Most Christians are familiar with the idea that the body is to be honored.  The concept of the physical body as a temple of the Holy Spirit is commonly delivered in sermons.  Young people are taught to honor their bodies when they are alerted of the dangers of pre-marital sex and drug and alcohol abuse.  Honoring the body often becomes a list of things to avoid.  If honoring the body is to be a legitimate Christian practice, however, we need to do more with our bodies than simply avoid harmful acts and substances.  Honoring the body also involves positive activity that improves and develops the body.

Sports can provide a proactive means by which the body can be honored. Certainly there are many instances in which sports do not promote this Christian practice.  Competitive athletics in America are all about winning, and sports often promote the dishonor and abuse of bodies in the pursuit of the all important victory.  Some baseball and football players inject or ingest illegal, performance-enhancing drugs to increase their odds of winning. Elite gymnasts, horse racing jockeys, and wrestlers often develop eating disorders in attempts to lose weight in the name of competing at a higher level.  There are athletic programs, however, that work to change the dominating sports culture in America.  The men's tennis team at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota is one such program.  It is an environment in which student-athletes become a part of a tradition that allows them to honor their bodies through sport.

Tradition - The Gustavus Way
I am blessed to be a part of the Gustavus tennis family, having played from 1998-2002.  My coach, Dr. Steve Wilkinson, has directed the Gustavus men's tennis team for thirty-five years.  A tradition has developed during this time that I will call the "Gustavus Way."  Our program is a complex set of social practices that combine to shape the moral vision and character of every participant.  The "Gustavus Way" closely resembles moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre's concept of a tradition.

The Gustavus tennis tradition involves Coach's interest in the whole person, not just the tennis player.  Coach envisions a program that works through our development as tennis players to teach us values that will be with us throughout our lives.  As a former professional tennis player, Coach teaches us the tennis skills and the mental concentration that allow us to compete at a level that most of us never dreamed we could achieve.  Every season Coach molds us into one of the elite Division III teams in the nation.  As a former professor of ethics and world religions, Coach helps us become people who represent our program and our college with class and dignity.

A player enters this process by accepting the authority of those already deeply involved in it, just as one enters a tradition in MacIntyre's sense only with an initial act of submission.  I submitted to the authority of the Gustavus Way when I arrived on the Gustavus campus in September of 1998.  This authority was vested not only in Coach, but also in the upperclassmen on the team.  I, along with the other members of the freshman class, followed as Coach and the more experienced team members taught.  We learned to play tennis, of course.  And we learned much more.  We learned to approach tennis, competition, school, and life through the Serenity Prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Through team meetings and activities, daily practice routines, road trips, and matches we were taught that we are a family that does things a certain way.  In addition, we learned that our family also includes the alumni - those who contributed to the building of the tradition with which we are now entrusted.  After two years of learning, my class became the "old guys."  We became responsible for improving the tradition and for teaching the Gustavus Way to the next generation of players.  This cycle still continues.  The tradition goes through different phases, and alumni who became excellent practitioners of the Gustavus Way are often consulted by both Coach and current players when the tradition needs to be altered or updated for various reasons.

Players who immerse themselves in the Gustavus Way cultivate what MacIntyre would call the "internal goods" of the tradition.  MacIntyre distinguishes between two types of goods that practices yield. Goods external to the practice are motivations for entering the practice and are of great importance for inexperienced practitioners.  Internal goods, on the other hand, can only be achieved through the virtuous doing of a practice.  They become the prioritized type of good only when one becomes deeply immersed in a practice. The Gustavus Way is a MacIntyrian tradition in that external goods serve as a motivation for the practices that make up our tradition. Unlike most sports programs, however, we place the highest value upon internal goods.

Each year we set out to win the national championship.  We always contend for the title, and it is our result-based goal to win both the national indoor championship in February and the NCAA championship in May.  These championships are the ultimate external goods of Gustavus tennis.  They motivate us on a daily basis.  At the heart of the Gustavus Way, however, is the realization that results lie completely outside of our control -- both as individuals and as a team.  If we could choose to play our best and to win each time we compete, then we would certainly make that choice.  But our tradition teaches us that we do not have this choice.  Thus goods internal to our practice become our main goals.  These goods include friendship, sportsmanship, increased skills as a tennis player and competitor, enjoyment of the sport of tennis and our time together as a family, teamwork, sacrifice, balance in our everyday lives, discipline, work ethic, appreciation for life, compassion, forgiveness, and love.  When we first arrive at Gustavus, these goods are not our primary goals.  We realize that they are at the center of our involvement in the program only when we become deeply immersed in the Gustavus Way.

