KEEPING THE FAITH
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| Team chaplain Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM, helps boost Rambler energy before a practice session. |
“‘I know the job for you,’ he said,” Sister Schmidt recalls. “And just like that, I became what we called a ‘booster shooter’ for the men’s basketball team. I began meeting individually with student athletes once a week to help them balance sports and academic success.”
Over time, the need for a “booster shooter” diminished, and Sister Schmidt moved into yet another role. She’s now the chaplain of the men’s basketball team.
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| Cheering her team on from the stands. |
“Trying to ‘retire,’ I have a lot of fun with these guys,” she says. “I never expected to be involved this way. But I’ve always loved basketball.”
Louder is better
Sister Schmidt, who’s better known to students and the campus community as “Sister Jean,” played basketball in high school and coached an elementary school team while she was a teacher. As chaplain, she’s a fixture at games, appearing an hour before tip-off to lead the team in prayer. “Before Loyola played the University of Northern Iowa earlier this season, I said, ‘Good and gracious God, let us show them what Loyola team spirit is all about. Help us make those free throws and avoid turnovers,’” Sister Schmidt recalls. “That was the first time we ever beat UNI.”
“I love the way she knows the scouting report for the opposing team and implements it in our pre-game prayer,” says senior guard Blake Schilb. “Sister Jean is all heart.”
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| The Rambler huddle. |
Sister Schmidt believes the strength of Loyola’s athletics program comes from the collaboration of students, coaches, faculty, and staff. “Loyola is so fortunate to have coaches who give wonderful examples and encourage Loyola values among the students, and the faculty and staff do the same thing,” she says. “They have great spirit. I love working with them.”
The feeling is mutual. Men’s Basketball Coach Jim Whitesell describes Sister Schmidt as “an awesome, caring lady.” He particularly remembers their first encounter: “A few weeks after I was hired, [Director of Athletics] John Planek said, ‘You have to meet Sister Jean. The kids love her and she really loves the basketball program.’
“So this little lady walks into my office, and says, ‘It’s great to have you,’ and then she gives me a five-minute lecture on what I need to do with the program. She said, ‘You need to work on team spirit,’ and this and that. I was taken aback, but she was right on point.”
Sister Schmidt now calls teamwork the Ramblers’ greatest asset. “Sometimes, the professional thing to do is to share the ball with the one who’s hot that night. It’s about how many points the team scores collectively, not individually,” she says. “These young men really want to win for Loyola. Even though they have their own careers, even though they know they have scouts watching them, they want to win for each other and for the University.”
She finds watching that spirit of unity inspiring. “I’ve learned what it really means to work hard and give up your entire self. Sometimes we don’t think that young people do that, but these young men do, and it shows.”
Building strong relationships
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| A pre-game prayer. |
“They have great character,” she adds. “They all have their own particular assets and liabilities, but every one is a model in himself.”
Junior forward Tom Levin recalls his most memorable “Sister Jean” moment. “Sister Jean was going to have a procedure done at the hospital, and apologized, which was of course unnecessary, that she would miss the game the night of her surgery. However, true to Sister’s form, she was back in the stands for the next home game,” he says.
“Sister Jean is our biggest supporter,” says Levin. “She always has faith and confidence in us, and she can always put a smile on our faces. Sister Jean has taught me to believe in myself and the team, and has shown us that our hard work will pay off in the long run.”
That’s exactly what Sister Schmidt looks forward to. The Ramblers’ No. 1 fan hopes Loyola will win the Horizon League championship this year, giving the team an automatic bid for the NCAA Championship. That would be Loyola’s first appearance in the tournament in more than 20 years. “These men have worked so hard, and Jim Whitesell is an outstanding coach,” Sister Schmidt says.
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| Laughing it up with LU Wolf. |
Meanwhile, she’s hard pressed to single out the best moment of her time as men’s basketball chaplain. “I can’t pick just one. Each game is unique, because each team we play is unique,” she says. “The best moments are when we’re close—and we pull it off.”
Although Sister Schmidt has been in the process of “retiring” for quite some time now, it’s obvious that she’s as involved in life and in Loyola as ever. “People say she has an amazing energy level for her age,” says Whitesell. “I say she has an amazing energy level, period. I really admire her. We have wonderful people here at Loyola, and she’s one of my favorites.
“It’s people like Sister Jean who make this place special.” | ANASTASIA BUSIEK