This month The Cracked Pot interviewed fifteen year-old basketball player Madeline Rogers of Frederick, Maryland. She originally started playing basketball when she joined a children’s Christian basketball league, Upward Basketball, which was run by her church. Currently, she plays as a forward for the CHEN Warriors, more commonly called the Frederick Warriors, a homeschool Christian girls basketball team. Until last year they held the unique position as the only girl’s homeschool team in the state.

Madeline’s team has played in the Homeschool Sports Network Virginia basketball tournament, winning first place in junior varsity all three years they have competed, and third in Varsity in the two years they have competed. Unlike all the other teams, the Frederick Warriors compete in both the Junior Varsity and Varsity competitions, since they only have one team. However, it also means during the tournament they play as many as six games per day for three consecutive days.

Commenting on her team’s participation at the tournament, Madeline noted, “None of us are even varsity age, but this year we beat every single team we played in the Junior Varsity division by at least twenty points, and came in third in Varsity, even though we had no Varsity players. This year we actually had a lot of problems. One girl had a concussion and was unable to play, and two others had just twisted their ankles and couldn’t run very fast. It slowed us down, but I think we did a really good job anyway.”

During the many games she has played, Madeline has also had some memorable experiences. Recounting one particular game, she said, “We were losing to a team by three points, and there were five second[s] of the game left to go. It was their ball, and we pretty much knew that we were going to lose. Suddenly, the referee called a technical [foul] on the other coach, because she had been screaming at the referees [for] the entire game. Kimberly, [a teammate of mine], shot and made both free throws, and then my coach called a timeout. We knew that whatever we did, we had to make a shot or… make the other team foul us so we could [shoot] two more free throws. At first, we were unable to get the ball back in, and with one second to go, Kimberly got the ball and shot it from half court. We all didn’t think it would go in, but it did, and we won the game. So that was a pretty cool experience.”

Madeline added, in reference to God’s role in her playing basketball, “My coach used to, especially [during] our team’s first year, only play his starters the entire game. That meant I sat on the bench the entire game, and it made me mad. I used to complain to my parents, friends, and teammates all the time, but I realized I wasn’t changing anything by grumbling. I had to ask for God’s help a lot, but he’s really blessed me and things have gotten better on the team.”

Concerning her future in basketball, Madeline said, “I plan to play basketball through high school, [but] that’s it. The girls who play, even now, are so tall. I’m 5’8”, and I don’t expect to grow anymore, and I have other interests besides basketball. I am not one of those people who dream about going to the Olympics all their lives. I know God has given me other talents besides basketball… and I plan to use those.”