Three Crowns and a Lion
The three unchanging cornerstones of Gustavus tennis are full effort, a positive attitude, and the highest standard of sportsmanship.  When we compete, upholding these cornerstones is our main goal.  Each time we take the court this goal lies completely within our control.  We can always try our hardest, remain positive, and treat our opponents the way that we would like to be treated.  It is easy to accomplish these goals when one is winning handily.  It becomes increasingly difficult to accomplish these goals during a very competitive match or an instance in which an opponent displays poor behavior.  It takes a great deal of courage to adhere to the Gustavus Way under adverse conditions.  Whether we win or lose, play well or poorly, we consider our matches successful if we give full effort, remain positive, and conduct ourselves with the highest standard of sportsmanship.  We base our success on accomplishing things that lie completely within our control and not on the acquisition of external goods such as wins and championships. Competition based on these cornerstones is the virtuous doing of a practice that is central to the Gustavus Way and that leads to the acquisition of internal goods.

One contribution of my class to the Gustavus Way is the connection of our tradition's cornerstones with the symbols of our program.  Gustavus is named after the Swedish warrior king Gustav Adolph, and is represented by two logos: the three crowns (derived from the Swedish flag), and a lion (a symbol of royalty and courage).  We named full effort, positive attitude, and sportsmanship the "three crowns of Gustavus tennis."  In addition we identified the lion as a symbol of the courage required to uphold the three crowns in the face of adversity.  When we compete we wear uniforms that carry these symbols.  They remind us that we represent more than just ourselves and our current team.  We represent our tradition. Our ultimate goal is to uphold its cornerstones.
 
Full Effort
Each of the three crowns provides a unique means for members of our tradition to engage in the practice of honoring the body.  The first crown, full effort, begins with preparation.  Learning the techniques and strategies of the game, as well as how and when to apply them during the course of the match, requires great discipline.  Conditioning and strength training, stretching, getting proper rest and nutrition, and visualization are all taught by the tradition and allow one to give full effort in competition.  Disciplining the body and mind, working toward peak physical condition, and focusing on and working toward improvement of skills all honor the body.  Our bodies are gifts from God, and developing them respectfully cares for the gift.  Gustavus tennis involves rigorous physical development -- an opportunity to strengthen the foundation of our bodily temples.

The ultimate show of full effort is never giving up -- doing one's best at all times.  In spite of the circumstances, we persevere as players and as people.  Fighting until the end not only shows self-respect, but respect for our tradition as well.  In never giving up, we honor our bodies as Gustavus tennis players, but we also honor the entire body of Gustavus tennis. The Christian practice of honoring the body is the same.  God calls us to honor our bodies to the best of our ability at all times.  In competition we honor our bodies not with victory, but with our best effort. As Christians, God does not require us to be winners, but to honor our bodies to the best of our abilities -- essentially to give full effort always.
  
Positive Attitude
Maintaining a positive attitude during the ups and downs of athletic competition represents a mental challenge that some athletes never conquer.  Tennis provides a unique opportunity to engage in the practice of choosing to be positive.  After each point, a player has a brief moment to decide how to react to what has just taken place. The Gustavus Way teaches us that at this moment we have a choice.  We can objectively analyze what happened during the previous point, learn from it, and continue to compete, or we can react negatively.  Negative language, both physical and verbal, is an epidemic in competitive tennis. Players will often verbally abuse themselves or mope around the court in a hunched over fashion after lost points or poor play.  In some extreme cases players will even erupt into racket-smashing tirades.  The Gustavus Way teaches us to avoid this behavior in order to enhance our odds of achieving external goods.  A calm, positive demeanor generally enhances performance on the tennis court.  At Gustavus, we are to maintain a confident physical posture, focus our eyes on our racket strings, and concentrate on our breathing between every point.  When we catch ourselves reacting negatively, our tradition teaches us to smile.  In doing so we remember to enjoy the challenges and adversity that accompany competition, and the simple idea that tennis is fun. We understand that we will not always play our best tennis or achieve the external good of victory each time we compete, but we can always choose to be positive.

Remaining positive usually produces a higher level of tennis, but it can be a powerful way for a player to honor his body as well. This crown also operates at the level of internal goods. We affirm the goodness of our own bodies, physically and spiritually, when we treat ourselves positively.  Gustavus tennis values each individual member of our program as a unique and precious gift.  Our bodies are a part of what makes each of us unique and special.  Each time we make the choice to treat ourselves positively during a match we honor this gift.  Positive self-talk and a confident physical posture during competition allow us to affirm the value of our bodies in both victory and defeat.  We acknowledge the goodness that God created as well as the time, effort, discipline, and commitment that we have made to care for and enhance that creation.

