: it calls the best out of me. For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of being an assistant basketball coach under Head Coach Dominic Amorosa. He’s earned the title; he’s earned the trust and respect. In three years of coaching, I’ve learned a lot more than I bargained for about basketball and about being a good man. Coach Amorosa has this great ability to create a unified vision, to lead by example, and to invite greatness out of those around him: coaches and players alike. He’s the kind of man that we want our players to eventually be, and he leads them towards that end well.
Coach Amorosa fell into coaching. In his first year out of Notre Dame, he participated in the ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) program and was assigned to Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the only male teacher. Coaching a team for a colleague eventually led to coaching junior high teams. That eventually turned into a desire to coach at the high school level. Even from the beginning of his time as a PE teacher, Coach Amorosa has understood that sports are such an easy way to form a commitment to doing justice. In one of his first coaching jobs, he had his PE students play sports alongside folks with special needs. In his 14 years of coaching at Strake Jesuit, he has found several ways to help our athletes understand that it’s about so much more than basketball: it’s also about being a good man. And a good man is committed to doing justice.
Countless times, Coach Amorosa has said to our team that “Winning may be our goal, but it is not our purpose.” I asked him recently what our purpose is, then. He said, “Trying to help a kid develop and reach his full potential. And basketball is our tool to do it. Can we make them care about other people, be physically fit, understand their role, sacrifice for the team, and celebrate others’ success?”
That’s the purpose of Strake Jesuit Basketball. In my opinion, at the heart of it all is that sacrifice piece. When you are competing for one of five spots on the court, it takes a lot of humility to embrace your role and to celebrate others’ success. It can feel like shooting yourself in the foot. But it is something that Coach Amorosa ruthlessly demands of our players on and off the court. He demands that they prioritize the team over themselves. He demands that they accept their role for the good of the team. He demands that they care for one another and celebrate their unique contributions to the team. He demands that they be Men for Others. That’s bigger than basketball. If they can do those things when winning and losing is on the line, I bargain they can do it in their daily lives.
A key element of being “committed to doing justice” is to do something: Action. And to ensure that our players are committed to doing justice as men, not just as basketball players, Coach Amorosa asks them to apply those same virtues beyond our practices and games. He has players mentor and tutor grade school students at local schools (picture a six-and-a-half-foot 17-year-old sitting and reading to a grade schooler, or the star point guard letting his guard down to help a kid through a math problem). He organizes food drives around Thanksgiving, during which players have to bring food donations as their “ticket” to practice. He has held a toy drive for families in need near Christmas time. And perhaps my favorite, he has had our team host practices and half-time games for Basketball For All (an organization for athletes with special needs). In each of these, our players learn to take themselves a little less seriously and to harness the immense power they have as athletes. Just by giving their time, attention, and abilities to others, they make a world of difference. I’d argue that our team is at its best when our guys are using basketball and their athletic ability for someone else’s good. It creates joy. It’s a snapshot of the Kingdom of God.
At the end of the day, Coach Amorosa recognizes that we are just a piece of the journey: we have four years to use this powerful tool of basketball to shape young men. To quote the profile of a Graduate at Graduation, we hope that by the time a player leaves our program, he “[recognizes] selfless service to others as more fulfilling than individual success or prosperity, he takes his place in communities as a competent, concerned, and responsible member” (Strake Jesuit Grad at Grad). We hope that they both understand their immense gifts and, more importantly, build a habit of doing something with them for the good of the human team. That is what we are all called to do.
Looking at the way Coach Amorosa cultivates a commitment to doing justice through basketball reminds us of our call to do the same in our everyday lives. We are called to understand the unique gifts that we bring to the table. We are called to embrace our role in the human family. We are called to sacrifice for others. We are called to celebrate the success of others. We are called to be committed to doing justice.
For Coach Amorosa, it’s about so much more than basketball: It’s about coaching our students to be servant leaders and to build the Kingdom of God.
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