Sportsmanship
The final crown, sportsmanship, is perhaps the most important of the three.  Early on in our immersion into Gustavus Tennis we learn that unsportsmanlike behavior creates a negative image for both our program and the individual displaying it.  Like the other crowns, maintaining a high level of sportsmanship can be difficult, especially in defeat or in a match where an opponent or opposing team does not compete in a sportsmanlike fashion.  We learn, as competitors in the Gustavus program, to compliment our opponents' good shots. We develop this habit in practice sessions on a daily basis. We refrain from questioning our opponents' line calls, and we learn to end every match by shaking the hands of all opposing coaches and players.  At the completion of our individual matches, irrespective of the result, we must establish eye contact with our opponent, offer a sincere compliment on some aspect of his play, and congratulate him with a smile and a hand shake.

Our tradition focuses on sportsmanship because in its most basic and sincere form, sportsmanship means treating others the way that we would like to be treated.  Sportsmanship therefore honors not only our own bodies, but also the bodies of our opponents.  In our tradition we view our opponents as creations of God.  We make no secret that our goal is to win each time we compete, but sportsmanship always remains our top priority.  It transcends sport.  It allows tennis to be a vehicle for the spreading of God's love and a way to exercise God's command to love the neighbor.  At the outset of our Gustavus careers we display sportsmanlike behavior because our tradition teaches us that sportsmanship is at the core of the Gustavus Way.  By the time we finish our careers we have a deeper understanding of sportsmanship as loving our neighbors.  We may not initially realize it, but our tradition teaches us to honor our own bodies and those of our opponents.

The Grace of the Gustavus Way 
The Christian practice of honoring the body requires constant commitment and perseverance.  We cannot engage in this lifelong practice without God's grace.  Gustavus tennis allows us to honor our bodies through the three crowns, but it also embodies the grace of God and communicates it to the members of our tradition.  Grace abounds in Gustavus tennis.  We are beloved members of our program whether we win or lose.  We strive to uphold the three crowns of our program.  In most cases we succeed.  Sometimes, especially when we are new to the tradition, we do not.  Coach forgives us for these times, and so do our teammates.  If a practice session or a competition has been unsuccessful in terms of external or internal goods we are still loved and affirmed. We constantly work to become better players and people - better practitioners of the Gustavus Way, but our program always accepts us just as we are.  We strive to physically improve our bodies and our ability to honor them through tennis.  At the end of each day, however, our bodies are to be loved and honored just as they are simply because they are God's creation.

The grace of Gustavus tennis was never more apparent to me than at the 2002 NCAA championships.  During my senior season, our team had captured the national indoor championship and landed in Santa Cruz, California for the NCAA tournament with a team full of experienced members of the Gustavus tradition.  With five seniors and two juniors we were favored to win the first NCAA championship for Gustavus since 1982.  We received a high seed in the tournament and won our first round convincingly.  In the national semi-finals we lost a heart-breaking 4-3 match in which we were two points away in one individual singles match from winning the entire team competition.  We had worked for four years to reach that point, but it was not to be.  Suddenly, we faced the reality that we would never win the NCAA championship.  We had become better players and members of our tradition, but we did not have the strength to remain positive following this defeat.  We were devastated.

In a tear-filled post-match meeting, Coach addressed us and demonstrated the true grace of our program.  He told us that he was proud to be our coach because of who we are and not because of what we did or did not accomplish.  He told us that he loved us and that we should not let a beautiful California day escape us because of the loss. Later that night, at our team meeting, three of our former team captains who had traveled to see us play in the national tournament also spoke.  They told us that they were proud of how we had represented our tradition and that even though the loss devastated us, we would someday understand that what we have gained along the way means far more than a national championship. They encouraged us to enjoy our last match together the next day, and to do it "our way." Finally, they told us that we are a family whether we win or lose, and that we always will be.  They understood the value of internal goods and they understood the grace that characterizes the Gustavus way.  To be a member of the Gustavus tennis program requires discipline and commitment, but our family offers real grace.  We finished our careers with a third place finish and a deeper understanding of that grace.

Conclusion - A Lifelong Tradition
Tennis the Gustavus Way engages in the Christian practice of honoring the body.  One learns to honor the body through tennis by submitting to the Gustavus tradition and becoming a part of the Gustavus tennis community. We depend on our community to help us honor our bodies, and we teach new members of it how to do the same.  Championships and other external goods serve as our initial motivation for submitting to the tradition.  Initially, we want to become better tennis players so that we can win more matches.  As we become more virtuous practitioners of the Gustavus Way we understand that internal goods are the real reasons why we are a part of this tradition.  One of the most deeply hidden internal goods is, in fact, the Christian practice of honoring the body.  Each time we compete and strive to courageously uphold the three crowns of Gustavus tennis we honor the body.  Tennis is a lifetime sport, and honoring the body is a lifetime practice.  Those of us who are members of the Gustavus tennis family are thankful that the Gustavus Way is a lifelong tradition. No matter where we go or what we do, we put on the three crowns and the lion every day.